After years of fine-tuning in the arcades, and even a world championship, Tekken 7 is available for everyone to play tomorrow. If you’re a die-hard Tekken fan, you’ve probably had the game on pre-order since its announcement, and will be happily wall-carrying opponents to your heart’s content. For many people–myself included–this may the first 3D fighter you’ve played in several years, or even the first Tekken game you’ve ever played. With Crow_Spaceboy’s review providing the perspective of a veteran Tekken player, I’m here to give you my impressions of Tekken 7 for those of you who are just starting your Tekken career.
Jumping straight into Tekken 7, the biggest omission for new players is the lack of a tutorial. No guide to movement, no explanation of how to construct a combo, there aren’t even those basic combo trials that you get in something like Street Fighter V. You are thrown straight into the deep end with Tekken 7, and there is very little in-game to help players learn its combo system. When characters can have up to 100 different moves for players to use, starting out in Tekken feels incredibly daunting–especially if you are making the switch from 2D to 3D fighting.
It’s not like Bandai Namco have left new players completely in the lurch, as they have created a series of video tutorials for their website, but to not include these in the actual game is absurd. Tekken is an incredibly complex and rewarding fighting game, but to not including anything in-game to assist new players in their path to learning is a big mistake. When other fighting games like Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 and Killer Instinct have put in considerable work to help break down their systems for newcomers, the lack of even the most basic of tutorials make Tekken 7 feel impenetrable at first.
It’s a shame, as there are a lot of new mechanics in Tekken 7 which are designed so new players can hold their own when their backs are to the wall. Rage Arts give you that ace in the hole to mount a comeback, especially when they all have a universal hit of armor and all characters have a Power Crush move which allow them to armor through attacks. Wall combos have been greatly simplified too, so everyone can start going to town once they take someone to the wall. The problem is that with Tekken 7 having “187 million ways” to launch an opponent, you’re going to be blinded by science when you boot up Training Mode for your first few hours. The omission of any tutorials just feels like a wasted opportunity for Bandai Namco to ensure that some new players will stick around, rather than bouncing straight off Tekken 7’s huge variety of options.
Once you get into combat and start to get a handle on things, Tekken 7 feels great to play. Coming from Injustice 2 and its lackluster sound design, every punch and kick in Tekken sounds brutal. The crunch when you land an unblockable never ceases to be satisfying, with its unique hit sparks giving players useful information without massive on-screen pop ups. The much touted Slow-Mo mode never gets old, adding an extra layer of drama to an intense fight with an opponent. Tekken 7 also has a soundtrack full of absolute bangers, with Jukebox Mode giving you access to all the songs in Tekken’s long history. As an audio-visual package, Tekken 7 is definitely the king.
See, even King agrees that Tekken 7’s presentation is top notch.
Unfortunately, its suite of single-player modes is pretty sparse once you complete its bonkers Story Mode. Some of the dialogue in the Story Mode is downright painful, but it is interspersed with moments which are so ludicrous that you can’t help but smile. At one point, Heihachi blows up a skyscraper with a satellite laser, just to kill Akuma and Kazuya. It’s the same sequence of fight-cinematic-fight you’ve seen in other fighting games, and it can be completed in about three hours, with there being very little reason to return once you’ve seen its final chapter. The final few fights involve two separate boss characters, so be prepared to face the usual boss bull-honky you’ve experienced in other Namco fighting games. You do have some help in the form of a special “Story Assist” button, which gives you access to one-button specials like the Mishima family’s Electric Wind God Fist, so feel free to abuse it in the final battles.
Besides that, you have a traditional Arcade ladder, as well as Treasure Battles to unlock various customization options like new player card borders, cosmetic items and Fight Money. The actual battles themselves are akin to your standard Survival mode, with occasional boss battle and fights with special effects like all attacks doing double damage. The items you can unlock for some characters is downright bizarre, so get used to seeing weird character combinations–like Bob wearing a Roger Jr. hat, while also holding a pizza and rocking a blue sailor suit. Almost-naked Akuma taking a shower will be a fan-favorite, trust me.
Akuma wearing a t-shirt will always look weird.
Turning to Tekken 7’s online suite, it is divided up into Ranked, Player, and Tournament matches. Tournament matches weren’t accessible during my time with the game, as there were only about 15 people playing in Europe, so I stuck mainly to Ranked. Most of my online battles were against other reviewers and people with an in at the Mishima Zaibatsu, so games were either pretty close or a blowout loss. With most of my opponents being from France or the UK, connections were rock-solid stable for the most part. Again, connection quality will no doubt change once the whole world starts playing, but matches against regional players were great.
You can go into a special “Warm-Up” room as you wait for Ranked Matches, where you can play around with your character as you wait for a match. You can dodge other players by refusing match requests while in the Warm-Up room, but you cannot pull up your movelist during your wait, should you want to check the properties of a certain attack. If you lose a Ranked game, you can instantly rematch your opponent with the special “Revenge Match” option, but there is no built-in replay feature to capture those clutch comebacks or disrespectful perfects.
While Tekken 7 may be perfect for die-hard 3D fighter fans, it doesn’t do a whole lot to curry favor with those who are coming to the series for the first time. I feel Bandai Namco have really missed a trick to convert casual Tekken players into dedicated competitors by not having some form of tutorial to demystify Tekken’s complex fighting system. When other fighters like Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 are going above and beyond to help new players out, Tekken 7 feels like a backward step for a game that is well-deserving of your attention. Combine this with a meager suite of single-player modes for fighters who aren’t interested in becoming the new King of the Iron Fist, I feel Tekken 7 will fail to tempt casual players away from the massive replayability of a fighter like Injustice 2.
If you haven’t already read Crow_Spaceboy’s Tekken 7 review, check it out here!