Pokkén Tournament
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is a
fighting Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
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developed by
Bandai Namco Entertainment is a Japanese multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are respectively headquartered in ...
. The game combines gameplay elements from Bandai Namco's ''
Tekken is a Japanese Media mix, media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations. The ...
'' series and other fighting games, such as 3D and 2D movement, with characters from the ''
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'' franchise. It was released for Japanese arcades in July 2015, and worldwide for the
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in March 2016. An enhanced port for the
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, ''Pokkén Tournament DX'', was released in September 2017. The arcade version was published by Bandai Namco, the Japanese console versions were published by
The Pokémon Company The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン, ''Kabushiki gaisha Pokemon'') is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video game s ...
, and the console versions outside of Japan were published by
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.


Title

is a
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-language title of the game is ''Pokémon Tekken''. The title change may be due to the similarity between ''Pokkén'' and the German word for
smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
, '.


Gameplay

''Pokkén Tournament'' is a fighting game in which two fighters battle against each other using various Pokémon, with gameplay shifting between "Field Phase" where the Pokémon move freely around the arena similar to '' Power Stone'' and '' Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm'', and "Duel Phase" where they move relative to each other similar to the ''
Tekken is a Japanese Media mix, media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations. The ...
'' games. Unlike most arcade fighting games, which use a traditional joystick and buttons, the arcade version is played using console-style controllers, which are designed so that players who are not used to arcade sticks can get into the game more easily. The game focuses more on action, as opposed to the more technical gameplay of ''Tekken'', allowing both hardcore and casual fans to enjoy it. As such, players can perform various techniques taken from the ''Pokémon'' series, such as special moves and Mega Evolutions (which can be built up from attacks using a "Synergy Gauge"). Players can also use Support Pokémon to give them special benefits such as buffs in attack or defense. First-print Wii U copies of the game were packaged with a Shadow Mewtwo
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card, which immediately unlocked the character for use. The title also features online play, where players can compete in two types of online battle modes called friendly battles and ranked battles, including matches between players with registered friend codes and players who enter the same VS Code as each other.


Pokémon

Across all versions of the game, there are 23 different Pokémon that appear as playable fighters, 16 of which appear in all three versions.


Development

''Pokkén Tournament'' was first teased during a ''Pokémon'' Game Show event held in Japan in August 2013, with trademarks for the game filed the same month. It was officially announced at an event held by
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on August 26, 2014.
The Pokémon Company The Pokémon Company (株式会社ポケモン, ''Kabushiki gaisha Pokemon'') is a Japanese company responsible for brand management, production, publishing, marketing, and licensing of the ''Pokémon'' franchise, which consists of video game s ...
CEO Tsunekazu Ishihara, ''
Tekken is a Japanese Media mix, media franchise centered on a series of fighting game, fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations. The ...
'' series producer Katsuhiro Harada, and '' Soulcalibur'' producer Masaaki Hoshino attended the event, which was broadcast on Niconico, stating the collaboration came about from brainstorming ideas of new ways to play ''Pokémon''. As the game was being developed, Ishihara wanted to feature primarily fighting-type Pokémon in the game, but Hoshino pushed back, and the game was released with Pokémon of many different types featured. At the
2015 Pokémon World Championships Fifteen or 15 may refer to: *15 (number), the natural number following 14 and preceding 16 *one of the years 15 BC, AD 15, 1915, 2015 Music *Fifteen (band), a punk rock band Albums * ''15'' (Buckcherry album), 2005 * ''15'' (Ani Lorak album) ...
, it was announced that the game would be coming to the Wii U. A demo of the game was available for attendees to play at the tournament. In December 2015, Hori announced that a dedicated arcade controller would be released alongside the game in Japan. The game is known as ''Pokémon Tekken'' in Germany and Austria. In April 2016, Nintendo announced that another controller, inspired by Pikachu, would be released in Japan in June. In May 2016, GameStop announced that the Pikachu controller would be released in North America in August of that year in "limited quantities". In June 2017, an enhanced Nintendo Switch port was announced under the title ''Pokkén Tournament DX'', which was released worldwide on September 22, 2017. The port includes the last four fighters added in the arcade version, along with an additional exclusive fighter and new game modes. In January 2018, two DLC packs were announced for the ''DX'' version. In Pack One, Aegislash is a fighter along with Mega Rayquaza and Mimikyu as support Pokémon, which was released on January 31, 2018. In Pack Two, Blastoise is a fighter along with Mew and Celebi as support Pokémon, which was released on March 23, 2018. In January 2021, Harada, in a response to a follower on
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, stated that while he would like to make a sequel to ''Pokkén'', it was up to Nintendo and The Pokémon Company to decide.


Reception

Amusement Fantasista, a video arcade in Kurashiki,
Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...
, planned to remove ''Pokkén Tournament'' machines in November 2015 due to lack of profitability. Chris Carter of
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noted that in the arcade version, one game credit could last a player 45 minutes, yielding low profits for each machine. The Wii U version entered the
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sales charts as the highest-selling game in the region during its debut week, with 69,675 copies sold, and was credited for a marked increase in Wii U hardware sales in the same period; 13,000 units sold compared to the previous week's 4,000. The Switch version of Pokkén Tournament sold 53,395 copies within its first week on sale in Japan, which placed it at number one on the all format sales chart. Western reviews of the console version were mostly positive, earning a 76 out of 100 average score from aggregate review website
Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...
. In the United States, the NPD Group reported that ''Pokkén Tournament'' outsold '' Street Fighter V'' by the end of April 2016. In August 2016, Bandai Namco announced that the game had shipped over one million copies worldwide. ''Pokkén Tournament'' was nominated for Best Fighting Game at
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. The Nintendo Switch version received similar or slightly better reviews than the Wii U version, with praise towards the new characters and new modes, but criticising the new split screen mode, which had framerate issues. It had sold over a million copies by March 2018.


Notes


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Pokken Tournament 2015 video games 3D fighting games Arcade video games Bandai Namco games Crossover fighting games Fighting games used at the Evolution Championship Series tournament Pokémon spin-off games Nintendo Network games Pokkén Tournament DX Tekken spin-off games Fighting games Video games developed in Japan Video games that use Amiibo figurines Wii U games Wii U eShop games