Review: Pokkén Tournament DX (Nintendo Switch)
Take direct control of over 20 prized Battle Pokémon as you unleash a flurry of powerful moves in adrenaline-fuelled matches! Call upon Support Pokémon to assist in the fight, then unleash your Pokémon’s unique Burst Attack as you work your way up the ranks.
Pros:
- Gorgeous HD graphics.
- 3.2GB Download size.
- Character (Avatar) creator-Set eye colour, Facial expression, Male/Female.
- Pro controller support.
- Amiibo support.
- Seven modes- Story, Single match, Practice, Local, Local wireless and online. Daily fight is your seventh.
- Daily fight- Randomly generated fight with set rules and Pokemon. The few dailies I have done have all been get 3 wins in 5 fights. You get bonus items and EXP.
- Can rebind controls.
- Tutorial- Optional and covers the mechanics of the game.
- Over 20 Pokemon including new ones from Pokemon Sun and Moon.
- 16 Sets of supports. Each support is a team of two and have different charge times and do particular moves from stunning the enemy to giving you health.
- End of battle breakdown with a star rating in areas like defense offense and burst with an overall star rating and cash prize depending on rating.
- Earn cash to buy new customisable options for your avatar. Unlock new avatar buying options by playing the game and doing particular tasks.
- Each Pokemon has its own level and you earn EXP from fighting. Levelling up grants an unlock point that you can allocate to strength, Defense, Support time and burst.
- Unlock new titles for your player card by playing and/or completing tasks.
- Fast loading times.
- Detailed move list in pause menu.
- Has its own in game achievements.
- Mission panel- You perform certain tasks to reveal a picture, Earn bonus cash and eventually once you unlcok the whole image you get a special key.
- Locations are taken straight from the Pokemon universe from all games they look simply inviting and fun with a lot of background animations.
- Player card- Set one of your unlocked titles, Add a preset greeting and you can change these whenever you want to.
- Story- Played out the same way in each league it goes; Win league matches to increase your rank and qualify to the tournament, Finish the tournament then face off against a boss of sorts. The boss of sorts fight is a promotion match that once you win unlcoks the next league.
- Fast fluid combat and controls.
- Advisor- Gives advice, Adds buffs inbetween rounds. You can select her cheer skill which changes what buffs you may get between rounds.
- Can re allocate Pokemon upgrade points at anytime for free.
- Japanese and English audio options for your advisor.
- Stats- Battle log, Play info and saved replays.
- Local mp- Choose to play as splitscreen or you share the same screen.
- Combat- You fight as normal in an arena. Doing a set of moves can trigger and change the game from a 3D fighter into a almost 2D up close combat. Again you can then transition out from the up close back to the open 3D fighting again.
- Accessible thanks to the way the fighting works. You have a homing atttack that gets you up and close, A ranged attack is self explanatory.
- You feel rewarded constantly as titles and avatar unlcoks constantly drop after matches.
- Sports channel presentation.
- Fight styles- Aside from the one on one you also get a team battle option where you choose a stable of fighters and have to elimate all opposing players to win.
- Looks superb on the small or big screen.
Cons:
- The single player whilst entertaining is only like that in short fire bursts. The early leagues are very simple to win which kind of kill your motivation.
- No online tournament options to play with friends.
- If you are not bothered by avatar options then you don’t get the same feeling of love as someone who loves constantly changing out their layout.
- Combat can boil down to just button mashing.
The Numbers:
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9/10
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9/10
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8/10
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8/10
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9/10
Summary
Pokemon tournament DX makes fighting games fun. I have a real problem enjoying fighting games as they grow more and more complex and combo centric, I am proud to report that is not the case here and we get a very accessible fighter that anyone can jump into. Yes it still has the “Pro” layer allowing top tier players to do crazy combo attacks etc but casuals can still hold their own against them. The transition between the two different fighting styles mixes it up and adds a layer of variety not seen in many games. Its a game that is hard to fault as it nails so many modes and is so inviting. My main gripe is more with the bland straight forward single player mode but that is about it. I mean I dont like to change my avatar constantly but I like all the pop ups and unlock notifications after a match. In short it is a very slick presentation and caters for Pokemon and fighting fans alike in a accessible yet rewarding brawler.