Why you can trust TechRadar
We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.
Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer is a movement-based fitness Nintendo Switch game, developed by Imagineer. Holding the Joy-Con controllers in either hand, you dodge, duck, and throw out combos following on-screen prompts, progressing through daily structured workouts of increasing difficulty. Warm-ups, cool-downs, a Free Training mode, and separate mitt drills provide enough variety for those looking to switch things up.
Review info
Platform reviewed: Nintendo Switch
Available on: Nintendo Switch
Release date: December 5, 2024
Movement-based console games are an odd bunch, and none more so than fitness games. I remember when you could get Dance Dance Revolution on the original PlayStation, complete with a much worse, fold-away version of the arcade’s iconic dancefloor. Since then, most movement-based games have been party ones like Wii Sports, but offerings like Wii Fit and Ring Fit Adventure have attempted to bring actual workout programming to consoles with mixed success. Who are they aimed at: existing Switch users looking to get fit, or existing fitness fans Nintendo is hoping to sell a Switch to?
Fitness Boxing 3 is solidly aimed at the former, although its harder workouts move at a pace to challenge most. As TechRadar’s Senior Fitness and Wearables Editor, I’ve got a solid background in reviewing fitness kit. I’ve also got a lot of experience punching things, having been a kickboxer for many years in a previous life. It felt as though I was tailor-made to review this thing.
I duly fired the Switch up and worked my way through the tutorial. Anyone who’s played Dance Dance Revolution or one of its many clones, or even Guitar Hero, will understand the principle at work here: you see the prompt work its way up to the on-screen target, and you throw a punch at the exact time required. The better your timing, the higher your score.
Once you complete the initial section, comprised of jabs and straight punches, you work your way through the different combination-based daily classes, adding in hooks, uppercuts, body blows, dodging (by holding the Joy-Cons close to your chest and moving your body) and other moves designed to complicate things, all while increasing speed.
Get with the program
The game will ask you to pop in some details, including your age, weight, target weight, and so on, and set about generating programs for you based on your preferred difficulty level. The Daily Workouts still require you to go through the various combinations in order to unlock types of punches and moves for use in Free Training, which was a little frustrating as I wanted to immediately get stuck in and test everything. However, if you’re moving through a workout program from beginner to advanced as intended, this shouldn’t be too much of an issue for you.
The workout programming is excellent. As someone well-versed in fitness programs, I was glad to see everything started with an optional warm-up and cooldown and reminders to hydrate, and that frustration in lack of customizable programming for me would be a boon for people who need their hand held through their introduction to fitness.
Once you start unlocking workouts and combos, you can string them together in custom programs in the Free Training room, so my itch was eventually scratched with a bit of patience. You can view all your stats and progress in the My Data section, which is very comprehensively laid out in graphs and, in a really nice nod to the sensitivity of health data, it’s passcode-protected.
The huge customizability of everything was also a big plus for me. You can change trainers, from the default instructor Lin to the bulky Bernado or distinctly Eurotrash-looking Guy. They’ve all got birthdays, and hobbies and you can buy them new outfits with your earned points or switch their Kindness levels on and off, depending on whether you prefer a gentle carrot or a drill sergeant stick for workout motivation.
A distinctly parasocial ‘box and bond’ session is available for each trainer, where they’ll talk to you more and tell you about themselves. A little odd to be bonding with a program, but I’m sure it’s a good idea to get people attached to a virtual instructor to keep them motivated.
Once more, mitt feeling
Between the customizable instructors and the stage/song selection, from neon cyberpunk to garage gym to serene aquatic environment, it felt a bit like Tekken or a similar fighting game, which is thematically very appropriate. As someone used to real-life boxing training, mitt drills in the Free Training section were my favorite part: rather than the DDR format, you’ll get a combination to remember and then the trainer will hold a mitt up, testing your mind-to-muscle connection and reflexes.
It’s all very slick, and when used properly, it feels as though it works incredibly well. I really enjoyed it, performing and executing the moves to the best of my ability, until I found a fatal flaw, one that completely soured my experience.
As the mitt drill sped up, I was getting the routine wrong, but the game was still registering “Perfect” with each punch, Bernado lauding my performance as I threw hooks instead of uppercuts. After a bit of experimentation, I soon found that pretty much any fast, forward movement of the Joy-Con would register as a successful punch, regardless of what kind of punch I was actually supposed to be throwing!
Best bit
The customizability of the game. Pick your stage, and music, choose sitting or standing modes, and your preferred trainer – you can even turn the “kindness” setting on or off!
I tried throwing the Joy-Cons out to either side of me, flailing wildly, and to my disappointment, I still got successful Perfect combination recognitions. I was reminded of Wii Sports, in which people would lie on their sofas and flick their wrists to control their avatar during on-screen tennis. At some point, most people playing this game will realize that their carefully choreographed movements actually don’t matter, and they could be doing anything to score their Perfects and earn those points. This realization stung like a bee and sapped a lot of enjoyment from my remaining playtime.
Still, there’s a lot to like about Fitness Boxing 3 despite this, namely the intense customizability and the careful construction of its workout programs. Those buying this game for fitness purposes are unlikely to be looking to cheat themselves: boxing is a terrific workout, and Fitness Boxing 3 is a great primer, daily workout motivator, and reminder to move. You’ll just have to keep yourself honest and throw your punches properly.
Should you play Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer?
Play it if…
Don’t play it if…
Accessibility
A sit-down boxing mode allows those users unable to stand for long periods to play the game and get movement into their day. All lines from instructors come with subtitles, and the instructor’s kindness can be toggled on if you need gentle encouragement.
All in all, the accessibility features are better than I expect from a fitness-orientated gamer.
How I reviewed Fitness Boxing 3: Your Personal Trainer
I played the game for around ten hours on an original Nintendo Switch console using the device’s own screen and my LG TV. I worked my way through intermediate combinations, trying Daily Workouts, Free Training using Mitt Drills, and Basic Training with several different instructors.
I spent accumulated points to buy new songs for different stages (such as I Was Made For Lovin’ You by KISS) and outfits for instructors, and I also stress-tested the controls by deliberately throwing incorrect punches.
First reviewed January-March 2025
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/DDzKeCWLniQiPX3UCvZ2W9-1200-80.jpg
Source link
matt.evans@futurenet.com (Matt Evans)
