Pokken Tournament Reviews
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
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.
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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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.
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.
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.
Exciting multiplayer makes up for solo mode
[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.?”
Bandai Namco's Pokkén Tournament makes the fighting genre accessible to a younger audience, but does little to accommodate more experienced players.
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.
Getting to punch, kick and burn things as a Pokemon is a delight, but it doesn't feel fair when playing with others.
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.
It's not very effective
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.
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.
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.
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.
It seems destined to be undervalued, but this is a pleasant surprise - a fine fighter that's just about essential for Pokemon fans.