Pokkén Tournament is Pokémon Tekken

Pokémon Company Japan has announced Pokkén Tournament, a Pokémon fighting game made in collaboration with Bandai Namco.

It was unveiled on a live NicoNico stream to Japanese viewers, with Tekken’s Katsuhiro Harada appearing to announce the game, outfitted in a shocking white Pokémon t-shirt that clashed horribly with his trademark shades. For shame.

The trailer, which you can see below, shows Lucario and Machamp fighting with Tekken-like combos. Lucario clearly becomes Mega Lucario in the trailer’s closing moments.

Not much else is known about the game, save for the fact that, so far, it’s only been announced for release in 2015 in Japanese arcades.

Will it come to console after? I’d say undoubtedly. The trailer for the game was published and promoted through Pokémon’s international channels despite the Japanese arcade exclusivity, showing that the Pokémon company wants people to see it.

Second, Bandai Namco have already made a Tekken game for Wii U in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (as well as a 3DS Tekken, actually). The Wii U version of Tag 2 had unique features and modes, which would have been good practise for a team that was getting ready to create a unique Tekken title for the system, wouldn’t it?

Third, all fighting games developed in Japan release in arcades first, this is standard practise. Location tests and player scrutiny help craft the experience ahead of an eventual, expanded home console release. This is the accepted process in the fighting game community.

To me, this game makes perfect sense. Pokémon spin offs have traditionally been solo affairs, which is odd when you consider the competitive appeal of the core franchise with events such as the Pokémon Video Game Championships being a yearly event.

Pokkén expands Pokémon into a previously untouched genre, Smash Bros. aside, and could actually fit into, and expand, those sorts of tournaments perfectly. That’s without even considering the scope for Pokkén appearing as a side tournament at the likes of Evo, assuming the game is unique enough when compared to the core Tekken brand. The trailer hints at projectiles, considering that Tekken X Street Fighter is still MIA, has some of its DNA bled into Pokkén?

All speculation aside, Pokkén might just be a crucial notch in Nintendo’s competitive portfolio. Now give us a Soul Calibur game themed around Fire Emblem characters, please.