As mentioned earlier, Pikachu Libre's finisher puts you in the ring, while Gengar's transports your opponent into a ghostly nightmare, for example.īut above the Synergy gauge is the Support gauge, and this is important in its own way - and gives Pokkén its 'Catch 'em all' factor. This boosts your stats for a short period of time, which can be extended by investing more points into the Synergy stat.ĭuring a Burst you'll also be able to use a one-time burst attack that inflicts significant damage if you make contact.
Pokkén tournament switch full#
Once your Synergy gauge is full you can enable a Synergy Burst, transforming your Pokémon into a temporarily souped-up version of itself (some Mega Evolve).
Synergy is earned over the course of a match from delivering damage to the opponent and forcing phase shifts. There are a couple of other interesting features that spice up the gameplay, chief of which is Synergy. Mastering these characters will take time and patience, which is why I predict most players will stick with one main, maybe two at most. Get familiar with that shield button too, you're going to need it. In sum, attacks beat grabs, grabs beat counter attacks, and counter attacks beat normal attacks. We're not going to get into the technicalities of each character's move set (you can of course browse them them all from the menu screen during battle), but at the start of training you'll be introduced to the holy triangle of attacks, grabs and counters. The two different "phases" give Pokkén an added layer of complexity to master, and learning to move between them comfortably and switch your style of play in an instant is key to owning the field. Machamp is incredibly strong but less good at range, so getting the opponent into the Duel Phase as quickly as possible is key. The command buttons also change function at the switch, shifting to more close-combat-style play.ĭuel Phase is where you'll be rolling out the combos, grabs and counters to maximum damage, although different monsters will have different advantages in each phase. However, once you land an "initiating" hit, play switches to the Duel Phase where you're moved to a horizontal plane in the style of more traditional fighting games. Here you have three-axis movement, and the commands in this phase are more focused on projectiles and homing attacks. The Field Phase begins every round and gives you an over-the-shoulder view of your monster as per traditional Pokémon games. Phase meīattles in Pokkén are made up of two phases, the Field Phase and the Duel Phase. If you're not sure with which character to go for first, each has its own assigned style - standard, power and technical - which should offer some rough guidance. Pokémon also level up using experience gained from every fight each time they do you can assign a skill point to one of the four stats: Attack, Defense, Strategy or Synergy. You can switch your partner Pokémon in the settings at any time you like, but the game doesn't nudge you to try another character. The characters are a mix of old and new Pokémon generations - old school fans will be glad to know Charizard, Pikachu and Gengar all get a look-in - but if anything Pokkén encourages you to stick with one Main throughout. Pokkén Tournament has 16 characters right now, and the game has already been criticised for what some consider to be a meagre character roster - Pokémon is a franchise that prides itself on its abundance of creatures - but when you factor in just how varied these Pokémon are and what Pokkén actually wants to be, it stops feeling like such a valid critique.