While Nintendo has been hesitant to make a new Punch-Out!! game, Purple Tree was happy to step in and deliver a kick-ass successor. Thunder Ray is a gorgeous game, and kept the style and flair of the classic boxing genre alive. Now, it looks like they’re going to be bringing this magic to the world of Baki Hanma, and I’m stoked. Baki Hanma: Blood Arena isn’t an arena fighter, which is already a good enough sign, and I’m beyond ready to smack the crap out of these fools.

‘Baki Hanma: Blood Arena’ Has Not Confirmed if There Is a ”Peeing on Baki” Minigame… Yet

Building on what made Thunder Ray great, and backed by a rather large license? Baki Hanma: Blood Arena looks like it has all the makings to be a great old-school fighter. While the early gameplay does look incredibly promising, and just as bloody as we could expect from a Baki project, I’m keeping my fingers crossed that this one turns out as good as it looks.

The world of Baki has a lot to pull from. There are also some incredibly interesting moments that likely won’t make their way into this particular game. But even then, I’m already eager to beat the crap out of Kaio and the rest of the fighters. But I am worried about the lack of possible variety, especially when it comes to stages. I know that this is a project that is early in development, but every screenshot shows mostly the same arena. I hope that when the game launches, there will be a bit more variety to choose from.

Regardless? I’m happy as all Hell that we’re getting a Baki anime game that isn’t an arena fighter. I’ve always been a big fan of the Punch-Out!! series and think it’s a crime we haven’t seen a new one since the Wii came out. But then, we’ve got talented devs who are willing to keep that spark alive. I’ll be there on day one to see what kind of wild adventures Baki is getting into here. And if it’s better than Thunder Ray? That’s just a bonus at this point.