Born from the meeting of Pokémon and the creators of Tekken at Bandai Namco, Pokkén Tournament first came out in Japanese arcades in 2015, then on Wii U in 2016. On September 22, 2017, it returned on Nintendo Switch in an enhanced version, Pokkén Tournament DX: seven more fighters in the end, a Team Battle mode, and expanded online features. A year after the Switch’s release, it was a chance for many players to discover a game that had gone unnoticed on Wii U. How does it hold up?
A real fighting game
Pokkén Tournament DX is not a Super Smash Bros. in Pokémon colors. It is a one-on-one fighting game, with health bars, rounds, combos and counters, made by a team that knows the genre better than anyone. But it has its own identity: battles alternate between a Field Phase, where Pokémon move freely around a three-dimensional arena and trade ranged attacks, and a Duel Phase, seen from the side, where close combat takes over again. Switching from one phase to the other at the right time, and knowing what to do in each, is at the heart of the game.
The second big idea is a readable attack triangle: a Normal Attack beats a Grab, a Grab beats a Counter Attack, and a Counter Attack beats a Normal Attack. This rock-paper-scissors makes the game easy to learn while leaving plenty of room for reading your opponent. Add the Synergy Gauge, which triggers Mega Evolutions and a spectacular Burst Attack, and the Support Pokémon you call mid-fight, and you get a rich system that is accessible to beginners and deep for dedicated players.
Pokémon with character
The roster is Pokkén’s great success. Each fighter has its own style, its attacks drawn from the games, and its polished animations. Lucario and its mastery of aura, Gardevoir and its ranged psychic attacks, Machamp and its four arms, a Pikachu Libre as funny as it is effective, Gengar and its traps, Scizor and its stored Swords Dances: each one requires learning a different way to play.
The twenty-one launch fighters, twenty-three with the Battle Pass, span four categories (Standard, Power, Speed, Technique). It is a pity that the roster favors Kanto and Fighting-type Pokémon, with a few duplicates (two Pikachu, two Mewtwo), but the diversity of styles more than makes up for it. Decidueye, the only brand-new arrival, brings a true archer playstyle, mixing ranged attacks and glides.
What the DX version adds
Compared with Wii U, the Switch version adds Darkrai, Scizor, Croagunk and Empoleon, previously exclusive to Japanese arcade cabinets, as well as Decidueye. Team battle, three on three, with damage that carries over from one round to the next, freshens up matches with friends. The Daily Challenge, group matches, replays and a finally customizable avatar round things out. Above all, all fighters are available from the start, with nothing to unlock.
The Switch suits it well: two players can play in tabletop mode with one Joy-Con each, or on two consoles locally, and the handheld version runs well. Split screen halves the display, at 30 frames per second per player, a compromise that remains playable.
Solo play, its weak point
The Ferrum League, the single-player mode, is a long series of battles against ever-stronger Trainers, from the Green League to the Iron League. It has the merit of being progressive and of telling a story, that of Shadow Mewtwo, but that story fits into a few scenes, and the repetition of league matches eventually becomes tiresome. Mission cards and the collection of titles and outfits provide goals, without really renewing interest.
Nia, the advisor who comments on your fights, is divisive: helpful at first, her interventions quickly become repetitive. Fortunately, you can reduce how often she speaks, or turn her off.
Multiplayer, its reason for being
It is with two players, locally or online, that Pokkén Tournament DX shows its worth. Ranked battles, group matches and the official 2017 and 2018 cups kept a competitive community alive, supported by the Pokémon Championships. Balance updates followed one another until September 2018. Online play now requires a Nintendo Switch Online subscription.
Getting to grips with it
Pokkén Tournament DX welcomes beginners. The tutorial and the Action Dojo explain the rules one by one, the controls come down to a few buttons, and special attacks do not require complicated inputs: a direction and a button are enough. You have fun from the first hour, chaining ranged attacks and simple combos.
The depth reveals itself afterward. Each fighter has its own chains, attacks that change depending on the phase, charged counters that break through defense, and cancels. The Combo Dojo and free training, with the recording function added by update 1.1.0, let you work on these subtleties. Players coming from Tekken or Street Fighter will find familiar notions, managing distance and punishing mistakes, in a less technically demanding setting.
Presentation
The fighters look superb: their models, more detailed and more expressive than in the mainline games of the time, and their animations give weight to every hit. The arenas, from Ferrum Stadium to the Dragon’s Nest, are varied and colorful, and the Mega Evolutions in Synergy Bursts provide spectacular moments. The game runs smoothly in standard battles, an essential condition for a fighting game. Only the menu presentation, built around a map of the Ferrum region, feels a little dated.
Reception
The press welcomed the DX version well: an average of 79 out of 100 on Metacritic, compared with 76 for the Wii U version. In Japan, it debuted at the top of the sales charts in its release week, with just over 53,000 copies according to Media Create.
Who is it for?
Pokkén Tournament DX is aimed first at those who want to play with someone else: with friends on a single console, with family using fighters the youngest players know well, or online against opponents of your level thanks to group matches. Fighting game fans will find an original system and real competitive potential. Those expecting a rich single-player adventure, however, will be disappointed: the Ferrum League is just a long preparation for battles against other players.
Playing it today
Pokkén Tournament DX can be played on Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. It is the version to choose: it contains all the content of the Wii U version and builds on it.
Our verdict
Pokkén Tournament DX is an excellent fighting game, both accessible to Pokémon fans and serious for fans of the genre. Its solo mode does not hold you for long, but with two players, on one console or online, it is one of the most intense Pokémon games on the Switch.
What we like
- A real fighting game, accessible and deep
- The phase system, original and well thought out
- Fighters with a very distinctive style
- Team battle and the online features of the DX version
- All fighters available from the start
What we like less
- A repetitive solo mode and a thin story
- A roster that lacks variety in origins
- Nia, quickly overbearing
- Two fighters locked behind the paid Battle Pass
