

They all look and feel fantastic to play, and their detailed animations put the Wii's Pokemon Battle Revolution efforts to shame. Then there are the Speedsters like Sceptile, Weavile and Pikachu Libre, who make up for raw power with their increased agility, and last but not least you have the 'Power' players like Machamp, Charizard, Chandelure and Garchomp, who are slow and weighty but deal devastating hits when they get up close.Īs a result, there's plenty of choice to suit to your particular play style, and Bandai Namco's sheer attention to detail will have Pokemon fans grinning from ear to ear as they watch them execute one classic attack after another.

For instance, while the vast majority of Pokemon fall under the 'Standard' bracket, others like Gengar and Gardevoir and are classed as 'Technical' choices, which put a greater emphasis on ranged attacks. It's very approachable and easy to pick up, but there's still some nuance to be found for slightly more advanced players. These are all based around a directional input on the d-pad or analogue stick and either the A, B, X or Y button, which is brilliant news for anyone who aren't very good at fighting games, as it means you don't have to spend hours pouring over strings of complicated button presses just to make a decent fist of any given fight.

While its initial roster of just 14 monsters might seem a little stingy when the total number of Pokemon now stretches to an eye-watering 718, every character shares the same basic attack patterns. Instead of getting bogged down in intricate button combinations that are best suited to an arcade stick, Pokken Tournament's console-orientated controls borrow the same kind of simplicity you'll find in Nintendo's other famous brawler, Super Smash Bros.
Developed by Bandai Namco of Tekken fame, Pokken Tournament is everything Pokemon Stadium and its plethora of successors should have been and more, as it not only features intense, 2D and 3D battling, but it does so with a crowd-pleasing set of controls that almost anyone can get to grips with. Enter Pokken Tournament, the Pokemon fighting game I've been dreaming about for the last sixteen years. Thankfully, that day has finally arrived. I still had a great time with Stadium, but part of me has always hankered for a proper, 360-degree Pokemon game where you can really, truly fight your opponent in heated one-to-one battles without having to politely sit and take a slap in the face while you wait your turn to attack.
POKKEN TOURNAMENT REVIEWS TV
I would show the world that I was indeed the very best, like no one ever was, and I simply couldn't wait to re-enact those heated League matches that I'd watched so obsessively on TV in the Pokemon anime.Īs it turned out, Pokemon Stadium wasn't anything like that at all, and the sting of disappointment when I realised that my brand-new N64 game was just as rigid and rooted as my turn-based Game Boy cartridges still lingers to this very day. Finally, the time had come when I could fight with my hard-earned critters in glorious 3D, running and dashing about in massive arena battles the Game Boy games could only dream of. When Pokemon Stadium first arrived in 2000, my catch 'em all-addled brain couldn't barely contain itself.
