Thunder Ray Review (Switch eShop)

Nintendo’s Punch-Out!! was one of the most iconic arcade and console fixtures of the early '80s, migrating from coin-op to the NES, where it was remoulded as Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!! and bestowed a Rocky-esque narrative around up-and-coming challenger Little Mac. Since Super Punch Out!! and the Wii’s original entry, however, it’s a series that, in stark contrast to its emphasis on fast footwork, has slouched for modern movement. And, with Nintendo reluctant to step back into the ring, Argentina’s Purple Tree Studio is now fixing to become the new victor of an undernourished franchise.

Thunder Ray’s musculature is cut and framed entirely around the Punch-Out!! formula, to the point that anyone claiming Nintendo’s cease-and-desist manoeuvres are overly aggressive might want to reconsider their stance; they're still a far cry from toppling Capcom from the shutdown podium. There is little in the way of modern bonuses or extra modes here, just three difficulty settings to work through that save your progress and allow you to go back and revisit previously felled challengers. This works well if you’re struggling on a higher difficulty, allowing you to drop back to Rookie settings, for example, to learn the patterns more effectively.

The game’s presentation is superb, with a graphical style that really pops, flows, bobs, and weaves, full of artistic expression and stylistic grace. It combines its darker narrative with comical animation very effectively, and while some may feel the Flash in it, most will no doubt enjoy its thick, cartoon weight and ultra-violent affectation. The colours are rich and there’s a dab of filter grain added to the backgrounds to enhance the flavour. It’s bloody, too, Thunder Ray’s face pulping up, blood spattering the ring and screen extremities, and your adversaries literally exploding with Hokuto no Ken inspiration in a fountain of viscera.

The story goes, told through narration over pretty panel art, that Thunder Ray, an undefeated champion on Earth, is suddenly zapped across the universe to battle opponents in an intergalactic ring. The roster is drawn from champions across the galaxy, of all shapes and sizes, opening up a whole new creative angle on the Punch-Out!! formula. These foes don’t fight human-fair, rather using telekinetic powers, shields, and mighty powered-up supers to smash you into the countdown phase. It's the Space Jam of the Punch-Out!! world, and more thematically accomplished with it. The structure of the game is as one would expect, except there are no bouts, as such, rather just a face-off that results in a knockout for either you or your opponent. Knock them down three times and victory is yours; see yourself toppled three times and it’s back to the title screen for another try.

The game expands on Punch-Out!! where controls are concerned by having four attack buttons: left and right low blows and left and right head punches. We’re yet to figure out why this was necessary, as most of the game revolves around the classic dodge and retaliate system, and, seeing as there isn’t much difference in which standard attack you choose, the four buttons instead of two overcomplicates things slightly. There’s also a charged punch which deals slightly more damage, but is slower to start up, engaged by holding a shoulder button. While these charged punches are useful for felling your opponent more quickly, they need more tactical strategy to land, and should be threaded between a volley rather than used constantly.

Directional controls allow you to dodge left and right, duck downwards, or block, each having use in avoiding damage from specific attacks. And, as is expected, each opponent is navigated by learning their attack repertoire, seeing the cues, and responding with the right defence. Successfully avoid a regular, mega, or mammoth attack, and there’s a window of opportunity to smash back, and, once your super bar is topped up, you can unleash a devastating finisher of your own. This super-attack gets stronger as you progress through the game, bolting on additional bars. Play a game of patience and skill, and you can charge up three in a row for a major face-buster.

Thunder Ray is a short game reflective of its very reasonable $14.99 price. It might seem tough, but considering your title is only eight fights deep, it’s over fairly quickly. What initially seems overly challenging actually reveals itself to be entirely less demanding with a little practice. Some matches, even halfway through, seem to buck the difficulty curve, and you can find yourself in surprise and unexpected victories. To this end, Thunder Ray is not a Nintendo game in execution: it doesn’t have the same kind of exactness. That’s not to say it’s not well-formed; Purple Tree Studio's new twists work well; there's just more leeway in it than with Punch-Out!!’s utterly clinical demands. The enemies are inventive and occasionally monstrously huge, requiring you to identify dodge openings and strategies, but they can also succumb to a fudged and cheap early win. This is, of course, less commonplace on Beast difficulty, the toughest of the three options.

We went back to the original NES Punch-Out!! for comparison. While the movement there is knife-edge taut, allowing you to land a blow and almost instantaneously dodge with a sense of blistering speed, Thunder Ray’s animation frames are more elongated and don’t allow for frame-cancelling. That means when you’ve thrown one to the head, you need to wait a split second to return to neutral before making your dodge. Now, this isn’t being overly critical, or even critical at all: it all still holds together very well in its assembly; but, if you’re wondering why it doesn’t have quite the same snap, this is the culprit. The enemy attack animations allow plenty of time for you to dodge, the only issue is knowing when that is, especially with very drawn-out animations. It's not always clear, for example, when Mr. Pega, the sixth combatant, will actually strike after he coils up like a spring, expands and rotates, and flops in your direction. To that end, it's quite a different dodging experience to the likes of Piston Honda's flurries or Nick Bruiser laying a sudden smackdown on you. Additionally, while it’s heavy hitting, your super attacks don’t feel as solid or satisfying, somehow, as those in Super Punch-Out!!, when the jaw felt truly busted by that charged-up gunshot blow.

Finally, when your energy is low, the screen zooms in and the colours bleach to signify your fading energy. During this state your health slowly regenerates and you can come back out of the daze if you can hold out for long enough. It's a novel idea, but we’re not convinced the zoom-in entirely works. It brings dramatic tension, but the cropping of the screen and the whiteout of the colours make it altogether more difficult to make a comeback. Unless you know your opponent’s movements down-pat (and, if you do, it’s unlikely you’ll be in this state at all), it can be hard to make a recovery from this position later in the game.