Most people say that they don’t care about the story when it comes to their fighting games. I am not one of those people. While discovering more about my favorite characters through their endings has always been a motivation of mine, few storylines over the years have endured as long as the war between Kazuya Mishima and his father, Heihachi. After numerous false deaths, fake outs, revivals and clonings, Bandai Namco is promising that the upcoming Tekken 7 would be the final battle between father and son, dubbed the Mishima Blood Saga. When you consider that Street Fighter‘s Akuma is part of the story on a mission to kill both of them, we have plenty of reason to believe death will stick this time.
Usually, crossover characters are bonuses, generally separate from the story presented in the main game. This isn’t so with Tekken 7, since Akuma’s purpose for entering the King of Iron Fist Tournament is to honor a promise he made to Kazumi, Kazuya’s mother and Heihachi’s ex wife, vowing to kill them if their war ever got out of hand. Considering a demon as powerful as Akuma owes her a favor, it’s no wonder that the Mishima matriarch serves as the big bad this time around. In battle, Akuma feels like an authentic Street Fighter character, having his own Super Meter, super movies, fireballs, and special attacks that can be strengthened in their EX versions.
Not to ignore the rest of the cast, each of the characters that make up the nearly 30 character roster, (which includes five newcomers aside from Akuma,) have the unique fighting styles and combos you would expect from the Tekken series. The biggest additions to combat this time around are the changes to the Rage system, with two new types of attacks that each fighter has at their disposal. Activated once a fighter’s health drops below a certain point, Rage doesn’t provide as much of an attack boost as it used to. Instead, new Rage Arts give the characters a one time use special attack that can help turn the tide of a losing battle in exchange for the use of the Rage for the rest of the round. Ranging from powerful super attacks, to full on transformations in the case of characters like Kazuya, and you’ll have a whole new dynamic thrown into the competitive mix. When considering how environmental damage, juggles and destructible floors already come into play, you’ll have plenty of ways to try to take out your enemy before they can use their Rage Art.
If you do find yourself on the defensive and need to create some space, the new Power Crush attack should go a long way to help you out. Somewhat similar to Focus Attacks in Street Fighter 4 or Counter Attacks in Pokken Tournament, these attacks can absorb damage while allowing the attack to push through, even when getting hit. As someone who has found themselves on the wrong end of a long combo string in the past, I’m more than willing to give this new attack a shot despite changing the game’s dynamic somewhat. After all, there’s no fun in getting beaten by long combo strings without a way to fight back, which is an issue the Power Crush is trying to alleviate.
All in all, Tekken 7 both looks and plays like a dream, making the wait for its early 2017 release date that much harder to bear, (Kuma?) Topping off the improvements to the story and battle mechanics with the best visuals the series has seen to date, complete with dramatic slow motion knockouts and the coolest Vs. screen I’ve ever seen, it’s good to see the team putting the Unreal Engine 4 to good use. If you haven’t seen the Tekken 7 story trailer from Microsoft’s E3 press conference, watch it here, then let us know what you’re most looking forward to when the final chapter in the two decade long father-son battle is finally released.
Tekken 7 will release for PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Windows early next year.