Including a legendary (Suicune) and an unevolved Pokémon (Braixen) breaks up the mold of what you would expect when fighting against others in the handheld Pokémon games. All Pokémon come with a set of moves from the series. Some favor power or speed while others can be technical or standard. Pikachu Libre could be replaced with the likes of Hawlucha in order to keep the Lucha wrestling motif, but otherwise the roster does a fair job balancing itself with Pokémon having their own specific strengths.

While the inclusion of two Pikachus is considered more or less a cloned fighter, it is fair to say their attacks differ enough. The variety of Pokémon fighters to choose from is excellent with a variety of types, ranks and evolutions. I found it can appeal to many casual fans because of how easy it is to pick up, but with that comes an intense amount of strategy that hardcore players will surely develop. Many games rely heavily on advanced combo attacks which can be difficult to pull off while Pokkén Tournament simplifies the moves to give everyone a fair chance. The controls are simple overall - not all buttons are used, which is a huge plus. Either way you learn to play won’t matter as long as you’re earning victories. Pokkén Tournament is, however, a fighting game and like most in the genre you can self-teach just by fiddling around with the controls. It’s important going into a new game with a tutor as you’ll find out plenty of tips to make gameplay easier. She’ll teach you all about tournaments, practice mode and offer helpful tips during matches. Getting started is fairly easy as you can go through a series of tutorials with Nia, a fellow trainer and your mentor. If you throw them all into a pot with a fighting game like Tekken, out comes Pokkén Tournament. Over the years the two have evolved side by side, culminating in Pokémon XY, the first 3D Pokémon game with more direct actions. Pokkén Tournament brings a refreshing change of pace to the Pokémon franchise in way the company probably never thought of during its inception twenty years ago. Pokémon battles started out on a 2D plane and received a huge boost in graphics thanks to Pokémon Stadium taking it to the next dimension. Ever since the anime debuted with trainer and Pokémon in-sync during battle, fans have clamored for such an experience. We’ve all dreamed of playing a fast-paced Pokémon game.

Pokken tournament tips