Lots of Pokken Tournament details
Japanese publication Game Watch attended a location test for Pokken Tournament at the Namco Lazona Kawasaki arcade. Plenty of information was provided in the site’s report (a mix of old/new), and Gematsu translated a ton of details from the article. We’ve rounded all of the tidbits below.
– Button layout on the controller similar to ones employed in older systems like the Super Nintendo
– Controller features more modern ergonomic philosophies in terms of how its handles are designed
– d-pad, four face buttons, A, B, X, Y, Start button on the controller, plus L and R triggers
Controls:
D-Pad: Character movement. Hitting a direction twice will perform a short step.
Y Button: Weak attack.
X Button: Strong attack.
B Button: Jump.
A Button: Pokemon Move.
L Button: Summon Support Pokemon.
R Button: Guard.
L+R Buttons: Burst Mode. Press again during Burst Mode for a Burst Attack. (More details below.)
Y+B Buttons: Grab.
X+A Buttons: Block Attack. (More details below.)
– Need to reduce the opponent Pokemon’s HP to zero
– This is represented by the green horizontal bar with the number inside it
– The Pokemon with more HP wins if the timer runs out
– Win two rounds to win the overall match
– See player stats in the lower-left corner of the screen
– Opponent stats shown in the upper-right portion
– Fights are carried out in Field Phase and Duel Phase
– Field Phase: depicts combat in a manner akin to the traditional Pokemon games in that each side sees their respective Pokemon from behind the back
– Y button attacks used for long distance attacks while X button is for closer range homing attacks designed to close the gap between Pokemon and build up combos
– Long distance attacks can be dodged either by jumping or performing a step
– The main point of this phase is distance management
– Rounds start in the Field Phase, but can transition to the Duel Phase by landing certain attacks such grabs and a Pokemon’s Up+Y Button move
– There is then a transition to the perspective to a horizontal plane resembling older-style arcade fighting games like Street Fighter and King of Fighters
– This is where the rock-paper-scissors dynamic comes into play
– Normal attacks beat grabs
– Grabs beat Block Attacks
– Block Attacks beat normal attacks
– Block Attacks are a type of guard that comes with an offensive bite to it
– Block Attacks can be used to block long range attacks and, in more technical terms, can also be canceled with a step
– Gameplay can return to the Field Phase by having certain attacks connect or as a result of a player landing a set number of combos
– Duel Phases are considered to be an ideal way to dish out a lot of damage in a short period of time
– Burst Mode: earn big buffs for a limited period of time as the Burst Gauge ticks down
– Obtain Burst Mode by filling the circular bar affixed to the player portrait on screen by dealing and taking attacks and by successfully landing moves that cause Phase transitions
– In Burst Mode, Pokemon have a one-time option of using a Burst Attack at this stage
– This triggers a special cut-scene if successfully executed and deal major damage to the opposition
– This attack is avoidable
– 5 Pokemon playable at the location test:
Lucario: An all-around fighter with balanced offensive and defensive capabilities.
Pikachu: Combines swift speed and powerful electrical attacks.
Suicune: A defensive character that specializes in keeping opponents at bay with myriad long range moves.
Machamp: Extremely powerful in close-quarters combat.
Gardevoir: A tricky technical character that likes to mess around with opponents with flashy moves
Pulling off special moves with each Pokemon is a simple affair, simply requiring that a direction be held down whilst pressing a button a la Super Smash Bros. The types of moves that they can perform in this manner include long and short range attacks, anti-air moves, rushdowns, grabs, and more.
– 2 Support Pokemon for each Pokemon fighter
– These are picked in preset pairs
– Once a pair is picked, one is actually selected to participate at the start of each round
– 6 Support Pokemon at the location test
– Each specializes in providing a specific type of one-off assistance that broadly fall into three different categories: Attack, Interference, and Buff
– Recharge period before a Support Pokemon can be sent out again
– This is signified by their darkened portrait lighting up in clockwise chunks
– Recharge speed varies among Support Pokemon
Emolga: Uses Shock Wave as a long distance attack to slow down the opponent’s speed.
Snivy: Uses Leaf Tornado as an anti-air attack to maintain distance
Frogadier: Uses Water Pulse to fire off discs of water from afar.
Fennekin: Uses Ember as a multi-stage, dome-shaped area attack.
Lapras: Uses Surf as a wide horizontal rush attack to deal major damage.
Eevee: Uses Helping Hand to temporarily buff attack power and heal HP.
