Hajime no Ippo : The Fighting! DS

Hajime no Ippo THE FIGHTING! DS brings George Morikawa’s boxing manga to Nintendo DS in a touch-driven ring game. The focus is on Ippo Makunouchi, the diligent Kamogawa Gym fighter whose journey toward the featherweight summit is built on hard training, rivals, and punishing bouts. Released in Japan in 2008, this Grandprix-developed game adapts the series’ world of professional boxing while designing its core actions around the DS stylus.

A match can be controlled entirely with the Touch Screen. Players use the stylus for punches, sways, and movement, turning the lower screen into the main way to work at an opponent. The game also offers an optional button-control setup. Its most recognizable input is reserved for Ippo’s Dempsey Roll: drawing an infinity-shaped motion on the touch screen activates his signature technique. That approach gives the game a distinct handheld identity while retaining the language of jabs, movement, defense, and big finishing blows.

Challenge Mode follows confrontations drawn from the source material. It begins with Ippo’s bout against Saeki in the A-Class Tournament and extends to later situations, including Ichiro Miyata’s match with Randy Boy Jr. Fighters’ abilities can change according to the scenario, so the mode is not simply a string of identical exhibition fights. It places Ippo’s career beside key opponents and fellow boxers from the series, including speed-oriented rival Miyata and the hard-hitting Takeshi Sendo.

Free Match opens up the roster as opponents are defeated in Challenge Mode. Once available, boxers can be paired without regard to weight class or gym affiliation. The action does not stop at the bell: between rounds, the player can restore a fighter’s stamina and vision, adding a second’s responsibilities to the contest. This makes conditioning and recovery part of the rhythm around each exchange in the ring.

Training is a major part of the package rather than a background detail. Training Mini-Games draw on drills associated with the manga, including catching falling leaves—the exercise that helps set Ippo on the road to boxing—and rapid mitt work. These activities also appear before Challenge Mode fights. Success in particular drills can improve relevant abilities, such as footwork speed through tennis-ball catching or punching power through wood splitting, linking preparation to the next bout.

The Nintendo DS wireless feature supports two-player communication matches. Players can adjust fighters’ parameters, including punching power, defense, and stamina, before facing another player. A Data Book records results from the game’s modes and provides ways to look over performance and progress across different periods. It also includes a once-a-day boxer assessment based on a randomly selected mini-game, giving the training side a recurring stat to check.

Hajime no Ippo THE FIGHTING! DS is rooted in a series about a shy teenager discovering his ability and purpose through boxing. Ippo trains under Genji Kamogawa and measures himself against rivals such as Miyata as he pursues higher-level competition. By combining that character-driven boxing setting with stylus-controlled fights, scenario-based challenges, drills, local wireless battles, and recorded results, the game packages the arc of preparation, competition, and recovery into a portable DS boxing experience.