When the popularity of a series of video games begins to wane, it is quite difficult to rekindle fan interest. Often creators try to add big changes in hopes of attracting new players, but there are countless examples of when this backfired and caused them to lose all remaining support.
The same could have happened with 2011’s Tekken Tag Tournament 2, a bland game that marked the saga’s low point. However, 4 years later, Bandai Namco, with Katsuhiro Harada at the helm, achieved great success by releasing Tekken 7. From the start, we could see that it was a game with a spectacular style and a wide variety of contents, characteristics that have continued to take care of it from that moment and that have allowed this title to signify a rebirth of the Tekken saga, in addition to its best-selling episode, with more than ten million copies in circulation .
Since the game’s release, they have continued to constantly release new content, as well as patches that show the creators are paying attention to the world of esports and especially new relevant guest characters. Bandai Namco’s other best-selling saga, Soulcalibur, usually features more quirky guests (like when Darth Vader fought Yoda), but in this game we have Akuma and Geese Howard, who fit very well into the title. overall. When Tekken 8 was announced last September, the public showed great interest. What will Bandai Namco do to give us an even better game than Tekken 7?
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Gamereactor went to Lyon last week, so I visited Bandai Namco and there I tried an early version of Tekken 8 and met and interviewed Katsuhiro Harada. Before starting the digital fight, I received a brief introduction from producer Michael Murray, who confirmed some of the things I had already been told. The bottom line is that Tekken 8 is all about offense. They’ve tried to put this approach into practice in different ways, but the one that stands out the most is the new “Heat” system. The creators still have several tricks up their sleeves, such as the fact that the only way to recover health is to perform perfect guards or land precise blows.
Going back to the “Heat” system, it’s a brief moment, 10 seconds of madness where you have a chance to be more aggressive and deal really high damage. It’s designed so delicately that the countdown is paused if you knock your opponent down, so you can make the most of those ten seconds. The activation of “Heat” has two variants: “Heat Engager” makes it possible to destabilize the adversary and make him lose his concentration. As long as you have the “Heat” activated, you will get time advantages and new opportunities.
It’s also clear that they’ve been working to expand Tekken’s target audience, including things like better color grading to show who’s who and what position they’re in. There’s also a new genre control strategy that many fighting game fans despise, “Special Style.” This is an automatic combo that you can control by repeatedly pressing the buttons. Yet, just like Street Fighter 6, the creators claim that their beginner system is so sophisticated that professionals can successfully use it as well. Time will tell if that’s true, but the truth is that this system looks pretty good.
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I had the opportunity to play for several hours and Bandai Namco allowed us (and other journalists and influencers) to freely try out ten characters. The intensity of which the study speaks so much is present from the first fight. In this title, both fighters are very close and I think it’s harder to perform advanced moves or grabs compared to Tekken 7, but maybe that’s just because I haven’t figured it out yet used to this new episode.
It’s clear that Tekken 8 offers more variety. Among the characters to choose from are Paul, King, Jun Kazama and Swedish champion Lars Alexandersson. My favorite in the Tekken series is Bob, but I haven’t seen any sign of him appearing in this episode other than a New York level vendor selling Bob’s hot dogs. I hope this tribute doesn’t imply that the character is no longer included in Tekken 8. Anyway, Lars was the first character I played, before finding out that Paul and King were more my style.
Both have been part of the saga since its inception and have been one of the characters I’ve played the most. Paul seems more powerful than before, as well as more agile, which seems like a necessary change, in this title with much more intense fights. I want to point out that her hairstyle is worse than ever, but this is already a personal opinion. Tekken is still Tekken, so it was easy for me to warm up. Another thing I noticed was that the character of Nina Williams is still very difficult for me to play and I couldn’t do anything with her. I will have to train hard as soon as the game comes out.
Although I can’t time them, I found the “Rage Art” attacks (which work the same as in Tekken 7) to be too long. The Tekken Saga isn’t the main culprit, but the auto combos are starting to get a bit annoying and I wish they could be bypassed. Graphically, they are spectacular, from Jun Kazama’s friendly and bright attack of warm words and doves of peace to Kazuya Mishima’s evil comedic attack, they are all very well done.
The Tekken team is very proud of the graphics. In this episode, they moved from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5 and redesigned all the characters from scratch. The difference is very noticeable. The fighting genre has always been on the cutting edge when it comes to graphics, but over the last 10 or 15 years it has fallen behind. Mortal Kombat 11 is arguably the most visually pleasing game of its kind to date, but Tekken 8 doesn’t disappoint. On the contrary: it is incredibly beautiful. Its look is one of the biggest advancements in the series, both for its intricately detailed characters (they’re now so well done that their eyebrows stick out more than ever) and for its impossibly gorgeous sets. Personally, my favorite level was the New York level located in Times Square, where the time changes from evening to sunset to show a bustling city full of lights.
After playing for 5 hours, what struck me the most was how complete the game already seemed. I don’t think there will be long delays in its launch, but it is true that a tune-up is needed so that all the characters are well balanced. In addition, it is impossible to play Tekken 8 without noticing its great intensity: the fights already tense you in general, but in this title they do so even more. When you have your opponent on the ropes, they are completely open to attack. I think this needs improvement so it doesn’t make the enemy feel too helpless, but it’s something that will become clearer once the pros fully test all the possibilities.
For now, it should be noted that Tekken 8 promises. There is no doubt that this is a Tekken for new generations: splendid, intense and enjoyable to play. If Bandai Namco accompanies the release of this game with elaborate campaigns, additional content, and a good cast of characters (as they usually do), this game will undoubtedly become very special.