During these trying times, most of us are stuck at home and our finding ourselves lost. Some have taken to playing Nintendo’s smash hit game Ring Fit Adventure to get exercise during lockdown, but the game is sold out everywhere. However, there is an alternative we should be considering in the form of Nintendo’s Fitness Boxing for the Switch. I myself am a bit out of shape, and exercise has always been more like a chore more than anything else, with no matter how I try and exercise, I find myself becoming too aware and losing motivation. Fitness Boxing from Nintendo is different, and is definitely worth taking a look at for a different type of workout. If you are at all familiar with Taibo, you may be somewhat familiar with the idea, but it is a bit more than that.
The game takes some inspiration from the Wii Fit series, and the use of music and rhythm activities end up making the game feel like a cross between that title and Ubisoft’s Just Dance series. The workouts are set to a variety of songs and off you go with punching exercises. Not all the music may be to your liking, especially if you are a metalhead for life like myself, but I did actually enjoy working out to songs like Funky Town and even Video Killed The Radio Star. Now while some of the songs feel out of place, especially ones by Justin Bieber, I do feel the instrumental versions are done well and are finetuned to the workouts.
The control setup is simple and suits the switch perfectly, as you just use the joy cons and grip them right, and away you go. You will need to go through a few basic exercises to familiarize yourself with how the game works, and you will also need to learn the rhythm of how a boxer moves. This involves bouncing and shifting your weight at times, all while keeping a constant pattern. Once the workout begins, you will punch and do combos to the beat of the soundtrack amid other exercises. You can also adjust the speed for a more intense or more relaxed experience if you are unsatisfied. There is a two player mode here, as well, and that is perfect if you want to do the workout with someone else stuck at home with you.
The actual workouts are fun and that’s what was important to us. This is an excellent way to have fun and to exercise for 15-20 minutes when you have nothing else to do and slowly build your way up. The game got me exercising a lot more, and I definitely feel the burn from this. Punching to the beat of an instrumental song works better than you might think, and you will be burning calories very quickly. More importantly though, the game is affordable, available and easy to get into. The game can be accessed from the eShop and doe not require any add on peripherals, just the joy cons. What you have here may not be as intense and in depth as Ring Fit Adventure, but will be a great alternative for the time being. Give this a play if you want to get healthy during the lockdown.