Pokkén Tournament

Pokkén Tournament
Developer(s) Bandai Namco Studios
Publisher(s) The Pokémon Company
Distributor(s)

Arcade

Wii U

Director(s) Haruki Suzaki
Producer(s) Masaaki Hoshino
Katsuhiro Harada
Designer(s) Yasuhito Kobayashi
Programmer(s) Sei Nakatani
Artist(s) Hiromi Watanabe
Composer(s)
Series Pokémon
Platform(s) Arcade, Wii U
Release date(s)

Arcade

Wii U

  • WW: March 18, 2016[2]
Genre(s) Fighting
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Pokkén Tournament (ポッ拳 Pokken) is a fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and published by The Pokémon Company.[3] The game combines gameplay elements from Bandai Namco's Tekken series with characters from Nintendo's Pokémon franchise.[4] It was released for Japanese arcades in July 2015, and worldwide for the Wii U in March 2016.[5]

Gameplay

People playing Pokkén Tournament in Sunshine City, Tokyo.

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, and "Duel Phase" where they move relative 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.[6] 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").[7] Players can also use Support Pokémon to give them special benefits such as buffs in attack or defense. On October 30, 2015, footage surfaced of a boss fight with a new form of Mewtwo, known as "Shadow Mewtwo"; the character was teased in an official trailer a few days later. First-print Wii U copies of the game were packaged with a Shadow Mewtwo amiibo card, which immediately unlocked the character for use.[8] 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.[9]

Development

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.[10] It was officially announced at an event held by Famitsu on August 26, 2014.[11] 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.

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. In December 2015, Hori and Nintendo announced that a dedicated arcade controller would be released alongside the game in Japan.[12] The game is known as Pokémon Tekken in Germany and Austria.[13] In April 2016, Nintendo has announced that another controller inspired by Pikachu will be released in Japan in June.[14] In May 2016, GameStop announced that the Pikachu controller would be released in North America in August of that year in "limited quantities".[15]

Characters

The game currently starts with 20 playable Pokémon. The playable roster is as follows:

^a Post-release addition (arcade)
^b Boss character

Assist characters

The game starts with 30 non-playable assist Pokémon that can be summoned in battle to aid the player. These characters also come in a group of two Pokémon. The groups of assist Pokémon are:

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic76/100[18]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid7.5/10[19]
Game Informer7/10[20]
GameSpot9/10[21]
IGN8/10[22]

Amusement Fantasista, a video arcade in Kurashiki, Japan, planned to remove Pokkén Tournament machines in November due to lack of profitability.[23] 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.[24][25] 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.[26]

Western reviews of the console version were mostly positive, earning a 76 out of 100 average score from aggregate review website Metacritic.[18] In the United States, the NPD Group reported that Pokkén Tournament outsold Street Fighter V by the end of April 2016.[27] In August 2016, Bandai Namco announced that the game had shipped over one million copies worldwide.[28]

Pokkén Tournament was nominated for Best Fighting Game at The Game Awards 2016.[29]

References

  1. ↑ "Charizard and Weavile Join the Fight in Pokkén Tournament". IGN. Retrieved 3 July 2014.
  2. ↑ Nunneley, Stephany (January 16, 2016). "Pokken Tournament hits the west in March, new tournament details emerge". VG247. Retrieved January 16, 2016.
  3. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament". The Pokémon Company. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  4. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament, A Pokémon Fighting Game, Announced For Arcades". Siliconera. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  5. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament Arrives on Wii U in Spring 2016!". YouTube. Retrieved 21 August 2015.
  6. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament Will Be Played With This Controller". Siliconera. January 23, 2015. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Pokkén Tournament Will Focus More On The Action Aspect Of Fighting Games". Siliconera. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  8. ↑ Karklins, Andrew (November 12, 2015). "Shadow Mewtwo amiibo Card Coming With First Print Copies Of Pokkén Tournament". Nintendo Life. Retrieved November 13, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Pokken Tournament Is Getting A New Fighter And Modes". Cinemablend. Retrieved February 19, 2016.
  10. ↑ "'Pokkén Fighters,' 'Pokkén Tournament' Trademarks Filed". Anime News Network. August 8, 2013. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  11. ↑ "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. Retrieved 26 August 2014.
  12. ↑ McWhertor, Michael (December 15, 2015). "Pokkén Tournament for Wii U getting a dedicated arcade controller". Polygon. Retrieved December 16, 2015.
  13. ↑ Walker, Ian. "Pokkén Tournament is Pokémon Tekken in Germany". shoryuken.com. Retrieved 25 March 2016.
  14. ↑ Vockovich, Daniel. "Pikachu Pokken Tournament Controller On The Way". Vooks. Retrieved 28 April 2016.
  15. ↑ Rahming, A.K. "GameStop - Pokkén Pikachu Controller Release Dated Updated, Limited Quantities". Nintendo Enthusiast. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
  16. ↑ Carter, Chris. "Darkrai is coming to Pokkén Tournament". Destructoid. Retrieved 2016-07-14.
  17. ↑ http://nintendowire.com/blog/2016/10/13/scizor-joins-pokken-tournament-coming-ja panese-arcades-october-20th/
  18. 1 2 "Pokkén Tournament Reviews — Metacritic". MetaCritic. March 15, 2016. Retrieved April 24, 2016.
  19. ↑ Chris Carter (March 15, 2016). "Review: Pokken Tournament". Destructoid. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  20. ↑ Hilliard, Kyle (March 18, 2016). "The Passable Pokémon Fighter - Pokken Tournament - Wii U". Game Informer. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  21. ↑ Tamoor Hussain (March 15, 2016). "Pokken Tournament Review". GameSpot. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  22. ↑ Darry Huskey (March 15, 2016). "Pokkén Tournament Review". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  23. ↑ Kevin McKinn (October 20, 2015). "Pokkén Tournament Not Super Effective for Japanese Arcade". Nintendo News. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  24. ↑ Chris Carter (September 21, 2015). "Pokken Tournament is a fun, deep little brawler". Destructoid. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  25. ↑ Jed Whitaker (October 20, 2015). "Pokken Tournament is so unpopular in one Japanese arcade, it's being removed". Destructoid. Retrieved October 21, 2015.
  26. ↑ Romano, Sal (March 23, 2016). "Media Create Sales: 3/14/16-3/20/16". Gematsu. Retrieved March 23, 2016.
  27. ↑ Seedhouse, Alex. "Pokken Tournament Has Outsold Street Fighter 5 In The United States". Nintendo Insider. Retrieved May 17, 2016.
  28. ↑ "Pokken Tournament defies odds, ships one million units on Wii U". Destructoid. August 18, 2016. Retrieved August 18, 2016.
  29. ↑ Makuch, Eddie (November 16, 2016). "All the 2016 Game Awards Nominees". GameSpot. Retrieved November 18, 2016.
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