Pokken Tournament
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Rating Summary
Based on 65 critic reviews
OpenCritic Rating
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
Score Distribution
Unscored Reviews
Top Critic
Pokkén Tournament is a very solid Pokémon spin-off. Giving players the chance to actually control the pocket monsters themselves in battle has long been something fans have wanted to see, and this title certainly provides.
Top Critic
It seems destined to be undervalued, but this is a pleasant surprise - a fine fighter that's just about essential for Pokemon fans.
Top Critic
Top Critic
Pokken Tournament might not quite be the Pokemon fighting game I've been dreaming of for years, but to be fair my dreams are ridiculously lofty. Despite its limited-by-reality scope, it's the closest we've come to capturing the excitement of animated Pokemon battles in video game form.
Top Critic
As the first of what we hope is a series of fighting games, Pokkén Tournament surpasses our expectations.
Top Critic
I'm a little confused whether Pokken Tournament is meant for a casual crowd, a hardcore crowd, or perhaps even both. The mechanics are simple enough for anyone to simply pick up and play, and potentially master, but the game does seem to have some slight nuances to give it an edge in the competitive space. Considering Pokken Tournament is already schedule to headline EVO 2016, it seems that both Nintendo and Bandai Namco are considering the game to certainly be competitive enough to appeal to the hardcore fighting game market. However, my time with it didn't really showcase that, at least not on that level.
Top Critic
A welcoming sportsmanship sets Pokkén Tournament apart
Pokkén Tournament is an unqualified success.
Scored Reviews
Top Critic
The Pokémon Company has another successful spin-off. Pokkén Tournament is the best fighting game of 2016 so far.
Top Critic
Bandai Namco has crafted a fighting game that is deep and rewarding, while also being accessible.
Top Critic
It's been 20 years since the Pokémon series was first introduced. For the past two decades, fans all over the world have spent hours upon hours battling and trading Pokémon of all sorts, getting lost in this fictional, yet amazing world. While features and mechanics gradually evolved as the series progressed, the core formula has remained intact throughout all of the main entries. As a result, veterans of the series have continued to enjoy each new entry just as much as the newcomers. With that said, get ready to experience a whole new world with a brand new attitude, because Pokkén Tournament is truly like no other Pokémon game.
Top Critic
From the expertly crafted combat mechanics to the wildly different contenders to the stages and customization options to unlock, Pokkén Tournament proves itself to be another excellent addition to the Nintendo Wii U's library for fighting game fans, Pokémon fans, and everyone in between. Plus, you can be a luchador Pikachu. Just let that sink in.
Top Critic
Pokken Tournament is an amazing fighting experience that provides a good entry point for those unfamiliar with the genre.
Top Critic
From the humble beginnings of the simple, singular image above to the fully fleshed out title we have now, it's been quite the journey. And considering the high quality product we've gotten for our patience, Pokkén Tournament has been worth the wait.
Top Critic
For trainers wanting a true one-on-one real time Pokemon experience, Pokken Tournament delivers rather well. There are a few things here and there that could use some improvement, most notably some online features and how ranking up works with the Ferrum League, but overall a rather enjoyable game for Pokemon and fighting game fans alike.
Top Critic
I certainly had my doubts about Pokkén when I booted it up for the first time, but it's safe to say that it's thoroughly won me over. The vibrant visuals with some spectacular animations, along with a combat system that's deceptively deep but simple to grasp makes Pokkén easy to recommend to anyone, whether they be a fan of Pokemon or not.
Top Critic
You start to grasp and understand it, which will make you a better player as a result. While there are things that local play and Ferrum League could have done better, I was just impressed with this game throughout. Pokemon is a delight already, but mixed with fighting? Well, that is a match made in heaven.
Pokkén is one of the most enjoyable, original titles that Nintendo has released in a long time. As a new spin-off to Pokémon, it's a welcome addition to the franchise, and the game offers its own unique niche as a fighting game.
Top Critic
Cleverly appeals to both casual and hardcore audiences.
Top Critic
The experience that this game provides has been long overdue, and I praise it for doing such a terrific job. Considering the series currently contains 720 Pokémon, it's understandable that about 80% of them don't even appear as background scenery. Even with the presence of dozens of support Pokémon I can't help but think it could have been even better if the playable cast was larger.
This really is a true fighting game; don't let the Pokémon veneer tell you otherwise. This is a game which takes patience and concentration to learn to play effectively, and it successfully manages to blend together elements from other fighters such as Street Fighter, Marvel, and Tekken, and combine them with new ideas to create something truly unique.
Top Critic
Pokkén Tournament takes a lot of what we know from old fighting gaming favorites and sticks them into a blender, delivering a unique take on both Pokémon and on fighting games in general. Sometimes all those ingredients spill over a container that's a little too full - there is a surprising amount to learn beyond the beginner's level, and that may alienate some Pokémon fans without fighting game experience. Pokkén Tournament does do a good job, though, at alleviating this bloat of mechanics with single-player modes to help ease into the action.
Top Critic
A Pokémon fighting game may not seem like the most obvious spin-off idea, but the end result is a surprisingly fun and inventive multiplayer game.
Top Critic
To the distraught fighting game purist that would criticize Pokkén Tournament as "not a legit fighting game," I counter with this: Oh my GOD!, could Pikachu Libre get any more damned cute? No! No, it could not. So grab a controller—not a fightstick—and whoop some Pokébutt!
Top Critic
Pokkén Tournament doesn't quite know where to hang its hat – accessible fighter for kids, or serious online brawler – but somehow it manages to pull both off. Spectacular combat, beloved characters, and fun gameplay make for a fighter that anyone can enjoy, but as with all of the best genre entries, and indeed the Pokémon series as a whole, it truly comes into its own against a real-life opponent.
Top Critic
Pokkén Tournament retains the spirit and charm of Pokémon, while still a fun fighter that excellently caters to all skill levels.
Top Critic
Pokkén Tournament is how so many people want Pokémon battles to look in the main games. In lieu of that we'll deal with Pokkén - this a great fighter and fun for everyone.
Top Critic
If you like Pokémon and fighting games, or just want to play Pokémon in a new way, you'll enjoy Pokkén Tournament on the Nintendo Wii U.
Top Critic
It's no surprise that Pokkén Tournament is good, but it is surprising that it feels so unique. It's a refreshing face in the fighting genre, and offers up a ton of fun.
Top Critic
While it is a little rough around the edges, it's an interesting fighter and a welcomed addition to Nintendo's collection of one first-party fighting games.
Top Critic
Pokémon games are almost always a hit and Pokkén Tournament ranks up there with the best.
Top Critic
Pokken Tournament is the newest addition to the Wii U's excellent catalog of multiplayer games, and it is more than capable of holding its own against the other games in its company.
Top Critic
Beneath the stunning visuals there's an interesting deal of mechanics to learn which brings a fresh approach to the fighting genre. It's just a shame there's not more to do, and only having 16 characters is a bit of a let-down when you know the franchise has hundreds more. Pokken Tournament is a must get for any Pokemon fan, replacing the slow battles of the main series and providing us with the fast, energetic duels we've come to see in the Anime and Smash games.
Top Critic
Pokkén Tournament ran the risk of seeming like a bog standard fighter with Pokémon skins, but Bandai Namco and The Pokémon Company have served up a unique Pokémon setup that delivers a fun, flexible, and easy-to-learn experience for fighting fans. With so much history behind the franchise, there was a lot riding on getting it right, and this sits firmly within the legacy as a must-have Pokémon entry to add to anyone's collection. Despite there being clear conventions from fighters in its roots, Pokkén Tournament feels more like an exciting new take on Pokémon battles rather than an attempt at a standard Pokémon battle-fest.
Whether or not it will be a fighting game that will dominate the competitive scene for the next few years is impossible to say. But, whether you are a genre enthusiast, a Pokémon fan or just a gamer in general, Pokkén Tournament is an incredibly fun game with solid mechanics that can certainly hold their own.
"Hits like 10 000 volts."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Top Critic
Pokkén Tournament is more than a mere fighting game with Pokémon: it has fine mechanics and it's very funny. Unfortunately, it's not perfectly balanced in every aspect and its graphics could be improved. Other flaws can be found in its AI and in the boring story mode.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Top Critic
Pokkén Tournament isn't quite as successful as some of the other Pokémon releases and other genre experiments (Pokémon Conquest comes to mind), but it offers high-energy battles and a unique framework for fights, even if it could use some tweaking. It's fun, and it has a battle ecosystem with real potential. Also, I do think its multiplayer could have legs in the esports scene.
Top Critic
Pokken Tournament may have the image of a kid-friendly fighting game, but it's absolutely dead serious in its approach to offering something new to fighting game fanatics.
Top Critic
Overall, Pokken Tournament is an exciting and fast-paced fighting game that successfully blends the gameplay basics of Tekken with the Pokemon characters to create a completely unique formula.
Pokkén Tournament verschenkt leider zu viel Potenzial in der Hauptkampagne und bietet leider auch zu wenig neues im Gameplay Bereich. Pokémon Fans werden bis auf die etwas fragwürdige Charakter-Wahl voll auf ihre Kosten kommen. Fans von Beat ‚em ups können den Titel aber eher auslassen in der aktuellen Form.
Review in German | Read full review
Top Critic
Pokken Tournament is a well crafted, yet simplistic fighting game. It won't compete against the Tekkens or Street Fighters of the fighting world, but it does enough to cater to the Pokémon crowd. If there was a bit more balance and a lot more characters, then this game would have been phenomenal. As it stands, it's still a good fighting game with lots of potential for growth.
Top Critic
Despite its shortcomings, Pokkén Tournament is a delightfully entertaining experience that will blossom with populated online servers and a dedicated fanbase.
Top Critic
Pokken Tournament adds another solid and promising new game to Nintendo's stable, as well as an alternative for folks looking for another Nintendo brawler in addition to Super Smash Bros. It's not as technical as Tekken and the campaign can feel like a repetitive grind after a while. The game's mechanics, however, cater nicely to both beginners and advanced players, making it one of the more accessible, not to mention adorable, fighting games out there. With just a few tweaks and more fighters, this could be among the very best in the genre.
Top Critic
There's a lot of promise here, but Pokken Tournament can't decide what kind of fighting game it wants to be and that hurts the overall experience.
Top Critic
Pokkén Tournament is more than meets the eye, and it would be foolish to judge it just based on the Pokémon name alone. Bandai Namco has crafted a deep brawler that deserves to be up there with a lot of the competition, but some logistical issues specific to the Wii U hold the game back a bit more than I'd like.
Top Critic
What you see is pretty much what you get here – Pokken Tournament is a solid multiplayer experience that should make both Pokemon and fighting genre aficionados take notice.
Top Critic
Pokkén is a fun fighter with familiar Pokémon characters and surprising depth, but it failed to become a fighter I see myself playing for years to come
Top Critic
Pokken Tournament is a fun mash up of traditional fighting games and Pokemon. The game actually takes a lot of risks, but some of them don't pay off. A larger roster of Pokemon to choose from would help as well.
Top Critic
Pokkén Tournament DX is best described as a accessible fighting game that everyone can enjoy. With that said, the mechanics is still pretty deep, and the gameplay is just as good as the Wii U version.
Review in Swedish | Read full review
Top Critic
Pokkén Tournament was a brave experiment, and it succeeds in many areas. However, it fails in some others—whether from lack of depth or outright poor design—that keeps it from reaching that upper-tier of the fighting game genre's elite entries.
Top Critic
Not content with putting Tekken in a Pokémon skin, Pokkén Tournament does its best to bridge the two worlds in one innovative fighter. In terms of the core combat it's succeeded, and Poké-enthusiasts will love to watch their favourites battle it out in a whole new way. However, Pokkén Tournament doesn't go quite far enough to capture the exploration, collection and training aspects of the classic series. It's going to please an awful lot of Poké-fans, but it's not quite gonna catch 'em all.
Top Critic
Pokken Tournament is a solid game for Poké-fanatics and a decent enough game for casual fighting game fans. I'd recommend it if you need a Poké-fix before Pokémon Sun and Moon come out, but if you are looking for a new fighting game, stick to Street Fighter V.
Top Critic
Exciting multiplayer makes up for solo mode
Top Critic
[T]he series' growing scope has resulted in more than a massive product line: as the Pokémon franchise continues to inflate, so does its message. And with new entries coming into the universe on an almost yearly basis, the Pokémon fiction has been forced to adjust its thematic throughlines in order to make room for new creative ventures.
Pokken Tournament is a fun Online/Local multiplayer arcade fighter though, experiencing the game with others can be a party but also sets the question of “How long before I head back to Smash Bros.?”
Top Critic
Bandai Namco's Pokkén Tournament makes the fighting genre accessible to a younger audience, but does little to accommodate more experienced players.
Top Critic
Pokken Tournament shines when it comes to playing with friends, but the game's grind filled single player and dumb AI make for a pretty unimpressive package overall.
Top Critic
Getting to punch, kick and burn things as a Pokemon is a delight, but it doesn't feel fair when playing with others.
Top Critic
Pokken Tournament is fun for a bit, but I'm not convinced that it has any staying power as a fighting game. It's further hurt by its thin single-player mode and limited roster, which hurts its potential with casual fans. As attractive and faithful to the license as it is, it has plenty of room for improvement. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for a sequel.
Top Critic
It's not very effective
Top Critic
Pokken Tournament is the first Pokemon-focused fighting game ever released, but the final product feels more like a barebones offering rather than a fleshed out product.
Top Critic
It's not as technical as Street Fighter, not as chaotic as Smash Bros and not as fluid as Tekken, but if it just offered a bit more of a challenge and some more depth, it would be right up there with the best of them.
Top Critic
Although it's beautiful and intuitive to play, Pokken Tournament's story mode, where the beef of your gameplay will take place, becomes tiresome and drags down what could have been a one-of-a-kind experience on the Wii U. That's not to say that there aren't redeemable qualities, but with a small roster of fighters and too many battles against the same faces, it loses a lot of luster, fast.
