Pokkén Tournament
Promotional art used in Wii U version's cover art depicting Pikachu and Lucario in its mega-evolved form
Developer(s)Bandai Namco Studios
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Haruki Suzaki
Producer(s)
Designer(s)Yasuhito Kobayashi
Programmer(s)Sei Nakatani
Artist(s)
  • Hiroyasu Hosoya
  • Hiromi Watanabe
Composer(s)
Hiroki Hashimoto
    • Hiroyuki Kawada
    • Rio Hamamoto
    • Taku Inoue
    • Eriko Sakurai
    • Yoshinori Hirai
    • Takafumi Sato
    • Mitsuhiro Kitadani
    • Yu Sugimoto
    • Shota Kageyama
SeriesPokémon
Platform(s)Arcade
Wii U
Nintendo Switch
ReleaseArcade
Wii U
  • WW: March 18, 2016[2]
Nintendo Switch
  • WW: September 22, 2017
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Pokkén Tournament[lower-alpha 1] is a fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game combines gameplay elements from Bandai Namco's Tekken series and other fighting games, such as 3D and 2D movement,[3] with characters from the Pokémon franchise.[4] It was released for Japanese arcades in July 2015, and worldwide for the Wii U in March 2016. An enhanced port for the Nintendo Switch, Pokkén Tournament DX, was released in September 2017. The arcade version was published by Bandai Namco, the Japanese console versions were published by The Pokémon Company, and the console versions outside of Japan were published by Nintendo.

Title

Pokkén (Japanese: ポッ拳, Hepburn: Pokken) is a portmanteau of Pokémon[lower-alpha 2] and Tekken[lower-alpha 3]. The Japanese characters ポッ拳 appear in the game's logo in both the Japanese version and the localized versions released in North America and Europe. The official German-language title of the game is Pokémon Tekken.[5] The title change may be due to the similarity between Pokkén and the German word for smallpox, Pocken.[6]

Gameplay

Pikachu hitting Weavile with his Burst Attack in the Nintendo Switch version

Pokkén Tournament is a fighting game in which two fighters battle against each other using various Pokémon, with gameplay shifting between "Field Phase" where the Pokémon move freely around the arena similar to Power Stone and Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, and "Duel Phase" where they move relative to each other similar to the Tekken games. Unlike most arcade fighting games, which use a traditional joystick and buttons, the arcade version is played using console-style controllers, which are designed so that players who are not used to arcade sticks can get into the game more easily.[7]

The game focuses more on action, as opposed to the more technical gameplay of Tekken, allowing both hardcore and casual fans to enjoy it. As such, players can perform various techniques taken from the Pokémon series, such as special moves and Mega Evolutions (which can be built up from attacks using a "Synergy Gauge").[8] Players can also use Support Pokémon to give them special benefits such as buffs in attack or defense.

First-print Wii U copies of the game were packaged with a Shadow Mewtwo Amiibo card, which immediately unlocked the character for use.[9] The title also features online play, where players can compete in two types of online battle modes called friendly battles and ranked battles, including matches between players with registered friend codes and players who enter the same VS Code as each other.[10]

Pokémon

Across all versions of the game, there are 23 different Pokémon that appear as playable fighters, 16 of which appear in all three versions.

PokémonArcadeWii USwitch
Aegislash No No Yes[lower-roman 1]
Blastoise No No Yes[lower-roman 1]
Blaziken Yes Yes Yes
Braixen Yes[lower-roman 2] Yes Yes
Chandelure Yes Yes Yes
Charizard Yes Yes Yes
Croagunk Yes[lower-roman 2] No Yes
Darkrai Yes[lower-roman 2] No Yes
Decidueye No No Yes
Empoleon Yes[lower-roman 2] No Yes
Garchomp Yes[lower-roman 2] Yes Yes
Gardevoir Yes Yes Yes
Gengar Yes Yes Yes
Lucario Yes Yes Yes
Machamp Yes Yes Yes
Mewtwo Yes[lower-roman 2] Yes Yes
Pikachu Yes Yes Yes
Pikachu Libre Yes[lower-roman 2] Yes Yes
Sceptile Yes[lower-roman 2] Yes Yes
Scizor Yes[lower-roman 2] No Yes
Shadow Mewtwo[lower-roman 3] Yes[lower-roman 2] Yes Yes
Suicune Yes Yes Yes
Weavile Yes Yes Yes
  1. 1 2 DLC character.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Post-release addition.
  3. ↑ Boss character.

Development

People playing Pokkén Tournament in Sunshine City, Tokyo

Pokkén Tournament was first teased during a Pokémon Game Show event held in Japan in August 2013, with trademarks for the game filed the same month.[11] It was officially announced at an event held by Famitsu on August 26, 2014.[12] The Pokémon Company CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada, and Soulcalibur producer Masaaki Hoshino attended the event, which was broadcast on Niconico, stating the collaboration came about from brainstorming ideas of new ways to play Pokémon.

As the game was being developed, Ishihara wanted to feature primarily fighting-type Pokémon in the game, but Hoshino pushed back, and the game was released with Pokémon of many different types featured.[13]

At the 2015 Pokémon World Championships, it was announced that the game would be coming to the Wii U. A demo of the game was available for attendees to play at the tournament.[14] In December 2015, Hori announced that a dedicated arcade controller would be released alongside the game in Japan.[15] The game is known as Pokémon Tekken in Germany and Austria.[16] In April 2016, Nintendo announced that another controller, inspired by Pikachu, would be released in Japan in June.[17] In May 2016, GameStop announced that the Pikachu controller would be released in North America in August of that year in "limited quantities".[18]

In June 2017, an enhanced Nintendo Switch port was announced under the title Pokkén Tournament DX, which was released worldwide on September 22, 2017.[19] The port includes the last four fighters added in the arcade version, along with an additional exclusive fighter and new game modes. In January 2018, two DLC packs were announced for the DX version. In Pack One, Aegislash is a fighter along with Mega Rayquaza and Mimikyu as support Pokémon, which was released on January 31, 2018. In Pack Two, Blastoise is a fighter along with Mew and Celebi as support Pokémon, which was released on March 23, 2018.[20]

In January 2021, Harada, in a response to a follower on Twitter, stated that while he would like to make a sequel to Pokkén, it was up to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company to decide.[21][22][23]

Reception

Amusement Fantasista, a video arcade in Kurashiki, Japan, planned to remove Pokkén Tournament machines in November 2015 due to lack of profitability.[50] Chris Carter of Destructoid noted that in the arcade version, one game credit could last a player 45 minutes, yielding low profits for each machine.[51][52] The Wii U version entered the Media Create sales charts as the highest-selling game in the region during its debut week, with 69,675 copies sold, and was credited for a marked increase in Wii U hardware sales in the same period; 13,000 units sold compared to the previous week's 4,000.[53] The Switch version of Pokkén Tournament sold 53,395 copies within its first week on sale in Japan, which placed it at number one on the all format sales chart.[54]

Western reviews of the console version were mostly positive, earning a 76 out of 100 average score from aggregate review website Metacritic.[25] In the United States, the NPD Group reported that Pokkén Tournament outsold Street Fighter V by the end of April 2016.[55] In August 2016, Bandai Namco announced that the game had shipped over one million copies worldwide.[56]

Pokkén Tournament was nominated for Best Fighting Game at The Game Awards 2016,[57] as well as Fighting Game of the Year at the 20th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards.[58]

The Nintendo Switch version received similar or slightly better reviews than the Wii U version, with praise towards the new characters and new modes, but criticising the new split screen mode, which had framerate issues.[59][60] It had sold over a million copies by March 2018.[61]

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: ポッ拳 POKKÉN TOURNAMENT, Hepburn: Pokken Tōnamento
  2. ↑ Japanese: ポケモン, Hepburn: Pokemon
  3. ↑ Japanese: 鉄拳, Hepburn: Tekken, lit.: "Iron Fist"

References

  1. ↑ "Charizard and Weavile Join the Fight in Pokkén Tournament". IGN. Archived from the original on 14 December 2019. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  2. ↑ Nunneley, Stephany (January 16, 2016). "Pokken Tournament hits the west in March, new tournament details emerge". VG247. Archived from the original on December 14, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  3. ↑ McElroy, Griffin (2016-03-15). "How Pokkén Tournament blends two types of fighting games into one". Polygon. Archived from the original on 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  4. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament, A Pokémon Fighting Game, Announced For Arcades". Siliconera. 26 August 2014. Archived from the original on 23 July 2018. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "Pokémon Tekken - Produktseite". Pokemon.com. Archived from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  6. ↑ Ian "iantothemax" Walker (18 January 2016). "Pokkén Tournament is Pokémon Tekken in Germany". SRK (Shoryuken). Archived from the original on 19 August 2019. Retrieved 24 June 2020.
  7. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament Will Be Played With This Controller". Siliconera. January 23, 2015. Archived from the original on April 16, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament Will Focus More On The Action Aspect Of Fighting Games". Siliconera. 26 August 2014. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  9. ↑ Karklins, Andrew (November 12, 2015). "Shadow Mewtwo amiibo Card Coming With First Print Copies Of Pokkén Tournament". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on November 15, 2015. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Pokken Tournament". Archived from the original on February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  11. ↑ "'Pokkén Fighters,' 'Pokkén Tournament' Trademarks Filed". Anime News Network. August 8, 2013. Archived from the original on October 18, 2014. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  12. ↑ "ポケモンの格闘ゲーム『ポッ拳』発表！大人のポケモンバトルが今始まる | インサイド". inside-games.jp. Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  13. ↑ Webster, Andrew (2016-02-17). "How the minds behind Tekken and Soulcalibur transformed Pokemon into a fighting game". The Verge. Archived from the original on 2021-01-27. Retrieved 2021-01-19.
  14. ↑ Culafi, Alex (September 4, 2015). "Friday: Day 1 - Feature". Nintendo World Report. Retrieved 2023-08-13.
  15. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (December 15, 2015). "Pokkén Tournament for Wii U getting a dedicated arcade controller". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 18, 2015. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  16. ↑ Walker, Ian. "Pokkén Tournament is Pokémon Tekken in Germany". shoryuken.com. Archived from the original on 26 March 2016. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  17. ↑ Vockovich, Daniel (28 April 2016). "Pikachu Pokken Tournament Controller On The Way". Vooks. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  18. ↑ Rahming, A.K (7 May 2016). "GameStop - Pokkén Pikachu Controller Release Dated Updated, Limited Quantities". Nintendo Enthusiast. Archived from the original on 8 May 2016. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  19. ↑ Skrebels, Joe (6 June 2017). "Pokken Tournament DX Announced for Nintendo Switch". IGN. Retrieved 6 June 2017.
  20. ↑ Phillips, Tom (2018-01-11). "Switch Pokémon fighter Pokkén Tournament DX adds Blastoise and more". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2018-01-11. Retrieved 2018-01-12.
  21. ↑ Doolan, Liam (2021-01-24). "Pokkén Tournament Producer Katsuhiro Harada Up For A Sequel, But Says It's Not Bandai Namco's Decision To Make". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2021-01-24. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  22. ↑ "Pokken Tournament Producer Open To Sequel". Game Rant. 2021-01-24. Archived from the original on 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  23. ↑ "Tekken director keen to make another Pokemon fighting game with Pokken sequel". VG247. 2021-01-25. Archived from the original on 2021-01-26. Retrieved 2021-01-26.
  24. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament DX Reviews". Metacritic. September 22, 2017. Archived from the original on October 8, 2017. Retrieved October 12, 2017.
  25. 1 2 "Pokkén Tournament Reviews — Metacritic". Metacritic. March 15, 2016. Archived from the original on June 9, 2017. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  26. ↑ "Test: Pokémon Tekken DX (Prügeln & Kämpfen)". 4Players.de. 22 September 2017. Archived from the original on 21 February 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Test: Pokémon Tekken (Arcade-Action)". 4Players.de. 18 March 2016. Archived from the original on 1 November 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  28. ↑ "Review: Pokken Tournament DX". Destructoid. 18 September 2017. Archived from the original on 19 October 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  29. ↑ Chris Carter (March 15, 2016). "Review: Pokken Tournament". Destructoid. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  30. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament". Edge. No. 292. Future Publishing. May 2016. p. 120.
  31. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament DX review Gotta fight 'em all...again". Electronic Gaming Monthly. 26 September 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  32. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament review". Electronic Gaming Monthly. Archived from the original on March 17, 2016. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  33. ↑ Chris Schilling (15 March 2016). "Pokkén Tournament review". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 21 September 2017. Retrieved 21 September 2017.
  34. ↑ Hilliard, Kyle (March 18, 2016). "The Passable Pokémon Fighter - Pokken Tournament - Wii U". Game Informer. Archived from the original on March 23, 2016. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  35. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament Review". Game Revolution. 15 March 2016. Archived from the original on 24 February 2021. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  36. ↑ Tamoor Hussain (March 15, 2016). "Pokken Tournament Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 18, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  37. ↑ "POKKEN TOURNAMENT REVIEW". GamesRadar+. 15 March 2016. Archived from the original on 19 September 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  38. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament review". GamesTM. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  39. ↑ "Review: Pokkén Tournament DX". Hardcore Gamer. 21 September 2017. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  40. ↑ "Review: Pokkén Tournament". Hardcore Gamer. 21 March 2016. Archived from the original on 6 August 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  41. ↑ "Pokken Tournament DX Review". IGN. 21 September 2017. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  42. ↑ Darry Huskey (March 15, 2016). "Pokkén Tournament Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Archived from the original on March 15, 2016. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
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  44. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament Review (Wii U)". Nintendo Life. 15 March 2016. Archived from the original on 13 August 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  45. ↑ "Pokken Tournament DX (Switch) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  46. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament (Wii U) Review". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  47. ↑ "Pokken Tournament DX Review". USgamer. 25 September 2017. Archived from the original on 15 August 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
  48. ↑ "Pokken Tournament review: It's Not Very Effective". Shacknews. 15 March 2016. Archived from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved August 15, 2020.
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  57. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (November 16, 2016). "All the 2016 Game Awards Nominees". GameSpot. Archived from the original on November 24, 2016. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
  58. ↑ "2017 Awards Category Details Fighting Game of the Year". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
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  61. ↑ McFerran, Damien (26 April 2018). "Super Mario Odyssey Passes The 10 Million Sold Marker". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 27 April 2018. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
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