Fighting games have been on a boom sinceStreet Fighter 4surfaced in 2008. Though for Bandai-Namco, their fortunes had grown stagnant.Tekken 6was more of the same, andTekken Tag Tournament 2’s return on investment was bad enough to threaten its existence. It could’ve ended up on the shelf next toSoulcaliburandRidge Racer.
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Then they madeTekken 7, which has become the most successful installment in the series since the originalTekken 5at 8 million units. It stood out in the series for its new mechanics, new characters, and online play, which has had its ups and downs across its history. The upcomingTekken 8could continue using its template and still rake in the dough. However, there are still some things thatcould be improved on.
7Beef Up the Story Mode
Tekken 7was the series’ first stab at a story mode à laMortal Kombat 9, and it was somewhat underwhelming. It was much shorter than its contemporaries, with inconsistent pacing and an annoying framing device via a somewhat unenthusiastic reporter. The final battle between Kazuya and Heihachi delivered, as did the inclusion ofStreet Fighter’s Akuma. But the likes of Lars, Alisa, and Nina might as well not have been there with how little they contributed.
It’s said that it was going to be a much bigger and more bombastic affair, but it ended up constrained by a tight budget. Netherrealm Studios aren’t exactly Shakespeare and fighting game lore isn’t the genre’s biggest highlight. However, if Bandai-Namco wants to outdoInjustice, they’ll eitherhave to go bigto match them or sharpen their pens to out-write them.
6Bring Back the Endings
On the other hand, if messing around with one big narrative is a big ask, they could always go back to working with multiple smaller ones. If fans thought the likes of Lars, etc., got shafted in the Story Mode, the rest of the base roster got single fights with one rival that felt more like the interludes inTekken 5’s Story Mode. While the DLC characters got nothing at all. Even though they didn’trequire hours of playing to get, they could’ve been more substantial.
It’s disappointing, especially after the effort that went into the endings inTekken Tag Tournament 2. Bandai-Namco doesn’t necessarily have to go to the effort of multiple animation styles like that again.Street Fighter 5’s Arcade Mode managed to outshine its Story Mode and Cinematic Mode with the traditional Arcade ladder and a comic strip. So, ifTekken 8went back to the Ladder & Cutscene structure they used for their previous games, it would be stepping ahead of its predecessor.
5Improve the Single Player Content
Tekken 2stood ahead of its 3D competition by introducing a bundle of alternative modes. The Team Battle, Survival, and Time Attack modes stuck with the series in one form or another for the rest of the series, alongside funny one-offs like Tekken Ball, Tekken Bowl, and Tekken Force Modes. ThenTekken 7came along and got rid of nearly all its old-school single-player modes.
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The Arcade Mode was a plain ladder for building up rank and in-game cash. Treasure Battle was the same as Arcade Mode, except it unlocked customizable options instead. Then a Vs Mode for local fights, Practice Mode, and Tekken Bowl as DLC. It madeTekken 7a dry package. Bandai-Namco doesn’t necessarily have to bring back the old modes, but they need to offer more for when the net connection goes down, or when players just want to mess around.
4Tweak the Rage Mechanics
Rage has technically been around since the originalTekken Tag Tournamentin 2000. Remember when the character’s tag partner’s life bar flashed red when they took too much damage? That’s Rage! It’s been tweaked over the years since then. ByTekken 7, it became a low-health attack boost that players could spend on a beefed-up attack called a Rage Drive, or a super move called a Rage Art.
OlderTekkenfans haven’t been keen on them as new mechanics, while newer and more adaptable players have been able to work them effectively into their play styles. So, it would be nice to seeTekken 8continue to refine what Rage brings to the table. The Rage Arts for the base roster tended to look plain compared to later DLC characters, so seeing newer, snazzier ones inTekken 8would be impressive.
3Tighten Up the Online Play
Tekken 7’s online mode has its bugs. Sure, it’s notMortal Kombat 9bad, orKing of Fighters 14bad. Yet it’s increasingly lagging behind its competition. This is fitting as players often suffer the same lag in certain matches if they can connect at all. It wasn’t the only game to suffer this pitfall, asSamurai Shodown 2019andDragonball FighterZhave similar if not worse online experiences.
But then those two games improved their online modes recently by shiftingto rollback netcode. It made them much more enjoyable to play. Rollback’s gotten popular enough to the point where its announcement got cheers at Evo 2022.Tekken 7’s online arrangement is dustier by comparison with older online architecture and some rollback coding. If Bandai-Namco doesn’t wantTekken 8to fall behind the times, they’ll have to look more into rollback or other ways to smooth out online play.
22D Or Not 2D
The introduction of Akuma as a guest character caused waves. Unlike past fighting game guest characters, he was tied directly into the Mishima lore than hanging out on the sidelines. His optional story mode battle as Shin Akuma also introduced players to the kind of pain only die-hard SNK fans have experienced. Whether it’s worse than fighting against Akuma mains online is up in the air.
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The Master of the Raging Demon retained a lot of 2D fighting game elements, like his EX-Moves, super combos, and floaty jump. These were carried over toFatal Fury/KOFalumnus Geese Howard, andTekken Revolution’s Eliza, and gave their opponents trouble. The traditionalTekkencast has few, if any, tools to combat their extra skills. Especially those 2D-style jumps. If Akuma or other 2D-style characters return,Tekken 8’s got to tweak them some more or give the others some extra moves to shut them down.
1Go Easy With the DLC
Maybe it was due to the controversy aroundStreet Fighter X Tekken’s on-disc DLC, butTekken Tag Tournament 2was very generous when its DLC characters appeared as part of the free patch updates. Fast-forward toTekken 7, where it would cost heavy-duty players $2.49 just to get a Frame Data Display on Steam.
That’s not to mention $12.99 for Tekken Bowl and Additional Costumes, $5-6 for individual new characters, then $20-24.99 for Season Passes. Later DLC offerings got more reasonable prices, with Season 4 costing just $12.99. PC players get the ever-generous Steam sales on top of that, while console players are left to the whims of Microsoft and Sony. Maybe with enough crossed fingers and heel-tapping,Tekken 8’s DLC will at least stick to these later prices instead of juggling fans’ bank accountslikeDead Or Alive 6did.
Tekken 8is currently in development.Tekken 7is available on PS4, Xbox One, PC, and in arcades.
