Pokkén Tournament Review - One Hell Of A Promising Start

Tekken meets Pokémon, but with far more depth than you think.

Rating: ˜…˜…˜…˜…˜†

It's quite the baffling state of affairs when the most interesting and enjoyable fighter of 2016 is not Street Fighter V, but newcomer Pokkén Tournament. By including a staggering amount of depth and strategy, Bandai Namco have given what could turn into a long-running franchise the most promising debut in quite some time.

It's not all sunshine and anime rainbows though, as despite featuring a very impressive, complex yet balanced fighting engine ('rock, paper, scissors' becomes 'grab, strike, counter' as everything else builds on top), fights on all levels can be won, more often that not, by resorting to button-bashing. Now of course, in a fighting game it's just common parlance to not play in such a way, but timing windows for combos are very wide and generous, meaning you'll end up pulling off some of your character's most fancy and screen-filling moves with nary the slightest idea as to how it happened.

You can put the time into learning what counters what, which moves should be used against each other and so on - and this will aid you online especially - but as for what's offered in the offline portion, it stands that fighting game fans applying any knowledge of the genre are going to tear the competition to ribbons. Pokkén may have hardcore sensibilities in its control scheme and a reliance on tutorials to even understand what's going on initially, but this is a casual fighter for all to enjoy. Those in search of brutal competition after mastering its systems will only find it by delving into the multiplayer.

This is most likely intentional, and down to the demographic Pokémon appeals to, i.e. everybody under the sun. Namco couldn't make the idea of playing as your favourite creatures too hard first time around, or they'd alienate half the fanbase. Likewise, what is here provides insight into what will be required for any high-level play in the coming years; arenas have defined sizes, additional Pokémon can fill in support roles supplying health or damage boosts, and you're forced to switch stances every few seconds. It all shows promise for difficulty tweaks and sequels down the line.

The stance-switching element is called a 'Phase Shift', and provides the biggest hook within Pokkén's addictive toolset. Battles take place in both 3D and 2D spaces, with certain moves or damage amounts triggering the shift. Your Pokémon go from rampaging around the arena under full analogue control, to having the camera lock to their side as you have to start dodging or going on the offensive on a 2D plane. It's a unique idea and one that constantly keeps you on your toes, thanks to the control scheme having minor changes (up and down become evasive hold animations, rather than movement directions). Like the busy HUD, it can get a little too messy for its own good when numerous special moves are constantly popping off, but it stops just short of being overwhelming once you have the basics down.

In terms of presentation, Pokkén adopts a style reminiscent of the more modern, bubblegum n' K-pop version of the TV show. That means you've got a peppy voiceover in Nia, constantly chiming in to tell you "What a great job!" you're doing, or remarking how "Even losing is still fun! And that's what it's all about!" on every screen of the game. It works to as much of a degree as you can stand overly spunky anime characters doing the same, but ultimately, across long play sessions and hopping back and forth between menus, matches and fighter setup combinations, Nia's omnipresence will grate on even the most staunchest supporters. Thankfully, she can be turned off.

16 fighters is the full roster after you've clocked the main Ferrum League and unlocked both versions of Mewtwo (Shadow being the latter), and therein lies the issue for longterm investment. As the game is striving for such a cross-generational appeal, the roster is trimmed down to focus on the act of balancing everybody perfectly.

You've got fan-favourites Pikachu and Charizard alongside newer, more random additions like Blaziken and Chandelure, but for the most part they feel very similar unless you really get lost in comparing health bars and special meter charge times. It's not inherently a bad thing if the very nature of quite an obvious 'rock, paper, scissors' approach scratches your itch, but it does mean creatures must adhere to the game's base foundations no matter what, thereby removing some much-needed variation that would've come from a wider and more experimental roster.

Character slots are wasted by having alternate versions of iconic Pokémon such as Pikachu Libre and Shadow Mewtwo (even if the former can pull off a Stone Cold Stunner as a Poké Combo), as there are more than 700 alternatives that would've been more interesting, but at the heart of it, controlling Pokkén Tournament shows Namco's fighting prowess is as adaptable as ever. And that, like every other immaculately-playing thing from Destiny to Hotline Miami, is the heart of why it succeeds despite not fully capitalising on very solid potential.

Poké-fans who've been dying to control their favourite creatures for 20 years will be in their element, and it's in the immediacy of chaining together combos and special attacks where Pokkén is most confident. The Street Fighter-style Burst attacks pop off with a satisfying mix of fan service brutality and overblown Dragon Ball Z-esque spectacle, and finishing a match by deploying one and watching your opponent's life bar get decimated as your Pokémon punches them further and further into the sky is a love letter to anyone who's every watched the TV show and prayed to the Poké-Gods that such a thing would ever be playable.

If you know your Lucarios from your Braixens or you just want to wail on an opponent and pick up some light strategy tips along the way, you're all settled to hop right in and have fun, just don't expect Pokkén Tournament's full range of character options and difficulty curve to mimic its ambition and setup.

Future sequels will most likely expand every promising element in all directions, but as a first step - and one that nobody saw coming, considering this could've been a far more child-friendly smash-a-thon - it's a real success.

Here's to the future of Pokkén, and a franchise that will really knock peoples' socks off if Bandai Namco and Nintendo are eyeing up the NX as their next port of call.

Have you played it yet? Let us know in the comments if 'Tekken meets Pokémon' has come together for you!

Gaming Editor
Gaming Editor

WhatCulture's Head of Gaming.