When did I say that? I don't remember saying that at all. I remember on one of our podcasts I said that the punching feels really satisfying when you really cream an opponent.
Not you specifically, but I got the impression that most of you all on the 'cast were not satisfied with them. I think you were referring to using them in place of NES style for playing the hard tournaments.
I haven't listened to any IGN 'casts since my computer died so I can't have mixed it up. Maybe I just heard James make a crack about it and assumed he was knocking it. I actually do remember you saying that it was satisfying now. Someone on the 'cast didn't like them, though.
I played catchup on episode 147-150 over the course of two graveyard hour shifts when I got my iPod working on another computer so something may have gotten scrammbled in my memory of it all.