Tekken 7
by John Brubaker
Are you a complete fighting game novice? Want to take your first punch? I have your solution.
Tekken is a well-designed, classic running fighting game developed by Bandai Namco. It was a staple in every arcade throughout the 1990s. The latest release, Tekken 7 ($60 from Bandai Namco, ESRB Rating T, for platform Xbox, PC, and Playstation 4) ,was released in arcades in March 2015 and came to home consoles a year later.
If you have not been into fighting games before, this game might be the one to change your mind. Here are five things to know.
1) It’s easy for the absolute beginner
Most fighting games are hard to learn. There are combos to memorize, moves to master and things can happen in the blink of an eye. This complexity is what steers normal people away from fighting games — because it turns you into a button masher. Button mashing is basically the equivalent to strumming randomly on a guitar or hitting random keys on a piano. It gives you a lot of noise, but won’t contribute to engagement.
Learning Tekken 7 is not as hard or as scary as it seems. It’s actually a really fun and rewarding experience to learn the game. There is a great practice mode that will teach you your character’s core moves and your bread and butter combos. There is also a new feature in the game that teaches you all your characters frame data and optimal punishment. A common complaint people have is not having another friend at their skill level to practice with. However, the game has a great online system and other single player content that will allow you to grow your skills.
2) The Characters
Tekken 7 has a diverse roster of 45 characters and there are even more on the way. Each character has a style and unique to them. Some characters are defensive, some are offensive, some rely on grabs, some rely on different fighting stances. No two characters play the same (except Panda and Kuma they play exactly the same). The characters add so much variety to the fights. Having these dynamic matchups makes each fight completely different from the last. The roster is balanced well and you can succeed with just about any character.
As a beginner, finding the right character for you can be overwhelming. If you are new to fighting games and high execution there are a lot of characters well-suited for beginners. If you are familiar with fighting games and execution then try one of the Mishima characters. They reward high skills with high reward. If you are like me and like to choose a character just because you think look cool that’s ok too. The game has a great character customization system where you can make your own costumes. I have spent hours making new looks for my favorite characters. It allows you to put your own flare into the game and express yourself.
Getting to know each character’s fighting style as both a player and an opponent is a whole lot of fun. It’s also a lot of fun to get to learn each character’s lore. Every character in Tekken 7 has their own story mission where you get to read about them, play a fight, and view a cutscene. It might not sound like much but it really does add so much to the experience. You get to see how the characters interact with each other as well as seeing their personalities in action.
3) It’s always in development
The developers of Tekken 7 are still working diligently on the game. The game just recently received a new character as well as new practice mode features and cosmetics. Another new character has been announced and will be released sometime this Winter. The game is given balance changes as to make sure no one character is dominating the scene. The developers take really good care of the players and respond to feedback and criticism. For example, the community expressed a desire to be able to see frame data displayed in game. The developers listened and later released that feature as DLC. That is a crazy amount of work they had to do to implement that feature. They had to calculate the frames for every single move in the game which is insane because there is a lot. It just goes to show you how much the developers care about their game.
4) It’s really about a community
Tekken 7 has a huge community spanning all across the globe. Whether you’re old school in the arcades or playing online, tekken is a great way to meet new people. Even if there is no arcade near you there are Tekken events happening all over the place. They are a great time even if you’re not a top level player. Just go to hangout and have fun with other people who play the game. One of my favorite parts of playing fighting games is the community aspect. It’s not a toxic place like some people might lead you to believe. The majority of players just wanna have fun and help each other improve. The Tekken 7 community is super welcoming of new players and they have even created many online resources to help new players learn the game, meet people, and get involved with tournaments.
If you want to take your game to the next level you can even enter in larger tournaments like ECT, Combo Breaker, and Evolution. These tournaments have large prize pools where you can win money. Isn’t it every person’s dream to win money doing something you love? Don’t think you have no chance of winning either. No matter what your background, you have a chance at winning if you work hard enough. The last Evo champion came out of nowhere. He was a no name player from Pakistan who beat the top players and became a legend. Anyone from anywhere can win.
5) It’s fun
Fun, of course, is a complex idea. What makes a game like this fun? A few factors include the pacing (the fights make every hit build feelings of power); makes you feel the impact. I love the music. It will get more or less intense depending on what round it is in the match. The single player content like Treasure Battle and the Story Mode are good time wasters and can unlock you some really cool cutscenes and cosmetics. There is an art gallery that contains artwork from every game in the series. You can also view all the old arcade endings from previous games.
Tekken creates a much different atmosphere than team based games like Overwatch or League of Legends. In Tekken it is just you and your opponent. The mind games, the precision, the reads, it can best be described as light-speed-chess. It will never get old because your skill level is constantly growing. There is always something new to learn. It’s impossible to get bored.
Though some would argue against me, Tekken 7 is the best fighting game on the market right now. If you are a person looking to get into fighting games or a seasoned veteran looking to jump back into the fray, then I reccomend you give this game a try.
Please write and let me know what other fighting games you think are good to get into in 2019
