Tekken 7
Tekken 7 | |
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![]() Cover art | |
Developer(s) | Bandai Namco Studios |
Publisher(s) | Bandai Namco Entertainment |
Director(s) |
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Producer(s) | Katsuhiro Harada |
Composer(s) |
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Series | Tekken |
Engine | Unreal Engine 4 |
Platform(s) | |
Release | ArcadeMicrosoft Windows, PlayStation 4, Xbox One
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Genre(s) | Fighting |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Tekken 7 (鉄拳7) is a fighting game developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. The game is the ninth installment in the Tekken series, and the first to make use of the Unreal Engine. Tekken 7 had a limited arcade release in Japan in March 2015. An updated arcade version, Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, was released in Japan in July 2016, and features an expanded content including new stages, costumes, items, and characters.[2] The same version was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One in June 2017.[3]
Gameplay
Tekken 7 focuses on 1-on-1 battles.[4] Two new mechanisms are introduced in the game. The first, Rage Art, allows the player to execute critical attacks that deal roughly 30% damage depending on the character once their health bar is critical, in exchange for inactivating the normal attack power increase. The second, Power Crush, lets the player continue their attacks even while being hit by the enemy, although they would still receive the damage dealt by the enemy's attacks. The mechanic also works only for absorbing high or mid attacks.[5] The bound system, which staggers a character to increase opportunity for additional hits, is replaced by Screw Attack, which makes the enemy spin sideways when they are hit airborne, allowing the player to inflict additional hits after they reach the ground. Unlike bound, however, Screw Attack cannot be used to do wall combos. With a new display system, the game's multiplayer allows players to choose which side of the screen to play on.[6] Movement has undergone some changes and now is similar to the movement mechanics found in Tekken Revolution, most notably when characters walk backwards.
The arcade version features the traditional stage-based playthrough, in which the player progresses by beating five different opponents one by one, ending with a fixed penultimate and final stage. Matches may be interrupted if another player joins the game. Online mode is available for both local and international play. Character customization is featured, allowing the player to modify characters' appearances.[7] For the first time in the arcade series, the game features a practice mode, which allows players to train moves against an opponent for a limited amount of time, as well as an option to collect in-game rewards, mainly customization items, through "Treasure Box" by winning enough matches.
Fated Retribution features several gameplay changes to the game. The new "Rage Drive" allows the player to empower certain attacks by sacrificing their Rage Mode. Rage Art is also adjusted so that the amount of damage dealt to the enemy is inversely proportional to the player's current health bar. The update also adds a character-specific feature, the EX/Super meter, which serves as a limiter for some special attacks. This meter is reserved for two characters: Eliza and the Street Fighter guest character Akuma.
Plot
The game's story is told through the perspective of a reporter who attempts to write an exposé about Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corporation following the deaths of his wife and son in crossfire during the world war precipitated by Jin Kazama. After the events of Tekken 6, Nina Williams leads the Zaibatsu to find Jin, who disappeared somewhere in the Middle East after defeating Azazel. Heihachi Mishima takes advantage of the vacuum of power to force Nina into submission, thus gaining the Zaibatsu again. Heihachi and Nina then make a deal with Claudio Serafino, head of the powerful Sirius Marksmen organization, to help him expose Kazuya Mishima, head of the G Corporation, as possessing the Devil Gene and turn the public opinion in favor of the Zaibatsu. Claudio senses a powerful force in the Far East that is unconnected to either Jin or Kazuya.
The reporter researches about the history of the Mishima family, learning that Heihachi's coup against his father, Jinpachi and the disappearance of his wife, Kazumi, happened in the same year he threw Kazuya off a ravine. Meanwhile, the United Nations intelligence group has managed to locate Jin, but Jin evades capture long enough for him to be rescued by Lars Alexandersson. Lars takes Jin to recuperate in the Violet Systems, where Lee Chaolan has fixed Alisa Bosconovitch following her destruction in the previous game. The Zaibatsu attacks the compound, but the trio are able to secure Jin. The reporter, having rendezvoused with Lee and Lars, tries to kill Jin in his sleep, but is discouraged by Lars, who says that Jin is the only person capable of stopping the conflict.
The force sensed by Claudio is eventually revealed to be Akuma. Akuma has made his presence to fulfill a promise he made to Kazumi: that he will kill Heihachi and Kazuya. He defeats Heihachi at the Mishima Dojo and proceeds to the G Corporation's Millenium Tower. Heihachi, having survived, declares himself dead to the public before capturing and exposing images of a transformed Kazuya to the public. Claudio then uses a satellite to shoot a beam that obliterates the Millenium Tower. However, Kazuya survives and shoots lasers to bring down the satellite, destroying a town and once again slandering the Zaibatsu. The reporter uses this opportunity to inform the Zaibatsu about the exposé he has written about them, but to his surprise, Heihachi offers to meet him in person. The latter recounts about Kazumi and the night he killed her in self-defense after learning that she possessed the Devil Gene and was in fact sent by her family to kill him.
Heihachi and Kazuya go to a volcano to have their final battle. After a long struggle, Kazuya kills Heihachi and throws him down into a volcano. The story finally shifts to the reporter, who completes his exposé and publishes it. In a post-credits scene, Jin wakes up and meets with Lee, Lars, and Alisa, promising to put an end to the war once and for all by defeating Kazuya.
A special match that follows the credits details Kazuya's encounter with Akuma after killing Heihachi. The outcome of their battle is not revealed.
Characters
The game has 38 playable fighters (including palette swaps), 20 of whom make up the default cast on launch; other characters are to be added over time. Eight make their debut in this version, along with a new form of Jack, and a guest character from Capcom's Street Fighter franchise.[8] Bandai Namco has also announced that two additional guest characters will be added as post-launch downloadable content.[9] The new fighters are as follows:
- Katarina Alves: A sassy Brazilian woman who practices the art of Savate. She was designed to be a beginner-friendly character.[10]
- Claudio Serafino: A white-clad man from Italy who's a member of an Anti-Devil organization combating the Devil Gene's threat. Empowered with a Sirius magic.[5]
- Lucky Chloe: An otaku who wears a kitten-themed costume and has a "Freestyle Dance" fighting style.
- Shaheen: A keffiyah-wearing Saudi Arabian man who handles a "Military Self-defense" fighting style. He was also designed to be a beginner-friendly character.[11]
- Josie Rizal a: A young Filipino woman who wears a yellow top, a blue miniskirt, and a red bow. She practices Eskrima and Kickboxing.[12] She was first discovered in a leaked arcade data[13] before being officially revealed during a Tekken 7 broadcast in Niconico on March 29, 2015.
- Gigas a: A hulking, red-skinned humanoid who appears to have cybernetics attached to his otherwise nude body. He practices "Destructive Impulse". Like Josie, he was first discovered in a leaked arcade data before his official reveal in a CAPCOM TV Chokaigi stream in Niconico.[14]
- Jack-7 a: A new model of the Jack series, he has a slightly modified design with red hair and green glowing arms. As with the previous Jack series, he uses brute force to pummel his opponents.
- Kazumi Mishima a / Devil Kazumi b: Heihachi's wife and Kazuya's mother, who possesses the Devil Gene. Kazumi's fighting style is Hachijo Style Karate, which is similar to the Mishima Style Fighting Karate as used by her husband and son, but with additional abilities such as summoning a tiger and levitating. She originally served as the game's unplayable final boss prior to becoming the seventh time release character added after launch. Kazumi also has a devil form, which remains unplayable outside of the final stage in which she is fought.[15]
- Akuma c d: The dark master of the Satsui no Hado from Capcom's Street Fighter, added in Fated Retribution. Within the story, Kazumi asks him to repay a debt to her by killing Heihachi and Kazuya. The player can fight him in place of Kazumi as the final boss if a certain condition is met.[16]
- Master Raven c: A female ninja with a fighting style very similar to Raven. She is in charge of the organization that the original Raven works for.[17]
Returning fighters
- Alisa Bosconovitch
- Asuka Kazama
- Bob c
- Bryan Fury
- Devil Jin a
- Eddy Gordo c
- Eliza c g
- Feng Wei
- Heihachi Mishima
- Hwoarang
- Jin Kazama a
- Kazuya Mishima / Devil Kazuya e
- King
- Kuma[18] c
- Lars Alexandersson
- Lee Chaolan c / Violet c f
- Leo
- Lili
- Ling Xiaoyu
- Marshall Law
- Miguel Caballero Rojo c
- Nina Williams c
- Panda[18] c
- Paul Phoenix
- Sergei Dragunov
- Steve Fox
- Yoshimitsu a
^a Post-release addition (original arcade version)
^b Unplayable character
^c Added in Fated Retribution
^d Guest character
^e In-battle transformation
^f Skin/palette swap
^g Pre-order bonus (console)
Continuing the trend from Tekken Tag Tournament 2, in addition to Chinese, English, Japanese and Korean, several characters now speak with their native languages, including the new characters mentioned above; thus Leo, Lili, Miguel, and Eddy now speak German, French, Spanish, and Portuguese respectively, for the first time in a canonical sequel, while newcomers Claudio, Katarina, and Shaheen speak with their native Italian, Portuguese, and Arabic, respectively. This still does not include certain characters with differing nationalities, such as Xiaoyu, Alisa and Lars, who continue to speak Japanese due to their character backgrounds, along with the newcomer Josie only speaks in English instead of her native Philippine language.
Development
In January 2014, Tekken series director and producer Katsuhiro Harada expressed interest in continuing the series on PlayStation 4,[19] and later said that PlayStation was the primary platform of development for the new installment.[20] Tekken 7 was officially announced by Harada on July 13, 2014 during EVO 2014.[21] The announcement was not initially planned, but was done as a last minute response to a leak of the game's announcement trailer that morning.[22] The game was developed using the Unreal Engine 4, which allows for it to be developed for multiple platforms.[23][24] While Tekken games historically have been PlayStation-based in arcades, Harada stated that Tekken 7 runs on an arcade board based on PC architecture.[25]
Location tests of the game were held in Tokyo and Osaka from October 3 to 5, 2014.[26] Trailers released in late 2014 showed the game running in 1080p and 60 frames per second.[27] On January 27, 2015, a live-televised tournament based off the same game build was held in the Nexon Arena in Seoul, South Korea known as "Tekken 7 Crash".[28] During the Japan Amusement Expo (JAEPO) 2015, a newer build of the game was showcased, offering Lucky Chloe and Shaheen as part of the character roster for the first time as well as the traditional stage-based gameplay progression.[29] A Bandai Namco-sponsored tournament, "The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2015, took place in November–December 2015 as well, with a prize of ¥10,000,000 (~$81,000) awarded to the finalists.[30] Two top placers from EVO 2015 were also reserved seats, as were select players from South Korea, North America, and other places.[30]
In July 2015, Bandai namco announced a crossover with The Idolmaster, another property owned by the company, involving Idolmaster costumers for the female characters of Tekken 7.[31] The male characters, meanwhile, were all given the option to fight barechested.[32]
The PlayStation 4 version was confirmed at Paris Games Week 2015 on October 27, 2015. Bandai Namco also announced that the PlayStation 4 version would feature exclusive content, as well as PlayStation VR support.[33] In addition to previous graphical upgrades in the arcade version, the console versions also received one.[34] Exclusive content on the PlayStation 4 version were released in the form of classic costumes for Jin, Xiaoyu and King, as well as a Tekken jukebox with classic tracks.[35]
Negative reactions to the character Lucky Chloe from several message boards has led to Harada tweeting that he may consider removing her from the North American version of the game, making her exclusive to the East Asian and European versions, and instead replace her with a new well-muscled skinhead for the North American market.[citation needed] It was later revealed that Harada did not intend for the tweets to be taken seriously.[36] Although reaction to the revelation of new character Shaheen was largely positive,[37][38] the reveal eventually led to Harada making a statement on his Twitter in response to those criticizing the inclusion of an Arab character in the game.[39]
While the announcement and reveal of the Filipina Josie Rizal character was also met with mostly positive feedback,[40][41] her revelation was also met with a mix of excitement[42] and derision among Filipino netizens.[43] Among the criticisms around the net were the lack of respect towards the martyred Philippine national hero José Rizal, who practiced wrestling and Eskrima from Calamba, Laguna, Jujutsu from Japan, fencing and marksmanship from Europe and weightlifting[44] as well as misrepresentation of Filipino Martial Arts.[45] According to Tekken chief producer Katsuhiro Harada, Mad Catz community manager Mark Julio,[46] and Josie's character designer Mari Shimazaki,[47] Josie Rizal practiced kickboxing and Eskrima, but the move set in her reveal video consisted of mostly generic and recycled moves from earlier existing characters in the Tekken series. Someone claiming to be an official of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts was not quite happy with the way the character of Josie was depicted and stated that they would try to look at steps to remedy how she might affect the image of José Rizal and the Philippines[48] by possibly submitting additional materials for the Tekken Team to use.[49] However NCCA legal counsel Trixie Cruz-Angeles clarified that the agency had yet to issue any position on the matter in a post she made on her personal Facebook page: "The NCCA has not asked for the deletion of Tekken character Josie Rizal. In fact, the NCCA has not taken cognizance of the issue nor issued an opinion."[50]
At E3 2016, Tekken 7 was announced to be released for the Xbox One and Windows platforms in 2017, in addition to the PlayStation 4 version.[51] An official trailer, revealed during same event, showcased some of new features that was included in Fated Retribution, such as graphical updates and stages, as well as a story mode, which adds cutscenes and dialogue during battles.[52]
Fated Retribution
An arcade update title in the same vein as Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Unlimited and Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion, titled Tekken 7: Fated Retribution was announced in a trailer released during the grand final of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2015 tournament, which was held on December 12, 2015, and was released in Japan on July 5, 2016. The location test was held on February 12–14, 2016 in three arcades of Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka.[53] Several gameplay mechanics were introduced in the game, including Rage Drive and an adjusted Rage Art. It features an expanded content, including new customization and stages. Returning characters who have not received newer default costumes are accorded one. Additionally, new characters are featured, including the series' second guest character: Akuma from the Street Fighter series, who has a dedicated EX meter designed to limit some of his special moves. The console and PC versions was based on this update.[2][54]
A collaboration with New Japan Pro-Wrestling was announced during the "an presents Dai Pro-Wres Matsuri 2017" event on January 2, 2017. An attire inspired by IWGP Heavyweight champion Kazuchika "Rainmaker" Okada was added as an outfit for King. A new Rage Art for King inspired by Rainmaker would accompany the outfit. Additionally, New Japan Pro-Wrestling-themed T-shirts were added for other characters. The collaboration event ran from January 23 to February 22, 2017.[55]
Reception
Aggregator | Score |
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Metacritic | 81/100 (PS4)[56] |
Publication | Score |
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Destructoid | 8/10[57] |
Game Informer | 8/10[58] |
GamesRadar+ | ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Metro | 8/10[60] |
The game was rated 36 out of 40 for both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions by Famitsu.[61]
References
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- ^ a b Parlock, Joe (December 12, 2015). "Tekken 7: Fated Retribution announced, the first new character is Street Fighter's Akuma". Destructoid. Retrieved December 12, 2015.
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- ^ "First Tekken 7 details revealed at Comic-Con". Polygon. July 25, 2014. Retrieved July 25, 2014.
- ^ a b "Tekken 7 Details Emerging from Location Tests; New Character Claudio, Power Crush Moves, and More". Ian Walker. October 3, 2014. Retrieved October 3, 2014.
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- ^ "Katsuhiro Harada on Twitter: "Katarina and Shaheen is good for beginners. Lucky Chloe is bit difficult. RT @_Nair_Al_Saif Shaheen is also for beginners like me right? :)"". Twitter.com. March 3, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
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- ^ "Tekken 7: Fated Retribution brings back Bob, adds Master Raven". Retrieved July 18, 2016.
- ^ a b "Kuma and Panda unveiled for Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, online tournament mode to be included in console release". www.eventhubs.com. Retrieved December 10, 2016.
- ^ Anderson, Kell (January 6, 2014). "The Producer of Tekken Wants to Continue the Series on PS4". Push Square. Retrieved October 22, 2014.
- ^ Harada, Katsuhiro. "Don't rush me. Tekken is not development by PC base. It's Develop by Playstation Native. also we don't have Tekken community on PC now". Twitter. Retrieved January 10, 2015.
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- ^ "Katsuhiro Harada on Twitter: "Our original arcade board, based on PC architecture. RT @ZeroXZ03 What hardware is the arcade version of T7 running on?"". Twitter.com. December 9, 2014. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
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- ^ "Tekken Crash Returns: First Tekken 7 3on3 Tournament Livestream Commencing Soon - Hardcore Gamer".
- ^ "『鉄拳7』 "ラッキークロエ"&"シャヒーン"のプレイリポートをお届け【JAEPO 2015】". Famitsu. February 13, 2015. Retrieved February 13, 2015.
- ^ a b "Tekken's First Actual "King of Iron Fist Tournament" Has A Cash Prize". July 6, 2015.
- ^ "Tekken 7 gets Idolmaster costumes, but not for the men".
- ^ "【TEKKEN-NET】夏のキャンペーン開催!!". Tekken Official. July 29, 2015. Retrieved July 29, 2015.
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- ^ "Harada on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
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- ^ "Katsuhiro Harada on Twitter: "Yep only 4~6%. I know. RT@darren_rigor07 im darren from philippines. I like Josie Rizal pls dont delete her. because of 1% negative comment."". Twitter.com. April 2, 2015. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
- ^ "Meet Josie Rizal, the new Filipino character in 'Tekken 7'". Rappler.com. March 30, 2015.
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- ^ Mark Julio (March 29, 2015). "Mark Julio's public post about Josie Rizal on Facebook".
- ^ Mark Julio. "Hoy! Psssst! In case you missed it, Josie Rizal is the newest challenger in TEKKEN 7! Designed by @MariShimazaki!". Twitter.
- ^ "NCCA official unhappy with Tekken character 'Josie Rizal'". GMA News Online. March 31, 2015.
- ^ Balita Pilipinas, GMA News TV, March 31, 2015
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- ^ "Tekken 7: FR's New Japan Pro-Wrestling Crossover Shown in Video". Anime News Network. Retrieved January 4, 2017.
- ^ http://www.metacritic.com/game/playstation-4/tekken-7
- ^ https://www.destructoid.com/review-tekken-7-fated-retribution-437060.phtml
- ^ http://www.gameinformer.com/games/tekken_7/b/playstation4/archive/2017/05/31/tekken-7-review.aspx
- ^ http://www.gamesradar.com/tekken-7-review/
- ^ http://metro.co.uk/2017/05/31/tekken-7-review-an-unreal-fighter-6673716/
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