Pokkén Tournament Controller

Initially teased as a tech demo nearly two years ago and officially announced with a trailer last August, Pokkén Tournament, an arcade fighter featuring playable characters from the Pokémon franchise, has remained a bit of a mystery. Originally thought to be a new Wii U title, it was later revealed that the new fighting game would instead be making its way to Japanese arcades. We now have a better understanding of the game's potential through the reveal of the game's controller and gameplay, and it all looks surprisingly familiar.

Unveiled through a livestream presentation with Pokkén Tournament's producer Katsuhiro Harada, the controls accompanying units won't feature classic arcade sticks and buttons, but instead opt for what looks like a large Super Famicom controller. Featuring a D-Pad and a six button layout that includes L and R triggers on the shoulders, it seems as though the control scheme will be relatively simple, but this odd control choice implies much more than that. It may be pure conjecture at this point, but by designing an arcade input to reflect that of a home console, we can certainly justify crossing our fingers for an eventual release on Wii U.

Pikachu confirmed as a playable character

It's also worth keeping in mind that Bandai Namco, the company heading up production, had a significant hand in the development of the recent Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and the 3DS entry. Not only does this imply that Bandai Namco is comfortable developing a fighter for the home console, but that it is a company that Nintendo trusts with its more profitable franchises.

Beyond looking like an exciting arcade fighter, Pokkén Tournament is set to bring plenty of fan service along with it. Some details confirmed in the stream include:

  • Gardevoir, Suicine, and Pikachu to be featured as playable characters
  • Emolga, Fenniken, Snivy and Lapras appear as support characters that can be summoned to assist in battle
  • Mega Evolutions make an appearance in the form of special attacks
  • Controls are designed to be accessible for newcomers to fighting games
  • Arcade cabinets will support both local and online multiplayer

Check out the recorded livestream for more details and gameplay footage, then feel free to speculate about a Wii U release in the comments section below.

[source neogaf.com, via siliconera.com]