Pokken Tournament Reviews
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.?”
Pokken Tournament is an amazing fighting experience that provides a good entry point for those unfamiliar with the genre.
Pokkén Tournament is an unqualified success.
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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Pokémon Company has another successful spin-off. Pokkén Tournament is the best fighting game of 2016 so far.
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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
As the first of what we hope is a series of fighting games, Pokkén Tournament surpasses our expectations.
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.