"The battles themselves retain the depth and nuance that one expects from a Pokemon game, while also being uniquely rooted in the real time action." Field Phases come with an entirely new set of strategies, including charged attacks, follow ups, and even positioning for projectile based attacks. However, developers Bandai Namco have thrown new mechanics and wrinkles into the mix, and the result is something decidedly compelling.Ĭhief among those wrinkles is the Phase system- put simply, battles in Pokken constantly shift between the Duel Phase, which is the kind of traditional blow-for-blow melee that you would expect in a fighting game, and Field Phase, where the combatants keep their distance, and try to land projectiles and ranged attacks on each other. The best part is, the battles themselves retain the depth and nuance that one expects from a Pokemon game, while also being uniquely rooted in the real time action.Ī large part of this has to do with the one thing that differentiates Pokken from every other fighting game previously- make no mistake, unlike Nintendo’s own Smash Bros., Pokken is a relatively more traditional 3D fighting game. It seems so inevitable in hindsight- of course a game that lets Charizard face off against Machamp in an unconstrained battle would be a good idea! Of course.Īnd Pokken Tournament largely lives up to that billing, too- battles in Pokken Tournament are beautiful, finally unshackling Nintendo’s iconic pocket monsters, and letting them fight the way their fans have always imagined them fighting.
Put simply, it is a 3D fighting game (in the vein of Tekken), but with Pokemon substituting for fighters. Pokken Tournament has a surprisingly simple conceit- it is, in fact, so simple and so obvious, that one wonders why it was never done until now. " Pokken Tournament came along, and finally gave us the kinds of Pokemon battles we have all been asking for." That was before Pokken Tournament came along, and finally gave us the kinds of Pokemon battles we have all been asking for. If one wants to see a real time Pokemon battle, one’s best bet is, it seems, the cartoon, or nothing else. Every single Pokemon game, even the console games, and the spin offs, have stuck to a variation of turn based battles. Playing a Pokemon game that would finally allow for that kind of action has always been a dream of mine, and undoubtedly, of many a Pokemon fan worldwide, and yet, this is not something we have gotten to experience properly yet. Compared to this, the sedate, turn based affairs that are battles in the games can seem almost boring to a young player.
In the show, battles are lively, active, kinetic affairs, with participants bounding around the arena, trying to land blows. However, something always used to bother me- the fact that Pokemon battles in the games are ultimately nothing like they are in the show. When I was young, and I inevitably moved to playing the Pokemon games after watching the cartoon, I was, understandably, hooked.