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It was released in September 2017 as the deluxe version of Pokkén Tournament for the Wii U and it featured an increased roster of fighters to choose from, new support Pokémon, new modes to play, and even DLC.
However, early on, the game received quite a bit of negativity for being ‘just’ a port of a Wii U game and not having enough new content to justify its price.
On the other side of the coin, however, we have Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, which got the same exact treatment and was very well received.
Unfortunately, Pokken Tournament DX never got the chance to truly shine, which is a shame since as a fighting game it brings a unique take on the genre!
Each match starts as an arena brawler but some types of attacks have the capability of shifting the gameplay to a more traditional 2D fighter!
One other thing I absolutely love about this game is the uniqueness of each fighter. There aren’t two Pokémon that feel the same, not even those that look like they could be clones like Mewtwo and Shadow Mewtwo or Pikachu and Pikachu Libre.
There’s a ton to experiment and just when I think I found the right Pokémon for me I find another one that has this cool combo or gimmick that makes me want to spend hours on the free training!
Although some say that this is an entry-level fighting game there’s a ton of things to learn from the get-go! And depending on the Pokémon you choose you might have a harsher time.
Luckily for me, I picked Blaziken when I first started, and little did I know that he was one of the most basic characters to choose from.
However, I recently picked up Shadow Mewtwo and the learning curve between these two is way bigger than I thought.
But despite this, I’m having too much fun learning all the tricks it has under its sleeve and all those cool-looking combos! Soon enough I’ll finally be able to go online and start ranking up!
If you’re thinking about getting this game keep in mind that you’ll want to play it almost excusively for the online mode since it doesn’t offer much in terms of single-player content, sadly.
The story mode is great for beginners to get a feel for the game but I doubt most people have the will to go through all of those repetitive battles that offer little to no challenge.
Also, there’s a challenge mode in the game that has you play with a certain Pokémon and a support. Clear all the battles and you’ll be awarded some gold and bonus skill points. This is a fun little mode however, there is little to no challenge to it.
It might sound like I’m being harsh but it’s the sad reality of Pokkén singleplayer, and I can see why people complained about this game being full launch price. But I must admit that the avatar customization is very extensive and the cutscenes featuring Shadow Mewtwo are just awesome to look at.
Despite all the issues in the singleplayer, the core gameplay is fun, and, believe me when I say that the online is very active and not dead as many people say, sometimes you’ll get a match within seconds!
And also, it runs very smoothly with almost no lag input, from what I’ve experienced so far.
Although sometimes you’ll get matched with someone who has a couple more wins than you, don’t let that discourage you! The experience might be displeasing but only if you let it be.
Try doing the best you can and then go watch the replay of the match to see what you did wrong! Also, don’t jump online straight away, that’s always a bad idea, do all the training courses first and practice some combos and setups for your character in the free training.
Then, when you feel comfortable go for some friendly matches!
CONCLUSION
Honestly, I think this is the fighting game I’ve had more fun with on the Nintendo Switch and it’s a shame to see it being neglected by the lack of DLC or balance updates! But still, as long as people are willing to play the game and have fun while doing so it will never die, right?
With this said, there’s an active community on Discord and even Reddit with very knowledgeable and nice people who are willing to help newbies. So, to answer the question “Is Pokken Tournament Dead?” – The answer is no. Hop on if you need some help and have fun with Pokkén Tournament DX!
Note: Revised on 2/13/2024 and I can still find online matches.