With the arrival of sports season, along with the rising interest in sports in general, comes the interest in what the best sports video game is. Many people would automatically think of Madden, Fifa, or even Mario Kart. However, in reality, the best sports game is none of these… it was made 15 years ago and is a remake of one of the most popular NES games/arcade cabinets of all time. I’m of course talking about… “Punch-Out!!” for the Wii.  

Created by Next Level Games in 2009, Punch-Out!! is a boss-rush-styled boxing simulator where you play as Little Mac, a 17-year-old from the Bronx, trying to make a boxing name for himself at the WVBA (World Video Boxing Association). You’ll fight a large cast of likable, lively, and diverse characters from all over the world until you reach the world champion boxer, Mr. Sandman. Defeat him, and you’ll have completed your journey. Punch-Out!! is one of those games that is easy to pick up, but hard to master. While there are only 13 characters to fight against and 26 fights to be had (the post-game as you fight the cast again, but they’re stronger), you will struggle, especially in the later fights, but that makes your victories feel all the more well deserved.  

But where Punch-Out!! really shines is its characters! And I don’t mean Little Mac; in all honestly, he’s fairly bland. I mean our opponents! So much thought and effort were put into the game to make you care and absolutely fall in love with these handsome men. I’ve been hyper-fixating on Punch-Out!! solely because of its rich cast of characters. Not only do these characters have adorable cutscenes that explain their background, character traits, or other aspects of how they are as boxers, but in a unique instance, each of them speaks their native tongue. This creative decision is amazing… each of them sounds so amazing, and that’s because each of them is voiced by a voice actor who natively speaks their language. For example, Von Kaiser, the second opponent you fight (and one of my personal favorite characters), is voiced by a native German speaker and speaks all his dialogue exclusively in German, even in other parts of the game. While some people may complain about the diversity in this game being “offensive” (which, really, I could write a whole other article about how that isn’t the case).

Honestly, all the characters are amazing, and it would be a disservice to the game if I didn’t talk about each of them to some degree. So why not do that? Your first opponent is Glass Joe, a French, (respectfully) pathetic cutie pie and the laughingstock of the game… sporting a 1-99 ratio; he is your easiest opponent. Next is the aforementioned Von Kaiser, a six-foot tall, 42-year-old German boxer who is not only stronger than Joe, but he’s also a boxing teacher for kids, which honestly just adds to his overwhelming appeal. Next up is Disco Kid, a young boxer from Brooklyn, known for his positive, optimistic attitude and unique “boxercise” boxing style. The next boxer to talk about is King Hippo, a sub-human beast who loves snacking and making hippo noises… although he’s probably my least favorite boxer, to be fair. The fifth boxer you’ll fight is Piston Hondo, a scarily good Japanese boxer with the wisdom and the 26-1 fight record to officially amp up the game’s difficulty. After him is Bear Hugger, a breakfast-loving Canadian boxer and friend to all creatures big as a bear and as small as a squirrel. After defeating him, you’ll fight my personal favorite boxer, Great Tiger. Great Tiger is a stunningly gorgeous Indian boxer and mysterious magician who utilizes teleportation, clones, and his buttery, beautiful voice to win the fight. Speaking of beautiful, after him, you’ll fight Don Flamenco; Don is a handsome Spanish boxer, a rose-bearing flirt, and a firm believer of true love… as evident by his rematch fight where he turns goth because his canonical partner, Carmen, dumped him (his story gets funnier the more you analyze it). After Don is another favorite of mine, Aran Ryan… Aran is an iconic character within Punch-Out!!; He’s a dirty fighter, a completely crazy Irish mad lad who fights with his fans… and yet, he’s still a heartthrob, like most of the boxers. After him is Soda Popinski, a scarily tall Russian behemoth with a slight drinking problem… emphasis on slight. After him is the second toughest boxer in the game, Bald Bull. Bald Bull is a Turkish hothead who’s one of the hardest boss fights in the game, specifically his difficult rematch fight. Once you get past him, you’ll fight the Penn ultimate boxer, Super Macho Man. Macho Man is another iconic character who oozes character… he’s a narcissistic Californian bodybuilder straight from Hollywood, and he’s all about making a show out of your fight with him. Last but not least is Mr. Sandman… while not as charismatic or charming as the other characters, he is the strongest boxer at the WVBA, as indicated by his no-nonsense attitude and intimidating cutscene. 

And that would be the entirety of Punch-Out!! I absolutely adore this game, from its sweet assortment of characters, its easy-to-pick-up, difficult-to-master play style, Punch-Out!! appeals to those who stray from the boring, hyper-realistic sports games with static, cardboard, straight-faced American characters… and value something more colorful. Punch-Out!! has had a shocking uprise in popularity in recent years, and it’s only getting stronger by the day. The community is still small and easily accessible to all who wish to join… so what are you waiting for? Grab a Wii remote, a nun-chuck, and maybe a chocolate bar, and see if YOU have what it takes to become a champion!