Victorious Boxers: Revolution

"Like A Gazelle Punch to the face"

Whenever a game comes out that is a tie in to an existing franchise, it brings with it certain expectations from fans, and a sense of something missing for gamers who are not familiar with the source material. The aim of such games should usually be to bridge that gap and produce a game that will appeal to fans and still be accessible to a larger segment of the gaming public. Unfortunately, Victorious Boxers Revolution falls short of this goal.

Story - Normally a sports game story is irrelevant, but in this case it does inject some extra meaning into the game. Victorious Boxers Revolution follows some of the key fights of the anime/manga Hajime no Ippo, or Fighting Spirit as the Anime was released in the US. It is by no means a comprehensive guide to the series and should not be taken as such. Knowledge of the series is not necessary, but knowing at least some of the story behind the game will definitely enhance the experience. The story is told through cutscenes between the battles which can be skipped if you wish. They are sometimes amusing and give a little insight into your opponents, but nothing earthshaking or epic.

Graphics - This needs two separate explanations. First is graphics in general, and in this area the game does decently. The graphics are relatively fluid and while not in the realm of some of the major franchises, they are decently done, and the cell shading works, especially considering the source material. The other point to be made about the graphics is the style. While technically decent, the style will not appeal to all gamers. I have heard people complain about the art style, so if you are not a previous fan of the series you should understand that this is a deliberate stylistic choice to stay true to the manga.

Sound - Eh, this was not a strong point in the game. The major voices are done...competently I suppose. I could stand to listen to them in the cutscenes without muting them. However, the ring announcer is really annoying, repetitive, and cuts himself off every time you do something new regardless of whether he finished his last line or not. Also, the crowd voices are Horrible I have never heard more wooden acting. This is especially bad considering how integral a crowd is to a sports game. Also, the crowd animation is very static, but considering how little you see them, that is not as big a deal for me. Finally, this is a game that really should have had the option of Japanese voices. Considering the target audience for this game, I don't understand the decision to only offer a mediocre dub.

Gameplay - The real meat of a sports game is how it plays, and unfortunately, that is also where this game has its biggest flaws. I did not spend much time with the different control schemes, instead opting to quickly go to the classic controller for maximum playability. You can try the motion sensing modes, but for accurate avoidance and ability to pull off the punches and special moves you intend to, I highly recommend a classic controller or Gamecube controller. When you actually start the game, you are thrown right into the action with no tutorial. The first match or two will allow you to get the hang of it without too much trouble.

Once you are playing though, things start to fall apart. The camera in this game needs significant work as it will get you beat up quite a bit. It stays centered behind your character, so if your opponent circles too far to the side while you are punching and can't turn, he'll get some free hits in while you are trying to face him. This can also be used to your advantage, but honestly it is just poorly designed. Another flawed aspect of the game is that as you continue through story mode, your character gains super moves. This is good right? Yes, but there is no onscreen or cutscene indication that you have acquired a new move. The only way to discover this is to check your move list through the pause menu. And now we get to the most glaring flaw of the game - its difficulty. The game can't decide how hard it wants you to work. On normal you may have 7 or 8 consecutive battles you breeze through and then you get an opponent that suddenly wipes the floor with you. These battles take two forms: either you just get pounded because the other guy is much stronger than you, or else the only way to effectively box is to use a style that you may not have been using at all until you get to that character (counterpunching for instance). This is especially true in the final story battle where your opponent can knock you down with literally any punch. Add to this the fact that you can go through easy mode defeating almost every opponent in one round while barely getting hit, and you end up with a very poorly balanced game.

Replay Value - This game has very little replay value at all. There is nothing new once you finish the story and due to the horrible balance (remember the guy I told you about? He's available in Versus) you will have a hard time playing Versus either. Additionally the story mode is very short. With all the cutscenes it runs 4-5 hours, and playing through on easy and skipping all the scenes, I beat it in about an hour and a half.


Is Victorious Boxers Revolution a title you should spend your time and money on? If you are an avid fan of the series, it might be worth a rent just for the experience, but otherwise I would recommend staying far away from this as it is just not very fun. This is a game I went into with high hopes and only decent expectations, and came away from heavily disappointed.

Reviewer's Score: 4/10, Originally Posted: 03/25/09

Game Release: Victorious Boxers: Revolution (US, 10/23/07)