The long-awaited sequel to Namco-Bandai’s flagship fighting series has finally arrived on all major platforms, and what it brings to the proverbial table exceeds all expectations. For starters, the game’s story marks the end of the Mishima family saga. This is explained in great detail via the game’s Story Mode, which follows the on going war between Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corporation. The story is told from the perspective of a reporter who lost his family during a recent skirmish, prompting him to write an exposé on both corporations.
As the story progresses, the player is given control over certain fighters to battle the CPU in traditional 1-on-1 matches and the occasional beat ’em up scenario, which involves groups of armed UN soldiers and rogue Jack cyborgs, among others. The story does a great job of recounting Tekken’s history, including the King of Iron Fist Tournament and the role it has played throughout the series. It’s worth mentioning that Tekken 7’s story mode includes an epilogue and fourteen chapters.
The game’s roster contains a whopping thirty-seven fighters, which includes fan favorites such as King, Nina Williams and Jin Kazama, to name just a few. The game also includes the following new fighters: Claudio Serafino (an Italian fighter who is a member of an Ant-Devil organization), Gigas (a red-skinned humanoid with cybernetics), Jack-7 (a new model of the Jack series), Josie Rizal (a female kickboxer), Katarina Alves (a female fighter that is a master of Savate (i.e. French Kickboxing)), Kazumi Mishima / Devil Kazumi (Kazuya’s mother and Heihach’s wife), Lucky Chloe (an otaku that likes to wear a kitten costume), Master Raven (a female ninja), and Shaheen (a fighter that uses military-style combat maneuvers). Akuma from the Street Fighter series also makes a guest appearance.
Tekken 7 introduces new features that help to balance its gameplay. The first is Rage Art; a new skill that allows the player to execute a critical attack that can deal up to 30% damage when their fighter’s health bar is critical. The damage output varies depending on the fighter being used. The second skill – which is appropriately named ‘Power Crush’ – lets the player continue their attacks regardless of the damage their opponent inflicts. This new mechanic only works against high and mid level attacks; low level attacks will cancel it out.
Last, but certainly not least, is Screw Attack – a feature that replaces the Bound System that staggers a fighter and makes them susceptible to additional damage. Screw Attack, on the other hand, makes the opponent spin sideways when they’re hit by an airborne attack. This also makes the enemy vulnerable for a brief moment before hitting the ground, which then allows the player to ‘juggle’ their opponent for maximum damage.
For example: when using Akuma, the player can perform a strong jump kick, followed up by a Hurricane Kick; and before the enemy hits the ground, they can execute a Dragon Punch or ‘special’ to end the combo. Unfortunately, Screw Attack cannot be used for wall combos. The system is designed to keep the players grounded as much as possible during a fight.
The game contains a staggering amount of character customization, which helps Tekken 7 stand out from its predecessors. There are thousands of outfit pieces to unlock, including colorful auras, portraits and tiled backgrounds. This doesn’t include any of the alternate costumes that can be mixed and matched at any given time. Additional content can be unlocked by competing in online Tournaments. Any Fight Money that is earned while playing the game can also be used to unlock new items.
Tekken 7’s combat system has been tweaked to make it more ‘beginner’ friendly. For starters, the sidestepping ability is now slower. This makes it less useful for baiting opponents and using defensive techniques. However, advancing forward and retreating backwards is now faster than it was in Tekken 6. Fighters like Paul and King – who are generally slower – benefit from this tweak, since they are no longer at a disadvantage against faster opponents.
The damage scaling system is now designed to reduce damage on larger combos, usually starting from the fourth hit in a combo chain (juggles especially). Veteran players may not embrace this feature due to its limitations, but newcomers will definitely appreciate it. The fear of some combo king wiping the floor with a ‘noob’ is now (for the most part) a thing of the past.
Online multiplayer is incredibly stable, even when the opponent lives as far away as Japan. During the course of this review, online matches were played with opponents that had different connectivity strength, and the end result was impressive. The game performed flawlessly against players with strong connections. Even mid-ranged connections typically provided smooth, uninterrupted gameplay without any performance loss. Most low-end connections – while a bit slow – were still playable. Tekken 7’s netcode proves that fighting games can function properly online, regardless of the player’s connection. Now imagine if more fighting games followed this model.
Graphically, Tekken 7 is a thing of beauty. The 3D models and environments look incredible when the in-game detail is set to ‘Ultra’ on a capable PC. The game’s overall performance remains smooth, whether its during single-player matches or online against human opponents. The occasional dip in performance did occur while online, but it was chalked up to connection issues.
As far as fighting games are concerned, Tekken 7 can easily be placed in the same tier as Injustice 2. This is thanks to its revamped gameplay, unlockable content and stable online netcode. Bandai-Namco deserves praise for releasing what could be considered one of the best games ever released in the Tekken series.
Mike Pittaro
Platform: PC
Developer: Bandai-Namco
Publisher: Bandai-Namco
ESRB: T (Teen)
Price: $59.99
Tekken 7 Official Website:
https://www.bandainamcoent.com/games/tekken-7
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| Tekken 7 is a thing of beauty. | |
| Sound | |
| The sound effects, music and voice acting are top-notch. | |
| Gameplay | |
| Tekken 7's gameplay benefits from a multitude of tweaks. | |
| Overall | |
|---|---|
| Bandai-Namco deserves praise for releasing what could be considered one of the best games ever released in the Tekken series. | |
