Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2

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Developer: Point of View (Port), Midway Studios San Diego (Dreamcast/PS2 Flagship Version)

Released: November 13, 2000 Rated: T 6/10

Midway unfortunately shows their knack for underwhelming follow-ups again with Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 a year on from the original. It’s not necessarily the case that they fumble the ball, just that their standards for releasing another entire game often seem pitifully low. NFL Blitz didn’t need to be a yearly sports release, nor did there need to be even half as many racing titles with the Midway logo on them. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 is a case where the reasoning is fairly obvious — getting into the launch window of another console, this time the PlayStation 2 — and the amount of changes and additions brought alongside that reasoning doesn’t really move the needle, especially for the systems that were around for the first entry.

New training modes like Jump Rope and Rumble Pads mix things up a bit more in the Championship Mode, though it’s not something that will draw players in if they didn’t like it in the first game.
The updated “Rumble” meter is another small but insignificant change — it now has three levels including a one-hit KO at full power. You can also build up the meter by taunting to get all the way up faster.

Starting the game up admittedly bodes well at first glance — in addition to the returning arcade and championship modes, we now have a multiplayer tournament and a team battle/elimination option to add some variety to our available fisticuff formats. Going to start your first match can be a bit jarring, however, as the number of available fighters is actually lower than in the first game, which would be cause for concern. Technically there are a few more than in the previous game, especially including secret characters, but it definitely feels underwhelming at first. It’s these secret characters that show just how over the top the series is going for, as official likenesses of Michael Jackson and Shaquille O’Neal lean the R2RBR2 (okay the acronym got much clunkier, my apologies) into Midway’s NBA Jam approach to over-the-top roster building and just general brainstorming, if we’re being honest. It’s also really telling that these characters, as well as “Mr. President” and “The First Lady” make the cut for the N64 version, while actual new characters like a boxing robot with a speed bag for a head get left out due to “hardware restrictions.”

In addition to some slightly altered presentation, the biggest changes for Round 2 come in the Championship Mode, or at least in the number of things to do in that game mode. Matches do look a bit better with a closer, more cinematic-looking camera angle that shows off the in-game models better, though sound design is still lacking outside of a new theme song — dead, silent air when the punches aren’t flying and the crowd isn’t hollering is as noticeable as ever. There’s still a lot of this dead air feeling in training mode mini-games, of which there are quite a bit more. Though they’re as janky as ever, those that got hooked by this flagship mode in the first game will find a lot to like with this making up a lot of the new content in Round 2. Like the rest of the package, however, there’s only so much here to justify a purchase. And unless you’re really into the action this series has to offer, either entry will certainly be enough to satisfy the curiosity of passersby.

Continuing Legacy

It’s funny to think that somebody is more or less always looking to make Punch-Out if Nintendo isn’t bothering to do it themselves. Not long after Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 met its PS2 launch window deadline, the sixth generation received Black and Bruised. Think of it as a cel-shaded version of Ready 2 Rumble. Ready 2 Rumble also got its own follow-up not long after that for the Wii in 2007, Ready 2 Rumble Revolution, which was not only panned by critics, but somehow managed to find an even uglier art style than the original duology. Thankfully, even though we’re still in a serious drought for a new entry, Nintendo at least made sure to remind everyone how things are done with an amazing reboot of Punch-Out for the Wii in 2009, that’s been begging for another entry ever since.

Additional Information

Saves: Controller Pak

Compatible With: Rumble Pak

Players: 1-2

Print Guides: Prima

Aggregate Critical Reception (GameRankings): 71.60% based on 5 reviews

Other Releases: N/A (N64 exclusive in North America)

My Streams

Commercials and Print Ads

Short and long version of the same TV spot
Not a commercial for the game, but an awesome looking official toy that appears to blend old (and probably dodgy) motion control with Rock ‘Em Sock ‘Em Robots.
Please let me point out that that VG Print Ads on Tumblr has been an awesome resource for finding scans of print ads that aren’t in Nintendo Power. Putting Afro Thunder over big time, as always.
On the other hand, folks selling a page they cut out of a magazine on eBay for more than the cost of the magazine itself do not deserve my thanks. Anyway, here’s a GamePro contest flyer from Fall 2000. The inclusion of Razor scooters is hilarious and bizarre to me.