Pokken Tournament DX review: Now with more Pokken

We liked Pokken Tournament on Wii U pretty okay, so it’s been repackaged for the Switch with a few new Pokemon and half of a game mode.

Developer: Bandai Namco
Publisher: The Pokemon Company
Platform: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: September 22, 2017

Pokken Tournament DX is yet another product of Nintendo’s ongoing effort to put anything remotely good from the Wii U onto the Nintendo Switch. Not that we can blame them. The Tekken x Pokemon crossover game barely had time to establish itself at fighting game tournaments and in the Pokemon World Championships before people began trading their Wii Us back in. Fortunately, Pokken Tournament DX already had enough little, arcade additions to justify getting the same treatment as games like Mario Kart 8 Deluxe: now on the Switch, and with new features.

That doesn’t mean much has changed. Pokken Tournament is still the same tight fighting game we played for the first time literally just last year. It’s still focused on being more of a good fighting game than a Pokemon game, which is fine, but will easily daunt those who showed up just because Pikachu was on the cover. I remain impressed with the level of detail put into giving each Pokemon its own personality in terms of movement, fighting style, and feel. If you look carefully, you can tell which Pokemon universe attack or idea spawned every movement that a fighter makes.

This holds true with the new roster additions: Decidueye, Croagunk, Empoleon, Scizor, and Darkrai. In my original review, I praised the versatility of the roster and the skill with which Bandai Namco had managed to make every Pokemon fighter unique to play by selecting Pokemon without much regard for which were popular, or not. The five newcomers fill their niches well, from Darkrai’s tricky domination style to Decidueye’s swift, decisive aerial control to Empoleon’s hard-hitting, cutting slices. One other, minor change is that Shadow Mewtwo is available from the start rather than being locked behind Ferrum League completion, meaning you don’t need to slog through a long campaign for all your tools to be available. The same holds true for Support Pokemon, which are also all available from the start including new, unremarkable additions Litten and Popplio.

Alongside these and new trainer customization items, all the notable changes to Pokken Tournament DX lie in its battle modes. One of the easiest to spot is the addition of Missions to the Ferrum League mode. While it’s nice that they provide a more convenient guide for how to unlock certain titles, the reality of the Mission Board is that, for the most part, it’s just a glorified way of showing how to get certain titles. Use a Support Pokemon x amount of times, win y amount of battles, and earn a title or some Poke Gold, just like before. Still, it’s an improvement to have that guide at your fingertips at anytime during a league challenge.

Another new feature is the Team Battle mode, a single-player mode that pits you and a team of three Pokemon against another trainer and theirs. You’ll pick your Pokemon at the start, and the HP and Synergy gauge of the winning Pokemon carries into the next round. You must defeat all three of your opponent’s Pokemon to move on. While a neat idea, I would have liked to see it as an online battle mode, too, with its own rankings.

I found Daily Challenges the most interesting change, as they require you to battle a CPU using a specific Pokemon or Pokemon team and pair of support Pokemon. For me, someone who only plays casually, it was a great way to get comfortable using Pokemon I had never used before while earning Skill Points for them that I wouldn’t have otherwise. Since it’s (in my experience) only one win for a reward, the Daily Challenge was a cinch to complete even with Pokemon I wasn’t especially skilled with.

Finally, a caution: I don’t recommend playing Pokken Tournament DX with Joy Cons, not if you intend to be good at it. It’s doable, certainly, but the stick positioning and controller shape is uncomfortable and not very fun. I’m not normally one to be picky about controllers, but this is the first game on the Switch I’ve played that I’ve just really not felt the Joy Cons, even with the grip, and especially not in handheld mode attached to the tablet. Get yourself a Pro Controller and do this right.

Oh, and remember to turn Nia’s voice off immediately, because her constant commentary will drive you to whatever fresh hell Darkrai is producing in his Synergy Burst attack.

More app trigger: Best Nintendo Switch games out right now

For all the pomp and circumstance of a new release, my feelings on Pokken Tournament DX haven’t changed much. If you’re into competitive fighting titles, you’ll enjoy it, especially with the new characters and newfound portability. But for those unfamiliar with fighting games, or even those who are familiar but don’t play at a semi-serious level, you’ll quickly burn out. There’s not enough of an in-game reward system or gameplay variety to motivate continuous play over time, as you’ll get the customization items you want all too quickly and be left wondering, “Well, what now?” The Daily Challenges were a start in the right direction, but don’t go far enough to push players beyond their personal limits.

A copy of this game was provided to App Trigger for the purpose of this review. All scores are ranked out of 10, with .5 increments. Click here to learn more about our Review Policy.