En Gardevoir
Eyebrows were raised when, back in 2014, it was announced back thatNintendo and Bandai Namco were tagging up to create a fighter styled on thePokémonfranchise. But withTekkenproducer Katsuhiro Harada at the helm, it seemed likely to be a hit. As expected,Pokkén Tournamentdelivered upon release – offering fun, goofy, and exciting throwdowns between an entire army of colorful critters.
In the following years, however, thePokkénTournamentbrand has all but vanished, with 2016 Nintendo Switch portPokkén Tournament DXbeing the last we heard from the franchise. WithPokémonstill riding high and pulling in profits decades after launch, a sequel to the 3D fighter would seem a no-brainer. But according to Harada himself, it’s all up to the folks at Nintendo and ThePokémonCompany.
“We have a good relationship with Nintendo and Pokémon Co., Ltd., and POKKÉN has had a great response, so I would like to make it again,”said the shades-wearing maestroon Twitter, responding to a fan. “But it’s not what we decide, it’s what they decide.”
Obviously, Pokémon as a brand serves many masters, and so putting together a newPokkén Tournamentisn’t quite the same from a technical stance as Harada just rocking up to Bandai Namco with a newTekkenunder his belt. Ultimately,Pokkén Tournamentwas an experiment, one which fared well on home formats but bombed in Japanese arcades. With the fate of any sequel in the hands of Nintendo, it’s something of a dice roll as to whether Pikachu and pals will ever see a rematch.
