Tekken 7 is the perfect game for when you want to legally throw people against the ground and steal their lunch money. So it feels like the perfect time to take a look back at the Tekken games over the years. What makes Tekken so special as a fighting game franchise? How did the popular Japanese arcade game make that leap to console? What makes it standout among a plethra of fighting games? From the arcade cabinet to the PlayStation success follows in Tekken‘s wake.
It is hard to argue with the numbers. The Tekken series is the single most successful fighting game franchise worldwide. Over 44 million units shipped and sold. This is far ahead the likes of Street Fighter and Super Smash Bros and their iterations. Tekken 3 alone has 8.5 million sales under its belt. That makes it the 3rd on the list of all-time fighting games just behind Super Smash Bros. That’s Tekken 3! Just saying.
The Nostalgia: Tekken Games Over the Years
Tekken 7 pretty much writes this article by itself, its jukebox mode allows you to listen to the soundtracks of every single Tekken game. You can also view their opening sequences and character cut scenes from the roster of that particular game. For the uninitiated it is a great look into the history of what got the series to where it is now, for the initiated it is a great look into the games played growing up. It is just a great look in general, great looking like 90% of the Tekken roster, see below, not naming any names but the characters who didn’t make the good looking list know who they are:
Credit: http://tekken.wikia.com
With the jukebox mode the game is purposefully trying to kick you in the nostalgias and it feels so good. Looking back and to the present Tekken has always has a charm and humour that has always resonated more than the overarching Mishima saga taking centre stage throughout the series. From Yoshimitsu’s constantly changing appearance and quest to look more like a Xenomorph with each game, Marshall Law uppercutting a dude because he said his meal was too spicy, Xiayou’s best friend being a Panda named Panda and much more, Tekken can always put a smile on the face of anyone who has followed the series.
Credit: gameskinny
That is not to take away from how serious the game is and character storylines and backstories. The Mishima saga is an ongoing tale of betrayal and the quest for power among family members, there are rivalries, character deaths, personal aims and goals. Namco Bandai has done a great job through the years of making the characters feel familiar not only through their move sets but with their interactions with the other fighters as well.
Let’s Dance
Speaking of move sets, Tekken is not the fighting game which has required the utmost dedication in order to master and get the most out of the game as opposed to a Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. Having said that, the controls can go incredibly deep if you want them do, but what makes the series so good is that ‘pick up and play’ approach where anyone can pick up the controller and give a good fight even if they have never played before. Case and point, I got beaten in my girlfriends first attempt of EVER playing the game. I beat her the next 3 times so it’s cool but still.
Growing up, myself and my Dad would play hours of team battle for each entry in the series and it would be an absolute blast, as anyone on any given day can win on Tekken and that is one of the fundamental reasons why the series has left such a lasting legacy. People can also button mash with Eddie Gordo but we’ve all done it. Sometimes you just need to be a bit sweaty.
Tekken: A Cornerstone of the Fighting Game Scene
Throughout the PlayStation era there has always been a divide among gamers who grew up with a certain game or games in particular. The majority of which have been hugely important and influential games in the fighting game genre but totally different in approach.
Personally, I never owned a Street Fighter game but going to a friend’s house I would always have a great time fighting for my life as Ryu even though to me, it wasn’t as ‘fun’ as what I had experienced with Tekken back at home. Mortal Kombat scratches a completely different itch with its more violent and gory themes taking nothing away from how difficult it is to actually be of use in the game, still excellent though as are the Injustice iterations. Soul Calibur, Dead or Alive, all have different audiences and offer something different.
This says 2 things, the fighting game genre has produced some amazing video game series, so successful that there hasn’t been a new IP in the fighting game genre achieve anything near the level they are currently on. It also says that everyone wants a fight, just doing it in a game leaves you with fully intact organs and a full set of teeth.
