Like many other fighting game figures, Bandai Namco Games director Katsuhiro Harada frequently engages with fans on Twitter. While this connection to Tekken’s chief developer is awesome for the community, it can be an understandably frustrating task when you imagine the huge number of requests he must receive on a daily basis (especially if they’re less than polite).
It was a message like this that drove him to make a rather outrageous claim earlier today.
Upon being asked to include Lee Chaolan in Tekken 7, Harada jokingly stated that a future installment (set for release in 2020, apparently) will need to include at least 130 characters to satisfy the fanbase’s needs. Just as reference, the title with the largest cast is Tekken Tag Tournament 2 at 59 playable fighters.
That got me thinking–just how many characters has Bandai Namco actually introduced? Would it be able to meet this lofty goal? Luckily, finding this out proved to be rather easy.
Similar to other video games (as well as movies, television shows, etc.), the Tekken franchise has its very own version of Wikipedia, maintained and updated by folks who love its universe. According to this resource, a grand total of 107 people can be found throughout the series, taking into account alternate forms, background characters, and even fighters that have yet to be made playable, like the other candidates of the poll that saw narcoleptic vampire Eliza added to Tekken Revolution.
Though the total is probably off by a few cast members, that number leaves us with 23 spots to fill in this upcoming (and completely hypothetical) Tekken dream match. What’s two dozen new characters in a game that already includes over 100?
Sure, this is sort of a silly way to tackle this discussion, but it really drives home the fact that fighting game developers have an incredibly difficult time appeasing their fanbases whenever a new installment rolls around. While some could say this shows a bit of petulance on the part of the players, I like to think this is just a by-product of the amazing worlds the folks at Bandai Namco, Arc System Works, Capcom, NetherRealm Studios, Sega, and other studios have created over the years.
Let us know some of your most beloved characters from fighting game franchises past and present in the comments below.
Source: Katsuhiro Harada
