I love Pokémon. The franchise is part of why I love games so much. I grew up as a trainer, being around since the very first generation; I still have boxed copies of Pokémon Blue and Yellow, not to mention the entries for the other generations. However, beyond the mainline games, I also have a fondness for the spin-offs, particularly Pokkén Tournament, which happens to be ten years old today.
While many may claim the Ranger series to be the best spin-off Pokémon games, Pokkén Tournament is my hill, and I’ll defend it like Ash defends Pikachu. In case you’re new to it, Pokkén is a Pokémon fighting game – it is literally Tekken with a Pokémon skin, and that’s more than okay with me. Who needs Jin when you can kick some butt with Pkachu or fan-favorite gen 3 Pokémon Gardevoir?
Originally, Pokkén is an arcade game, first appearing in Japanese arcades in July 2015, with a worldwide release on the Wii U in 2016, and a launch on the Switch in 2017. However, the NS version has a slightly different name, Pokkén Tournament DX. Still, the premise remains the same: pick your Pokémon and go to town on your opponent.
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