Pokken Tournament - Wii U Standard Edition

It's finally here. There's been a lot of talk about Pokken Tournament ever since it hit the arcades in Japan in summer of 2015. From trailers and available footage, the game looked like what is essentially a supercharged version of Tekken (l always thought the name of the game was a play on Tekken Tag Tournament). This time the player fights as Pokemons in an arcade style instead of the traditional turn based-approach that's been a mainstay of the video game series. Nintendo announced a console version would be released on the Wii U in 2016 and at last, it has arrived. Pokemaniacs who have been can now rejoice as they put their hands on a copy for the Wii U. Let me start by saying how incredibly gorgeous this game looks with it's stunning graphics. The visuals are magnificent for the Wii U. The environments are and attacks look splendid. The cartoony-style graphics work like a charm on the Wii U once more. The cut scenes and mega attacks look splendid. The controls are very fluid and easy to master. As is usual per fighting games, there are different combinations you can learn. Each Pokemon has it's own set of moves that makes it unique. That's why it's fun to play with different Pokemons because no two pocket-monsters have the same moveset. For instance Pikachu and Pikachu libre are much more different than you might think. Pokemons like Gengar, Machamp and Chandelure all have their quirks that make them a blast to control for different reasons. The gamepad works pretty good and has the added benefit of the screen but l feel Pokken Tournament is best experienced with a pro-controller or the game's arcade-style controller. I'm very partial to my pro-controller for a lot of games, but since Pokken Tournament is an arcade game, the exclusive controller is the simpler and brings the most fun. It's quite comfortable and comes with a super long cord. Please note that the controller won't work with other Wii U game (l tried). In Ferum league you try to earn the championship as you go around fighting in an open-world, trying level-up your squad as you do so. This story mode provides a few hours of solid entertainment as you beat trainers and reach higher ranks and unlock content. There are 16 total Pokemons to play with: Blaziken, Braixen, Chandelure, Charizard, Garchomp, Gardevoir, Gengar, Lucario, Machamp, Mewto, Pikachu, Pikachu Libre, Sceptile, Shadow Mewto, Suicune and Weavile. The Amiibo card included with the game unlocks Shadow Mewto. Then you have 30 "assist" Pokemon who can be used at any point during combat as aides to help you. Interestingly, the assist Pokemons come in groups of two. They are: Snivy and Lapras, Emolga and Fennekin, Frogadier and Evee, Jirachi and Whimsicott Mismagius and Ninetales, Farfetch'd and Electrode, Togekiss and Rotom, Dragonite and Victini, Croagunk and Silveon, Parichisu and Magikarp, Cubone and Diglett, Magneton and Quagsire, Espeon, Yveltial and Latios, Rashiram and Cressilia. I feel Nintendo missed an opportunity to make Pokken Tournament one of it's best titles in a long time. It's a great game, make no mistake, but a few additions would have elevated it and cemented it's status among gamers. Firstly, multiplayer only supports two players at a time which is disappointing for those of us hoping for a similar experience to Super Smash Bros. A four player all-out Poke-fest war would have been a dream. I understand that it would have been difficult, but l don't think it would have been impossible. Multiplayer mode also lowers the screen rate from 60 frames-per-second to 30 fps, a significant drop when it comes to visuals. Note that it also necessitates one player using the Wii U's gamepad. As it stands, multiplayer is tons of fun and will no doubt offer countless hours of one-on-one fighting. It's still hard for me to shake off the feeling that four-player multiplayer would have brought this game to a whole new level. The comparisons to Tekken ring true but Pokken Tournament takes further steps. It takes a great fighting game and concept and expands on it. It has quickly become one of my favourite Wii U and Pokemon game. If you own a Wii U and love Pokemon or fighting games, l highly recommend you give it a try. Other than multiplayer being only two player, the game hits the spot in every possible way. I was pleasantly blown away! 5/5 stars.

Executions are very easy in this game (don't have to worry about doing quarter circle shoryuken motions the right time) making for a more fun psychological timing battle like a game of rock-paper-scissors, hand slap game or thumb wars as you try to parry, block and attack your opponent at the right time. There are two fighting phases in the game. A 3D phase (field phase) where you focus on your position and shooting projectile attacks from afar while dodging enemy attacks trying to get up close dealing massive damage and a 2D phase (duel phase) where you go through your traditional fighting game troupe of grabs, attacks (low , mid, high), blocks and parries. Each phase has different attacks variants so it switch up strategy a lot. The field phase has you locked onto your opponent at all times so you don't have to worry about any camera issues. Once you get in close or do certain attacks you will switch to a duel phase. Duel phase can switch back to field phase once a lot of damage is dealt. Switching shift can be advantagous also as you switching from one from the other can recover all your chip damage or remove all opponents chip damage depending on who initiates it, making the game more frantic, keeping battles more intense as you're on your feet the entire time There are 16 pokemon to choose from each varying in special moves and stats (speed, defense, attack, etc) and no one pokemon is a clone of another. Button executions are similar so you don't have to learn new moves for each character rather know how each character initiate the moves provided to them. There are also support pokemon which you can call in during battle to do stat boosts, de-buff enemy or attack the enemy. Thoughout battle to fill up a bar, when filled you can activate a pokemon's mega evolution (or a power-up state if the pokemon does not have one) where you get power up stats and access to a finishing move. There's training mode which gives a very good tutorial of the game. I recommend going through this mode first as it will give you tips you otherwise don't know if you were just to jump right in and try to learn it yourself. I may be slow at first, but it's worth it go through in my opinion. Verus mode or I would like to call couch gameplay have you and a friend battle each other; one using the game pad while the other a pro controller. This may cause problems if one prefers a controller over the other. You cannot both play on the TV screen as the field phase mode required a fixed camera angle on your character as mentioned before. There is a LAN link option if you are serious into the game. There's avatar customization also which is a nice touch. You have to gain in-game money to purchase new accessories for that character which can be earned by continuous play of the game. Ferrum battle leauge is the game's story mode where you battle varies pokemon trainer tournament style like how a pokemon league works in the anime. As you try to work your way up the tournament ladder trying to be the best there ever was; there's also a side plot about Shadow Mewtwo to switch things up a bit. Online modes include Ranked and friendly (casual mode). Ranked keeps record of your win/lose ratio and friendly mode is your typical jump in and play against anyone or a friend if you have a code. Ranked battles aside from keeping track of your win/loss ratio you always rank up and will battle players of your own rank which is a nice challenge, but if you stop playing after a while and get rusty or if someone else plays your account your win to lose ratio may falter. Online battle is pretty smooth, there are some stutters here and there at times, but most of the time it's stable. If you are not able to connect to another player online within 10secs or so, the game let's you play against a CPU until a player is found which is a nice as you don't have to constantly wait at the search screen. This game is the closest you'll get to a real pokemon battle you see in the anime, and is easily accessible to everyone as you focus on more on timing and twitch gameplay rather than complex executions.

Nintendo, Namco, Bandai... what's not to like! Pokken Tournament for the Wii U is truely the first of its kind. They were able to combine pokemon and tekken along with a brilliant combination of Duel Phase (standard fighting games) and Field Phase (3D move around, projectile based) fighting. The Roster has 16 characters in it. Some classics like Pikachu, Charizard, Mewtwo, and a few more interesting/intuitive fighters like Suicune and Chandelure. While this group of fighters isn't large in number, it makes up for it with the variety that has obviously been sought after. Each fighter feels totally different and plays to its own style. While they are grouped into 4 types: Standard, Speed, Power, and Techniquel, I find each fighter to play and handle completely different. (Even Mewtwo and Shadow Mewtwo, and Pikachu and Pikachu Libre play so much differently) The game is composed of best of 3 matches were you will be constantly shifting from Duel Phase to Field Phase. This gives the game a nice flow to it and allows for strategy as you can determine when the shifting happens by throwing your opponent or hitting them with a powerful attack. The "Attack Triangle" consists of Normal attacks, Counter attacks, and Throws. Normals beat Throws, Counters beat Normals, and Throws beat Counters. I found this triangle to be pretty consistant and easy to determine what was going on even if you don't know ever move your opponent is doing. There are some exceptions to this with Piercing attacks that can break counters which I found to be frustrating at times... but all fighting games require a knowledge of each character to become competitive and Pokken Tournament is no different. Luckily you can look up every move and combo just by hitting start and going to the move list. There's tons of aesthetic items to win for your avatar as you battle through single player battles, story-like-mode tournaments, and online battles. I found the story of Shadow Mewtwo to be pretty interesting and better than most fighting games out there. Online mode is tough and competetive so make sure you're practiced up and ready for people doing whatever it takes to win (Even if that means spammy y attacks all game haha) Pokken Tournament has a little for everyone. My wife and I both play it, she more the storymode, me more online competetive and we both have a lot of fun. It's easy enough to pick up and will take long enough to master. They've done something great here with this game, and I can't wait to see if it gets enough success to bring in some DLC and even a sequel. We shall see What are you waiting for? Grab a copy today! Perhaps I'll see you online ;)

This is what I always imagined a Pokémon battle should look like. I always wondered why Nintendo never made a console version of the Pokémon adventure games; something that plays like Ruby or Sapphire (my personal favorites) but with the graphical power of a game like this. I'm sure it would sell like hotcakes. Not to mention they could make amiibo figures for some of the Pokémon and make another fortune or two. But if this is the closest thing to that, I'm fine with it. I usually prefer fighting games like Soul Calibur, where the fighting is precise and intense, but the controls aren't stiff or too complex unless you master them; fighting like that gives you some room for error and still allows you to pick yourself up. Not to mention stringing super long combos together isn't necessary. This seems like a nice compromise. You're expected to know which moves are effective against which moves (normal attacks beat throwing, throwing beats counter attacks, and counter attacks beat normal attacks). Additionally, the game often switches between field phase and duel phase. In field phase you have a greater range of movement, while duel phase locks you and the opponent into a 2D plane of battle. You have all sorts of ranged moves, close quarter moves, and other attacks you can pull off to give your enemy a bad time. As a preorder bonus, I got a Shadow Mewtwo card which temporarily unlocks him until the end of your play session (until you unlock him permanently), which is fine. You can actually scan the card through the plastic packaging it came in, so for serious game collectors like me, you can leave it in there so it stays perfect forever. This is a fun fighting game, and although I'm usually too nervous to play fighting games online since they require a lot of skill, I could probably play this one online once I get a little practice in and learn the game inside out. I also purchased the Pokken Tournament Pro Pad controller, which, after trying all the other control methods, I think is the best way to play the game.

We bought this game for my son for his 16th birthday. That was months ago. He's been too busy playing the game to give me any information about it so I can write a review. I suppose that's probably a good thing. It means he really likes it, right? There are two things that always make him happy about a video game. The first is if there is a reasonable learning curve when you are getting started. He hates when games make you spend literal hours playing before you are making any real progress in the game because you are busy with simple tutorials. This game has a very short learning curve, so he was up and playing in no time. The second thing he likes is to be able to play the game with his friends online. This game qualifies in that area, too. He said that setup was easy and he didn't have any issues hooking things up and finding his friends in this game. On the "playing with friends" topic, he did have a minor complaint that when you are playing with two people actually in the room together, one of them MUST use the Wii U Game Pad Controller in the game. Apparently that's a problem because it's everyone's (at least all of his friends) least favorite way to play the Wii U. My son actually purchased the Pokken Pro controller that was designed specially for this game and he says it makes the game much more fun to play. He has also purchased a few Amibos for his Wii U system and his 3DS. (I'm pretty sure he was speaking Greek when he explained this part, but it seems that the purchase of these Amibos added a lot to his enjoyment of Pokken Tournament.) He says that even a gaming dunce like me could play this game and that I have no need of understanding other Pokemon games to do it. It seems that the only relationship between this game and other Pokemon games is that it has the same characters and they are used in the same way. Sorry folks... I have no idea what that means. I'm just sharing what he told me. From a parent's perspective, I view it as money well spent. He's had the game for three months and I still see it being used on a regular basis. That's always a good sign. I hope you find this review helpful. Personally, I didn't really understand a lot of what I just shared with you. But my son says it will make sense to anyone looking to buy the game. I hope he is right. Good luck and happy playing. All opinions expressed in this review are 100% my own. I have shared my personal experience with this product and cannot guarantee that you will have the same experience with the product that I had, nor can I promise that we will share the same opinion of the product.

Don't normally write reviews. But this game is a lot better then I expected. Never really been into fighting games besides Smash because it's completely different then Mortal Kombat and such. Game is excellent! Animations are great, and each character brings something new. Tho, lacking in Pokemon you can fight with, I think that's were amiibo cards will come into place, since they can develop them on the side, along with letting people chose which pokemon they want to buy without the hassle of dlc. Story is pretty meh to be honest, but I honestly think they are trying to make this game for the competitive fighter scene. Which is okay, it works. It mashes up Nautro and other elements from other fighters. It's a breathe of fresh air for the genre. Hoping to see some of my other favorite Pokemon like Squirtle coming into the game, along with Mew. Game has tons of potential. Matches are quick too. No long pauses in between new players, or old ones. Easy to play, easy to pick up combos, easy to learn how to counter specific Pokemon. The support items are nice, kind of like a tag team situation event, like you would see in other fighters. Overall I'm surprised this game got such a low score on the metacric, probably because it lacks a lot of things other fighters do. No problems with online yet, vary solid with 60fps throughout the entire matches I've come across. Keep the Pokemon games coming Nintendo. Another reason for players to pick up a Wii U especially if you like fighters.

I started out really liking this game but as time has worn on I have grown a little frustrated with some of the core mechanics. The game does a poor job explaining the very Rock-Paper-Scissor nature of the game because it is incorrect, some attacks will still beat through these mechanics. Furthermore, if you are familiar with the setting, the fact that you only fight with a single pokemon and use two others as support might be a major annoyance to fans of the Pokemon world. Considering that this is tied to Tekken how hard would it have been to use Tekken tag as a jump off point. Also, some of the choices for characters are odd, while Lucha Libre Pikachu is cute, wasting a slot that could have been used on another say recognizable character is disheartening. If you like fighting games and like Pokemon, it is fun, the story is... okay. And so far the online fighting has not disappointed but the game feels lackluster after playing it for a bit and I feel it could have used more polish.

While this game may only have 16 fighters, it is a very fun game! The online play is very smooth and I have yet to have a battle with any lag, and players who quit early are punished in game so people leaving during an online battle is rare. Pros: - Graphics - Music - Sounds - Nice movesets - Variety in gameplay - Training - Stages - Shadow Mewtwo Amiibo Card - Online play - Story is short but fun - Support Pokémon - Trainer customization - Usage of Amiibo - Level up system Cons: - Voice acting by the humans is pretty terrible - 16 fighters is a low number of fights (I hope for DLC) Bottom line is that I find this to be an excellent game for fighting game fans and Pokémon fans alike. The variety in moves and attributes of the Pokémon is very diverse so that makes using each Pokémon feel like a very different playing experience. If I get tired of playing online with Charizard, I know I can switch things up and start battling with Lucario for a different style of battle. Also the Support Pokémon had a lot of variant and strategy to it as well. The game is easier to get used to than most fighting games that I have played so that is a mega plus! I highly recommend this game for Wii U owners. Train on Pokémon Trainers!

A lot of content! My 6 year old daughter is in love with this game - there's quite a bit of text, that she doesn't actually read ... she just skips through it, however she has not had any issues because the game as an innovative voice guidance system which coaches the player as they are in the match and in between the match. The graphics are awesome and the fight system is very easy to pick up. There's a lot of content in this game because you unlock more pokemon to battle with and take into tounaments/leagues as you play and earn experience/etc. Great game for kids and pokemon lovers.

Un juego muy muy divertido y competitivo (online). Las gráficas son muy buenas y los ataques son realmente buenos. Lo recomiendo completamente y recomiendo 110% comprar en amazon mexico.

Aunque ya salio la versión DX para Switch con mas contenido, si eres dueño de un Wii U y no tienes plan de adquirir un Switch, este juego es un buen juego de peleas tipo Arena, entretenido y con un soporte online excelente.

It is pretty fun but it gets repetetive

Awesomely fun fighting game probably the only fighting game I would try and master completely and go online to do some battles. It's somewhat like smash where it's still casually friendly but if you learn the more advance mechanics and combos you will dominate. Only downfall is the single player is pretty bad since I'm going to compare this to Naruto Storm 4 since that closely resembles this; Storm 4 had an intense single player story mode along with a ton of characters in the same format. Of course Pokken Tournament has more better surrounding and the detail is astonishing compared to the anime styled Storm 4 but it still feels lackluster. It's basically Street Fighter 5 content wise, though Nintendo die hard fans wont agree to this for obvious reasons but as I said the game isn't bad and its one of my favorite fighting game so far. It just feels like this game is mainly only MP with the mindset of EVO and other competitions like that.