Pokkén Tournament

Pokkén Tournament on Wii U presents an expanded and noticeably polished version of the arcade hit that Bandai Namco Studios created in collaboration with The Pokémon Company as an unusually well-thought-out fusion of a fighting game and the Pokémon universe. The basic principle stayed the same as in the arcades: battles alternate between the Field Phase, where characters move freely around a three-dimensional arena and compete at both range and close quarters, and the Duel Phase, a more classic single-axis fight with sequences of strikes and blocks that nod to the long-standing legacy of the Tekken series.

Compared to the arcade original, the home version added further fighters, including characters like Darkrai and Croagunk, and noticeably expanded the selection of Support Pokémon that provide one-time help during a fight, letting players put together their own combination of main fighter and support according to their preferred playstyle. There's also the Burst gauge, which, once filled, lets you significantly boost your attacks for a short time and turn around an unfavorable situation with a powerful counterattack. The Wii U version also made use of the GamePad's second screen to clearly display menus, statistics, and other information outside the main TV screen, a typical use of the console's second-screen feature.

Thanks to both online and local multiplayer, Pokkén Tournament on Wii U became a much more accessible experience than the arcade version, which was limited to special arcade cabinets available only in select locations in Japan, and it was precisely this accessibility that helped the game gain a much wider player base beyond Japan as well. The gradual unlocking of further fighters and cosmetic extras also motivated players to keep returning to the game even after mastering the basic story mode, which mainly served as an introduction to the combat system. Combining the depth of a fighting game with the cuteness and instant recognizability of the Pokémon world made it one of the most successful attempts to bring the brand into a genre where it hadn't really made its mark before.