(Photo courtesy of: IGN Nordic) “Fighting characters Jin Kazama and Reina Mishima in Bandai Namco’s newest game release.”
Joseph Dunn
Connector Contributor
“Tekken 8” is the latest installment in one of the longest running fighting game franchises in history. The game sees players continuing the story of the Mishima family, a saga that has spanned decades since the series’ inception in 1994.
Bandai Namco, the company behind the game, has risen to the challenge of creating a fighting game in 2024. With almost every major fighting game franchise putting out a flagship release in the past year, it is more difficult than ever to draw in player bases for a new game.
“Tekken 8” has risen to the occasion and captured the attention of thousands of fans with its smooth gameplay, excellent storytelling, and massive amount of content. This latest installment features the largest cast of characters at launch of any Tekken game thus far, with 32 fighters ready on release. Bandai Namco has already announced there will be four additional DLC characters available within a year of the game’s launch.
Despite its popularity, Tekken is infamous for its difficult gameplay and steep learning curve for new players. But “Tekken 8” is the most accessible installment in the series for new players. It has a new mode with Arcade Quest, has improved practice settings, and now offers a simple mode for players. This new mode allows players to experience what a character is capable of before committing to learning all the moves and executions required to play the character effectively. This is a first in the Tekken series and it has been received positively from the game’s large casual fanbase.
The new mode in “Tekken 8” with Arcade Quest is designed to give players the nostalgic feeling of playing in a physical arcade and teaches new players how Tekken works.
In addition to being feature rich and accessible, “Tekken 8” is the best-looking game in the series. The new character models and stage designs are cinematic, crisp, and add to the atmosphere of the game.
The story mode also features dramatic computer generated cutscenes that tell the story in an engaging and impressive way. The directing and execution of the story cutscenes are some of the best Tekken has ever offered. The transitions between the cutscenes and the gameplay are nearly flawless, never forcing the player to be taken out of the experience by loading screens or harsh transitions.
While Tekken has always drawn a large casual crowd to enjoy the story, characters and lore, the competitive scene is equally as important to the success and quality of the game. At launch “Tekken 8” faced criticism for the online servers failing during ranked matches, a large bug that many players were upset about. Bandai Namco handled the problem however, and within a few days the game was updated to improve server stability and functionality. As it stands today, the game is well positioned to host competitive play and see the start of the Tekken World Tour, the game’s professional circuit.
Overall, “Tekken 8” is the most feature rich and quality installment in the franchise’s history. It has a massive appeal to both competitive and casual fans and is sure to stay relevant in the fighting game community for years to come. Tekken fans had to wait eight years for this game, but it was worth the wait. The game has been one of the most successful fighting game releases in recent history.
Overall Grade: A
