Fantastic fun with staggering amount of content
ON THE SURFACE, Tekken 7 does little to differentiate itself from the legendary fighting games that have come before it in this hallowed franchise.
The introduction to Tekken 7’s story comes through The Mishimi Saga, an ambitious but cheesy new story mode that explores the strained relationship between Heihachi, his son Kazuya and his grandson Jin. All control trillion-dollar corporations and mercenary armies more advanced than those of even the most industrialised nations.
There is a certain undeniable charm to the over-the-top nature of Tekken’s lore. Perhaps it is nothing more than sentiment or nostalgia something that reminds us of playing Tekken as a child and marvelling at a storyline that seemed so dark and serious from a young point of view.
The one gripe I have with the storyline is not in its forced switching to unfamiliar characters, but in its overwhelming focus on the Mishima clan. Other characters are given a brief spotlight but it is a shame to see so little focus on anyone other than Heihachi, Jin and Kazuya.
Where Tekken 7’s content does not disappoint at all is in its character customization options, which put it truly in a class unto itself and sets the new standard for letting you express yourself. Cosmetics are modifiable on an unparalleled level, going beyond thousands of individual fashion pieces to include attack effects, colorful auras, portraits and tile backgrounds, and multiple alternate costumes whose top and bottom pieces can be mixed and matched.
You’re even allowed to choose from hundreds of options for the frame art around your health bar; it’s something so simple, yet it adds another cool way to make yourself unique when playing online.
Gameplay wise, the Rage system is perhaps the most exciting addition to combat. 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.
Tekken 7 is truly fantastic fun. Although the single-player campaign feels slightly pared-down when compared to other games in the genre, there can be no denying the staggering amount of content in the game as a whole.