One of the biggest struggles for any fitness game is reaching a new market. Most newcomers are those looking to achieve their fitness goals, oftentimes resulting in them being fiercely loyal to a specific experience, or drop off rather quickly. Fitness Boxing tried to fix this by doing two crossovers that certainly created waves. The first featured the amazing anime/manga series, Fist of the North Star. Following that was Fitness Boxing Feat. Hatsune Miku, another seemingly unexpected crossover that works surprisingly well. With an intriguing concept, coupled with proven gameplay, is it a winner, or more of a novelty item?
Fitness Boxing Feat. Hatsune Miku starts with a rather slow tutorial. Players are given a brief overview of how to play. Many of these are surface level, like shifting to the beat of the song, with others explaining how each move is performed. It’s an okay introduction, though it takes a while to basically explain how to throw two punches.
Following the tutorial is the first real attempt to play. On a basic level I like that guided stretches are included. These couple minute long exercises can be skipped, even in the tutorial, that help avoid preventable hiccups.
Gameplay itself starts in a relatively straightforward manner. There are a left, and right punch, which slowly evolves into a whole boxing routine. These include hooks, uppercuts, weaving, blocks, and even combos.
Once all the basics are covered players are introduced to a number of new options. These include Daily Workout, Free Training, Partner (Miku, Rin, Len, Luka), Shop, Basic Training, My Data, and Settings.
Daily Workout starts with a series of questions. The first set asks age, weight, height, and weight goal. A second set tries to tailor the experience to individual goals. In my case it’s stamina, chest, stretches enabled, and 33 minutes of exercise. A number of other options exist, with the ability to change said goals at any time.
This mode is a great option for anyone who just wants to get a balanced workout. Options can also be shuffled if it looks too easy, or hard. It also includes helpful information like expected calorie loss, duration, actions, along with impacted areas. I also love how these are communicated with simple icons, including those used in the routine, to minimize confusion.
Anyone looking to take on a more active role can play Free Training. Here there are two options for stretching, Exercise, “Miku Exercise,” and even two player if someone wants to join in.
The differences between Exercise, and Miku Exercise are rather small. Exercise features set routines at three intensity levels, that can be performed across a wide variety of songs. I don’t know if Carmen, or Louisiana Joe would be my first choices, but I’ll give them credit for having several different genres. Completing activities here slowly unlocked more advanced routines, making it a fantastic introduction.
In Miku Exercise it’s much closer to her traditional rhythm games. Each song features a fixed routine at any of the three intensities, set to the beat of a handful of her famous songs. While several of my favorites did not make the list, the 20 or so that did are generally more noteworthy/popular.
Regardless of which path players select, Fitness Boxing Feat. Hatsune Miku will mention when an activity features an action they’ve yet to perform. This will be met with a prompt offering to teach them if one so desires.
One Two Combo
All things considered, I like Fitness Boxing Feat. Hatsune Miku‘s approach to difficulty. It feels like the goal is more to get players active, than discourage them with harsh grading. There were more than a few notes I know I messed up that still scored perfect, or at least good. I also had a few misses I disagree with, but at the end of the day I found myself wanting to play more.
To further overall enjoyment, Settings allows for fair amount of accessibility. This starts with Timing Adjust, which as the name suggests allows players to increase/decrease lag based off their individual needs. This is continued with Action Assist, an option that basically makes actions pass/fail. Finally, Daily Workout Settings can prevent certain moves from appearing. Perfect for disabilities, or other unique situations where a specific action is hard to perform.
Unlockable Outfits
Finally, I want to briefly touch on the included shop. Much to my surprise, songs, characters, and costumes need to be unlocked. Each have a set requirement, such as unlocking another partner, or just playing however many times. They also require points to purchase, giving players an incentive to focus on daily challenges to unlock them.
Fitness Boxing Feat. Hatsune Miku Review Verdict
Fitness Boxing Feat. Hatsune Miku : In a lot of ways Fitness Boxing Feat. Hatsune Miku is a fantastic experience. It builds on Fitness Boxing's solid foundation, with an experience that will undoubtedly interest many. Even if players focus more on punching to some of Miku's greatest hits, it's an exhilarating experience that I could see helping a number of people be more active. So for these reasons I would strongly suggest it for anyone that loves Miku, or just wants to punch to the beat. โ Grant
Editor’s Note: Fitness Boxing Feat. Hatsune Miku was reviewed on Nintendo Switch, and a copy was provided to us for review purposes.
