The story of Tekken 8 is capitalized…twice

The Tekken team cares deeply about the story of its series and proudly announced to visitors at a recent hands-on preview that it holds the world record for the longest-running single story in video games. The saga of the Mishima clan and the King of Iron Fist tournament began almost 30 years ago many Twists (it’s never been so dramatic to throw family members into a volcano) and Tekken 8 promises the boldest and most cinematic version yet.

But Tekken 8 has a secret – it contains effective two This time there are story modes on very different topics.

As expected, the new core story mode continues the story of Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima, father and son rivals, each with literal devilish powers, and the creation of a new King of Iron Fist tournament. And don’t worry, if you’re not up to speed on how we got here (and there’s still a lot to catch up on), you can check out summaries of all the stories in the main Tekken games before you get started.

It’s clear that Bandai Namco is fully focused on the story this time around – this mode is more cinematic than ever before, with cutscenes that seamlessly tie battles together. And no time is wasted in getting up to speed – the story begins Jin rides a motorcycle up a skyscraper before throwing it at the helicopter Kazuya is traveling on.

Subtlety is not on the agenda Tekken 8 And that’s not a bad thing – in just four chapters, I took the main character Jin from a multi-stage battle against Kazuya (transforming into Devil Jin in the process), saw Kazuya shoot the world’s satellites out of the sky, and organized a tournament It’s not just about deciding who is the strongest fighter, but also about which nations will survive his overwhelming attack. It’s pleasingly over-the-top and a lot of fun, introducing old and new characters that you can train with Jin along the way.

What surprised me more is this Tekken 8 effectively contains a whole other Story mode in the form of Arcade Quest. Part tutorial, part story, and part challenge gauntlet, this new mode tasks you with creating a chibi-like avatar and guiding it through a hyper-stylized version of the world of Tekken 8

is the arcade scene. It’s a wonderfully light-hearted affair that sees you team up with a group of budding Tekken champions and fight your way to the top of the game through increasingly tough opponents – and it’s also a paean to the declining arcade industry and a reminder of halcyon days hunched over coin-operated machines.

It’s a perfect mode for newbies to the game, offering useful tutorials on the game’s core systems, its new Heat system (which offers special attacks per round to create more aggressive battles), character customization, and more. It also introduces the new Super Ghost Battle mechanic, where an AI opponent learns your play style across multiple modes, offering battles that not only test your mettle but can also expose weaknesses in your game so you can prevail Experimentation and trial and error can organically improve mistakes rather than mere guesswork.

As said, it’s clear that the Tekken team cares about their stories as much as their mechanics – which remain rooted in Tekken’s classic 3D fighting style, but make several changes to increase aggressiveness and keep things sharp, from the new heat system to an increased focus on walls, destructibility and scene transitions. And for those who Only If you want to immerse yourself in a story, the new Special Style Mode is the perfect help. Tapping LB in each battle turns your regular buttons into superpowers, performing combos and special moves with much simpler inputs, allowing you to get the most out of your chosen character without having to become a master.

There’s a lot more that I didn’t get a chance to try out in my time with the game – most notably a mode that includes storylines for all 32 playable characters and even offers a mode more History – but that’s already clear Tekken 8 has many stories to tell.