I must admit that I was quite excited when XSeed Games announced that they were developing the newest installment of their “Victorious Boxers” series. I had previously played their last PS2 entry and though it’s not your traditional boxing game, the body language and fighting styles of the boxers really intrigued me. As a boxing writer, I’ve always appreciated realism in the way the characters move and react to punches and after seeing the previous iterations of Victorious Boxers, I decided to give the Wii version a spin.
Gameplay
It appears that slowly but surely, developers are beginning to realize that they are a variety of control options that they can offer players in their games. “Victorious Boxers” is no different allowing you to choose from a long list of controls one of which will likely be the popular choice. The method I chose allows you to control the movement of your boxer using the analog stick while swinging the nunchuck and Wii remote allow you to punch with both hands. Of course if you’re not into the whole working out thing, you can play the game using standard controls. With the control option I chose, you can move your fighter at the waist by holding the Z button and moving the analog stick in any direction to avoid getting punched. The motion detection is supposed to be one-to-one and although it is somewhat, it has a hard time detecting uppercuts. You also have to punch at a somewhat slow pace because if you have Roy Jones-like hand speed, the game will be way behind on throwing the punches you threw. It’s a bit of a letdown as I was hoping that the motion detection would be far superior to Wii Boxing which it’s not.
Of course if you’re a student of the sweet science and not simply someone who will flail away at their opponent, there is enough room for strategy that it will pay off by swinging in a calm and purposeful manner. You’ll be able to detect the condition of your fighter either by the way he responds to getting hit and/or by looking at his avatar on screen. Different facial expressions will key you in as to how your fighter is doing. I’m glad to see XSeed Games did away with the energy bar as did EA for Fight Night Round 3.
Though you can choose to spar which is an exhibition mode against the CPU or a human opponent, the story mode is where it’s at. Unlike other boxing games, this one takes you into the lives of the main character Ippo, and other fighters he encounters along the way. The narrative is actually done fairly well and you’ll find yourself watching some long cut-scenes in between fights. I like the fact that you find yourself actually caring about your character and others surrounding his career. As you progress through the story, depending on how you’re doing in a fight or whether you win or lose, the story can take different turns so there are different scenarios and outcomes which you can experience, a nice touch.
My only real gripe however is that the story is the only major point of the game. It’s not quite a simulation and it’s not quite arcade-like so it may not appeal to all gamers. This is an anime inspired game from the television series in Japan so unless you’re into the style, you may not give the game a shot.
Graphics
While the other games in the series are created with a 3-D look as in the television series, the developers took a drastic turn for the Wii iteration. “Victorious Boxers” sports a cel-shaded look that also appears like it was hand drawn. That doesn’t necessarily mean it doesn’t work though as there are some nice lighting effects and the fighters’ faces take damage during a fight which can be noticed during and after a round. You don’t see any blood running down there faces but they get swollen eyes and blotches of blood on their nose and eyes.
Though the cel-shaded style doesn’t bother me, I would have liked to see added details to some aspects. For instance, the crowds in the arenas are cardboard cutouts that have very minimal movements. I’ve seen better crowds from WWE games on the Gamecube so that kind of bothered me since you see flat surfaces on the crowd as you’re moving around the ring. Another thing that irks me is that some of the characters just don’t seem to look like they should. For example, there is a Russian fighter in the game that looks no more Russian than I do Chinese (I’m Mexican for the record). He is clearly drawn out as the other characters in the game, sporting a very Japanese look.
The menus are also very simplistic and have pretty low production value. Sure in the long run it’s the actual gameplay that matters but you’d like to see a more polished look to a game that has potential.
Sound
Here is where things become a little mixed for me. On the one hand, the game has a cool soundtrack that pumps you up. It’s the kind of music you’d expect from the show and it really makes you want to throw down in the ring. On the other hand, the dialogue is atrocious. The voice work seems extremely second rate and doesn’t really present the characters in a way you’d expect. The dialogue sounds like it was read from a script and although that’s how it’s usually done, this looks like a script reading from rookie actors.
You’ll also notice that during fights, the fighters do more of the talking in the corner between rounds. A lot of the times it’s as if the fighters are telling their own trainers what they’re going to do rather than listening to their cornermen’s instructions. You do hear from time to time some advice from your trainer on how to go after your opponent; that’s how it should be most of the time.
Fun Factor
I personally found this to be an entertaining experience though it helps that I’m a huge boxing fan and writer. Though the motion detection is lacking, the experience of fighting against a human opponent is quite enjoyable. What I like most is that you can turn a fight around almost in an instant as in real life. You may be getting the living hell beaten out of you when a single right hand or body shot can fold your opponent over. It’s nice to see that the developers continue to include this form of gameplay as boxing isn’t always just about skill; sometimes you need a little luck in your corner.
Once you finish the story mode, you’ll begin unlocking more fighters so you’ll be able to choose from a decent list of characters.
Lasting Appeal
While playing against a real person is a fun endeavor, the lack of online play really hurts this type of game. Sure you can go through the lengthy story mode but once you’re finished with it, you’ll likely find yourself playing something else unless you have friends to play with. Multiplayer is an area that shines but something you can miss out on if you have no players to fight.
Should XSeed Games develop a sequel to this on the Wii, it’ll be essential that they include a diverse online mode with stats and rankings.
The 411
Boxing fan or not, this is a fun game to play bottom line. The anime inspired look may turn off some, but if you’re a fight fan, you should give this game a shot. Casual players however will probably give it a whirl and move onto something less complex.
Graphics
7.0
Cel-shaded style works fine, but also simplistic
Gameplay
6.5
Swinging away will result in frustration, you have to punch slowly to get what you want.
Sound
6.5
Music is good while the voice work is poor.
Lasting Appeal
7.0
One on one fights don't get old but lack of online play is disappointing.
Fun Factor
8.0
If you're playing with another person, you can fight all night long.
