Review for Tekken 7. Game for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 18/02/2015 The version for PC came out on 02/06/2017 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 02/06/2017 The version for Xbox One came out on 02/06/2017
When it comes to fighting games, there are familiar aspects that inevitably spring to mind just by mentioning Tekken. Juggles who laugh at the laws of physics in the face and give life to endless combos, a loyal roster of increasingly muscular (or increasingly sexy) fighters, bears and other unlikely animals are just some of the peculiarities that the popular series of Bandai Namco by now we are used to it, and which, however questionable, inevitably make us welcome each new chapter with open arms.
Despite such affection, it is undeniable that the previous chapter had shown clear signs of fatigue from the series. Apart from some collateral chapters, Bandai Namco has therefore taken several years of time before churning out the new "numbered" chapter, which arrives on consoles and PCs after two years of running in Japanese arcades. The result is a chapter that brings some good news but does not try to innovate too much and upset its basic formula.
A personal matter
The Mishima family feud has always been at the core of Tekken, and this chapter is no exception. Since the first announcements, Bandai Namco had announced that Tekken 7 would have marked the conclusion of the Mishima saga, and although the declaration proved to be exaggerated (but after all who had really believed it?) it is true that it constitutes a turning point in the eternal blood fight that has raged for years.
In case you missed the last episodes, in Tekken 6 Jin Kazama takes possession of the Mishima Zaibatsu, and with his military power declares war on the whole world; the only one to oppose the expansion is Kazuya, who in the meantime has risen to the top of the G Corporation. It will later be discovered that Jin's intent was precisely to cause a world conflict in which he and his father, both carriers of the Devil Gene, were involved. This in fact was the only way to evoke the advent of Azazel, the Egyptian demon responsible for the very existence of the Devil's Gene; only once incarnated could the demon be defeated, thus purifying the world of the cursed Gene handed down in the bloodline of Kazuya.
In Tekken 6, Jin finally manages to defeat Azazel, but his efforts are in vain, as the Devil's Gene still lingers in his and his father's blood.
Tekken 7 picks up the story from here. Jin is still in a coma after the fight with Azazel, the Mishima Zaibatsu without her leader is in disarray, and the world is still in the chaos of war. Heihachi then returns to the scene, regaining possession of Zaibatsu and continuing the conflict against the G Corporation for world dominance. Without revealing too much, in the arc of the plot another key character of the family diatribe will appear: Kazumi, Heihachi's wife and Kazuya's mother.
The centrality of the story is one of the keys that Bandai Namco has insisted on the most in the past months to promote Tekken 7, so expectations about it were not low. On one side the Story Mode is certainly full-bodied and full of spectacular interlude videos with a high action rate, with an effective transition between cinematic and actual gameplay; on the other the sense of anticipated "closure" is only apparent, as more issues remain outstanding than are resolved. We can say that compared to the not too high standards of the series, that of Tekken 7 is a better story than usual, but without rising too much from the typical style we are used to.
Unlike the Story Modes of the NetherRealm titles, in which for good or bad all the characters are involved in the arc of events (although sometimes a bit forced), Bandai Namco has preferred to focus the main story on the characters strictly orbiting around the Mishima, without watering down the narrative too much and maintaining a predominantly serious tone. Instead, only one personal chapter was dedicated to the other participants in the tournament in which we will have to fight against a single opponent to unlock their final movie. The second face of Tekken is dedicated to these mini-finals, the lighter and more easy-going one. Although these videos add practically nothing to the story and leave some time they find, it would have been a shame not to find that pinch of insanity that has always accompanied the series under the table.
"In the fight, only who remains standing counts"
For this seventh chapter it seems that Bandai Namco has thoroughly studied its competitors to grasp some elements to be assimilated and implemented in the typical supporting structure of Tekken. The result is a game formula that is positively embellished, but which maintains its own identity.
The most obvious changes concern the new Rage bar, which fills up by taking damage. Once filled completely (which happens when our health is running low) it is possible to activate one Rage Art, that is a special technique capable of inflicting considerable damage on the opponent. Then there are the Rage Drive that allow you to enhance certain attacks by consuming the Rage bar. Special techniques now include the Power Crush, able during the execution to collect a certain level of hits from the opponent and still hit the mark. These innovations add a not inconsiderable level of depth to the combat system, and give a touch of tactics to the clashes. Thanks to Rage Art, for example, a battle that is clearly going to the detriment of a player can be upset due to carelessness and the outcome can be reversed in a few seconds.
New mechanics aside, Bandai Namco's work in character balance is to be commended carried out in these two years of development hand in hand with the feedback of the Japanese players of the arcade version. The new fighters are interesting and very varied, from the muscular giant Gigas to the improbable Lucky Chloe, up to the guest star Akuma directly from Street Fighter, whose fighting style fits very poorly with the style of Tekken so incompatible with the zoning and air strikes.
The experience with Tekken Revolution also served to introduce a new "bounce" system for combos, which can now only be continued with certain maneuvers.
There are also some minor additions but still welcome, such as level changes in the combat arenas in case you push the opponent out of certain walls, a feature already seen in practice in the Dead or Alive series that has also made school in other series.
It appears that the development team has taken note of the Street Fighter V slip and has maintained a good amount of content for the single player. In addition to the aforementioned History, the classic mode is back Arcade and the climbing ranking now named after Battle Treasure, which consists of an infinite series of fights in which, depending on our conduct in combat, earn a quantity of money and items to customize the costumes of the characters and even elements such as the health bar etc; all with the classic system of "belts" that will make us level up after a certain number of victories.
Again we are not facing a revolution in the series, but it is more than enough to keep you busy for a long time, before dedicating yourself to matches against other human opponents, both locally and online. And in this regard, our online experience was generally positive, although not without some occasional lag; It should be noted, however, that during our test the servers certainly weren't very busy.
Unreal style
For its entry into the current console generation, Tekken 7 was first developed in Unreal Engine 4, and the benefits of this choice are clearly visible. Apart from some sporadic aliasing imperfections, the Epic Games graphics engine exhibits excellent graphics quality with good resolution, but above all a stable frame rate that very rarely dropped below 60 fps during our games.
The graphic style remains what the series has accustomed us to, even if some design choices for the new characters have not fully convinced us. Some are well characterized and compelling, while others are too anonymous or too bizarre.
As for the audio sector, we find a classic soundtrack ranging from techno to dubstep, with some occasional inclusion of choirs to emphasize the most evocative moments or places. Still a satisfying job with the dubbing of the characters, who each speak their own native language. If on the one hand this favors a characterization faithful to one's nationality, on the other we come across absurd situations in the Story Mode in which everyone speaks their own language while understanding that of the others: here, therefore, in the same scene we will be able to see Claudio speaking in Spanish to Heihachi, who will then speak to Nina in Japanese, who in turn will answer in English, and everyone seems to understand each other perfectly even if we were in a Star Wars bar.
After the big announcements for the plot, we would have expected something more decisive and courageous on the narrative front, but in the end we are faced with a story full of action and spectacularity in perfect Tekken style. The only real flaw of Tekken 7 is that perhaps it does not dare enough to present itself as a truly innovative chapter, and it is a shame because to be honest with this chapter Bandai Namco finally manages to bring several interesting innovations to the field, without upsetting the carrier game formula. The features related to the Rage bar add depth to the gameplay and make the outcomes of the clashes less obvious, forcing the player to keep concentration high. The game has been refined in several small aspects, under which the soul "truzza" still beats strong, full of spectacular action typical of the series that fans are inevitably fond of.
► Tekken 7 is a fighting game developed and published by Bandai Namco for PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, the video game was released on 18/02/2015 The version for PC came out on 02/06/2017 The version for PlayStation 4 came out on 02/06/2017 The version for Xbox One came out on 02/06/2017
