Tekken 7 has just been released for the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC, nearly two years after the latest installment in the long-running fighting franchise was launched in arcades.
The delay of Tekken 7, according to game director Katsuhiro Harada, was due to the development team not wanting to release a half-baked product. The game was initially slated to be released last year, but Harada said that he and the team pushed back the launch of Tekken 7 to June 2 to make sure that everything was working perfectly, with all content readily available.
Is Tekken 7 worth the wait for fighting game enthusiasts on consoles and PCs? A look through the reviews seemingly answers that question with a resounding yes.
Tekken 7 Dazzles With Amazing Graphics, Intense Gameplay
The first thing that gamers will notice, even before getting into their first Tekken 7 match, is the amazing visuals offered by the title, as noted by Just Push Start's Oliver East. This is first evident in the opening cinematics of the game, and then again on the menu, the character select screen, and of course, in the characters and stages during fights.
Stunning graphics is not what Tekken 7 is all about though. As the newest installment in the iconic fighting game franchise, Tekken 7 retains most of what has made the series so successful through the years, while also introducing new elements that both new and old players will enjoy.
The new mechanics in Tekken 7 are Rage Arts, Rage Drives, and Power Crushers. Rage Arts, which can be activated with a simple two-button input after the player's health drops to below 25 percent, is a cinematic attack that deals a lot of damage. Rage Drives, meanwhile, work similarly as Rage Arts but require a bit more button presses. As Trusted Reviews' Andi Hamilton noted, Rage Arts look better, but Rage Drives, which allow players to launch follow-up attacks, are more difficult to block and more practical to launch. Power Crushers, meanwhile, allow players to absorb middle and high attacks while responding with a strike of their own.
Tekken 7, as with any Tekken game, is easy to pick up and very hard to master. There are so many different fighting styles and strategies available in the game that it becomes a matter of finding the perfect one for players to focus on. Tekken 7 remains as the most technical fighting game in the industry, according to IGN's Darry Huskey, but that does not mean that novice players will not have fun with it.
Massive Content In 'Tekken 7'
Making Tekken 7 even more enjoyable is the massive amount of content that it offers.
The roster of characters in Tekken 7 is simply staggering, said Matt Kamen of Wired, with ten brand new characters, including the monstrous Gigas, the exorcist Claudio, and the Japanese idol Lucky Chloe. Also making an appearance in Tekken 7 is Akuma from the Street Fighter series of Capcom. He is not just an easter egg character in the game though, as he plays an important role in the story mode.
Speaking of the Story mode, it tries to explain the complicated storyline of Tekken 7 while players use different characters to play out matches. The mode is more of a cinematic mode than a challenge, with Pocket Lint's Dom Peppiatt describing it as a well-presented action film, but it does help new players get into the thick of things.
One of the new ways to unlock content in Tekken 7 is the Treasure Battle mode, which allows players to acquire fun items to customize their favorite characters. As Suriel Vazquez of Game Informer wrote, the mode allowed him to have his King wear pizza on his back, while a fish floats above his head.
Tekken 7: Best Fighting Game Of All Time?
Can Tekken 7 claim the throne as the best fighting game of all time? According to Trusted Reviews' Hamilton, hardcore players will find out that Tekken 7 is the best game in the series since Tekken 3 due to the refinements to the combat system and the deep roster of fighters.
"Tekken 7 truly is a hallmark, a fighting game crafted with obvious affection," said IGN's Huskey, and it is definitely hard to argue with that. While there are some pitfalls, such as the relatively short Story mode, Wired's Kamen describes Tekken 7 as "the pinnacle of the series."
It is a general consensus that Tekken 7 is the best so far in the franchise, but it may be months before we know for sure where it ranks among the top fighting games of all time.
