Pokken Tournament to Release on March 18th

Published: January 15, 2016 1:02 PM /

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Pokken Tournament

2016 marks the 20th anniversary of the Pokemon franchise, and what better way to celebrate than reaching new genres? Pokken Tournament has already been wowing arcade-goers in Japan for months, and it's coming to the west via Wii U on March 18th.

In addition to a release date, there were several new details released about the game, including the announcement of Chandelure being added to the playable pocket monsters. We already have several monsters that aren't humanoid joining the roster, but Chandelure is a floating candelabra that wields ghostly flame. I assume this is a first for fighting games, and would love to hear if I'm wrong.

 

Image: Serebii.net
Image: Serebii.net

 

A few more technical details were also revealed about the upcoming release. The game's local multiplayer will have one player using the gamepad while the other picks up a standard controller. This will force the game to run at 30 FPS, even though the rest of the game will run at a full 60. If you're alone, you can take the battle online with either Ranked Matches against the world or Friendly Matches that tap into your Wii U friends list. Finally, if you somehow have a friend who's willing to bring over a Wii U, TV, and a router, you'll be able to play head to head multiplayer via LAN support. The LAN mode will be at 60 FPS, making it ideal for tournament setups.

 


Quick Take

Pokken Tournament has been on my radar for quite a while, so I'm very excited that we're nearing the March release of the game on Wii U. It has a great roster of more traditional fighting character-types and Pokemon specific madness like Suicune and Chandelure.  I'm still kind of bummed that Lucha Pikachu is taking up a spot that could have been filled by Scyther or Electabuzz, but I'm hopeful that Nintendo's DLC plans include more characters for the game going forward.

Are you ready for the Kingler of the Iron Fist Tournament? What Pokemon do you want to see added to the game? Sound off in the comments below!

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Alex Santa Maria TechRaptor
| Staff Writer

Alex Santa Maria is TechRaptor's former Reviews Editor (2015-2020) and current occasional critic. Joining the site early in its life, Alex grew the review… More about Alex

More Info About This Game
Learn more about Pokkén Tournament
Game Page Pokkén Tournament
Developer
Namco Bandai
Platforms
Wii U
Release Date
March 8, 2016 (Calendar)
Genre
Fighting
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