With the recent announcement of Tekken 8, the hype train for the franchise’s upcoming installment has been kicked into high gear. Although Tekken 8 deserves all the hype that it’s getting, maybe it’s also time we took a look back at Tekken 7 and asked ourselves,“How good was it?”
In this review, we’ll be taking a look at all the changes that Tekken 7 has undergone throughout its lifespan and see whether or not it’s still worth getting in 2022. I’ve been playing Tekken since year 1, so rest assured I’ll be providing an unbiased and highly critical review of the game that will highlight all the pros and cons.
About Tekken 7
Swole Seniors: Heihachi Mishima and Akuma go head-to-head, bent on revenge over Heihachi’s deceased wife.
Originally released in February 2015, Tekken 7 is the latest installment in the highly acclaimed Tekken franchise by Bandai Namco. Tekken 7 is a 3D fighting game that puts a high emphasis on character movement and character knowledge, emphasizing the unique characteristics of each fighter (and surprise, 2 bears).
This release features a long-awaited crossover in the form of Street Fighter’s own raging demon: Akuma. Of course, this has raised everyone’s hopes for the long-awaited Tekken x Street Fighter, but it seems this is the closest we’re getting to that dream.
Regardless, Tekken 7 stands as one of the best selling entries into the franchise with over 9 million sales, and only 2 million of those sales coming in 2021 alone. The game is still going strong following the latest update (version 5.00) released in August 2022, which introduced a new wall combo mechanic and tons of balance changes to go along with it.
So now the question is: Should you join the 5,000 players still playing the game?
Tekken 7 Story
Tekken 7 - Opening Cinematic
Following where Tekken 6 left off, Jin Kazama started a global conflict in order to summon and ultimately defeat the origin of the devil gene, hoping to finally rid himself of this genetic curse. Unfortunately, as with every other attempt to eliminate the devil gene, this plan failed leaving Jin Kazama exhausted and on the sidelines.
Tekken 7 follows the lives of the present-day Mishima family through the eyes of a third-person character, simply named “The Journalist”. It follows the father-son relationship of Heihachi Mishima and Kazuya Mishima and the origin of their grudge against each other.
Father and Son: A Tekken story wouldn’t be complete if there wasn’t a face-off in the middle of an active volcano. Again.
Tekken 7’s main story mode is entertaining but leaves a lot to be desired. The flow of events and motivations for each character is unorganized and often confusing. The story is made even more confusing by adding the element of The Journalist’s personal story, something that I’m sure most fans (including myself) have no interest in at all. I mean, who cares about a random journalist when there are a bunch of martial artists fighting around the world?
Although the Mishima bloodline story is very interesting, part of me wishes that they also emphasized the other characters’ stories. Out of the 51 characters in Tekken 7’s final roster, only 10 are featured in the main campaign.
The Mishima bloodline elements of the story were still very entertaining and worth playing through, but please just trim off all the fat and just give us the characters that we’re already familiar with. We just want to see muscular fighters punching each other!
Tekken 7 Gameplay
Tekken 7: Definitive Edition gameplay on the latest update, from menus to actual gameplay
Tekken 7’s online mode features both unranked and ranked matches that test your skills against an opponent from anywhere in the world. The offline mode features just as much satisfaction, featuring the Treasure Battle mode, which pits you against CPU opponents that reward you cosmetics or in-game currency on a defeat.
Each player plays a different version of their character, both technically and aesthetically. Tekken 7 offers a robust customization mode featuring unique cosmetics across all characters to ensure that your character looks the way that you want them to look. Want your character to look like Link from The Legend of Zelda? You can! Want to bring a gun to a fistfight? Go right ahead!
The only thing missing would be a proper tutorial mode. Any random player could pick up Tekken 7 with absolutely no experience with the past Tekken games and still have a blast, and that entertainment will only get better as their knowledge of character moves increases. It just so happens that in order to increase your character knowledge, you have to reach out to 3rd party sources to fully interpret all the tools that your character has.
Tekken 7 Combat
Footage of what players would expect coming into a Tekken 7 match.
Tekken 7 is a 3D fighting game, which means, unlike games like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat, you can move around the foreground and background. Tekken 7 also offers a satisfying combo system that rewards technical skill with flashy combos. That said, the move list for each character can be quite lengthy and overwhelming especially for new players.
Learning a character involves knowing the punishes, pokes, and combos of each character. Once you’ve got the knowledge, next comes the application. Put your knowledge to the test to poke and punish your way to victory!
Tekken 7 Quest/Mission System
Achieving the highest rank in Tekken 7: Tekken God Omega
To be the best, just like in everything, you have to be willing to put in the work. Grind your way to the very top of the rank mountain, all the way from the “Beginner” rank to Tekken God Omega by stomping on anyone that dares stand in your way. No one likes getting steamrolled online, especially in Tekken. With the high skill ceiling, it’s easy to feel helpless during a match. Thankfully, Bandai Namco’s ranking system makes sure that you’re matched with a player who is on your skill level.
Tekken 7 Graphics
TEKKEN 7 – Lidia Sobieska Launch Trailer showcasing stages and cinematice
Tekken 7 is the first entry in the franchise to be created in Unreal Engine 4, and the graphics live up to the name. Character models look the best that they have ever been, even featuring cool little details like fabric simulations and costumes that change throughout the fight.
Street Fighter’s signature Hadouken against Tekken’s own Electric Wind Hook Fist
But characters aren’t the only thing you’ll be feasting your eyes on: there are also the beautiful stages to fight on. Mishima Dojo remains a personal favorite because of the progressive damage the stage undergoes throughout the battle.
Tekken 7 Developer
Bandai Namco first announced the development of Tekken 7 at EVO 2014, and the game has been taken care of ever since. Bandai Namco is also famous for games such as the Naruto fighting games, Ace Combat, and Soul Calibur.
Bandai Namco, or Bamco for short, has rolled out tons of additional content to increase the longevity of the game in the form of new characters, stages, and game modes. Although all that extra content does come at a price, the free balance updates are amazing enough on their own.
Fair warning though, if you plan on getting Tekken 7 right now, prepare for a lack of updates in the future. It seems that while Tekken 7 has gone strong for multiple years since release, its life as the main focus of Bamco’s development team could be coming to an end.
Tekken 7 Price
Tekken 7 base game without all the DLC costs $25, while the Definitive Edition will cost you around $72 for Steam, Xbox, and PS4.
Personally? I would go with Tekken 7 base game and just buy the DLC characters and stages that interest me. This is ideal because some Tekken 7 characters on release are broken and overpowered, making the game pay to win for a while.
Fortunately for us, Bandai Namco balances these overpowered characters quickly. Thank you, Bandai Namco!
Verdict
With all this considered, I would rate Tekken 7 a solid 8.3/10 !
PROS:
- Low skill floor makes it easy to enjoy with friends.
- High skill ceiling means you’ll have a blast learning the game.
- Beautiful graphics.
- A huge roster of characters.
- Progression can be very satisfying.
CONS:
- Lack of single-player game modes
- Disappointing story
- Moderately buggy online mode
- The game provides no support in improving. Wanta tutorial? Go watch a Youtube video.
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