Before arriving on Wii U, Pokkén Tournament had a first life in Japanese arcade cabinets. That is where it made its debut, in July 2015, and where fighters appeared that the Wii U version never received. Here is the story of this version, little known in Europe.
An arcade release
Pokkén Tournament was released in Japanese arcades on July 16, 2015. The first weeks fell short of expectations: according to the specialist press of the time, the game struggled to turn a profit, to the point that some arcades removed their cabinets. The Wii U version, announced on August 21, 2015, widened its audience.
The arcade fighters, update by update
| Date (arcade) | Addition | On Wii U? |
|---|---|---|
| July 16, 2015 | Launch with the first roster | Yes |
| August 2015 | Blaziken | Yes |
| March 18, 2016 | Pikachu Libre, new in the Wii U version | Yes |
| July 20, 2016 | Darkrai, along with Garchomp, Braixen and Shadow Mewtwo, already present on Wii U | Darkrai: no |
| October 20, 2016 | Scizor | No |
| November 10, 2016 | Croagunk | No |
| December 15, 2016 | Empoleon | No |
Darkrai, Scizor, Croagunk and Empoleon remained exclusive to Japanese arcade cabinets until the release of Pokkén Tournament DX on Switch in 2017. Our 2016 news coverage followed their arrival: A new Pokémon coming soon to Pokkén, Darkrai is the new fighter and Croagunk soon playable.
The arcade controller
The arcade cabinet inspired HORI’s Pokkén Tournament controller, released for the Wii U: wired, with a directional pad and buttons laid out as on the cabinet. It remained the reference controller in tournaments, and it is compatible with the Switch version. See Amiibo, pack and controller.
What the arcade version left behind
- The game system: Field Phase and Duel Phase, the attack triangle, Synergy, Support Pokémon, all present from the arcade version onward.
- The fighters: the DX version picked up the four arcade-exclusive fighters.
- A stage: one of the two stages added by the DX version also comes from the arcade version.
