There are three now iconic fighting game series that shaped my love and fondness of this genre of gaming; Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat and Tekken. Tekken was the very first game I purchased with my brand new PlayStation console and was my first real look into 3D fighting games after not really being a fan of Virtua Fighter. It was a very different experience to the 2D fighters I had known before and it became a must buy through out the series up until Tekken Tag Tournament when it slipped off my gaming radar. Since then, the reboot to Mortal Kombat and evolution of Injustice has shown how NetherRealm have changed the fighting genre the most in recent years and especially with Street Fighter V failing so terribly, it will be interesting to see how Tekken makes its console return after so many years.
Hard to think it has been over five years since I last played a Tekken game but I can honestly say I have been patiently waiting for Tekken 7 to jump over to console since it debuted in the arcades of Japan and tournaments almost two years ago. I consider myself spoiled as a fighting genre fan in recent years with the reboot of Mortal Kombat and introduction of Injustice. They both deliver challenging online and offline battles. I was very disappointed, just as many were, with how Street Fighter V launched and in the year of patching and additions, it still fails to grab my attention as it once did. Tekken lost my attention as well, but it is part of my gaming DNA so firing it up finally after so much time was genuinely exciting.
Tekken 7 has one of the largest rosters for the series yet, with returning legends from previous games but also brand new fighters. The variety of fighting styles is rich and diverse with a little of something for everyone and can be overwhelming to newcomers but certainly offers a lot of promise for experienced players. Visually Tekken has never looked better, the fighters are big on screen and the camera in close so all the attention is on the two fighters bringing a real arcade feel to your home console, especially if you have a big TV. The audio and soundtrack immediately puts you right back into the Tekken universe.
Just as other fighting titles available today, Tekken 7 has a main story mode called ‘The Mishima Saga’, a single player campaign that tells the story of the Mishima family from the viewpoint of a journalist who is directly affected by the family fued. It takes the player right through all the previous Tekken game storylines, fills in some of the holes and attempts to tie up all the loose ends to explain the history of the now iconic ‘King of Iron Fist’ tournament and battle between the Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corporation. The story is told via cut scenes with occasional breaks for mini games and fights for the player to do. Whilst I really enjoyed the story being told via the cinematic cut-scenes despite finding some of the ‘Journalist’ narration rather naff at times, the player interaction element just fell flat for me. The mini game sections were almost tutorial in nature but grew very tiresome quickly and the fights were enjoyable until you reached a boss level which saw the difficulty spike to unforgiving levels adding a frustration that killed the experience at times, enough to make me put the campaign down for a while and count to ten.
Progress and completion of the main campaign will unlock ‘Character Episodes’, these will give a little back story to each character on the roster before having a single fight to tie up their part of the story. It was strange to have this as part of the Mishima Saga mainly because the offline Arcade mode lacks any story ending for completing it with each fighter and would have been served far better if the Character Episodes had been tied into the arcade making it a more complete arcade mode but alas not.
As well as the Mishima Saga and arcade mode there is the Treasure Battle mode, an endurance mode of sorts where the more you win the further you progress and tougher it becomes. Each win rewards you with a treasure box giving more customisation items to use from character specific items to generic ones for all characters. The more difficult a match, the better quality of item is given. This is a tough mode but very fulfilling and I found it served as a great training mode to learn fighters whilst also gaining rewards for doing so. The boss fights after a win streak, just as with the Mishima Saga, can spike in difficulty and with the only option to restart your run again, can be harsh when the AI simply throws insane combo strings at you, even very early in your run attempt.
The customisation options in Tekken 7 are to put it simply, bat crap crazy. Each fighter can be customised cosmetically to change their look how the player desires and the choices are insane. From clothing to accessories, the sheer volume of what you can change can lead to some very ‘interesting’ looks indeed, especially if you take the game online against others. Now I am all for changing how a fighter looks but some of the options available are just a little out there for me personally but having such a system for fans to go all out is a great way of giving players something to do, this is especially because it is all attainable within the game through playing Treasure Battle mode or from the in game currency earned to unlock new items for fighter customisation as well as right down to your own player card. Not a necessary feature but certainly adds something for those who are interested in this.
The online was smooth all the times I tried, finding matchups easily and I am a big fan of the online Tournament mode which once enough players have joined creates random match ups with the winners progressing forward. It is a great feature though I have yet to win one at time of writing. The online is really where Tekken 7 comes alive, playing straight to its Arcade machine origins and works really fluidly. I do feel that the lack of any real substantial tutorial system will be harsh on new players wanting to dive right into the online rather than the offline modes, the traditional button mashing style Tekken has always had is very much still here and the random mashing of face buttons can still lead to some impressive looking hits even if you are new.
T button mashing style still feels clumsy, and compared to recent fighters can also feel very clunky at times. It took a while to get used to having a traditional fighting game health bar, all be it a very short health bar in Tekken 7. Rounds can last mere seconds if the right combo is used or if you fail to block an attack therefore leaving you option to major damage. Tekken 7 does have additions to the fighting with the new Rage Art and Power Crush moves. Rage Art is a last gasp move that can be triggered by players once their health hits 25% or lower and is an easy to activate move that can put a player back into the fight but is can also be easily blocked so it never feels too over powered. Power Crushes allow a player to rain down moves on an opponent whilst still taking damage from their blows, which to me feels a little like Hulking out during a fight. It still feels very much like a Tekken game and I was soon remembering combos for fighters I remember despite the years of absence from playing the series.
Tekken 7 brings the series back to consoles in a big way and does an excellent job of wrapping up all the story from previous games in a way that fans of Tekken can appreciate and those coming to Tekken 7 and the series as newcomers will get the history told well for them to catch up. It has plenty of offline content for players to get to grips with the game before going online though the story campaign itself failed to live up to the quality of Injustice 2 for me. Online is smooth enough but the imbalance of experienced players and newcomers can make it very challenging indeed, not so bad for those experienced with Tekken games but for new players it could be very over powering to start with.
But Tekken is back and is back in a strong way that puts this series right back on the console gaming map. With NetherRealm currently king of fighters with Mortal Kombat and Injustice leading the charge, Tekken 7 has done enough to launch with strength and solidity and is worth your attention if you are a fighting game fan or if like me, you put the series down years ago, there is no better time to see if you have what it takes to be “King of Iron Fist”.
