
Get ready to shock the life out of people by playing as Pikachu or just burn them down to a crisp with the help of Charizard.
If gamers were wondering when they could play as their favorite Pokemon in the arcade-based fighting game, Pokken Tournament worldwide release date was officially announced by Nintendo. The exclusive Wii U game will hit digital and retail store shelves on the 18th of March.
The fact that we are currently getting more and more news concerning Pokemon and games that allow you to immerse yourself in the Pokemon universe is not entirely surprising if one would take into account how 2016 is marked as the 20th anniversary of the franchise.
Pokken Tournament is a 3D fighting game similar to the Dragonball Z Shin Budokai and Naruto Ultimate Ninja Storm series, with two players duking it out in an enclosed circular space. What is interesting is that this game allows you to play as your favorite Pokemon, not as just a simple trainer that stays outside the battle giving out commands.
In terms of graphical aesthetic, the game looks pretty good considering the hardware power provided by the Wii U. The fighters move and attack with a high degree of fluidity while powers and fighting techniques look and feel bombastic. Although the arena’s terrain does not get deformed by the more destructive attacks, the added debris particles and screen shakes still make you feel like you are pulling some rather impressive moves and combos.
The game was first released in Japan on an arcade machine. Because of this, players who want to get the full experience or even consider going professional with Pokken Tournament are advised to invest into the purchase of a fight stick. Nintendo thought about this factor in advance, releasing an arcade-style Wii U controller for Pokken Tournament priced at $25. The peripheral will hit stores on the 16th of March, with pre-orders already available at Amazon.com.
Although at first glance the game’s character roster might seem a bit small, given the fact that the Pokemon franchise has hundreds and hundreds of different Pokemon, this will not deter fans by any means. 16 playable characters, including Mewtwo, Pikachu, and the recently announced evolution of Litwick, Chandelure, will be pitted against one another by players from around the world. Even if Chandelure might seem to be in the vein of a parody Pokemon, basically being a living chandelier, the Pokemon actually has a pretty big fanbase backing it up.
If the fact that Pokken Tournament worldwide release date was officially announced leaves you somewhat unenticed, if you are not really a fighting game fan, Nintendo will also release remastered versions of the original GBA Pokemon games, Red and Blue, on the 27th of February. Pokken Tournament is priced at the usual AAA game cost of $59,99.
Image source:www.pokemon.com