VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out!

So far I'm unimpressed. It takes a while to get into the gameplay, which seems to not entirely understand what made the original MTPO so great. For example, you can get * Punches by punching during a tell (called a PP or Power Punch), but the boxer isn't stopped and just punches through with makes you immediately lose your PP, so you have to Punch then Dodge, but the boxer might delay and hit you anyway. There's also A LOT of story. Like A LOT. Considering how much the developer wants you to know they played HARD games on the NES, this seems to miss some of the spirit of what made them hard. It's a good start, but it could really use some refinement. I'm going to Not Recommend right now, but I think these issues could be patched.

Game looks beautiful. Misses with game-play. Having to wait for the opponent to throw punches to recover from gassing can lose you a round. A bug where after you recover you immediately re-gas without getting hit, throwing a punch that was blocked exasperated this. Putting conditions in the game that limit the damage a PP does if thrown put a our taste in my mouth. you are supposed to learn opponent attack patterns but when the opponent has the same tell for every kind of attack or combination you can't. MTPO didn't drag a player kicking and screaming into a single strategy to win a fight, it let's you experiment with all different kinds of ways to beat an opponent. "Get 2 body shots and then use your PP" is not how to do punch out.

so its almost a great game, but only the top 20% OF players will ever win a match. the windows for hits are too small, and the game is simply too difficult to keep anyone coming back. check achievement stats/ 75% will not play 2 hours, and most wont beat a single match. i REALLY tried repeatedly to enjoy but heres poblems, hit window too small, tenth of a second for some maybe. losing health on every action is killing any fun or flow. they attack without tells as rounds go on, which leaves you 'fatigued' and you just stand there until you get a dodge sequence perfect, if you dodge one time too many youre crippled again.... lame cycle. dev says hes shooting for a cross of 3d sim and punchout graphics, but it FEELS more like a "time your reflex" free ios game. mine is like .11 on a good day and its too slow by far. thunder ray is better. thanks for jester award, thats why this game has 0 players and probably never made a profit

First off, I just wanted to say to the developers that you did a great job. My favorite game of all time is MTPO. I have been waiting for a sequel to that game for a long time. Yes, I know there was one made called power punch 2. But, it wasn’t the same. While this game can be frustrating at times I still enjoy it. Yes, I have swore at the screen quite a few times. Lol. Even with learning patterns and timing the game is still very challenging. While I enjoy it, I’m assuming this will turn off the casual gamer. I’ve read multiple forums and talked to people I know who bought this game. There is one common gripe they all have. That it is too hard. A lot of people have already given up on the game. My only suggestion is if you want massive sales for this game add a difficulty setting to the game if possible. This will ensure the casual gamer will stick around to play it and recommend it to more people. Other than that, I love the game.

This game brought bacc so many memories of the old punch-out game that was in the arcade as well as the NES version. The story is actually pretty rich in this game and usually I don't care about stories in most games. The difficulty of the game (for me at least) was due to the speed and fluidity of the game being too slow as far as moment. I tried playing the NES punch out then going to this again and the movement just isn't as fast or as smooth. But hopefully the developers will be able to change that and make it better.

[quote][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6142328/][b] With 1,400+ reviews, make sure to follow The Cpt Froggy Club Curator Page for plenty more![/b][/url][/quote] VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out! ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ As you might already know by now, I am a big fan of retro games, and that is just because I was born in the 70’s and have seen firsthand the evolution of gaming. Interestingly, when I reflect on the era, I wasn’t as into it as I am now in my fifties. It is a sentimental feeling, and I appreciate even more what the developers were trying to achieve with the means at their disposal back then. The first ever boxing game I played was on the Atari 2600 console, but the one I played the most in my youth was Punch Out on the Nintendo. So, when I saw VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out and received a Steam key, I was very eager to give it a go! VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out is a boxing pixeled arcade game developed and self-published by Vanilla Gaming Company on the 29th of July 2023 on the Steam platform. The cheeky tone of the game is set in the presentation, and it is quite right that they “have no shame”. Oh no - surely not, I thought while quietly chuckling to myself Mutley-style. Yes, this is one of those games. And I must say that I like it, I like it a lot! It’s the little things that set the tone, like taking the famous character “Rocky” and replacing the first letter of his name with the third letter (think about it). Or Madison Square Gardens where the word Square has been changed to Bare (what a garden that would be!), and plenty of others. Regarding the story illustrations, they are presented as a comic book, and some images are a bit . . . let’s say raunchy. And no, they're not pixelated. It is a fun and well-thought-out parody, and to be honest, it is refreshing. So, you will play Vanilla Beast, who was spotted by a braveheart with a heavy Scottish accent, after Vanilla lands a right-left-right combination after an argument at a cabaret. And from that point, it will be all up to you to get Vanilla to the top of the three biggest boxing competitions, known as the VBF, VBA and VBC. Each of these championships has 10 fighters to face. The first eight of each championship will need to be unlocked so you can fight the contender (the ninth fighter) and then the champion. You’ll start on the VBF, and when you win the title, you unlock VBA, and it is the same jazz for the next one. But you can re-fight any of the boxers you have already unlocked at any given time. Before a fight, you’ll be at Vanilla’s apartment, where you can access a few things. You can read a few tips to help understand how the game works, see the unlocked story illustrations and Nickey (Vanilla chick) cards, statistics or have a go at your routine training. There are three types of training sessions. The first is punching bags, in which you replicate a combination of punches and feints. The second is to catch a chicken as fast as possible, and the third is to beat a shark! Yes, you are on the front of a boat, punching a shark in the face. All three training sessions have a specific reward, and you have to train before every fight. I am a big fan of the shark training session because you receive two power punches to start your next fight with as a bonus. But for that to happen, you have to defeat the shark, of course. The first eight matches of each championship are decided in five rounds, and the contender and champion fight in seven rounds. What I like about this game is that each opponent that I have faced has given a subtle signal before throwing a punch or a combination of punches; it could be a different body movement, showing their teeth, closing their eyes etc. And what I really like is that the pattern or combination of punches changes from one round to the next; I have seen this with all the opponents I have faced so far. Actually, my next fight is for the VBA belt, so at this stage I have fought 19. Well, 20 if I include the fight with Nickey where you have to TKO a famous Southern American Colonel Sand . . . dune (oh, that bloke). So yes, you have to learn their combinations for each round. And that can be quite frustrating at times, especially when it takes you several goes to defeat an opponent. And let’s face it, as good as Vanilla is at boxing, some fights will see you going through all rounds, and the only way to win is by a points decision (one tip - make sure to read the advice of your Scottish coach before each round; it might be helpful). Vanilla can perform various actions: punches to the opponent's head and body, power punches, feint and block punches. The timing is imperative in this game, and it is crucial that the control inputs are right. And they are very good indeed, but it will take you quite some time to master the controls. It is a challenging but fair and rewarding game, and it will appeal to boxing fans, retro gamers and newcomers. Good pixel graphics and soundtrack. Awesome voice-overs, and the game runs really well. VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out successfully reflects that gaming era with its challenges, and adds its own unique touch with surprising raunchiness and humour. The price point is fair, as the game has plenty of replayability. Definitely a knock-out for me. Positives: ~~~~~~~ + Good artwork, story and soundtrack + Cartoon illustrations (story) + 30 different boxers with their own patterns per round + Fun and challenging + You’ll get plenty of giggles + Achievements Negatives: ~~~~~~~~ - No trading cards as yet - Can be frustrating at times VanillaBeast: Retro Knock-Out is definitely a Knock-Out! 9/10 Key provided by the developer/publisher for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own! [quote][url= https://www.zeepond.com/zeepond-reviews][b]READ EPIC REVIEWS FROM “THE CPT FROGGY” AND MATES, UP NOW ON ZEEPOND, THE HOME OF THE ALMIGHTY FROG![/b][/url] [url=http://steamcommunity.com/groups/thecptfroggyclub#curation][b]FOLLOW THE CPT FROGGY CURATOR PAGE HERE[/b][/url] [url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZchpsMdA2hDYJKZgOPdo_w?view_as=subscriber][b]SUBSCRIBE TO THE CPT FROGGY YOUTUBE CHANNEL[/b][/url][/quote]

too ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ hard this you need to update this ♥♥♥♥ the game is totally against you block get hearts but take damage dodge get hearts only if he swings if not you get gassed out all your appointment has to do is block

GREAT animation, but the controls are delayed. Not sure if it's because I'm on my keyboard, but it takes forever to respond.

I refunded, but I did think the game had a lot of positives such as the art, humor, parody aspects, etc... However it was so punishingly difficult that I know I'll never put in the time. There were also some frustrating missing QOL features like a restart button or having to listen to the same voice line intros every time a certain mingame was launched. I didn't grow up with MTPO so I guess the difficulty and idea of running every guy over and over until you memorize the pattern of every single round just isn't nostalgic for me. That said, I don't want to leave a negative review as I don't think the game is bad because it simply wasn't for me.

I have really enjoyed my time with retro knock-out so far. Theres actual technical substance to the gameplay here to go along side the beautiful pixel art. If you are the kind of masochist addicted to the rush of conquering a brutal challenge after getting your ass kicked over and over, you will like this game. Retro Knock-Out!'s most obvious inspiration is punch-out, but it does a really good job of evolving the formula in its own way instead of being another shallow imitation. This game is more similar to NES punchout than super punchout, and as a mainly super punchout player I had a hard time getting used to the differences at first. First off, you will be punished for actively wasting movements. If you spam ineffective dodges and attacks you will deplete stamina. This makes you be more intentional with your movements but also rely more on blocking and its relatively nuanced risk-reward system. The enemies tells have so far been relatively well executed, and getting a series of Power Punches to wombo combo your opponent feels really good. If you time the button mashes of one-twos right they get really fast. I like how the devs were commited to making the gameplay a bit more accurate to real world prize fight boxing. The 5-7 round system, the judge scoring, and the strategy of landing many body blows in early rounds to do more damage later. All these things help the game stand out as its own thing and not just a NES punch-out clone. The adult themed story, humor, and art style are a breath of fresh air to me, theres a lot of personality in the raunchy world of Retro Knock-Out. Considering how many fighters there are and how long it took for me to beat a few I would say this game has 10-20 hours worth of gameplay for the true fans of the genre willing to grind through the fights. Some minor issues I have with this game: The biggest design issue for me is the fighter skipping system. You can choose to skip the contender ranked right above you and go to the contender 2 ranks above. This by itself is an okay system its cool for the people who want to get through the game quick and maybe skip a tough fight they cant get down. BUUT if you choose to skip a fight, you are permanently locked out of it for the rest of the game. I can understand why this is from a real world prize fighting perspective, but from the perspective of a video game player its really upsetting learning that you are permanently locked out of a fight because you didn't understand how the system works and accidentally skipped it. I dont think the game tells you about the skipping mechanic with text either. I would really like to be able to go back to the skipped fights through the computer, If not unlocking after beating the next ranked contender then maybe have them unlock in the computer after you beat each circuit as a reward? Either way I don't feel I should have to beat the entire game or delete my save data just to experience the accidentally skipped fake paul fight. Its baffling that this is an intentional design decision and not an oversight and one of the few ways that commiting to the "like real-world boxing!" bit hurts the actual game. The minigames before each fight are a miss for me. I would like an option in the settings to just turn them off and start each fight at 100% health. I know you can "go to a party" and get some random health percentage to skip the minigame but starting the fight with 50-60% health is a pretty big disadvantage. When on the fighter selection screen you can't go back to the apartment. If for some reason you wanted to back out of the game from this point you need to start up a fight, pause, then hit quit. letting the player back out of the fight selection screen back into the apartment would be a nice little QoL thing. The apartment is a little barren in terms of stuff to do. It would be nice to be able to interact with some of vanillas things. Turn on a faucet, use the toilet, cover up a babe in bed Anything to add a bit more life into it. Maybe some fighters down the line will move a bit more, but from what I have seen all the fighters will stand in the middle of the ring. It would be nice to see them hop and move around the ring a bit more as part of their attack patterns. I understand that in real world boxing you can't do crazy martial arts jumping summer saults like some fighters in super punch out but a little bit of foot works would go a long way. Its a shame that this game didn't see more attention, clearly a lot of love and passion went into this project and I will be on the lookout for other VanillaBeast games. Please consider uploading the soundtrack somewhere I love a lot the tunes. Thanks for the fun experience.