Tekken 7 Review

Tekken 7 Review

Robert Knuckles

“Mishima Saga Comes to an End”

Tekken 7 was announced at E3 2014. It seems like it's been forever since the announcement of this game. There was Tekken 7 Fated Retribution that was a updated arcade version of the game that released in Japanese arcades. It was announced that Tekken would be released in early 2017 but then it was postponed to June 2nd. So with the three year wait and the postponed is Tekken 7 the fighting game we've been waiting for? Let's find out shall we?

The last Tekken game we got was Tekken Tag Tournament 2 that was released back in 2012 and it got a mixed reaction due to the fact that some people believed Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is the same as Tekken 6 but with tag team mechanics. Tekken 7 managed to get rid of that problem.

Tekken 7 is a four button 3D fighting game so veterans of the series will feel right at home. The bound system is now replaced with the screw attack. The screw attack spins your opponent in the air and once they hit the ground you can add more damage but this feature is useless against the wall.

Another feature removed is the rage system it’s replaced by two mechanics one being Rage Art. The Rage Art gives characters a super move when their health bar is flashing red. It’s almost like a comeback mechanic. Each character's Rage Art mainly hits the mid section but some can be a sweep like the newcomer Lucky Chloe. Rage Art’s can turn the matches around so players will have to be cautious when their opponent’s health flashes red because one wrong move and the Rage Art will cost you dearly.  Players don’t have to use their Rage Art and can be sacrificed with Rage Drive which is a empowered regular move. Some can do big damage while  some can leave your opponent on the ground to add more damage. Power crush is another new feature that has players absorb attacks while performing their move but can still lose health. Note this only works on high or mid attacks.

Story mode for Tekken 7 had to be one of the most hyped things coming into this game with all the trailers but the fact that it concludes the Mishima Saga. One thing that really confused me is that the story is told by a reporter whose name was never mentioned not only that but he’s tone was really boring and had no energy. The story continues after Tekken 6 but the story really mainly focuses on Kazuya and Heihachi Mishima. You find out more about their past and how the two became enemies. You also find out about Heihachi's love life with new character Kazumi. Street Fighter's Akuma makes an appearance in Tekken as a third party character and plays an important role in the story which is really cool. Players will fight soldiers of the Mishima Zaibatsu and it can sometimes look awkward when you see the knockout soldiers on the floor moving around. The final battle in story mode is pretty difficult and can be very frustrating. I understand that you want to give gamers a challenge but it’s kind of going over the top. Now there are character stories that features characters that didn’t have a major role in the story have one battle and a ending is revealed but they really aren’t interesting.

The character roster is pretty decent in Tekken 7. Now granted it’s not large like in Tekken Tag Tournament 2  but its still good. Veteran fighters return such as Kazuya, Jin, Eddy and my own favorite Lili. They do play a bit different in this game. A good amount of new characters are introduced. Street fighter's Akuma makes a Tekken debut and he plays like he does in Street Fighter but with some Tekken swag. Akuma has super moves and has meter just like in any other Street Fighter game. I believe having the Rage Art might be a response for having Akuma in the game. I like new character Lucky Chloe who kind of reminds me of Eddy due to her dance moves.

The online in Tekken has its ups and downs. You still have your ranked and player matches but in the settings players can set their search engines to find an opponent near their skill level. That can be a problem because players will want to fight players that are in the same skill level. It can take some time to find an opponent. There’s also tournament mode which is pretty cool. The connection in Tekken 7 is good. I didn’t really run into too many problems.

There isn’t too much to do offline. You have arcade mode that only has about four battles, there’s Treasure Battle where players can fight endless amounts of enemies and acquire money and items that you can put on your character. Customization returns with a lot more items to make your character look cool or goofy. You can also unlock movies from past Tekken games whether it’s an intro or character ending but what’s really cool is the jukebox system that players get if they bought the Collector's Edition. It features all the music from each Tekken game and edit to which music you want to play on a stage. It goes down a trip through memory lane.

In the end Tekken 7 is a fun game but it seems like stuff is missing. The presentation has to be one of the best I’ve ever seen in a fighting game. Story mode is okay but it would be nice to see other characters that weren’t in the main story shine as well. It still hasn’t beaten Tekken 5’s story mode with the intro cutscenes and better endings. Important characters like Lei, Anna, Julia are missing now they might come in as DLC but important characters like them shouldn’t be DLC. I do like the gameplay and that the bound system is gone. Battles are dynamic especially when the camera closes in for the final hit from both fighters. The music might be one of the best in the series and adding the jukebox makes it even better. There isn’t a tutorial mode but I’m kind of not surprised due to the fact that this game is so far into the series I’m sure the developers were only paying attention to the veterans that play this game. I just hope that future DLC adds a lot more stuff especially for offline players.  Tekken 7 receives an 8 out of 10