Fitness Boxing feat. Hatsune Miku review – the world is mine

Gameified exercise is one of the only methods of getting fit that I actually enjoy and stick with, so when I saw that Imagineer was making a Hatsune Miku-themed Fitness Boxing game, I immediately added it to my review wishlist. What can I say? Vocaloid has a hold on me.

Fitness Boxing feat. Hatsune Miku (or Miku Boxing from here on out) is a collaboration Fitness Boxing title with Hatsune Miku and three of the other Crypton Future Media Vocaloids – Kagamine Rin, Kagamine Len, and Megurine Luka. Like the other games in the series, it’s a fitness game that uses boxing to music to help you work out. Alongside the standard workout function, this game features the ‘Miku Exercise’ mode where you punch, jab, and duck your way through a huge selection of Vocaloid songs.

Despite my affinity for fitness and rhythm games, I’d never been interested in a Fitness Boxing title before this collaboration, so clearly the Miku elements were enough to win me over and I think many other Vocaloid fans will feel the same. Although Miku isn’t your trainer in the game, you mirror her movements and she encourages you throughout the workout, which I love. It feels like you’re in an aerobics class together, both listening to an official trainer with actual expertise.

The selection of songs on the Miku Exercise mode is sizeable and has tracks for both classic Vocaloid fans and newer enthusiasts like myself. Whenever I play games like Just Dance, I always look for songs that I know first, so having a library of familiar songs is important to me and makes the experience that much more fun. You can customize the beatmaps to only include moves you’ve learned in basic training too, so you can start enjoying the Miku songs right from the beginning.

Although I love gamified exercise, I always worry about the weight loss aspect. Wii Fit definitely created a culture among people my age of being far too aware of our BMI and even setting ‘target weights’, which did some pretty sizeable damage to my self-esteem as a teenager and young adult. That’s why I’m glad that, although it collects data on your height and weight, Miku Boxing doesn’t force you to set a target weight or any other weight loss goal. You can enjoy the exercise for what it is without feeling pressured to lose weight.

Unsurprisingly, the actual exercise content of Miku Boxing is great, as it’s based on real fitness boxing techniques and several previous entries in the series. The daily exercise provides a satisfying full-body workout, or you can target different muscle groups depending on your personal goals. The trainers encourage you to drink water throughout and not push yourself, which is always nice to hear if you’re like me and have some unpleasant memories associated with PE class.

The customization options are really fun and because unlocking the other Vocaloids and some outfits is locked behind achievements, it encourages you to keep up your daily practice to progress. Imagineer and Aksys Games have already released two song packs and a Sakura Miku costume as DLC, and Miku has such a huge song library that the companies could keep up support for this game for years.

My only real complaint is that the built-in stretching sections aren’t really long enough to properly warm you up before a workout, but you can always supplement these sections with your own stretches. In reality, there’s not much difference between this game and a standard Fitness Boxing game, but I would highly recommend Miku Boxing to any Vocaloid fans looking for a fun and well-made fitness game for the Switch. It’s certainly piqued my interest and is joining my exercise rotation.

If you’re interested in more Miku content, check out our Project Sekai characters, Project Sekai cards, and Project Sekai events guides next. Alternatively, get fashion forward with our Dress to Impress codes.