So many question, so little answers.

With official announcement of the Pokemon-based fighting game Pokken Tournament, there are a some fair questions about this title unaccounted for. With my knowledge on Pokemon and fighting games in general, I will attempt to answer some of the unanswered questions.

Why is Pokken out coming out just for the Japanese arcades? It should be on consoles worldwide!

This is fair question to ask, but there is a very good reason behind it. The arcade/fighting game scene in Japan is extremely strong, bolstering players of all levels. Pokken is as experimental a fighting game and the Japanese arcades are arguably the best places to test out the games before making it global.

But there is a chance some American arcades outside can sneak a Pokken machine from. It wouldn’t be the first time import machine made it to the US.

Will Pokken be for casual player or for the core players?

Ultimately, I see Pokken making the games accessible to people who don’t usually play fighting games. But at the same time, having Tekken‘s Katsuhiro Harada and SoulCalibur‘s Masaaki Hoshino supervising the project shows that Bandai Namco wants to make a game that’s fit for serious players as well.

In regards to the game’s mechanics, Harada said that the game will not feature the High/Low/Mid guard system seen in the Tekken and SoulCalibur games and will feature a new set of mechanics. My speculation is that it will be similar to modern Street Fighter where low attacks beats high block and just a few overhands to keep people from spamming low blocks. Whatever Namco chooses to do, it will most likely be a balance where novice player won’t get frustrated while at the same time the better players will come out on top.

Who will be in Pokken?

Long before Pokken was officially announced, some assumed that the game would feature just fighting-type Pokemon since those were the only kind displayed so far. Thanks to Harada, we now know that is not the case.

Harada also stated that they shouldn’t have any trouble any Pokemon the team wanted, not just the bipedal Pokemon like Blaziken. This wonders how a Pokemon that moves on all fours like Venusaur will work in a fighting game since they obviously can’t punch or kick the same way a Pokemon that stands upright can. This sound like quite a challenge but I’m sure it’s one the Pokken team can manage.

There are still tons of questions as still on the table in regards to Pokken Tournament, and it can take up to months before all of them are answered. It is an exciting game and will have people ask even more questions before it comes out.