If you say Tekken, you’ll find a lot of gamers’ eyes glistening with memories of evenings when the fighting was top-notch. For me, Tekken 3 was the gateway to the world of Versus Fighting. Years later, it led me to organize no less than 60 amateur tournaments, and my love for this universe continues to grow. But enough of blabla. After a dozen episodes and a good many years of updates only. Tekken gets a makeover with Tekken 8 and the end of a story.
The king of versus!
Visually, Tekken 8 is a welcome slap in the face at the start of the year. While Street6 and MK1 raised the bar quite a bit. Tekken 8 proves that it’s the master of 3D fighting, with top-notch modeling and stunning effects. The title’s 32 characters have been totally polished, from their basic visuals to their various customizations. It’s a pleasure to go into character customization and see that the studio has succeeded in offering us 30 years of experience in one fell swoop.
So yes, we’re not talking about an overhaul, because Tekken is doing its Tekken, we’re talking about a major update of everything, but we’re keeping the initial design. There’s no question of reinventing the saga’s heroes.
A worldwide family quarrel…
As for the story, it’s the sequel to the sequel to the sequel. Yes, we’re still on the subject of a family feud that will embroil everyone in it, with the excuse of a tournament. But this time, the tournament takes an end-of-the-world turn. There’s no way I’m spoiling anything here! Just remember that, for once, Tekken has a neat and engaging story mode! Tekken finally closes the gap between itself and Street or MK. Even if this one is much shorter than the others. However, there are also side story modes for each character, which are anecdotal but present.
On the other hand, there’s another game mode that lets you create your avatar and become the best Tekken player in tournaments against AIs. It’s also in this mode that you’ll find your personal AI, but more on that later.
Until the end of the night!
This is where Tekken has succeeded in reinventing itself. It’s much more aggressive than in the past. Take Tekken 7 for example. The game often required you to stall, defend yourself and wait for the break. Tekken 8, on the other hand, makes a major shift and asks the player to be far more aggressive.
To this end, the classic combat mode can be switched to automatic one-touch combos. In other words, you’ll be switching from one mode to another all the time. But that’s not all: there’s now a Heat gauge that lets you either hit harder, or launch an attack that will hurt your opponent.
There’s also a special move that can be triggered if your life is critical. So, yes, it’s all about attacking. And it works. It’s fun to go head-to-head at any moment. Older players may have a little trouble with this change, while new players will see it as a challenge open to all.
And you tap, tap, tap…
We were talking about AI. Well, the AI is there to help you improve. Basically, the more you fight it, the more it will copy your style of play. The more you have to find a way of countering yourself. At first, you’re faced with a punching bag. Soon, you’re up against our perfect clone, to the point where it’s hard to beat him at times.
There’s also the classic multiplayer mode, where you can play for fun or climb the rankings. Nothing crazy to talk about in this classic mode. On the other hand, you’ll find a mini-game that made a lot of players laugh in the past. Beach Volleyball is back! A little game mode that allowed you to get Gon in Tekken 3.
Finally, here’s why Tekken 8 is still king. It does what Tekken does best. Top-notch graphics, renewed gameplay and solid fundamentals. You can’t fault it for anything except a too-short single-player and the fact that we’re in for 10 years of paid DLC for new characters…
