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Some people believe that punching monkeys is unnecessarily cruel, hideously immoral and really just totally unacceptable. To those people we say - get with the groove, guys! Punching monkeys is a time-honoured tradition, and great fun, as this new game proves once and for all.

If you hadn't guessed it already, Monkey Puncher is a Japanese invention. The bizarre idea, bug-eyed graphics and Pokemon-style gamepay are undeniably demonstrative of the Japanese sense of humour. However, Monkey Puncher is only tenously linked to Pokemon, and offers a whole host more disturbing images than the popular RPG. You play a little boy (the sexes can be reversed) whose sister and father have been kidnapped by the mysterious but predictably evil Seru group, who organise illegal monkey fights. The fact that organising *legal* monkey fights is unlikely need not trouble us here.

Luckily, a rather scary amily friend named Fred is on hand to lend you a spare monkey, so you can train the cheeky little bleeder up to win the Monkey Grand Prix, and save your family! It's a barrel of laughs along the way, as you show your friend how to do sit-ups, jog, skip, box punch-bags and sparring partners, and even shop!

With each successful session, your monkey's strength, speed, power and knowledge grow. Once he's big enough, you can set up a blind date for him, creating a bonny baby monkey that you can train from scratch. The stronger the fighter, the more likely you are to thwart the baddies and save your folks!

We have never seen such an inspired piece of compelling lunacy on the Game Boy before, so get punching monkeys right now! (Not literally, obviously. That's illegal!)

Graphics 80%
Cute and unsettling

Sound 60%
The tune is mind-numbing!

Playabilty 80%
Always something to do

Lastability 100%
You'll be picking it up for ages.

Overall 80%
Weird, wonderful and needlessly sick!