RETRO REBOOT | Hajime no Ippo: Ippo's Road To Glory (PlayStation 2)

I've talked about anime-based games before in this review editorial, and it's usually a pretty mixed bag. The overall quality of early PS2 anime games varied, depending on how you feel about the intellectual property. Hajime no Ippo (known as Victorious Boxers here in the States), teeters that line that Shaman King: Power of Spirit sits on; adequate enough in some areas, with some flaws. Surprsingly, it does have a solid attention to detail with the sport of boxing.

Called Fighting Spirit here in the United States, it’s an archetypical shōnen anime about Ippo Makunouchi and his quest to be the best featherweight boxer, or whatever division he belongs to. The anime and manga itself, it's not bad, but I was not impressed by and didn’t watch anymore than a season’s worth ( I did watch more as the years went on), but it’s an international phenomenon throughout Japan and Europe.

For a first generation PlayStation 2 game, the graphics in Victorious Boxers (localized name) aren’t that bad. The in-game models resemble their respective characters well, albeit a bit blocky and devoid of facial expressions. Most of the scenes are virtually identical with different dialogue, and the arenas and venues change depending the degree or importance of the fight, which is a nice visual reminder that the stakes are getting higher. Everything is bright and distinguishable, which is more than I can say for Orphen Scion of Sorcery, but overall, it’s kind of boring to look at scenary-wise. Then the characters start “boxing” and moving around. Some of the opponents you face fidget and twitch around like a speed freak high on crystal meth and Starbucks Double Shots.

Victorious Boxers’ death knell are its controls. Or they could be so ahead of their time, that I didn't see it. I feel like I can kind of get a read on what they were going for, as the Movement and punching power feels very structured around momentum, rather than trying to bull rush your opponent, but it takes some considerable getting used to this. Admittedly, I am poor at simulated boxing video games, as my knowledge extends only to Punch-Out!. Movement, punching, defense; none of it feels finished, polished, or fluid. Guiding Ippo around the ring starts out as a chore, as the scheme is an inverted Y/X axis on the analog stick. Up moves you forward, down moves away, and left and right shimmies you in the respective directions.

If want to not get hit in this game (rimshot), you have to jerk the left stick in the direction away from where the CPU is punching. I mastered this technique to the point where I was a human punching bag, losing fights in record time. Quite a fascinating decision to craft a boxing game without a block button, but I am going to assume that it's on the player to pay attention to the skills necessary to get used to counter-punching and properly dodging to gain true advantage. Without any health bars or indicators, it is a little boring to look at.

For a protagonist that’s supposed to be as strong as Ippo, none of his attacks in this game feel like they have stopping power, speed, or accuracy. The dual shock lets you know when you hit with some force, but most of the punches you throw don’t feel like they connect, and there’s never a sense that you are in control of the fight until your manager tells you you’re doing well. Every time I knocked someone down, I was legitimately surprised.

To actually get pretty decent in this game, I just went with read and react as opposed to getting too offensive or playing too defensively. If you play safe and just try to land big shots, you’ll waste energy and get picked apart. Button mashing will get you nowhere as constantly punching will lock you into place and you can’t change the direction you’re striking. I beat most of my opponents the same way of capitalizing on their patterns, and at the very least most of the opponents don’t fight the same. Some guys are very agile, some hit with devastating special attacks, while others are head hunters who can be worn down with body shots. I made to the very last guy who has no exploitable weaknesses and is tricky to read.

Hajime no Ippo: Ippo's Road to Glory is...fine. Not necessarily bad, and the learning curve may be enticing to fans of the IP. I just found it a little bit on the dry side. The music is passable, but nothing you will be humming while at work or milling around. There is a dearth of options and accessories, sans a bunch of guys who are actual characters, apparently. Not a lot of flair or style to it that gives it the punch the manga packs (pun intended). It doesn’t feel like a finished product, but for anime based games around this era, it's playable enough. If you’re a die-hard Hajime no Ippo mark, its eye for boxing and the roster may be a draw.