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Tekken 7 is a fighting game that keeps the gameplay crisp and enjoyable, but takes a step back in terms of providing a full package. If you’re a fan of the series, you won’t be disappointed.
MSRP $59.99Unless you’re a fighting pro (and even if you are), chances are that at some point you will try to input a certain move in Tekken 7, but instead of watching the attack play out on screen, your fighter will do something you haven’t seen before. You’ll look down at your controller, rack your brain trying to remember what combination of buttons you inadvertently pressed, and, inevitably, pause the game to check your move list. It’s okay, this happens in a game where each character has more than 50 named moves — many more when counting combos. Heihachi Mishima, a series favorite, has 78, in addition to a large assortment of (sometimes) incredibly complex combo strings.To its credit, the game is still approachable for casual fans thanks to its arcade roots.
Like all entries in the long-running series, this Tekken 7 is actually an enhanced port version of a fairly long-standing arcade game. Tekken 7 launched in Japanese arcades in 2015, followed by an updated arcade version, Tekken 7: Fated Retribution. This version of the game takes Fated Retribution, and adds a single-player story mode and other features to provide the most comprehensive version of the Tekken 7 experience. There’s not enough here to keep those outside of the serious fighting game bubble occupied.To say that Tekken 7 has deep combat would be an understatement. On a purely mechanical level, Tekken 7 is a deep, strategic fighter, with new visuals that benefit from new, more powerful hardware.
That’s something to get excited about. However, besides a few, albeit welcome, adjustments, Tekken 7 is still Tekken. That isn’t necessarily bad, but it’s a bit disappointing that, after such a long wait, the overall experience feels too familiar.While it’s only been a few years since arrived, it’s been almost seven since the last canonical entry in the franchise, Tekken 6, came to consoles. After such a long layoff, one would expect Tekken 7 to feel fresh and exciting. Unfortunately, minor gameplay refinements aside, Tekken 7 settles on being not much more than a re-skinned, prettier version of Tekken 6.
From an underwhelming story to the uninspired offline variants, it feels surprisingly half-baked. Even the online format, where Tekken 7 should ideally get its legs, lacks the kind of progression fans of come to expect of all games in 2017. There’s an immersive and incredibly layered fighting experience to be found, but Tekken 7 doesn’t make a convincing argument that you should stick around to find it. The Mishima Saga flatlinesLeading up to launch, Tekken 7 was billed as the final chapter of the Mishima family saga, which would fill in the often confusing gaps in series’ long, winding story, settle the conflict among three generations of Mishima men — Heihachi, Kazuya, and Jin — and finally reveal the origin of the “Devil” gene, which allows Kazuya and Jin to transform into demons.The implication, that Tekken 7 would somehow elevate or focus on its narrative, seems disingenuous, to say the least.
For fans who have followed (or tried to follow) the story over the past 20-plus years, Tekken 7 doesn’t offer a satisfying, comprehensive conclusion. It’s a curious blend of retreading events from past games, and filling in backstory. Narrated by a journalist covering the war between the Mishima Zaibatsu and the G Corporation, the 15-chapter Mishima Saga features a fairly boiler-plate blend of still images with character voice-overs. The frame, which allows players who are completely unfamiliar with the series to still get something out of the story, dispense a bland narrative.It’s also hard to take the Tekken 7 campaign seriously, when Street Fighter’s Akuma, a character from an entirely different franchise, in its story.
His presence makes the whole saga feel contrived and convoluted. It’s an ending for the sake of an ending, nonsensical and unearned. While not entirely unexpected, the story that was supposed to make sense of the lore somehow manages to create more questions than answers. The Mishima saga finale creates more questions than answers.For a fighter that values precision, the story mode devolves into a button masher. Half of your battles feature waves of identical enemies to run through. You have one health bar in these fights, and it doesn’t refill with each slain enemy.
That never becomes a problem, though, as the enemies are basically test dummies, there solely to be demolished without putting up a fight.The other half of the battles, the “real” fights, are standard best of three matches. In these fights, but nowhere else in the game, there’s a “story assist” function that makes combo moves easier to perform. While this increases accessibility, it feels totally backwards to the core identity of this very technically oriented fighter, and begs the question: Who was this story made for? The most curious aspect of the main fights is that when one starts, there’s no clear indication beforehand of which side you are on. You don’t ever feel as if you are taking part in the story. Instead, you are dropped in periodically to progress the jumbled narrative.Opposite the 2-3 hour story are 29 character episodes to tell stories about the rest of the game’s cast.
Each episode features a few paragraphs of banal text to read, followed by a single fight. While the character profiles add length to the story, it’s a poor make-good for anyone who has a favorite character outside of the core trio. Going through the motionsWhile the story mode has needless filler, the rest of Tekken 7’s offline content could have used some beefing up. There are two main game modes outside of head-to-head fights: Arcade Battle and Treasure Battle.Arcade Battle delivers to straight port of the arcade game, Tekken 7: Fated Retribution. There are five stages, and while opponents and stages for the first four battles are randomized, the final battle always pits you against Kazumi Mishima.
Up through Kazumi’s first form, the fights are relatively benign. When she transforms, the diff.
Tekken 7. Publisher: Bandai Namco. Developer: Bandai Namco.
Platform: Reviewed on PS4. Availability: Out now on PC, Xbox One and PS4Tekken 7 retains the weighty and punchy feel the 3D fighting game series has benefited from over the years with a fighting system that's easy to pick up but hard to master.
Just four buttons are used: one for each limb. It's a simple, elegant design that makes immediate sense to newcomers and facilitates a huge amount of depth.Like all Tekken games, you can get a decent amount out of Tekken 7 by button mashing. (Eddy Gordo fans will find his kicks reassuringly effective once again.) But, like all Tekken games, Tekken 7 is as complex as you want it to be. Dig into the command list for any of the 38 playable characters (criminally, Lei Wulong is nowhere to be found) and you'll unearth near 100 moves and combos, each with their own properties, speed and damage. Tekken 7 is a lab fiend's dream, and, as always, practice makes perfect.In a fight, Tekken 7 is mostly about prodding your opponent with attacks designed to open up their defence, perhaps blocking an attack you know you can punish with an attack of your own, or landing a counter-hit on your opponent (hitting them before their attack hits you), which can lead to a high-damage combo.I have over the years played Tekken like a firefly, darting in and out of the 3D arenas with flicks of my fighting stick.
But Tekken 7 has made sidestepping - one of the series' trademark movement options - less useful by slowing it down, so it's harder to dodge attacks for easy punishes. And damage output on long juggle combos has been reduced (heavy damage scaling) so that it's often better to go for a super powerful four-hit combo than it is a seven hit juggle that carries your opponent to the corner of the arena.But as has been the case with Tekken for years, arena walls are hugely important. You get a damage bonus for slamming your opponent into the wall. So, do you go for a short but high damage combo, or a long but low damage combo that carriers your opponent to the wall? This is one of many layers of strategy those who put work into Tekken 7 will find fascinating to employ in a match. The Rage Arts lend Tekken 7 a dramatic comeback potential.
They're a slightly awkward fit for the game, though. Akuma is a guest character in Tekken 7, and the traditionally 2D raging demon works well in 3D. His trademark moves are present and correct, as is his super bar.
His Tekken incarnation is closest to his Street Fighter 4 version. He has a Focus Attack that works as a Crush Combo and lets him cancel special moves. He even plays a big part in the story.New for Tekken 7 is the Rage system. When your health bar nears its end, your character flashes red and Rage is active. This increases your damage, lets you perform a special Rage move as well as a high damage Rage Art. The Rage Art, which burns out your Rage status, is a bit like Street Fighter's super attacks. If you land one, the camera shifts about as your character performs an elaborate attack.
Some of the Rage Arts are pretty cool, but most are just a flurry of punches and kicks. Tekken, which makes some attempt to recreate real life martial arts in a realistic fashion, has always been a more grounded game than some of its more fantastical fighting game rivals, so it follows that Rage Arts are grounded in reality, too.The idea behind the Rage Arts is they're a dramatic comeback trigger, almost like a revenge attack. Clearly, Bandai wanted to make Tekken 7 more exciting to play and watch than previous entries in the series, and Rage Arts are an easy and fun solution. Purists may baulk at the 'cheapness' of these high damage attacks, but the truth is their misuse can be countered pretty easily by high-damage punish combos. And the heavy damage scaling ensures the Rage Art is not a press a button to win situation.Also new to Tekken 7 is the Power Crush, which I find more significantly changes the way Tekken plays than the Rage system. Each character has a few moves that have the Power Crush property, which means you can continue your attack even as you're being hit by a mid or high attack from your opponent.
Essentially, you absorb enemy attacks - taking damage in the process - before smashing your opponent. Having Power Crush at my disposal makes me much more aggressive. I'd play previous versions of Tekken in an almost standoffish way, darting this way and that as I jostled for position and an opportunity to punish. With Power Crush I can get stuck in and not worry too much about it.
Tekken 7 fails to teach players its new mechanics. Most will miss references to new types of attacks buried within the menus.Worthy of note is the new Screw Attack mechanic, which replaces the bound system from previous games. Screw Attacks make enemies spin sideways when they're hit airborne, and let you land additional attacks when they hit the ground.
Unlike the bound attack, Screw attacks cannot be used to extend a wall combo, which counters their potency. But they are possible after wall, balcony and floor breaks. The idea, clearly, is to make the combo extender look cooler (the Screw Attack animation is much better than the bound animation), but reduce their potency somewhat. I get the impression this, combined with the damage scaling, is an attempt to level the playing field, giving those who can't do long, complex combos a fighting chance at doing decent damage.Rage Arts, Power Crush and Screw Attacks combine to give Tekken 7 a more dramatic feel than previous versions.
The combat really is satisfying, with an impressive weight and punchiness. I love the way the game slows down during trades and close calls, and how Power Crush attacks fill the screen with particle effects. Tekken 7 is perhaps the most exciting Tekken ever from a visual standpoint. The graphics won't blow anyone away, but they're good for Tekken, which is good enough for me.So, it's safe to say Tekken 7 is fantastic fun when it comes to the competitive side of things, but it's not a significant step forward for the series (there are plenty of combos that worked in Tekken 3 that work exactly the same in this game). Casual Tekken fans - even those who have spent a decent amount of time with the franchise - will be hard-pressed to notice much different about the way Tekken 7 works compared with Tekken 6. In short, I don't think Tekken 7 is all of a sudden going to spawn a new Tekken fanbase. It seems designed to appeal to those who already like Tekken, or perhaps those who played it years ago and fancy giving it a shot on their current generation console.Unfortunately, when it comes to the single-player side of things, Tekken 7 falters compared to its fighting game rivals.
Tekken 7's story, which revolves around the troubled Mishima family, begins with you playing as kid Kazuya. Eventually you have to chuck him off a cliff.Tekken 7 includes a story mode that's as infuriating as it is throwaway and it has one big problem: the bits where you actually fight are awful. Each time you fight you have to defeat an opponent, or a series of opponents (grunts or loads of Jacks) over the course of a few rounds, but if you lose one round you have to start the chapter over.
If you're big into Tekken 7, playing on the normal difficulty won't be a problem, but if you're a newcomer, a casual fan or even a lapsed fan, story mode can be a frustrating experience.So, drop the story difficulty down to easy, right? This lets you perform special moves and combos by mashing a single button, which is useful and will get you through the whole thing, but it's not a fun way to play Tekken 7, and, crucially, does not help teach the player how to play. All it does is help you get better at mashing a button during story mode. It's mindless and just not that interesting.The disappointing story mode is indicative of Tekken 7's single-player, which I'm sorry to say is a let down. Once you're done with the story mode, all that's left to do is play arcade mode, the pointless VR modes if you have a PSVR, or Treasure Battle and grind Fight Money to unlock customisation items. Treasure Battle is, essentially, an endless fight against various computer opponents. You can rank up as you play, earning blind loot boxes that include new bits for the characters, such as sunglasses, T-shirts and of course hats, or buy stuff with your in-game currency.
Yep, blind loot boxes. 2017!I actually had a decent amount of fun with the character customisation side of Tekken 7, and enjoyed dressing my Ling Xiaoyu out in increasingly bonkers clothes and accessories. There's a huge amount to customise across the board.
You can unlock everything from new health bars to new items you wear on your back (I picked a pizza because why not?). At the very least, customisation gives you something to shoot for on the single-player side of things, but for me the real benefit is adding variety to online play. There's so much to unlock, you're unlikely to see the same look twice online, and there's a lot of scope to made your player card stand out.Treasure Battle, however, doesn't really cut it. In a post-Injustice 2 world Tekken 7 feels archaic. At times I was willing to forgive Tekken 7 its failings because it's such a fun fighting game. For someone like me who focuses on the multiplayer side of the genre, it's an absolute beast. But it has to go down as a relatively small step forward for the series - and a pretty underwhelming package.
NetherRealm has shown what can be done to make the genre appeal to those who don't fancy getting torn to shreds online. Unfortunately the developers at Bandai Namco's Tekken team seemingly failed to notice.