There are some story elements of the game included, but nothing like an overdramatic Call of Duty-type campaign. In the Ferrum League mode of the game you get the campaign of the title, in a sense. Now, having said all of this, where does all the above take place? The majority of your time in the game will probably be spent in the Ferrum League mode, which is going to directly affect the above gameplay elements. Pokken Tournament DX does just that and it does it well. A fighting game, especially one with a heavy amount of repetitive enemies, needs to find a way to motivate players. As it stands, it creates an entertaining experience that motivates you to keep going. That’s impressive considering that isn’t easy to pull off for most developers. This means that as you progress in certain leagues the enemies get progressively, and correctly difficult over time instead of all at once. It usually pulled off a massive move that would end up as destructive as expected.īeyond moves and controls, the enemies actually are pretty balanced with difficulty. If I wanted to pull off a Synergy Burst in a fight, i would simply press down on the left thumbstick, press the left button up top on the switch and all the buttons on the right of the Switch. For Pokken Tournament DX, the controls actually improved and I found myself pulling off moves I didn’t really have to think about too much. The Switch thumbsticks didn’t work very well for that, as I had problems with jumping and moving, something that is incredibly simple on every version of Street Fighter II on other systems since the 90s. For example, I had a helluva time trying to use the Switch controls with the Street Fighter game that came out earlier this year. I know that seems ridiculous, but I have had some games on other systems, such as the Wii U, that didn’t translate well to the Switch. I loved how easy it was to pull off moves on the Wii U version of this game, so I was concerned how that would translate to the Switch’s controls.
It’s certainly a welcomed addition to the gameplay design.īefore we move on to more intricate matters of modes, what about the controls on the Switch. Regardless, it’s another cog in the fighting gameplay built for the ground work of the game.
Sometimes it isn’t damage, but for my case it was damage with Little. This is a smaller character, such as the non-Mega-evolved Litten, that will act as a stand-in to do some minor damage to your opponent. That’s a really good thing when you’re main audience is young gamers.Īnyway, outside of this obvious Pokemon carryover of leveling from the handheld games, you also get a support character to fight with you in the game. It all works out in the end and the game allows you to succeed regardless of your choices.
#POKKEN TOURNAMENT DX REVIEW UPGRADE#
There is no solid strategy and right way to upgrade in the game, so don’t stress too much when deciding. My daughter, who loved the original game on the Wii U, concentrated on the offense/defense category and leveled up beyond 50+ in less than a week. When you level a category you do actually see the leveling affect the gameplay, which becomes a motivating factor to continually play against the same opponents (you get a lot of repeats). Every time you win a match, you gain XP, which equals out to potentially leveling one of the four above categories. The exception, and more RPG-related, is that you get to upgrade your Pokemon in four different categories – Offense, Defense, Synergy and Strategy – to improve them.
#POKKEN TOURNAMENT DX REVIEW SIMULATOR#
The gameplay mimics a typical fighting simulator in the main part of its girth. For those of you who have never played the game, you’re in for a treat on the Nintendo Switch. The latter is especially relevant for new players. There’s a bit more content because of those characters and modes, but overall you’re getting the same game, which again, isn’t a bad thing. The big changes for this game come in the form of a few new Pokemon introduced into the game, some from Moon and Sun, as well as a few modes (Team Battles, split screen and such). Pokken Tournament hasn’t changed in gameplay design since its Wii U days, which is a good thing because it’s a very entertaining title. When Pokken arrived on the Wii U it was one of the brighter spots of that systems’ library and it’s just as good on the Nintendo Switch. First, in April, it was Mario Kart and now it’s Pokken Tournament. It’s not a bad strategy, especially when you consider how good those games were. Take all the Wii U games that succeeded on that system, and that made it somewhat good, and bring them to life again on the Switch, while the newer games are being built. I’m beginning to understand some strategy behind Nintendo’s releases this year and I have to admit that it isn’t actually that bad of a strategy.