Fist Puncher

Fist Puncher

Its just a boring River City Ransom/Kunio-kun knockoff.

This game has no right being as good as it is. Honestly, one of the best 2d beat em ups ever. It is easily in the competition for the best or one of the best. It's such a good game for a group or couple to play as well. It's also way bigger than you'd expect. It's actually just surprising how good this game is. There's some RPG mechanics, all kinds of levels, all kinds of characters, and I think it has a great set of moves for one of these. Absolutely underrated.

It's no Street of Rage, of course, but in its own little way it does a lot of things well. Unfortunately, at some point you hit an insurmountable wall, progress stops. You can change characters but you have to start increasing stats again, so everything becomes too grindy.

Maybe with co-op it can be done, but for single player it's a nightmare. And I'm talking about the lowest difficulty level, "baby". A real shame. If you are a masochist and have a lot of patience it is recommended, not if you're a casual player.

The good:

- simple, retro graphics (roughly similar to the original Maniac Mansion), but definitely enjoyable

- a lot of elements, which are basic but are imaginatively added to the levels, break up the monotony of the combat (secondary characters that interact in some cases, vehicles that must be avoided or attacked, weapons, items, fire and so on)

- if the levels had been long and monotonous it would have been a problem, but instead there is a series of unlockable mini missions, with some forks in the road. The missions are varied enough not to get boring. It definitely triggers the "I'll try one more before I close" effect

- a series of unlockable skills and special moves add some complexity to the simple fist fighting

- various characters with RPG-like stats

- humorous ideas here and there

The bad:

- the controls are a bit uncomfortable. There are many buttons, and the developers themselves recommend using a controller. I used the keyboard, and limited myself to using a few keys. Reconfiguring is inconvenient. I reconfigured the keys, and in the map the down key (S) also opens the menu (Stats), which then has to be closed (ESC)... This thing could have been managed better, but all in all after a few levels you get used to it

- a single character (without co-op) cannot defuse a time bomb while opponents beat him up, bosses become impossible to beat, and so on

Every element of this product is miserable and sophomoric. From the rock 'em, sock 'em combat to the recycling of levels and character designs, Fist Puncher is pure, diluted waste that should have never ventured outside the 360 Xbox store — its digital garbage patch. If you have never experienced being bored to tears, this video game will certainly introduce you to that experience.