Pokkén Tournament is due this Spring and looks set to be a key Wii U release for the first half of the year. When you combine Pokémon with the first fighting game of its style on the system since Tekken Tag Tournament 2 - or so it seems - you have the potential ingredients for a success story.
In transitioning the title from arcades to the home console Bandai Namco has no doubt been rather busy putting together its suite of modes, and details of what those will be have now emerged (thanks Serebii). Let's break down the modes and information that have come out:
- Single Battle - A typical single player mode with three difficulty settings.
- Local Battle - Two players against each other, one on the GamePad - this will run at 30fps instead of the game's norm of 60fps.
- Online Friendly Matches - Play against anyone, those on your Friends List or by using a 'Battle Code'; these are unranked fights.
- Online Ranked Matches - Earn ranking points in online matches
- LAN Support - Link two Wii U's for a 60fps local match.
There are also details of two more sets of support Pokemon; these are Pachirisu and Magikarp first of all, and then Sylveon and Croagunk. Chandelure was also previously announced as another fighter in the roster.
It seems like a fairly standard set of modes, with online sounding rather simple at this stage. We'll likely get a closer look soon, but until then let us know what you think of this feature set.
[source serebii.net]
Comments 74
Some kind of a story mode or Pokken League would be welcome. If it ends up just being an arcade mode I'll be a bit disappointed.
It drops to 30 FPS with two players on the same system... After Smash handling 8 players at 60 FPS, can there be an excuse? Or is Sakurai literally magical?
"LAN Support - Link two Wii U's for a 60fps local match."
Are you happy now?
@Phantom_R The graphical fidelity of Pokken is way above SSBWiiU. Pokken is a 3D-space fighter with complex detail and environments, Smash is not. Plus, in Pokken they're rendering the entire scene twice over.
Also, if you hadn't already noticed, but when you pause a game on Smash Wii U, even with two players, when you zoom into your character when they're doing a move that involves special effects, the frame rate drops dramatically. On one character.
I'm probably going to skip getting this because I would like to play with my friends buy nobody likes using the tablet to play.
I think they could just let two people play on the same screen :/
Hmmm ... sure hope Magikarp is chance-based and you have a 20% chance of it evolving into Gyarados and doing massive damage. Or Magikarp could hop around the arena for a while and you'd be able to throw it at your opponent, doing damage.
They better not take advice from the Smash bros team when coding the online. I'd like to have at least one Nintendo fighting game without online lag. Also offer a region option when playing ranked. Smash is a good game, but the online is so lackluster. Anyway, Pokken is a dayone buy for me as I'm a huge Pokemon fan.
@The_BAAD_Man Yeah a story mode would be a cool addition. I wonder what the final roster count will be?
@MajinSoul You might be disappointed to know that Smash 4 was developed by Namco.
@Tsurii Smash renders everything twice as well. Just saying.
@SamirMalik damn. I completely forgot about that. That's not very promising then
day one
LAN support is great. I miss the System Link times of older Xboxes.
I'm surprised that they'd bother implementing LAN connectivity at all. With the Wii U's install base, who's going to use it? A dozen users?
Mario Kart 8 with 12 player local multiplayer via LAN would have been amazing though.
@Fearful-Octopus I wouldn't be surprised if Bamco were told they can't do a story mode, given the protective nature of the Pokemon Co.
Then again , Spike Chunsoft get a lot of freedom on that front.
Personally I don't mind a lack of story per-se but an alternative single player mode of some description would be nice (maybe star based leveling up thing on a static pseudo-world map with half-asset story snippets- think early Soul Calibur).
Annnyways, I'm really looking forward to this and, 30FPS will be fine for local- I'm just glad it's got it!
@sillygostly I'm surprised too, as it's very niche these days.
On the other hand it must be realllllly easy to implement given the online mode is already there. They likely use the exact same set up but lag free haha
No story mode? Lame...
@Tsurii No, you're correct. The GamePad image in Smash doesn't require much at all. Rendering two highly detailed 3D environments simultaneously requires quite a lot more power. The increased number of players in Smash isn't as demanding as some people think.
@Tsurii splash
no story mode no buy.i just need some kind of goal or stuff to unlock in a fighting game because im not a hardcore fighting game fan enough to realy enjoy just the getting better at it and learn new moves and so on.
Looking forward to splashing with Magikarp!
@Phantom_R Pokkén has different camera positions for both players, so the game would have to render the entire match twice from different angles. Smash has the same screen for all characters. Rendering +1 or even +7 characters takes far less power than rendering an extra additional world.
Also, Magikarp as a support Pokémon? Awesome!
LAN play? In this day and age? It's a miracle!
Online was indispensable for me to consider this one, and ranked matches make it sound all the better. If enough people from my Smash community/circle of friends pick it up, I guess I'll take the plunge.
... Somehow, I'd much rather if we just had either another Tekken or another Pokemon game. Can't see this doing well, or even generating much hype. Is anyone really ever going to link 2 Wii Us up...? ...
@Phantom_R AFAIK, Smash only support 1 view.
After watching several trailers for Injustice God's Among Us yesterday to see if it's too bloody for my 11 year old there seems to be a huge story in there. I wouldn't expect anything like that in here - Pokémon don't talk - but at the very least they should have the same progression as Pokémon Rumble U. That game was the worst of the rumble games, even the free game is so much better, but it did have a story map.
I'm sure my 2 Pokémon obsessed sons want this, but buying it day 1 may depend on something more than just fighting for fightings sake.
What is the pretense behind this game, even without much of a story the arcade game must have a backstory, are these Pokémon fighting on their own or are there trainers involved? If the player is a trainer much easier to craft a simplistic story arc ending with battling the final 4 or something. If it's just Pokémon not sure what they could do.
Yeah I'd also really a story mode of some sort. I like Nintendo but I don't like its 'gameplay over story' mantra applying to everything
Single player have three different difficulties and....?
I mean, it's just gonna be Arcade Mode or it will allow to have one matches against the CPU with the ability to select both your Pokemon and the opponent?
I seriously can't believe I'm asking, but some fighter games, included some namco's ones, not include one or both of these BASIC options for single player modes >_>;;;
@Tsurii LAN basically exist for tournaments otherwise the game would fail to create a scene.
LAN! LAN! Why don't more devs use this???
I dunno why people are complaining about the lack of story mode. Go play Street Fighter, there is no story mode to be had aside from a few cutscenes at the beginning and end of a arcade playthrough. There isn't really many fighting games with full fledge story aside from Injustice or one of the Arc System Works games. I mean unless all the fighting games I've played haven't really been the right ones.
@rjejr There are probably trainers behind the scenes. The matches are all spectated by humans, as far as I know, so it's not likely the pokémon created a tournament on their own and filled the audience with people. That said, I think canonically, pokémon do sometimes fight in the wild to test one another's power and skill, not to mention fighting for food, so the game doesn't really need a reason for the combat.
this has LAN?? So the Wii U is capable of it after all. Why does Splatoon not use LAN?
@bro2dragons I think there should be trainers, but I didn't know if they bothered w/ the pretense. Do the fighters in SSB, MK or DA have trainers? Just wondering.
@rjejr - completely off topic, but you did bring it up....Did you buy Injustice and if so, how is it?
@Phantom_R Other than this being a 3D fighting game with much better graphics, and rendering the game twice? admittedly, I feel that last part in unnecessary, but I guess we'll see when the game comes out.
Still a few months ahead. Many other characters and game modes will be announced, hopefully! But for now, the game looks like it´s shaping up well.
How do you connect Wii Us with one another via LAN?
@EarthboundBenjy That´s a good question, definitely... Well, probably something to include in a future update!
Well, Soul Calibur series had a really good amount of single player content. is the the same team behind the Soul series?
Tekken, not so much on single player but I enjoyed Tekken 2 and 3 back in the old days (did not like the more recent).
I am pretty excited for Pokken, day one for me (that is very rare) though not a Pokemon player, this fighting game is super cool and very welcome addition on Wii U.
Either this had better be amazing online or there is something else for single player, because this looks barebones. There doesn't even have to be a story mode. SSB4 included basic fights, "Classic," two types of Order modes, Smash Tour, a Challenge mode, 140 achievements, and hundreds of things to collect, with no Story Mode. And that's not counting minigames and such. A couple of modes or features similar to these could make a big difference. Especially since the roster doesn't seem to be very large.
@Xaessya maybe, but if you look at how the game is designed, the viewing angle is mostly set on one person, thus using the gamepad makes sense, although I'm not sure how the arcade version does it, or if it's only single player.
I don't mind playing on the gamepad, it's what allowed us to play through Hyrule Warriors, and it was a lot more fun as a co-op game.
@sillygostly me and my brother, each one has their own Wii U so i could see us using it
It's really pathetic the Wii U can't do multiplayer for this at 60 FPS. It's a fighting game, there should be no excuse for that. Thank god for LAN support.
I hope Nintendo stops being stubborn and actually bothers to compete with competitors with their next console or I'll just be sticking to Sony home consoles in the future.
For those complaining about the 30fps in dual screen modeI, how else would you do it then? Seems like they have provided a suitable workaround with the LAN option, struggling to see the issue here
There has to be a story mode. Otherwise why would there even be a "Dark Mewtwo" character? It seems that he is the last boss.
@Phantom_R everything everyone else said is true, but that doesn't negate the fact that Sakurai is literally magical.
LAN sounds interesting, but how will it work? Especially with no Ethernet port.
@The_BAAD_Man Yeah I agree. A story mode would compel me far more to buy it. If I'm honest, at the moment it seems a little bare.... Just the same thing over and over in various forms.....
Considering that I have been playing and enjoying Killer Instinct on Xbox One for awhile now I don't really think I have any interest in getting to grips with another fighting game. For those without other fighting options this game shows promise though. This game would have to be feature complete like having a decent story mode to have any kind of longevity for me since I typically just battle against the AI instead of taking the fight to the various players around the world.
@AVahne Both Wii's would need an USB to Ethernet LAN Adapter and then use an Ethernet cable to connect them.
"Link two Wii U's for a 60fps local match." What? Smash can do this like nothing but they can't? Lazy!
...aaand there goes this games potential, right down the toilet.
Looks to be a fun game... for about a week.
@RoomB31 it's no more complicated then Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm that plays kinda like it and that worked great on one screen, so did Dynasty Warriors on split screen.
It seems more like they forced that on us to make people use the gamepad instead of convince/fun (at least when I look at hyrule warriors)
A story mode could be fun.
But it's not a deal breaker.
@Gerbwmu No, I asked another gamer about it but he never got back to me. It's for my 11 year old son and I'm nto sure about the level of blood and cursing. Some games have a blood/gore off option but it seems like this one doesn't, but I've read there isn't too much blood, whatever that means. I don't like fighting games myself, I need a story.
Glad LAN mode is in. This let's tourney's happen.
Sad that the local mode suffers a bit but I'm glad taht actuallly exists given the type of game pokken is. I wonder if an NX version would be powerful enough to rendor everything perfectly? Or at least let you use gamepad as only a screen and not screen + controller.
Very excited to get this.
@Yorumi Only expert level players care about stuff like that, and they're already complaining about the slight disadvantage with one player being forced to use the GamePad, anyway. The LAN mode is there for those guys to host tournaments and play competatively. For us mere mortals, 30 FPS doesn't make much of a difference.
@Tsurii Thanks for that. Just pre-ordered it on Amazon.
@rjejr There's no flying blood, but the characters do take some visible battle damage with red scabs, and some of the super moves involve close-ups of characters getting their faces viciously pounded. The game's rated T, so it's up to you whether or not you think a game that's technically for 13 and up is appropriate for an 11-year-old. It does have a great story, though.
@BulbasaurusRex Thank you for all of that. Kids do grow up quick these days but I guess I should probably hold off. 2 months and 3 day to Pokken Tournament is delivered by Amazon. We can play other stuff for 9 weeks.
@Yorumi I'm no stranger to fighting games, and I have no idea where to even begin trying to figure out how to match up moves to individual frames, and I don't know anyone who does. Most people just concentate on getting the timing and inputs right for special moves and built-in combos, occasionally trying to land an extra hit if the opponent is juggled in the air long enough, and getting the reflexes to block or grab at the right times. It takes a lot more skill than just a decent player has to be able to consistently pull off custom combo moves that would require such frame study.
@Phantom_R Probably because the game needs to run the same fight from two different angles. Remember that the Gamepad is needed and it shows the fight from that particular fighter's side. The player on the TV has the fight shown from their side. Not really the same as Smash. Still a bummer though
Let's hope the matchmaking is decent... and perhaps they'd like to let us know what the level of connection is?
LAN. If Splatoon had LAN play I might have bought another Wii U. I almost did without it.
If NX isn't about local multiplay with the portable NX, I hope LAN becomes a standard feature.
@Phantom_R It's essentially running the game twofold, as the GamePad will have a separate camera angle from the TV screen. It's like Hyrule Warriors basically, that's why the FPS drop exists.
Smash is all on one screen, one camera angle, makes things a lot easier. Sakurai is still magical though.
@sWiTcHeRoO Hey switch, long time no see!
As for the Wii U connections, each Wii U will need a USB LAN Adapter, and then one Ethernet cable to connect both Wii Us.
@Comboman77 so you can't do WiFi LAN connections?
@MadAdam81 Yes. You can. LAN stands for Local Area Network. This means anything thats connected to your modem/router is on a local area network (LAN).
The fact people thought the wii u was incapable of LAN matches always killed me.
*Anything with a network adapter is capable of LAN. Its a matter of the devs coding it into the software so the hardware can make use of it.
It would be great if they could update Splatoon for Lan play. It would mean getting a lot of people over with their own wiiu but it would be great for little private tournements.
Only the need for a decent character roster and a decent amount of stages (!!)
@MadAdam81 Sadly, I don't think so :/ That's definitely a bummer, requiring TWO USB LAN adapters and an Ethernet cable.
@Comboman77 @Varelius merely depends on if it requires peer to peer or also merely allows connection to the same LAN.
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