9 Upcoming Wii U Games That Will Redeem It In 2016

6. Pokken Tournament/Pokémon Tekken

Much like last year's Super Mario Maker, Pokken Tournament is an excellent concept that shows off Nintendo's plucky willingness in recent years to take its long-running franchises onto interesting tangents. Developed by Bandai Namco, Pokken Tournament is a one-on-one arena fighter pitting all your favourite captive creatures in battles against each other. Seeing 16 of the most fit-for-a-fighting-game Pokemon rendered in pretty 3D graphics will already be a treat for fans, but the game looks like more than just a quick-and-easy spinoff (looking at you, Hyrule Warriors). Rather than mimicking Tekken's combat mechanics, battles take place in a large round arena which you can run around freely. This makes for a unique new style of fighting, as you can dodge between traps laid down by your enemy, try to outflank them and hit them from another angle, and generally battle in the fast, free way you'd imagine real wild animals with superpowers actually would. The charming pastel graphics are embellished by spectacular explosions as Pikachu summons a lightning bolt or Charizard goes in a fiery rampage, alongside many visual flourishes when laying down heavy multi-hit combos. The arcade version already has a burgeoning eSports scene around it, and it looks like this could finally be the start of a Nintendo fighting franchise aimed at more hardcore players. Only major question around this brilliantly self-explanatory game is just, 'what took Nintendo so long?'
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Gamer, Researcher of strange things. I'm a writer-editor hybrid whose writings on video games, technology and movies can be found across the internet. I've even ventured into the realm of current affairs on occasion but, unable to face reality, have retreated into expatiating on things on screens instead.