Welcome to our review of Pokkén Tournament DX, the Pokémon fighting game ported over from the Wii U.
The Nintendo Switch exclusive Pokkén Tournament DX is a one-on-one Pokémon fighting game, becoming the first Pokémon title on the system. With one Nintendo Switch, you can share one of the Joy-Con controllers with a friend and have awesome head-to-head battles anytime. Pokkén Tournament DX is compatible with all the different Switch setups, tabletop mode, TV mode, and handheld mode, so you can enjoy playing however you like. Nothing beats playing a game like this on the go, but more about that later on!
Along with adding all the features from both the arcade version and the Wii U version of Pokkén Tournament, Pokkén Tournament DX is filled with loads of new features. All the Pokémon that were in and added to the arcade version will be there, including fan favorites like Pikachu and Charizard. And now Decidueye from Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon will appear as a Battle Pokémon, too. Over 20 Pokémon with their own unique characteristics and battle styles can join the fight!
Having played this game for numerous hours on the WII U, I knew what I was getting myself into, a great but underappreciated fighting game featuring some of my favorite Pokémon and add in the support teams and well, you are in for a treat. This port did not disappoint me one bit, instead, it did surprise me a little.
I was lucky enough to preview this game at a post E3 event and at that time, I tried out Decidueye, a brand new fighter to take up a spot in the fighting roster. At the time, while having a great time, I failed to notice how beautiful this game has become. The arenas, the details on the Pokémon, … have all become plain gorgeous. The game is a port, but visually, it looks stunning!
The game itself has a variety of modes, from a daily challenge to local play, head on online for a great brawl or head into the Ferrum League, the main storyline. There are so many ways to personalize your character, I used my in-game money to buy a yellow outfit and cap, I changed my title from newbie to perfectionist, … This game is packed to the nook with features, too many to name, but I will mention this one more feature!
Pokkén Tournament DX also has amiibo support! Every day, you can scan 5 amiibo that will give you rewards, from my personal experience, I have had it give me money, new titles and clothes.
Now, let us talk about the fighting itself. There are 2 ways to fight an actual match, 2 phases actually. When you are fighting, everything is about mixing the Field Phase and the Duel Phase. Triggering a phase shift is recommended to do when finishing combos. When the shift occurs, the player who triggered it, recovers some of their recoverable HP while the opponent loses some of theirs. This helps shift your HP from a disadvantage to an advantage or vice versa.
All throughout your battle, you can call in the help of a support Pokémon too, you always have a team of two that you can pick from, each with their own advantage. When you max out their gauge, press the L button and bam, they come to your aid! The gauge itself fills up when enough time passes, how long this takes, is always depending on the support Pokémon you selected.
Another big aspect of the game, the Synergy Burst, similar to the support gauge, you need to fill it up to the max, but contrary to the waiting part on the support gauge, this one is handled by fighting. The more you fight, the more it fills up. Once it is maxed out, you power up considerably and are able to launch a big and powerful attack. Some Pokémon even appear to use their Mega Evolution when activated!
When it comes to the actual fighting, the tutorial is really all you need, it teaches you the rock-paper-scissors principle on how to fight. Trust me, when you are playing, this will make sense! Just follow the entire tutorial and try not to skip out on the information being given, it can get tiresome, but hey, it really will help you out later on. Being able to block a certain attack in the later levels, is very helpful.
Once you master everything in the tutorial and you learn to time the use of your support team and the synergy burst, you are ready to take on the Ferrum league.
Well actually, you do not need to really know everything prior to fighting, a lot, like most fighting games, is all about practice and feeling. What I just explained is all about feeling. Practice will make perfect and will enable you to become a true Pokémon Master!
Enter the Ferrum League!
The Ferrum league is your everyday battle storyline, straight from the get-go, you are taught about the 4 levels, when you raise your level high enough, you can challenge the tournament to get into the ranking where you can challenge for the top rank in the tier you are in.
Throughout the fighting, you are getting bits and pieces of the storyline, so do not just skip the talking after and before a battle! You will miss out on part of the great story behind this fighting game!
In conclusion, I loved this game on Wii U and I feel like it is even better on my Nintendo Switch, nothing beats a quick battle on the go or while traveling abroad. I recently went to visit my in-laws in Hong Kong, which is about 15 hours worth of traveling and it was amazing to be able to play a game of this genre on the plane. I love the feeling of how this game is really becoming a complete fighter.
While some gamers might be disappointed we got Pokkén instead of Smash Bros, I am not of this conviction. I am actually convinced that this is a great addition to an already amazing library on the Nintendo Switch and I sincerely hope you will enjoy it too.
My rating stands at 90%.
