The health and fitness genre of video gaming, often referred to as “Gamercising,” is nothing new. The Joyboard for the Atari 2600 is an early example, and Nintendo themselves released the Powerpad for the NES, possibly in order to capitalize on the aerobics craze of the 80’s as well as to help combat the stigma that games were making children less active. It didn’t really hit the mainstream, however, until Nintendo released Wii Fit alongside the Wii Fit Balance board in 2007. The game and peripheral went on to sell over 22 million copies while also inspiring a laundry list of copycat fitness programs on Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft hardware. That mainstream success didn’t seem to stick around too long, though, and the Switch was bereft of major gamercising software until 2018’s Fitness Boxing. I own Fitness Boxing, and spent months with it doing daily boxing sessions. I was excited, then, to see that Fitness Boxing 2 was in development, and I was lucky enough to have Nintendo send me a code for review.
After spending over a month and a half using the software, I’m ready to give it my honest review. First things first, the mechanics are almost identical to the first game. If you put any time into that title this game will seem very similar to you, and I’m not sure there are enough changes to warrant the upgrade. If you do not own the original, however, I do think the second game is a better overall package. I’ll go over some of the more noticeable changes between the two after I discuss the game itself.
Fitness Boxing 2 is, at its core, a boxing game that uses the Switch’s JoyCons to track your motion. You follow one of nine trainers as they take you through various workouts consisting of a variety of punches. As you play the game more exercises unlock, including ones that incorporate full body movements such as ducking, weaving, and stepping. On higher difficulty levels, the training can be a bit intense, especially for those that are not in the best of shape. I found myself burning around 400-600 calories (by the game’s estimation) after a 45 minute workout. The game sets you up with several options, but the two you will probably use the most are the “daily workout” and “free boxing” options. “Free boxing” allows you to get right into your favorite exercises at any time. “Daily workout” is where most of the real progress in the game is made. You can set up goals for your daily workouts (upper body, full body, fat burn, etc) and the game will provide you with a customized list of exercises which your trainer will walk you through while somewhat recognizable but ultimately bland renditions of various pop-songs play in the background. You get graded on the accuracy of your punches, and the game rewards you with tickets that can be used to purchase new gear for various trainers. New exercises and songs are also unlocked by successfully clearing exercises.
The trainers and the music are really just window dressing. There’s not much of a difference between the various trainers except for look and voice. As mentioned before, you can unlock more gear, such as gloves, glasses, and clothing, which helps you customize them to your liking. Unfortunately, much like the first game, you can’t pick what trainer you are unlocking gear for. You can unlock tickets which can be used for a specific trainer’s item, but the ability to purchase those items are unlocked separately and completely at random. You might find yourself with a new pair of shorts for a trainer that you never use more often than you like. Still, the customization options are nice and are a decent reason to keep coming back and provide a sense of progression. This is good, because there’s not really much to keep your gamer brain occupied besides that. The exercises themselves can be engaging, and it’s nice to keep track of your progress (and the game does give you a fitness age that seems arbitrary, I kept getting in the low 20s although I am far from that), but the amount of unlockables and achievements (which were added to this game and not present in the first) aren’t really enough to keep you going if you don’t like the thought of constantly throwing punches.
The real meat and potatoes of a game like this is the workout itself. Let me tell you, this game can make you sweat. It’s not easy, particularly when you add in moves that go beyond punching (stepping and weaving seem like a big step up from just punching, no pun intended). That being said, the hit detection can be a bit wonky. I’ve noticed, for instance, that you can usually throw a straight instead of a hook as long as the timing is correct. This just seems to be the result of the JoyCons not being quite as precise as something like a Wii Motion Plus. Steps can also be faked by just moving the JoyCons in a particular direction. If you do this, however, you’re just cheating yourself. This is a fitness game, and the goal is to get yourself into better shape. If you try your best to replicate the moves done by the trainers you’ll get far more out of it. The goal while boxing is to hit all the punches in rhythm to the music… but I found that beat didn’t matter much. I was much better off going by visual queues, which is just as well as the music isn’t anything special and can be turned off in the menu.
So is this game worth picking up over the first? Well, it does have 23 songs compared to the 20 of the first Fitness Boxing, but 3 are original compositions as opposed to lyric-less versions of random pop songs and all are largely forgettable. The visuals, however, are a nice upgrade. While this title won’t win any awards for visual fidelity, the graphics get the job done and they are far more detailed here than in the original. As mentioned previously, the game also has an achievement system, which is a very nice way to add a bit of incentive for players to keep coming back. The mechanics are slightly tweaked in that you can now get into a groove if you throw enough “perfect” punches, but I didn’t find this to change the game in any meaningful way. You can now also exclude certain moves from your generated workouts, which is nice as some exercises can get old fast. There are also 4 new trainers and the ability to do your daily workout in a co-op mode. All of these are nice additions, but none really change the fundamental game. I would suggest Fitness Boxing 2 over Fitness Boxing for new players, but I would think carefully about my overall budget before upgrading if I already had the first title. Especially if I didn’t care about the new co-op options.
I find both games in the Fitness Boxing series to be good ways to supplement your normal workout. The game can get a bit stale if you play it everyday, but if you use it to mix up other forms of cardio, or even on your off days from your regular Ring Fit Adventure workout, the game can certainly help you attain your fitness goals.
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Having played this, its alright but I feel like this game would have been better off as DLC for the original FB rather then a ‘full’ sequel. Feels almost like the devs put more work in the trainers as a selling point then any real improvments for the gameplay.