With it gracing you with a presence on practically every front, you can’t consider the Hajime No Ippo series to just be some basic fighting anime with no tact or cult-classic status potential. The series has been around for decades, and even though not many games were released, it’s still just as popular as ever.
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With a manga chapter still releasing every now and then, and a gacha game that’s still getting its fair share of updates, the series isn’t going anywhere any time soon. Unfortunately, the video game releases have slowed down quite a fair bit, but there’s probably a new one that’s bound to be in the works in the shadows.
10 Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! (PS1) - Not Worth The Hassle
Unfortunately, the first attempt at a game for this series features graphics that were kind of jarring and goofy for lack of better words, and as far as a given boxer's anatomy is concerned, you’ll be hard-pressed to recognize any one of them in-game besides maybe Kamogawa himself while they’re training. The game features a limited character roster you can choose to watch fight each other rather than be a part of the action.
You'll be spending most of your time trying to decipher the Japanese text and waiting half an hour for your first fight. Try to enjoy the intro sequences and cutscenes — you can tell they probably shoveled the entire budget into them since the video game is just a training simulator that lets you control Ippo for his bouts. It does cover the story well, albeit at a very slow pace, and features some cute artwork to symbolize each training day.
9 Victorious Boxers 2: Fighting Spirit (PS2) - Laughably Bad And Mediocre
With no voice acting, tired old slugfest fighting mechanics, barely any heart, and tons of bugs, this game is perhaps the worst sequel ever made. This entry to JP: New Corporation’s “Hajime no Ippo: ALL☆STARS” (in Japan), was a massive disappointment compared to the first.
The only upsides to you trying this game out would be to make use of its huge roster. They really went all out with this one — you get a shot at playing as the bear again. Other than that, the music is great, but it can’t carry enough to call this game a must-have for your collection.
8 Victorious Boxers: Revolution (Wii) - Slow-Paced And Confusing
A title match for the ages caps off this entry of the series and gives you your first taste of what a good story adaptation could look like for the show. Revolution shows us Ippo’s journey up till the point where Eiji fights Martinez in the ring.
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The game has heart. You can see the creative team dedicated a good amount of energy into creating the character models and working on the manga-esque art style, but unfortunately, the pacing and gameplay fall flat in comparison. Even the barebones commentators can’t hype you up for this trainwreck, with its clunky movements and jarring perspectives in-game.
7 Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting! (DS) - Weird Out Of The Box
Imagine having to fight with a DS stylus. Somehow you were expected to learn and execute combat maneuvers even though you were limited to just using a stick to tap on the screen. What made matters worse however was the perspective issue with the camera placed behind your character’s back the whole time.
Good luck struggling with placing that tiny crosshair exactly where it needs to be. The only reason why this game seems even remotely interesting is because of how unique the controls are and how much time and effort went into making all the unique training sequences Ippo endures come to life. Developing this title must’ve been a nightmare! At least the minigames are neat.
6 Hajime No Ippo Portable: Victorious Spirits (PSP) - A Fairly Decent Entry
Tight visuals, controls, and detailed gameplay modes. What else could any fan of the series want? The career mode is engaging enough to stand alongside the extensive story mode this game features front and center.
The boxing feels quite nice, the inputs don’t feel janky, and the effects work is on-par with some of the better games this series has to offer. Create a character and have them train just before you end up creaming the competition. Don’t forget to prepare your thumbs while you’re at it too if you intend to apply any combos you’ve learned.
5 Victorious Boxers: Ippo's Road to Glory (PS2) - Drawn Out Yet Fun
As the first Hajime No Ippo game to hit the shelves in the West, this half-fighting and half-simulation game was a treat to play when it came out and actually felt like a revolutionary jump for the series' video game run at that point.
It features decent controls and camera angles that you would actually consider viable enough to play. The combat featured has you fighting long, drawn-out slugfests with barely anything engaging occurring in the middle of it all, as was the standard since this is one rather old title.
4 Hajime No Ippo (GBA) - Charming And Innovative Gameplay
Considerably one of the best adaptations of the anime, this Game Boy Advance title introduced a ton of people to the series. The tight yet simple gameplay and gorgeous sprites just make this title a visual treat to pick up.
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However, the only caveat is how limited the story mode actually is. Not only does the fun stop short at Sendo Vs Ippo’s second bout, the mode even lacks cutscenes. Although, the other game modes do somewhat pick up the slack with the large character roster you get to play the game with too.
3 Hajime No Ippo 2: Victorious Road - Detailed And Nice To Pick Up
With visual aesthetics that actually resonated with the fans of the series and a formula that got built on and somewhat perfected, things were looking up for Hajime No Ippo and its solid entries for the Japanese market.
Unfortunately, not much improved though regardless of the game’s new modes and features. The gameplay needed a bit more polish to make the action feel engaging, yet it’s still one of the better video games from the series as a whole. You really see the dedication they put into cleaning up the character models.
2 Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting! (PS3) - Well Crafted, Genuine Fun
The third attempt at making the Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting! titles shtick actually paid off once the series started shifting its focus toward investing some energy into crafting some decent aesthetic for the story mode and adding some visual upgrades that made the graphics stand out.
The large roster to choose from, the pacing of the cutscenes, and the quality of life upgrades were well and good enough to warrant the praise it received. Unfortunately, it was the last console video game of the series. The tight controls and technical gameplay advancements made it stand out as a boxing game.
1 Honorable Mention: Hajime No Ippo: Fighting Souls And Hajime No Ippo: The Typing Fight! 1-2
Being one of the most visually appealing games this series has to offer, this mobile game checked all the right boxes. The aesthetic choices and the cool UI will definitely appeal to you, but there's just one catch, Fighting Souls is only available in Japanese. So, good luck trying to make sense of it.
As for the Typing Fight series, they were PC games that helped people learn how to type faster. Unfortunately, it didn't get much traction even though the art style was fairly reminiscent of the anime. You're probably thinking about picking it up, but good luck trying to find an English version, and moreover, any English words that it actually covers. Some fans even complained about the Kanji words not being typically used by people in general.
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