When 3D fighters are mentioned, Tekken holds its stance in being one of the great franchises that delivered a balanced fighting system in its genre but after Tekken Tag Tournament 2 I was weary on where the franchise may go due to the juggling system that made things a bit cheesy to enjoy. Nevertheless, if the versus system may have lacked I was anticipating the storyline because Tekken 6 was by far the best cohesive caption of Tekken’s lore which featured new characters. The new addition to the Mashima dysfunctional family, Lars, gave nuance and a new twist to what was to come. So did Tekken 7 deliver on both ends with Story and Fighting mechanics?
To jump into my overall experience with Tekken 7, as a Tekken fan since Tekken 2, we all as fans get to finally see the finale of the Mishima saga. To hear an end to the family’s saga was a breath of fresh air because all the other characters have a robust background to uncover that can be a story in itself. The only time we truly get to know about the other characters is through arcade mode or other side modes.
Story Mode Single Player Experience
As in every Tekken addition to the franchise comes another member from the family tree. To tie all the loose ends “kind of” is Kazumi, Heihachi’s wife and mother to Kazuya. Kazumi holds the burden of the devil gene in which has lead to pretty much all the family issues. Learning more about why Heihachi to end the life of his wife gave me a missing piece to the story. From the Tekken anime in the 90s to the story mode in each Tekken throughout the years, the story was always spotty on why Heihachi despised his young child Kazuya to provoke him to toss him off a cliff.
Now learning the missing piece to the puzzle to the full story was one thing, but the execution of the grand finale in the Mishima saga was a roller coaster of a few epic moments and a stale story scheme. The narrator within the story mode is a lifeless sounding journalist (sounds like the current state of so-called gaming journalist today) who is investigating the family. At first, when playing I thought this would change but it looks like the direction of the story portrayal was to mimic the stale way of the current Street Fighter V storyline choice to tie in Akuma I guess. I missed how Tekken made things cinematic and also interactive as well will different layers of the story mode gameplay that was exhibited in Tekken 6.
Aside from learning Kazumi’s side of the story, to move to a more positive aspect of the story is Akuma’s involvement in the Mishima fiasco. This was the perfect segue of mixing Street Fighter with Tekken in efforts to properly cross the two universes. Harada mentioned years ago in an interview that he plans on how Tekken Cross Street fighter would come about and this was apart of that plan which was awesome. Within the story mode of the game introduces new gameplay mechanics of an easier way to pull off moves for the sake of the story and also specific moves depending on the character to help defeat the opposing fighter. Learning and getting used to the additional mechanic was good to introduce in the story mode to get players acquainted with the nuances, but in overall, the story execution took a huge step back from its predecessor Tekken 6.
Gameplay
This Tekken has improved tremendously from Tekken Tag Tournament 2, in which the bound system of juggling was just too over the top and not balanced at all. This installment with Tekken 7 is a tight fighter that shies away from the traditional 3d fighting mechanics that plagued a lot of titles in the 90s, with exciting new gameplay mechanics that adds a fresh new feel to the franchise. The new additions to Tekken 7 that I was not too keen about until I actually got my hands on the game were the Rage System. The Rage System is pretty much your ace in the pocket that can determine the outcome of a match in a tight situation with your HP meter is at it’s lowest. The mode increase not only damage but also grants the player to use either a Rage Drive, which grants an automatic fury of combos or a Rage Art that helps build up armor to absorb hits dish back. This new addition is one of the climatic changes in a match that could determine a lot and will also be a crowd amper for esports. Because of the new addition to the gameplay when there are
Tekken 7 is by far the most detailed and beautiful Tekken ever created by far; each character has fine detail to even their custom makeup that can be added though treasure mode. The Tekken franchise as a 3D fighting game has always embraced level design and in Tekken 7 of the 8th video game generation has truly shined on consoles. The Infinite Azure stage showcases the beauty of level design and development with astounding close to real lighting on the water.
Player Selection
There are various characters in Tekken 7 to choose from and a lot of past fan favorites as well as grace the iron fist tournament. Familiar faces range from the Mishima family of Jin, Devil Jin, Kazuya, Asuka, and Heihachi. The original characters like Paul, Eddie, Nina, Kuma, Law, Yoshimitsu, Xiaoyu, Feng and many more. With a new addition to the franchise bring the excitement of new characters, fighting styles, and more nationalities which are always a plus for a more diverse lineup. New faces include Kazumi. Harada’s team did an excellent job with the day one character selection lineup instead of waiting months for DLC characters.
Multiplayer
Tekken is always known for its robust modes to enjoy such as story, arcade, survival, and even Tekken Bowl from back in the days. The execution of multiplayer has been on point as in efforts of creating a lobby but actually getting into an online battle has been frustration due to the demand of a newly released title. Understanding that a high demand title can take some time getting the kinks out with servers being stressed, I still can play other modes to keep me occupied aside from connecting online. Other than the launch hiccups once in a match, it is smooth as butter with the code provided offering a balanced online experience. Lobbies are not too cumbersome to create to play with friends. If you want to partake and seeing where your skills lye finding a Ranked or Online match isn’t an obstacle and while you are waiting for the next opponent you can also practice until matched up which is a plus.
Disclaimer: Review Copy was provided for review coverage from Bandai Namco