What an incredible year we fighting game lovers have had: Street Fighter 6, Mortal Kombat 1 and now Tekken 8 all released within nine months of each other. And if that wasn’t enough, the first two were really good, so now you’re probably wondering if Tekken 8 does these giants justice. The answer is: without a doubt.
Tekken 7 was released in arcades back in 2015, but home versions didn’t hit the market until two years later. And a lot has happened since then, not least on a technical level, where Bandai Namco switched the graphics engine from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5. In addition, they have significantly updated their online offering and are once again offering a campaign with a certain flair.
In addition, there are many other things, such as the “Tekken Ball” game mode and small individual campaigns for all fighters, as well as a game mode called “Arcade Quest” that gives a little more meaning to the fight against the computer and can be better described as a training campaign (more to both later). Like so many other developers, Bandai Namco has experimented with easier game controls to, among other things, make it easier for newcomers to get into combat.
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But as is often the case with fighting games, they’re never more fun than competing against friends in tough prestige matches, be it locally or online. So I thought I’d start at that end. A little less than a year ago, I had the privilege of meeting Tekken veteran Katsuhiro Harada and we talked about Tekken 8. He pointed out that Bandai Namco wanted to make Tekken 8 more aggressive than before, which may sound strange given that one pretty aggressive series.
After I start throwing punches, it doesn’t take long for me to understand what he means. The entire system is designed to allow you to quickly attack your opponent and deliver blows. The key to this is the new Heat system, which rewards hitting your opponent very quickly as you have an improved version of your character for a limited time, with the ability to do more damage and perform some special attacks. Heat can be activated by pressing a button (it’s called “Heat Burst” and lasts 10 seconds) or by combining it with the Heat Engager, which provides an additional 5 seconds of heat.
The difference results in an intensity that I, having played almost every fighting game worthy of the name over the past 35 years, have never experienced. Of course, those who have their heat activated have to make the most of it and are therefore encouraged to really engage with their opponent, who will take a beating even if they block. What’s new is that it’s also easier to restore health in Tekken 8, as some damage leaves a “shadow” on the life bar, which can then be refilled. But even that requires punches to the jaw and kicks to the neck, and we end up with a formula that just encourages you to play offensively.
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Personally, I regret the absence of Bob (I hope he shows up as a DLC character sooner rather than later) and tried to focus on Paul Phoenix, Lili De Rochefort and newcomer Reina, who also plays an important role in the story plays, visually represented by its placement in the middle of the selection panel of all selectable characters, in a sort of place of honor. I usually like to use mind games and unexpected throws when fighting, but Tekken 8 forces me to rethink that strategy. The Heat approach makes it too slow, so for me it was a bit like rediscovering the series.
To train, I spent a lot of time in the new Arcade Quest game mode, a kind of light campaign in which you have to fight your way through Japanese arcades to become the best at Tekken and defeat an idiot player (who… , of course, has an attitude , which borders on the image and likeness of Kazuya Mishima). Not only is it a good opportunity to unlock lots of accessories, but it’s also very cozy and, above all, gives you a good opportunity to have other friendly NPCs who visit the arcades explain the basics to you and try everything out in one environment checked. In short, one of the best training modes I’ve ever seen, with less feeling like information is being forced on you and more real entertainment.
Another attraction of Tekken 8, which can also serve to introduce you to the new game system, is of course the campaign. Bandai Namco is the market leader in this area alongside Mortal Kombat 1, and the Tekken series has had a long, unbroken history since the first game. I might not buy the game for the campaign alone, but for a fighting game I find it impressive in all its extreme cheesiness. With no apparent connection, we see the Tekken characters running around trying to deal with the growing world problem of Kazuya (for spoiler reasons, I’m avoiding talking about the details of the story), but since Bandai Namco takes its campaign so seriously, it works simply . Katsuhiro Harada doesn’t seem at all interested in modernizing Tekken or adding more self-references, like I feel like both Capcom and NetherRealm Studios did with Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat. Unfortunately I think the campaign falters towards the end where it could have been shortened, but overall it’s still impressive, although Mortal Kombat 1 still has the edge in this regard.
If you’ve played Arcade Quest and the campaign and still don’t know how best to play Tekken, Bandai Namco has done what many other fighting game developers have done before and tried to offer an alternative control scheme called Special Style. This can be activated (and deactivated) by quickly pressing LB during combat, so it doesn’t just work for beginners, such as those who haven’t mastered aerial juggling. If you have a good launcher, there’s nothing stopping you from activating the special style and then unleashing a good combo just by pressing the Y button several times in a row. The system is not as flexible as the standard game, but still makes Tekken easier for beginners, which has long been felt in Tekken. The downside is that this system results in almost all characters playing like each other, losing a lot of variety.
Otherwise, the game’s controls are incredibly good, with a very clear sense of what each button does in battles. The feeling is one of precision and speed, and there are only a few moments when I feel like I am not in control of the situation, when every victory is satisfying and I can only blame myself for the defeats. The fights are intense and I would even say intimate, with the effect of two fighters trying to maximize their heat moment by landing as many punches as possible in the shortest amount of time. There were many times when I would find myself almost out of breath after I finished a fight due to the intensity of a fight.
So far the game is a real marvel, but there is still something that I’m not entirely convinced about and that Bandai Namco has talked about a lot, namely changing the game engine from Unreal Engine 4 to 5. Although on paper this While there is the ability to make incredible jumps, I don’t think Tekken 8 will take full advantage of this update. While it’s true that it looks better than Tekken 7 by far, there’s no doubt that both Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 seem prettier to me (although the comparison isn’t necessarily fair since they don’t have a rotating one). Camera). And all the artificial lighting effects that emphasize things like “heat” cause it to lose even more of its visual charm. Although it is still very nice, from a technical point of view one could have expected more. Otherwise, however, it works perfectly and loads very quickly.
Finally, I would like to mention that there are three other game modes that are worth knowing about. One of these is the aforementioned Tekken Ball, which originally appeared in Tekken 3 as well as the Wii U version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and now Tekken 8. Even if it’s not something you want to play for hours on end, it does have a certain “just one more game” dimension to it in the right company. It’s kind of a lighter volleyball concept where it’s more like hitting a beach ball. The balance between the different characters doesn’t seem to be great (the big, long-range attacks are very effective), but it’s fun and Tekken Ball is sure to give you many hours of laughter and entertainment. There are also Super Ghost Battles, where you and your opponents create AI versions of yourself to train against. If you have a friend who plays a certain way with a certain character, use the AI to face him and train whenever you want. The idea is that you can also meet the world’s best professionals, developers and others. A fun concept in theory, although I’ll need to watch more AI ghosts over a longer period of time before I can say exactly how good the AI is at imitating its real-world counterparts.
The third reason is that each character (some require you to complete the campaign first) has their own mini-story. They consist of a handful of fights and reward you with a charming final sequence that doesn’t necessarily correspond to the original story, but entertains with humor, a dose of hate and good action. I’ve often played these types of campaigns for fun, and since there are so many, there’s also a lot of fan service.
But overall, I have no doubt that Street Fighter 6 and Mortal Kombat 1 should bow to the king. They were both really good games that made great attempts to modernize and vary the concept. Tekken 8 is built on a different foundation, however, as Bandai Namco loves its series and wanted to streamline and build the best Tekken installment possible without the pressure of having something new just for the sake of it.
Therefore, I dare say that Tekken 8 is the winner of these three games no matter how you look at it, with only Mortal Kombat 1’s graphics and campaign rivaling what Bandai Namco has to offer. There’s simply no better fighting, and the totally angry and over-the-top Tekken 8 will be my favorite fighting game for years to come.
