Tekken 7 Review (PS4)

Tekken.  A long-lived series of fighting games, it is to 3D fighting games what Street Fighter is to 2D fighting games.  That's to say it's the standard-setter.  3D fighting usually doesn't get much better than Tekken.  The series had enjoyed amazing highs (Tekken 3) and depressing lows (Tekken 4), but 23 years later, it's alive and well.  If it wasn't, Tekken 7 wouldn't exist.

As mentioned before, Tekken 7 is a 3D fighting game.  The thing that makes it unique is that each limb is assigned a button.  You have left punch, left kick, right punch, and right kick, all with devoted buttons that you can set up yourself.  This method works well and makes performing combos feel satisfying.  It's been working for 23 years.  Why fix something that isn't broken?

Unlike Josie's leg here, the gameplay isn't broken.

There is a nice number of characters, with plenty of new characters, such as Shaheen and Josie.  There are neat updates on old characters on old characters, like Nina armed to the teeth in a wedding dress.  As you might expect, there are some subtractions.  For me, Julia Chang (not that piece of crap Jaycee) and Lei Wulong  (yay, Jackie Chan) are huge losses.  On the other hand, garbage characters like Alex/Roger and Zafina are gone.  Yet they kept other garbage characters Kuma/Panda and Alisa.  Oh, well.  You win some, you lose some.

We lost characters like Lei Wulong and Julia Chang for a piece of crap like this.  Just look at her.

Here comes the bride, decked out and ready to kill.

Hot women are present and accounted for.

Staying on the subject of characters, the single biggest addition is Akuma from Street Fighter.  He's really there and he's not just passing through, either.  He's a major player in the story and woven into the very lore of Tekken.  In other words, he's canon.  He doesn't play EXACTLY the way he played in Street Fighter, but you won't be able to tell the difference.  He has everything he had in Street Fighter.  Fireballs, hurricane kicks, and even his super moves are all present and accounted for.  His transition was well done for the most part.  He can be cheap and overpowered, though, so bring plenty of patience (and a willingness to sidestep a lot) when fighting him.

Akuma is a bigger fish than any of the original addition, like Gigas and Shaheen.

There are other characters, such as Geese Howard from King Of Fighters, with Final Fantasy 15's Noctis on the way via DLC.  Additions like Akuma, Geese, and Noctis give a sense that literally ANYTHING can happen.  Who will they (and other fighting games) add next?

The story mode is divided into two sections; the main story and the character story.  The main story is short, sweet, and tight.  They involved only the major players (including Akuma), opting not to shoehorn everyone in like Tekken 6.  It isn't without it's flaws, mainly the fact the fighting picks up right where the cutscenes leave off.  I mean EXACTLY where the cutscene ends.  If you're not paying attention, you will take plenty of cheap shots simply because you didn't realize the cutscene ended and the fight began.  Also, they missed the opportunity to perhaps make Asuka a major player like she should be.  She's a Kazama (a family closely associated with the Mishima family), but she's treated like a joke, trapped her in a lame feud with Lili.  Jun was (still is?) a Kazama and Jin's last name is Kazama and are/were major players.  What's wrong with putting Asuka in the family feud?

Learning when a cutscene ends and a fight starts is key to ass-whoopin' prevention.

Character stories, on the other hand, are pretty shitty.  Each character only gets one fight.  ONE!  This may be okay in the case of Nina Williams and Steve Fox, whose stories and relation to each other should be well-known to Tekken veterans.  They do create some intrigue, but one lousy fight is pretty short.  Three to five fights per character would have been nice to build up new character connections and rivalries.

On to the other stuff.  The graphics are among the best in the series.  There is some weird stuff, like hair that defies physics and clothes going through characters' bodies, but as a whole, the game still looks good.

Josie kicks Xiaoyu so hard, her coat phases through her own leg.  I wonder if that hurts.

The music varies from solid to pretty good.  The G Corp Helipad theme and the Mishima building themes are darned good.  Even better is the Jukebox Mode, where you can listen to music from previous games in the series.  You can even put together a playlist (or three), select what music you hear during gameplay and when you here it.  So if you decide the music from Tekken 7 sucks, just select the music from another game or multiple games.  A nice touch.

With TEN games represented, you won't struggle to find good music.

As for other game modes, they are okay.  Arcade Mode is what you'd expect.  Beat ass until the boss comes along, then beat their ass, too.  Treasure Mode is essentially Survival mode and is how you earn money and random items to customize the characters with.  It's BS, though, because you earn so little money per fight and don't what you'll unlock or who you'll unlock it for.  If you can get online, join a tournament to earn money faster.  Sadly, there's no Tekken Force Mode as of yet.  Maybe they'll bring it in via DLC.

Then, of course you have customize mode.  It's weak compared to Tekken 6's Customize Mode, but it works.  Some of the items are decent, while others are silly and plain shitty (like the headwear items).  Much like with the characters, you win some and lose some.  You can still make some solid changes that don't look stupid.

Nothing's hotter than a girl with a rose in her hand and a pizza on her back.

In the end, Tekken 7 is a solid game.  Just solid.  The Tekken gameplay is still there, with miniscule differences you may or may not notice.  There are decent additions, crappy additions, and questionable omissions.  The main story is short yet satisfying, but the character stories are too short.  If you like Tekken, you'll have fun.  Make sure to check it out.