Fitness Boxing | Nintendo Switch | Workout | Rated: Teen

Have you been looking for an entertaining and effective fitness game? I have. Also, have you been looking for an entertaining and effective fitness game on Nintendo Switch? I really, really have.

So of course I bought Fitness Boxing for Nintendo Switch on day-one, and I have not stopped playing the fun fitness title since. What follows is my in-depth verdict on Fitness Boxing to help you decide if the game is right for you.

What is Fitness Boxing?

Fitness Boxing is a cardio boxing game for the Nintendo Switch. The game uses motion controls which allow you to perform actual punches and movements in order to burn calories. The game has a variety of workout lengths and challenges, ensuring beginners to advanced players will all have a good time and an even better workout.

Aesthetically speaking, this game relies on bright colors for backgrounds and effects, cartoon character instructors of realistic proportions, instrumental versions of popular songs, and a simple user interface.

Watch a short gameplay video of me performing a cardio workout to get a better understanding of how the game plays, looks, and feels.

Who is Fitness Boxing for?

Fitness Boxing is for beginning to advanced fitness users and for those looking for an entertaining experience while working out.

With that said, I am the exact type of player this game speaks to and perhaps you are, too.

My Fitness Journey

I have always enjoyed playing fitness video games rather than simply running, jogging, or going for long walks. I found it more fun playing games to burn calories than any alternative.

Flashback a decade ago: I began my fitness journey by running in my room to lose weight but quickly transitioned into playing loads of Dance Dance Revolution (a popular fitness, music game throughout the 1990s and early 2000s). Jumping on the game’s dance mat felt way more interactive and entertaining than running around my bed a million times.

I then moved on to other fitness video games such as the Just Dance series and a plethora of fitness games for the Nintendo Wii including Fitness Boxing’s spiritual predecessor, Gold’s Gym Cardio Boxing, as I continued to evolve my gaming-fitness lifestyle.

Fitness Boxing continues the trend of entertaining and effective workout games I have been drawn to for years, I can happily say.

Punches are satisfying to throw due to crisp audio cues and tactile controller vibrations that occur while they happen, colors are vibrant which helps create an motivational atmosphere, while the music selection keeps routines upbeat and a joy to play.

This game is for anyone wanting to lose calories but in a fun fashion. This is more than enough motivation for me to workout on a daily basis.

What will I primarily be doing in Fitness Boxing?

You will be punching and moving during the course of every workout since this title relies on motion sensitive controllers.

What does “motion controls” mean? If you hold the controller and throw a punch, the game will recognize your punch. No button presses required.

In Fitness Boxing, you will primarily be tasked with throwing punches at intervals to the rhythm of whatever song is being played.

This game requires a lot of physical activity, to say the least. Be prepared to move, duck, punch, and swerve for the length of your play session.

Is Fitness Boxing a good fitness game?

Fitness Boxing is a fun and entertaining workout that you will be punching your fists along to cool tunes.

But, does it actually work?

Yes! Fitness Boxing will truly make you sweat as long as you apply yourself.

The game has a variety of workout routines to fit your needs, making it hard not to apply yourself.

For example: I began doing simple 10 minute workouts and found my heart drumming away by the end of each session.

Within a twenty day span, I moved onto 30 minute workouts that had me drenched in sweat by the time it was over.

The continuous punching, ducking, twisting, and movements the game asked of me had me sweating. Exactly what I was looking for in a cardio video game.

Not only will this game make you sweat, Fitness Boxing also provides a clear progression path for those who want to try harder routines over time.

The game includes 10 minute, 20 minute, 30 minute, and even 40 minutes workouts that increase in difficulty and length. There are harder workouts to do if you ever feel you have plateaued.

I appreciate this because it gives me something to strive towards. Currently, I mainly do 20 to 30 minute workouts that work well for what I am aiming to achieve.

I only tried the 45 minute workout session once and I can say I felt completely exhausted by the end of it. In a positive way.

I am sure you are looking for a workout program that will actually get you burning calories while netting results. It is a good thing, then, that Fitness Boxing does exactly that.

But is Fitness Boxing actually effective . . .

Yes, and yes some more.

Let me tell you just how well Fitness Boxing works. Because, and I cannot stress it enough, it works.

I have analyzed four weeks of my own personal progress data within the game. This data includes how many calories I have burned on a daily, weekly, and monthly basis.

I have never missed a workout in over 20 days. On average, I burn 1,283 calories each week simply by playing this game for just 10 to 30 minutes every day.

Only 10 to 30 minutes every day. This is awesome!

These are calories you can be burning, too.

And just think: this does not even include other fitness and diet changes you may enact in your life. This is just extra calories being burned in a fun manner. What is better than that?

Add proper nutrition, along with a few dedicated walks throughout the week, and you will see even greater results in no time.

Regarding Fitness Boxing alone, I have burned 5,133 calories in one month. I am proud of my results, because I showed up on a daily basis even if it meant waking up earlier to get my workout done.

This game actually works as long as you consistently play and challenge yourself with the routines:

• Swing your arms with force and proper form
• Follow the advice the digital instructor gives you
• Play as many times a week as your body allows
• Try harder routines over time
• Have fun!

You will get results from playing Fitness Boxing if you follow the advice above. I am living proof.

My thigh muscles ache from ducking, my sides (where those pesky love handles accumulate) burn from the constant twisting the game encourages, and my arms look trimmer thanks to all of the punches I’ve thrown.

Rest any qualms you might have had about this game, and feel good knowing it actually, really, effectively works.

Did I have fun playing Fitness Boxing?

Fitness Boxing is the most fun and easy workout game I have ever owned.

Whereas Dance Dance Revolution (and even Just Dance) can feel as though the game jumps from beginner to extremely difficult from song to song, this game has a nice difficulty curve if you are looking to get active.

Fitness Boxing provides you the freedom of choosing the difficulty every time you play along with the ability to tweak your desired settings to your liking:

• You can choose to do a 10 minute workout up to a 40 minute plus workout depending on how you feel.
• You can choose to do routines purely focused on your biceps, chest, core, or do a full body workout.

By providing these options, I have felt in-control of what I want to accomplish on a daily basis at an intensity I am comfortable with. And it all feels great to play.

The workout routines in Fitness Boxing feels satisfying, because the precise rumble—along with noteable sound effects—makes every punch feel so good to throw. The controls are nearly perfectly responsive so whenever I threw a punch, it landed or missed based on my timing (or lack thereof).

I have burned a decent amount of calories so far thanks to Fitness Boxing. And I have had a blast doing so along the way, and I will continue enjoying playing this game long into the future.

Fitness Boxing: What would I improve?

 Fitness Boxing is a great cardio game, although there are a couple things I would do to make this game even better:

• Add screenshot and video clip function
• Add motion control sensitivity option

Screenshot and Video Clip function : UPDATED

Nintendo has listened to fan requests and has updated Fitness Boxing to include screenshot capture support. Rejoice!

Now, you will be able to take screenshots while playing the game and then post them to Twitter through your Nintendo Switch Album app after you are done playing.

The ability to share your progress online with others via screenshots was a much anticipated feature of mine. I am happy to see Nintendo released an update so fast.

You are now able to take a screenshot of your progress or daily workout results screen and share them with your friends, relatives, and online communities.

Update your copy of Fitness Boxing to Version 1.0.1 by connecting to the internet and downloading the update.

Original Review: I want the option for screenshots and/or video clips to be taken.

This would allow me to share my best workouts, my weekly and monthly progress, and calories burned with friends and communities on social media.

As of writing this, you cannot take screenshots or videos of this game.

I just hope Nintendo allows this feature in the future by providing a game update. Only time will tell.

Motion Control sensitivity option

I would also like a feature to adjust motion controls sensitivity.

Once in every 50 punches or so, I feel like the game is not responding correctly to my punches. Or, one of my precise punches is counted as a “Miss” by the game.

Obtaining scores lower than a “Perfect” decreases your overall score at the end of your workout session. This makes your perfectly timed punches, that are read wrong by the software at your expense, feel bad.

Luckily this does not happen too often (it occurs more often with body movements rather than punches), but a motion sensitivity option would have been appreciated to rectify this issue.

Fitness Boxing: Buy or Borrow or Pass?

Buy?

I recommend people buy Fitness Boxing if they want an entertaining, functional workout program for their Nintendo Switch.

The game works well and has minimal downsides—a purchase won’t be regretted if you remain consistent with your workouts.

Its customization settings, upbeat soundtrack, and variety of workout routines will keep owners happy for a long time to come.

Borrow?

I suggest renting or borrowing Fitness Boxing if you are not sure cardio boxing is the right workout program for you.

This game requires you to punch. A lot. You will be using your arms to do a majority of the work, but you will also be using your legs as well.

Ducking, weaving, squatting, and stepping are all mainstays of a vast array of workout routines included in this game.

You always have the option to perform only the workouts you want to perform, those without ducking as an example. But you will be missing out on part of the content included if you do so.

Pass?

I recommend you pass on Fitness Boxing if punching, squatting, ducking, and moving does not sound like fun to you.

This game, though, will indeed kick your butt and make you sweat. But you might want to pass on this game if you are looking for dedicated high-intensity workout program.

Keep in mind that the routines are primarily revolved around cardio boxing techniques.

My Review Score

Now that you have read my thoughts on Fitness Boxing for Nintendo Switch, let us take a look at my Review Score.

My Review Score is based on technical aspects that hinder or improve the user experience.

You now have a clear idea of where I stand on this game by reading my thoughts above. The Review Score, categories, and explanations will help your better understand how the game functions as a whole. 

Glitches:

Do weird graphical or audio instances occur that often times are humorous and or distracting?

I have not experienced any weird glitches in my extensive time playing this game.

Freeze or Crash:

Does the game freeze or crash?

Fitness Boxing has crashed on me just once in my entire time playing it which required me to reboot the game.

It crashing, however, was not as bad as I thought it would be.

Workouts in this game are split up in multiple parts, beginning with a stretch routine that lasts about 2 minutes (you can choose to skip stretches if you prefer).

I was doing the final routine of a 30 minute workout when an on-screen message appeared telling me the game crashed and needed to shut down.

Drenched with sweat and exhaustion, I was terrified that I would have to do my entire workout all over again. The thought was not much fun to think about.

I rebooted the game with baited breath. But what did I find?

Did I have to restart the workout from the beginning? The answer, I say with a smile, is no. You do not need to restart your entire workout from the beginning.

Fret not if the game ever crashes on you.

Fitness Boxing allows you to resume your workout at the last routine you did not complete.

If you managed to get to the third section of a workout and then the game crashed, you will not have to redo sections one or two.

This made me feel really good. Instead of losing my entire workout, a 30 minute routine, I only lost about 6 to 8 minutes that I had to redo.

The game only crashed once in a full month, and it was not as bad as I thought.

Slowdown:

Does the game chug or slowdown?

Fitness Boxing will sometimes chug along, losing its smoothness.

I do not know why this happens. Every so often—in the middle of a workout—the background, instructor, and graphics will suddenly slowdown. Thankfully, I have not come across any audio issues.

This graphical disruption does not happen every time, or regularly. Yet, it occurs.

I have not, however, missed a punch due to the graphical slowdown. I admit the slowdown might disrupt your workout if you are particular about this performance loss.

The slowdown is a tad unsightly and does throw off my rhythm.

Overall, it is not that big of an issue as it has not significantly intruded on my workouts. But it would be nice if the game remained consistently smooth. This is especially true for a fitness game such as Fitness Boxing.

Load times:

Does the game contain long load times?

Fitness Boxing contains some loading, but a majority of it is front loaded.

The bulk of the game’s loading time occurs when the game first boots up. I am okay with this as long as there is a beneficial trade-off and the game contains less loading during actual gameplay.

Thankfully, this trade-off applies to Fitness Boxing.

There are very minimal—if any—load times during gameplay.

This is great, because there is nothing worse than a fitness game having long load time in-between workouts. This goes against the purpose of a fitness game as long load times will prevent you from keeping your heart rate up as you are forced to stand around waiting for the next routine to begin.

Load times are cardio momentum killers, sweat dryers, and heart rate relaxers when all you want to do is keep the sweat going.

I am very happy to note that there are no load times between workouts. This has helped me remain in the calorie burning zone throughout my entire cardio session.

I give Fitness Boxing a solid two thumbs up regarding load times.

User Navigation:

Is the game easy to navigate?

Everything is easy to find in Fitness Boxing.

Starting a workout is as easy as selecting “Daily Workout” from the home screen and most settings can be found by a exploring the menus.

I never felt lost navigating the menus or figuring out what I needed to do during a workout routine.

Each punch and movement is taught to you and every button you are required to press is explained either by the instructor or by on-screen button prompts.

I did accidentally push the Home button on the right Joy-Con controller in the middle of a heated workout once upon a time. Doing so took me to the Nintendo Switch’s home menu for a brief moment which threw off my rhythm. Bummer.

I wish there was a way to turn off the Home button while playing the game to prevent accidental button presses that will literally remove you from the game.

That has only happened once in my 20 plus play sessions, though. It is an easy fix as I just need to hold the controller a little different to stop this random occurrence from happening again.

Other:

Anything else noteworthy about the game?

Sometimes, the motion controls will not register. I think that is more due to the game requiring precise swings of the controllers more than anything else.

It is still disheartening to feel like I threw a punch correctly yet the game does not register it.

The motion controls work fine 98 percent of the time. When the game does not register my punches, it only motivates me to maintain proper form and perform movements the exact way the game wants me to.

I mean, the instructor even says to make sure you focus on your form and put weight into your punches. If you throw weak punches, the game will not read them.

Final Verdict

Fitness Boxing is the workout game I have been waiting for. It is fun to play, challenging, and really works when done consistently and with proper form. I recommend this game to anyone looking for a proper fitness program and for everyone looking to burn a few calories with their Nintendo Switch console.

If you are interested in Fitness Boxing, check out the digital or physical versions at Amazon:

BUY NOW: Fitness Boxing for Nintendo Switch (Digital)

BUY NOW: Fitness Boxing for Nintendo Switch (Physical)

(Screenshots taken by me. Images sourced from product pages on the Nintendo website. Logos, characters, and images are owned by their respective owners)