Let's get straight to the point: I think that Pokkén Tournament is slowly becoming one of my favorite Wii U games. There is something magical about taking direct control over a Pokemon, guiding it into battle and reigning victorious over your opponent. It has that genuine thrill to it that never gets old. Between the CPU and online matches that I participated in, I was always invested in what I was doing. For a fighting game that is fantastic, for the experience it makes the game incredibly memorable.

If you look from a distance, you may see a typical 3D fighting game, but Pokkén Tournament is so much more than that. You can already see it in the Field Phase where a lot of freedom is given to the player. Unlike a game like Tekken where the action always stays on the two characters, you can actually move around freely. You can attack and avoid as you so desire, which creates space to think of unique strategies on the spot. It's honestly refreshing to see a heavy focus on the action, unlike most fighting games that focus on a more defensive style. Defense is more needed for the Duel Phase, which you will enter after a hefty attack has successfully landed. It becomes more traditional 2D combat, where quick blows and your shield are important to survive. You have to deal with these phases as they come and learn to control your moves both ways. That isn't easy, but luckily there are in depth tutorials to make you understand.

At its core, it is about the Pokemon and their moves. Some will argue that the amount of monsters included isn't enough. While I can see where they are coming from, I honestly didn't mind it one bit. It takes time to learn a character and see what moves will work in certain situations. You might find that not appealing, but that is what I play a fighting game for. I don't want to be constantly surprised and not know what a character can fling my way. That is why you train (within the dojos and the like) in both phases and see what these Pokémon are made of. After I learned to deal with all of them, I just wanted to play like there was no tomorrow and discover what others would do with them.

The one Pokemon that got the most time in my pre-release sessions was Suicune. I think he fits my playstyle the best as he is both fast and has incredibly swift attacks that can give you an edge. Particularly in the Field Phase, it felt powerful to use the Aurora Beam and close the distance that way. At close range, his ribbons became powerful weapons that could slice and dice the enemy incredibly quickly. It's wonderful to watch your strings of button presses together in motion and having great success while doing it!

The modes are what makes or breaks a fighting game and Pokkén has various degrees of success. The single-player Ferrum League is a great introduction to Pokkén Tournament. It sees you duking it out against a variety of CPU opponents to climb various leagues and become the best that ever was. It starts out too slow for my personal liking and I do prefer listening to the characters talk in Japanese. Nia, your helper, is particularly grating to listen to in English and it seems that many are in agreement with that statement. What is nice about the Ferrum League is that you can easily pick it up, play it for a bit and carry on with the rest of your day. The set of battles you partake in is never too long, which makes it a nice distraction. If you are looking for something deep however, you will be certainly disappointed.

Another option are the Single Battles. Here you can set the difficulty, battle time and round points exactly how you want. You are free to use any Pokémon, most of which are available at the start, and battle on any of the stages that you have unlocked during your Ferrum League journey. The same options apply for the local multiplayer mode and it is here where I didn't enjoy myself too much. One person will be forced to use the Wii U GamePad, while the other plays on the television. While the GamePad is totally a fine controller for Pokkén, I found that I had a less of an overview on the battlefield. You can optionally fix this by having two Wii Us and hooking them up over a local network. That is far from an ideal situation, but it works surprisingly enough. I set up two TVs in my office and my friends played the night away. A neat thing is that activating LAN unlocks all the characters and stages, so you will have a wide range of options available to you!

In my experience with online battles, I came across very little lag. There were a few that really bugged me, but it was few and far between. While playing I did wish that the Friendly Matches had a few more options to them, similar to how the local and single matches are set up. There are basic rules in place, but that is about it. At the very least, it is possible to play with friends here, unlike another Nintendo published Wii U game (Mario Tennis). For the real competitive players, there are also Ranked Battles to reach new heights on a variety of leaderboards. Adversaries will be found based on your position and overall standing in the Win and Point Rankings. The system won't be able to find you an opponent instantly, but you can fight against CPUs while you wait. That is, at least, a nice touch.

Pokkén Tournament is a wonderful game that looks and sounds great. The Pokemon clash in true battles of skill and seeing the creativity of others makes battles really exciting. While it may seem daunting at first, you find yourself falling in love with it quickly. You start to grasp and understand it, which will make you a better player as a result. While there are things that local play and Ferrum League could have done better, I was just impressed with this game throughout. Pokemon is a delight already, but mixed with fighting? Well, that is a match made in heaven.