So my 11-year old is a massive Pokemon fan. Actually, I’m not entirely sure the word massive is appropriate, maybe gigantic or enormous is more suited. Either way, he loves it. If you’re just starting out with Pokémon, it is important that you understand how the game works, you must also see the Guide on Building a Pokémon Card Deck. While he’s tried to get me to play the card game, something neither of us fully understand, we’ve watched the movies and of course did the obligatory Halloween costume 2 years ago, which required me to hunt on Amazon for Ash’s hat, backpack and gloves, all shipped from China.

Anyway, so he of course plays the Nintendo 3DS handheld games like Pokemon X and Y, Black and White and absolutely positively, come holiday time, Sun and Moon. But these games are solitary experiences. They’re RPGs or Role-Playing Games to the normies, which take him through a story, collecting and battling Pokemon with other Pokemon trainers, played by the computer. But for those who want something that is adrenaline-pumping, they can try games like slot gratis book of ra.

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Just last month, Nintendo released a new game for their Wii U and Pokemon fans called Pokken Tournament. The name is spoof of another popular game that gamers might know, Tekken. Tekken was one of the most popular arcade fighting games after Street Fighter II, Mortal Kombat and Killer Instinct. Tekken, along with Sega’s Virtua Figher series, were the first big two to introduce 3D fighting games to the masses. Pokken Tournament, unlike the other Pokemon games finally allows players to play directly as some of the most popular Pokemon characters like Pikachu, Gengar, and MewTwo (don’t ask why I know all these names). If you want to give your child Pokemon-related toys, options like Pokeball might be ideal.

With Pokken Tournament, I finally have a fighting game that I can play with my son, that doesn’t feature girls with bouncing breasts, thongs, cussing and blood. Pokken Tournament has all the features of a great fighter like tons of different and unlockable boards (achieved through the single-player campaign), over 10 of the best Pokemon (fighters), crazy attacks with specials that can be used after filling up a boost meter and even companion attacks — which are basically tiny side pokemon, you can call in to deliver a one-time attack, once a meter has been filled.

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The game overall is bright, very vibrant and colorful and easy to pick up and play. What I really liked was that when we played two player modes, with the Nintendo Wii U’s game pad having a 7-inch screen, one player plays while watching the display on the oversized Controller, while the other player (who has the standard controller) watches the TV. This may sound odd, but the game’s camera system is positioned over the right shoulder of the fighter.  This breaks the mold of the standard 2D side scrolling fighting games like Street Fighter as well as games like Tekken, which while keeping the fighters on the same plane, forced the background rotated. With Pokken, the camera sits back (zoomed out) and to the right of the character you’re playing “and” the camera moves too. It’s pretty unique and innovative, especially in a genre that’s been flooded for decades with the same old thing.

As I mentioned before, the game is pretty easy to pick up and play, so even if you’re not a seasoned gamer, you can sit down with your kids and play this and feel like you know what you’re doing, without getting your butt handed to you on a silver platter by an 8- year old. Do you need to know the Pokemon? Nope. Do you know need to know how to play fighting games? Nope. Will you have fun with your kids? Yup. There’s something about a little light teasing and ribbing (aka “PG” Trash Talking) with your kids. Let them win a few, help build their confidence, when they think they’ve beaten an adult, it gives them pride. Granted that depends on your child’s age, with my son being on the cusp of 12, he just legitimately beats me down. Though I have won my fair share.

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In any event, with the Wii U having a bit of dry spell with new games, and the next-generation Nintendo console coming in March 2017, if you already have a Wii U, this game definitely fills that gap and is fun to boot! Is it a must buy if you don’t already have a Wii U? No, sadly it’s not. If you already have a PS4 or Xbox One, stick with those, I have other games I can recommend that are kid friendly on both!

Do you have questions about kid friendly games? Do you want advice on buying a system that’s family friendly, but also great for you? Just leave a comment down below or send me an email at mikethegamerdad @ gmail.com.

Till next time, remember, you’re never to old to be a gamer!