Tekken 8: A Reflection
Rich L.
At the time of writing this, I had been accepted into the open beta for Tekken 8 that took place in the summer and had played online matches with most of the available roster. Throughout the matches, I've played, out of the big three fighting games that have come out: Street Fighter 6, Mortal Kombat 1, and Tekken 8 -Tekken 8 was the one I enjoyed the most. If I had to say the reason why, it would be the selection of characters available, and the balance between familiarity and new discoveries. The gameplay for Tekken has generally remained consistent over the years, and the character's movesets typically don't change much unless they've gone through severe story changes.
Tekken 8, however, does bring in some new mechanics. The big new change is the heat gauge, which allows the player to enter heat mode and perform powerful moves as well as different abilities for each character. For instance, Jun Kazama can use some of her special moves to do more damage in place of sacrificing her health, and as Kazuya enters Devil form, he has greater access to this form’s exclusive moves. There is also a heat system which allows for greater offense during battles. Think of this move as a modified Rage Art.
For those new to the franchise, Rage is a mechanic that was introduced back in Tekken 6 and is still present. It enables the player to perform a rage art when their health is low. With Tekken 8 and the newly introduced heat system, the developers aimed to create a more aggressive game, eliminating the slower-paced and defensive style many gamers were accustomed to. While I do miss that old style, I still find a lot of enjoyment in the crazier and more frantic energy that Tekken 8 brings. Out of the available characters in the beta, I had the most fun with Jun Kazama. She's a character I've wanted back in the mainline games since Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and she's been missing since Tekken 2 (which is mind bending to think about it). She plays similarly to her early premieres, but she is also different enough to feel freshened. This may be due to the fact that she and another character, Asuka Kazama, have a similar fighting style, so they gave Jun a bit more mysticism in her moveset as opposed to Asuka being a straight brawler. If you want to check out some gameplay of me playing as her, click here:
Raven
Another character I'm thrilled that has returned is Raven. He was replaced with his mentor, Master Raven, in Tekken 7. Master Raven was an impressive character as well, but Raven has been one of my personal favorites since he debuted back in Tekken 5, so it was a hard pill to swallow to see him eliminated out the roster since the early 2000's. Like Jun, there appears to be a lot of familiarity with his moveset, but they increased the number of techniques he uses with his shadow clone. This not only spruces him up a bit, but also separates him further from Master Raven (if they ever bring her back).
As for the graphics, while it may not be the most graphically impressive game, aesthetically it is a beautiful game. Compared to Tekken 7, it is almost night and day. The lighting on the characters and stages has significantly improved, enhancing the clarity and expressiveness of the characters' emotions, infusing them with more distinctive personalities. It is strange how the game looked the best during the initial reveal where Kazuya and Jin were fighting on the mountain, though I think this is perhaps due to the lighting that was used during that trailer. Even if the graphics did lose some quality since then, I don't feel it takes away from what is available.
Recently, I went back and played Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Tekken 7 with some of my friends, and I forgot how fun playing four player in Tag 2 can be. While it was fun revisiting both of these games together, they did feel a bit more primitive and simple at least in terms of mechanics and movesets. Though at the same time, I was able to enjoy the slower more methodical nature of these games vs. the intensity of Tekken 8. While I don't think either of these games were ugly to look at, they certainly made me appreciate how beautiful Tekken 8 looks.
I also tried the Tekken 8 demo to compare it with the beta. I selected Kazuya and Jin, as I had played them in the beta as well. The game still felt just as good, perhaps because I could play it offline and assess its performance without relying on any network connection.
In conclusion, Tekken 8 emerges as a leader among the latest installments in the franchise, potentially re-claiming its title as the King of the Iron Fist among the trio of major fighting game sequels that released in ’23-’24. Despite this admirable progress, my only concern is in their single-player combat. While the introduction of the Arcade Quest mode promises a more engaging experience, its emphasis on online play rather than providing standalone entertainment raises some concerns. However, with Tekken 8’s enhanced lighting, expressive character animations, and refined gameplay mechanics, Tekken 8 undoubtedly offers a compelling experience that gamers are bound to enjoy.
