Pokken Tournament Reviews

Pokken Tournament is ranked in the 67th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
ZTGD
Top Critic
8.5 / 10.0
Mar 22, 2016

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.

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M3
Top Critic
7 / 10
Sep 29, 2017

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.

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8.5 / 10.0
Mar 15, 2016

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.

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78 / 100
Mar 19, 2016

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.

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3.8 / 5.0
Mar 15, 2016

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.

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9 / 10.0
Mar 21, 2016

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.

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7.9 / 10.0
Mar 15, 2016

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.

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Will Greenwald
Top Critic
Mar 15, 2016

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.

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9 / 10.0
Mar 15, 2016

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.

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Ray Carsillo
Top Critic
7 / 10.0
Mar 15, 2016

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.

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Unscored
Mar 15, 2016

As the first of what we hope is a series of fighting games, Pokkén Tournament surpasses our expectations.

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Mar 15, 2016

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.

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Mar 15, 2016

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.

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Mar 15, 2016

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.

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7 / 10.0
Mar 29, 2016

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.

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Liked
Mar 15, 2016
Pokkén Tournament - Video Review video thumbnail
4.5 / 5.0
Mar 19, 2016

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.

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7.6 / 10.0
Mar 18, 2016

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.

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8 / 10.0
Mar 15, 2016

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.

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Unscored
Mar 17, 2016

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.

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