Pokken Tournament Reviews
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.
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.
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.
Pokémon games are almost always a hit and Pokkén Tournament ranks up there with the best.
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.
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.
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
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
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.
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.
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
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 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.
Despite its shortcomings, Pokkén Tournament is a delightfully entertaining experience that will blossom with populated online servers and a dedicated fanbase.
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.
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.
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.