Tekken 8: my beat ‘em up comeback after 20 years

It’s 2004. «King Otto», the coach, leads Greece to the European Football Championships, Roger Federer conquers first place in the men’s tennis world rankings and thanks to the Eastern Enlargement I’m suddenly an EU citizen. I’m sitting in the kitchen of a student halls of residence in the London borough of Newham, telling my flatmate Neil in my best «Swenglish» that I’m about to spank his ass in Tekken 4 on a PlayStation 2.

Just like in the previous versions, as a Tekken kid since the very beginning, I play with King or King II. The «leopard» with muscles of steel promises me speed and powerful attacks. What could possibly go wrong? Plenty. I never kept an exact record of my statistics, but I lost far more often than I won. This is another reason why Tekken remained a beat ‘em up I only played occasionally, which had to permanently give way to RPGs later on.

The abrupt end to Flo vs. Tekken got me wondering when my colleague Domi offered me Tekken 8 to try out:

Is it really still enjoyable nowadays?

I start my insightful journey back to the Tekken-verse.

I underestimate the depth of the game

Because I played the old titles in the Tekken series, I thought I knew Tekken. Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong. I never realised that the game was based on a huge story. Perhaps also because the cast of the 1998 Tekken film lacked actors such as Jean-Claude Van Damme – in contrast to the four years older Street Fighter epic.

But it doesn’t matter, the game summarises the events surrounding the Mishima family in seven short clips. Even if you’re a total Tekken rookie, you’ll get a brief and exciting introduction to the universe here. I’ll spare you the story at this point, because I don’t want to spoil it for you or bore you.

The approach of telling a story and enriching it with interactive combat elements probably isn’t unfamiliar to you. But it is to me – and I’ve acquired a taste for it. The story is exciting and even the absurd, exaggerated elements of the story, which I would have rolled my eyes at in the past, are part of it. I get it now. Even after the first two chapters, I’m dying to play through the entire story. (And to punch Kazuya Mishima in the mouth).

The Mishima fighting style suits me

I also meet up with old acquaintances, like Yoshimitsu, Hwoarang and Law. Yet, it was never clear, for example, that every male and female fighter from the Tekken universe has their own background story. If I’d paid more attention to this, I’d have realised that Kazuya Mishima’s moveset, for instance, would have been much better suited to my brutal style of play. By the way, the back stories of all characters can be played in single-player mode.

The modest success I had in the old Tekken games was also due to the fact that I never bothered to learn combos or work out strategies. Rather, I went berserk, bashing the controller – in hope that this would coincidentally result in crazy combo moves and lead me to victory. Circlecirclecircle, triangletriangletriangle, XXXX, R1, R1 – and so on.

Special Style – great fun at the beginning

It’ll probably make the Tekken pros’ faces flush with anger. But I think it’s really nice that Tekken lets me activate Special Style mode. It allows me to perform spectacular combos on new fighters without breaking my thumbs.

Beyond the main story, this clearly boosts your motivation to play for longer. In turn, this allows you to gain experience with new characters and a sense of achievement. In my case, I manage to get my former favourite, King, to unpack his special moves. That’s cool because I can remember all the moves: LEGDROP! BACKBREAKER! POWERBOMB! 15 years of WWE fandom have paid off.

I also enjoy many varied scenarios such as my fight as Yoshimitsu against Nina in a noble mansion. While we smash expensive-looking furnishings to smithereens, absurdly classical music plays in the background.

The visuals, which are based on the Unreal 5 engine, do their part.

Heat mode and recoverable health

Elementary innovations in the combat system are the heat mode and recoverable health. Heat mode is in a second display in blue, which fills up more and more over time. When you activate heat mode, it increases the effect of certain moves for ten seconds and inflicts chip damage on your opponent.

You have the choice of whether to use Heat Burst or Heat Engager. Heat Burst means hitting the opponent immediately. If the blow lands, you can follow up with a combo that leaves your opponent helpless. Heat Engage, on the other hand, frees you up when you’re in a tight spot and have to act defensively. If you activate Heat Engage, your opponent is thrown to the other side and your character charges towards them. So if you’re fast enough, you can follow up with a counterattack thanks to Heat Engage.

Recoverable health is displayed in white. This is a part of your health bar that you can regain on your own if you lose it. Namely, when you successfully launch attacks. So attacking and offensive is rewarded – quite the opposite if you just block the whole time and wait for individual opportunities to hit your opponent.

Arcade Quest: even more help for newbies

Another new feature is the Arcade Quest. It tells the story of the Tekken World Tour and also integrates the arcade scene, where it all began. Learn all about the Tekken ranking system, combos and fighting mechanics that you might not know if you’re only playing the story. You also get goodies for your profile or avatar when you play through the story. A mixture between tutorial and game mode.

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it

Of course, I can’t really give an expert opinion. But if it only takes me two minutes to get back into the game after a 20-year break, that speaks volumes. Bandai Namco is focusing on the strengths of the game and leaving them as they were. Everything that worked well is being polished up, but not fundamentally changed. The game developer also incorporates many small allusions and references to previous games into the story. This also appeals to Tekken veterans. Many legendary characters are also included, some are making their comeback – and three are completely new:

• Azucena Milagros Ortiz Castillo: a Peruvian MMA fighter and barista
• Victor Chevalier: French war veteran and founder of the Raven Unit
• Reina: a seemingly harmless woman who has a mysterious connection to the Mishima clan and also fights in their style

There are also some completely new modes, which you can simply ignore if you don’t like them.

Conclusion: 20 years feels like two weeks

I was away from the Tekken series for a long time. In my opinion, everything has improved. You’re drawn much more intensively into the story surrounding the Iron Fist Tournament. There are exciting characters and more of them too. The fact that you can play through the back story of these characters considerably extends the fun in single-player mode and makes the game even more addictive. The other modes, such as Tekken Ball and the new Arcade Quest, are also fun.

Even if the fights against people, whether online or with friends in front of the TV, are still the most fun, all in all I can say: I’m back!