It is amazing to think that the Fitness Boxing series is now at its fifth iteration on the Nintendo Switch. While this is the third instalment of the regular series, we have also had two spin-off titles. One spin-off title based on Hatsune Miku, and the other one, inexplicably, based on Fist of the North Star. While some may attribute the success of the series to people looking for fitness apps during the great lockdowns of 2020-2021, there is definitely something to these titles that make them worth your time.
From the get-go, the game can tell if you have been playing Fitness Boxing titles before, and will take all of your information from that game and integrating it directly into this instalment. The game took my data from Fitness Boxing 2, and it was a quick reminder to me that I had not played the game in a long time, and that my weight and goals had significantly changed since then. It was simple enough to get all of that updated and ready to go.
Despite taking my data and understanding that I know what I am doing, the game still put me through a tutorial of sorts, forcing me to complete a daily workout before I had access to anything else in the game. This involved a 20-minute workout which included stretches, and once I opened up the other modes, I was ready to get back into the swing of things.
Another minor-ish roadblock that I faced was that I had to go through the rigmarole of unlocking all the different punch-styles. Again, despite me already having everything unlocked in Boxing Fitness 2, I was relegated to simple jabs and hooks, while working through the ranks to unlock uppercuts and cross punches. It is a slight annoyance, and those new to the series will not even notice it, however I thought it was worth mentioning.
The core part of Fitness Boxing 3 lays within the Daily Workout mode. After completing your first workout, the game asks you to set some fitness goals. The key questions it asks of you is what your ideal weight would be, and are there any parts of the body you would like to work on toning. After telling the game I would like to lose ten kilograms and work on my core and biceps, all my subsequent daily workouts factored these choices into a workout. Even better was the fact that I could feel those particular places were used more than the rest of my body after I had finished.
Playing the game itself feels more natural than ever. Previous titles felt like there was always a slight delay in punching and the game registering your punch. This was despite calibrating the timing settings multiple times, leaving me wondering why there felt like such a disconnect. They have clearly changed something here though because my punches to the timing of the music feels seamless, with the instant feedback of the controller freeing up my mind of trying to time my punches correctly, and allowing me to relax into each workout.
Outside of the daily workout, you can simply pick a song, a punching style and just go for it. The songs are instrumental versions of licensed tracks. You will see recent hits from Billie Eilish to golden oldies from Elton John, and even the Ghostbuster theme thrown into the game. It is a great mix of music, but not having the original tracks with vocals remains a letdown.
Fitness Boxing 3 shows that the developers wanted to be more accessible to people of all mobilities. It does this by introducing sitting down exercises for those with less mobility, and Mitt Drills for those would like to exercise without the need for keeping to a rhythm.
Sit Fit Boxing is a way for the game to allow you to exercise from a seated position. The game does away with the idea of stances, and teaches you to exercise through punching without using your legs. The idea being that those in wheelchairs or those who cannot stand for extended periods of time can also exercise. The execution of this mode works really well; however, it is locked behind completing your first Daily Exercise. Of course, you can just do this exercise while seated and ignore all the stepping back and forth parts of the game. It is annoying that this was not better thought through, as all the mechanics are there to implement it from the beginning.
Mitt Drills are exactly what they sound like. The trainer has a pair of mitts on, and uses these to telegraph when to punch. You are still asked to pick some music to exercise to, but all rhythm is taken out of the mode, instead left to how fast or slow you react to the mitts being held. The trainer does a decent enough job explaining what kind of punches to throw based on the angle of the mitt, and there is a visual cue to help remember which types of punches you need to do to execute the combo. Despite being a bit of a rhythm junkie, I felt like Mitt Drills gave me a better overall workout.
The rest of the game is a bit of a mixed bag. You can choose your trainer preference so you can pick the one that is the least annoying to you. The trainers often give good advice or encouragement, but it is never in reaction to how you are performing. I had an instructor tell me multiple times to ‘lift my abs,’ but not actually explain what lifting my abs means. You can also dress up your instructor and make them look like an idiot so they can at least be entertaining in that sense.
There are also daily missions which encourage you to explore different modes, songs, backgrounds, and trainers. Completing daily missions and gaining achievements give you coins to spend on songs, as well as clothing for your instructors. You can also connect to the network and compare yourself to the average person playing the game, as well as the average person the same age as you.
Overall, Fitness Boxing 3 keeps the sweat up just as much as the previous games in the series. There are enough new modes here to keep things interesting, but how long you stick with it depends on your ability to find the time to exercise. I played much of this in handheld mode after waking up in the morning, and that worked for me. It is a great package, and makes for a good introduction to exercising. It has its annoyances for sure, but nothing big enough that would prevent me recommending this title to anyone looking to improve their overall physical wellbeing.
Rating: 3.5/5
Introduced by Alexey Pajitnov.