Things would shortly be on the upswing for the boxing genre, as 1984 saw the release of Punch-Out!! in arcades in Japan and America. Rocky Super Action Boxing was a step in the right direction with improved character sprites and a whopping two different punch animations, a high and low punch. A few years later, in ‘83, Rocky Super Action Boxing was released following Rocky III which arrived the year prior. This was a product of the limited technology at the time, but compared to other games of the time such as Space Invaders, its aging gameplay is forgivable. On a two-dimensional plane, two blobs of color move back and forth throwing out the same jab over and over until one of them goes down. Its simple name matches its simple gameplay, however. The first attempt at a boxing game came in 1979 with the appropriately but lazily named Boxing Match. Anyone can pick up a basketball and play a pickup game in real life, but to give boxing a shot means putting yourself at risk for getting rocked way harder than you signed up for. Boxing in particular is an excellent subgenre because of the high barrier that comes with real boxing. You can use established celebrity athletes to advertise your game, recreate legendary matchups, the possibilities are endless. There is built-in competition both for couch play or online, and when commonly played games such as football and soccer are adapted, players usually already know the rules, and therefore already know they’re interested in playing a game featuring those mechanics. Sports will always be great fodder for game concepts. So how does that translate to the medium of video games? Well, to start with, the inherently competitive nature of boxing is key. These franchises had a great impact on the general perception of boxing, making it seem honorable and noble. Also biographical, Raging Bull explores the dark side of boxing, where Jake LaMotta’s inability to connect with those around him is a result of the violence he partakes in during matches. Braddock starts the movie unemployed due to an injury, but slowly rises to fame through his hard work. While the story of Rocky was loosely inspired by a Muhammad Ali fight, the movie Cinderella Man is a biographical film about boxer James Braddock. In the end, Rocky proves that not despite but as a result of his hardships, he can step into the ring as Apollo’s equal as long as he gives it all he’s got.Įven now the franchise still rakes in cash with the wildly successful Creed movies, where Rocky trains Apollo’s son Adonis. Rocky represents the underdog, the everyman with whom most of the audience will be able to sympathize. He represents the upper class and those who have been handed everything they want on a silver platter. The first two movies pit Rocky against Apollo Creed, a rich and famous, yet likable, narcissist. The Rocky films have a very specific message of fighting being the great equalizer among humans. As far as pop culture goes, Rocky is the first to come to mind when it comes to boxing movies, and for many sports movies in general. Compared to sports like MMA, which are sometimes unfairly viewed as crude and messy, boxing is considered more refined and strategic. It is a more recent development in the history of fighting but has been improved and refined since its inception. The sport of boxing is particularly fascinating. All of this before video games were even conceptualized! Much further along in world history, President Theodore Roosevelt boxed quite often until he was blinded in one eye. After the fall of Rome, interest in bare-handed fighting waned slightly until its revival in England, known as prizefighting, although there were no official rules. Romans did similar with strips of leather. The ancient Greeks used ox hides as gloves to spar each other. It is a ma tter of heart, not violence, and for many, that is where the beauty of the sport lies. It’s not necessarily about the violence itself, but witnessing someone overcoming their opponent and themselves both mentally and physically. People generally look down on the current culture of oversaturated violence.Īs a sport, however, fighting is seen differently. You see it in movies and TV, hear about it in song lyrics, read about it in the news, and perform it yourself in games. People have probably been fighting since people existed, although not necessarily for entertainment. What’s the deal with fighting? Who in their right mind would subject themselves to a beatdown in front of a massive crowd for a living? As it turns out, quite a few people.
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