Review: Tekken 7

Title:Â Tekken 7
Platform: PC, PS4, Arcade and Xbox One (reviewed)
Developer:Â Bandai Namco Studios
Publisher:Â Bandai Namco Entertainment
Release date: Out now
Tl;Dr:Â Tekken just like you remember it
Price: Â£44/$60
Family Focus: Click here for more information.

To begin this, I won’t lie and say that I’ve been a fan of Tekken all my life. I mean, I have played them; I have been round a few friends’ houses and played a few games of “winner stays on,” that kind of thing. I haven’t been completely aware of the game series as a whole, although I have always known about the never ending rivalry between Heihachi Mishima and his son Kazuya Mishima. Oh, and also Kazuya’s son Jin Kazama with his evil counterpart Devil Jin. Until recently, if anyone had asked me what I thought of the Tekken series, I would only say my favorite character was the tiger headed wrestler King, and I despised the capoeira bastard Eddy!

I say until recently as an operative term because I will proudly say I am a convert. Tekken 7 is one of the most enjoyableÂ games I have played this year!

It followsÂ on from the tumultuous events of Tekken 6, which is introduced to us right at the beginning of the game. The world has been plunged into a global war, where two companies, G Corp and Mishima Zaibatsu, are at loggerheads over the future of the world. Jin, leader of Mishima and instigator of this war, has disappeared, leaving a hole in the companies leadership. Now G Corp, lead by Kazuya, has decided to take the advantage and is doubling down his war efforts. The narrative then follows a journalists investigation into the war, its causes, and what may happen in the future.

The story mode of Tekken 7 I have to say is incredibly polished, the narrative twists and turns putting you in control of many different fighters form the series as they all crunch together in battle, then culminating into a final showdown that is incredibly well delivered. The final boss, however, is nigh on impossible to beat! I lowered the difficulty setting down to the easiest level, and still was thrashed every single time! As of writing, that final boss still eludes me; I will get back to it after this is done and try again! (edit: I lost)

There is another small part taped onto the side of the story mode also, a really fun small part! As the story mode doesn’t let you play as every single character in the game, there is a small part where you find out what happened to each character during the game’s events. Often with hilarious results.

Aside from the Story Mode, of course, there are the many different versions to play, as standard, which I feel may be one of my only problems with Tekken 7. It’s standard Tekken. Nothing aside from the new story seems to have been added to it; there is Online play, Offline play, Arcade Mode and Tournament Mode and really it just feels like that’s it.

I think this game does suffer a little being released just after Injustice 2 (which we did a review of here) as Injustice does offer quite a lot in terms of different game modes, and manages to bolt on something fresh in a sequel. Although I will personally say I think Tekken 7 is the better game by far!

Another very minor gripe I have with this game is, especially compared to it’s other AAA counterparts, it does lack a little on the visual side; the game looks like it was meant for previous gen consoles. Now I know to some people, this is a big issue, but in my opinion, I would much prefer a good game with sub par visuals, as opposed to a stunning looking sub par game. I still think Tekken 7 is absolutely phenomenal; I cannot stress how much this game has converted me into a true Tekken fan!

Of course one of the most used modes of Tekken 7 would be the VS mode. It’s not Tekken if you can’t have a friend round to play with. Thankfully, the game starts out with all player characters unlocked in VS mode, which allows any player to hop in and punch each other in the face without having to complete Story Mode first. It’s those little things that make me love Tekken so much!

Talking about little things, there is one small piece of attention to detail that I just loved in the Tekken 7! As the game has a large multicultural cast, of course there are characters who speak languages other than Japanese or English; the characters each speak in their own languages! It sounds silly, but I love the fact that the characters have their own recognisable accents and speech patterns; like my favorite character Shaheen. He speaks Arabic, and it is a breath of fresh air to hear.

Tekken 7 has made a believer of me. The old graphics and lack of diversity mean nothing to me as I kick a giant robot with a red afro in the face. I love this game and I am definitely not ashamed to yell it from the rooftops. The game is pure fun, with friends or on your own and it brings me back to my childhood as I try to avoid Eddy Gordo’s ever sprawling leg kicks; he is still a bastard, just in case you didn’t know.

The Good