{"id":121491,"date":"2020-12-02T15:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-12-02T15:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/reviews\/nintendo-switch\/fitness_boxing_2_rhythm_and_exercise"},"modified":"2020-12-02T15:00:00","modified_gmt":"2020-12-02T15:00:00","slug":"review-fitness-boxing-2-rhythm-exercise-more-of-the-same-and-that-might-not-be-enough","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2020\/12\/02\/review-fitness-boxing-2-rhythm-exercise-more-of-the-same-and-that-might-not-be-enough\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise &#8211; More Of The Same, And That Might Not Be Enough"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"media_block\"><a href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/49922e573c390\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/49922e573c390\/small.jpg\" class=\"media_thumbnail\"><\/a><\/div>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise Review - Screenshot 1 of 6\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110932\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110932\/900x.jpg\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" alt=\"Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise Review - Screenshot 1 of 6\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The original <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/fitness_boxing\">Fitness Boxing<\/a><\/strong> launched a couple of years ago, and while it certainly served its purpose, two years is a long time for anyone to be playing one game on a daily basis, as was its intention.<\/p>\n<p>With that in mind, <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/fitness_boxing_2_rhythm_and_exercise\">Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise<\/a><\/strong> is now with us, but a lot has changed in two years: after all, we now live in a world where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/nintendo-switch\/ring_fit_adventure\"><strong>Ring Fit Adventure<\/strong><\/a> is a thing and nothing else really comes close to it on the Switch. Does this sequel offer up enough new features to justify a second round, or should it have thrown in the towel and left fans to keep playing the original? The answer, which is nice and annoying, lies <em>somewhere<\/em> in the middle.<\/p>\n<p>The general idea in Fitness Boxing 2 is the same as it was the first time around. The main menu gives the choice of a Daily Workout or Free Training: the latter of these lets you choose which workout to do, its intensity level, which music you want to accompany you, how fast you want the music to play and which background you\u2019d like as you work out.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise Review - Screenshot 2 of 6\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110934\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110934\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise Review - Screenshot 2 of 6\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>You then start the exercise itself, where you have to punch a series of icons to the beat. These icons represent different actions and while early on it\u2019s fairly straightforward stuff like jabs, straights, hooks and uppercuts, eventually it throws in ducking, weaving, blocking, stepping and the like. After your workout is complete, you\u2019re then scored on how accurate your punches were \u2013 and that\u2019s more or less it, really.<\/p>\n<p>As in the first game, the way Fitness Boxing 2 detects punches <em>could<\/em> be better, but motion controls of this type were never going to be entirely accurate. Jabs and straights are fine for the most part, but when you start introducing hooks and uppercuts to the mix, that\u2019s when things can start to get a little messy \u2013 until you reverse-engineer the Joy-Con in your head and figure out <em>exactly<\/em> what gesture the Switch is looking for.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not checking to see if you\u2019ve done the uppercut properly, because it\u2019s got no way of telling that. It\u2019s simply checking its accelerometers for a quick burst of movement. This means simply doing the motion isn\u2019t enough, you\u2019ve got to properly \u2018punch\u2019 it at the end to make it register. It\u2019s perhaps a <em>tiny<\/em> bit more forgiving than the first game was at registering some of these punches (especially the hooks, which we often had problems with), but given that these calculations are done in secret, it\u2019s hard to tell whether it actually has improved the motion detection or if we\u2019re just used to playing the first game so much.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise Review - Screenshot 3 of 6\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110935\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110935\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise Review - Screenshot 3 of 6\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>There are also some performance issues from time to time. When a game mainly consists of following a set of large squares sliding up the screen, it becomes far more noticeable when those squares aren&#8217;t moving perfectly \u2013 and they certainly chug along at times. We don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;s our imagination, but on some songs, it felt like we went <em>completely<\/em> off the beat, as while we were still getting Perfects on our punch timing, everything just sounded a bit off.<\/p>\n<p>As before, you\u2019re accompanied by a fitness instructor, and while there were six to choose from in the first game, there are now another three newcomers to try and warm to. Karen (whose name is rather unfortunate in 2020) is a friendly, quiet type and a harmless enough choice to be your trainer. Janice is the complete opposite and is often terrifyingly enthusiastic, while Hiro looks like he&#8217;s been rejected from a Korean boyband and has a typically \u2018cool\u2019 set of clothing for you to choose from.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re a Fitness Boxing veteran and you\u2019re concerned by this new blood coming in, you don\u2019t need to worry: all six instructors from the first game are still here, so you can continue to marvel at Bernardo\u2019s comically large arms, or try to figure out why the impossibly posh-sounding Sophie is teaching you how to box when she <em>clearly<\/em> sounds like she could afford servants to burn calories on her behalf. Whoever was your choice in the first game, they\u2019ve all stuck around for round two.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise Review - Screenshot 4 of 6\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110938\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110938\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise Review - Screenshot 4 of 6\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>As before, each instructor has their own outfits to choose from, and you can unlock them over the course of the game. The unlocking process has been made far more straightforward, though, and much less time-consuming. In the first game, instructor outfits were unlocked when you hit certain milestones, but some of these were frankly ridiculous: throwing a total of 198,000 punches to unlock a new top felt <em>ever so slightly<\/em> disproportionate.<\/p>\n<p>This time the game has a whole host of achievements for performing certain routines, hitting more manageable milestones and even things like customising your instructors or simply choosing them for the first time. Every time you perform one of these achievements, you\u2019re rewarded with some orange tickets; these can then be traded for new clothing. While more new clothes are still unlocked over time, you at least get a generous enough helping of tickets at the start of the game and you\u2019d really have to try hard to run out of them.<\/p>\n<p><em>Slightly<\/em> less generous is the selection of music available to you. The first Fitness Boxing had 20 songs, and the general theme was pop: you had the likes of Lady Gaga, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Bieber, Maroon 5 and co. This time, there are another 20 available (as well as three forgettable original tunes), and they seem to span a wider range of decades. While you\u2019ve still got some relatively modern tracks (like Hot N Cold by Katy Perry and Alone by Marshmellow), there\u2019s a hefty percentage of older ones here, too.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise Review - Screenshot 5 of 6\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110939\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110939\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise Review - Screenshot 5 of 6\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>A bit of Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper, you say? Why, yes, it\u2019s in there. Boogie Wonderland by Earth, Wind &amp; Fire? Um\u2026 sure, why not. Sandstorm by Darude? Okay, someone\u2019s clearly just added that one for the memes. The thing is, with only 20 songs to choose from, there isn\u2019t a lot of scope to vary the track listing a bit, and the odd tracks that look like attempts to step out of the \u201ccheesy pop\u201d category just feel like they stand out awkwardly. It\u2019s hard to think of <em>anyone<\/em> who\u2019d be a big fan of What Makes You Beautiful by One Direction <em>and<\/em> Venus by Bananarama, but also be well into Born to be Wild by Steppenwolf <em>and<\/em> It\u2019s My Life by Bon Jovi.<\/p>\n<p>Above all else, though, the songs are still unlicensed, MIDI-quality cover instrumentals that wouldn\u2019t sound out of place embedded on a website from the \u201890s. Choose YMCA by the Village People and close your eyes and, if you\u2019re old enough, you can <em>almost<\/em> picture yourself signing the guestbook, looking at the \u2018under construction\u2019 signs and animated gifs of flames, then clicking on to the next site in that particular Geocities webring.<\/p>\n<p>With that in mind, we\u2019ve got no idea why it was decided to draw a line under it at 20, when they could have theoretically had a whole load in there. One potential shining light is that the main menu has an eShop option, which currently takes you to the eShop where you\u2019re met with an error message that there\u2019s nothing there. This suggests that there\u2019s DLC to come, so with any luck that\u2019ll mean more songs, and with even more luck they\u2019ll be free because it would be a bit of a joke to charge us actual money for music that sounds like a 14-year-old learned it on their Yamaha.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture embed\"><a title=\"Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise Review - Screenshot 6 of 6\" href=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110936\/large.jpg\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg' viewBox='0 0 900 506'%3E%3C\/svg%3E\" width=\"900\" height=\"506\" data-original=\"https:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/screenshots\/110936\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise Review - Screenshot 6 of 6\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked)<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Let us just throw in one suggestion if we may, though, and while such an undertaking is obviously far too late now for Fitness Boxing 2, maybe it might be an idea for the third game. Friends, let us not forget the JoySound library. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/wiiu-eshop\/wii_karaoke_u_by_joysound\">JoySound Karaoke<\/a> app was one of the Wii U\u2019s few successes in Japan, and it\u2019s now currently on the Switch where it has no fewer than 180,000 songs, along with tempo control. If there was a way to somehow integrate that with Fitness Boxing and charge a membership fee to give the player access to a much larger library, that would make every day feel fresh rather than having you feel like you\u2019ve heard everything after just three weeks.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s ultimately the main issue here. Nothing in Fitness Boxing is remarkably bad: the controls work as well as they could and, some performance issues aside, you can still get a half decent workout as long as you\u2019re willing to put the effort in (and aren\u2019t tempted to just sit on the couch and flick the Joy-Con once you realise that works just as well). The problem is simply that there isn\u2019t enough variety here, and while there are a series of different workouts to unlock, they\u2019re all the same sort of thing. This is no major flaw in itself \u2013 it\u2019s called Fitness Boxing, so if they started throwing ballet moves in there you\u2019d be annoyed \u2013 but this repetition would feel a lot less monotonous if there was more music to make each day feel different.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Captured on Nintendo Switch (Docked) The original Fitness Boxing launched a couple of years ago, and while it certainly served its purpose, two years is a long time for anyone to be playing one game on a daily basis, as was its intention. With that in mind, Fitness Boxing 2: Rhythm &amp; Exercise is now [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-121491","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121491"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121491\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}