It took me a long time to put my thoughts together for this TEKKEN 8 review. TEKKEN is one of my most beloved franchises. I've been enjoying the game since the very first TEKKEN in the arcades of Masagana Mall in the 90's, renting out PlayStations to play TEKKEN 2, and playing TEKKEN 3 with my little sister for hours at home. I pumped almost 2,000 hours into TEKKEN 7 on both console and PC. That said, maintaining objectivity was obviously going to be a challenge. I did my darnest, though.
SINGLE PLAYER OFFERINGS
TEKKEN 8 has sold 2 million copies worldwide. Considering that fighting games are considered a "niche" market that most triple-A developers have given up on, that is quite an achievement. An extremely large portion of that is made up of the casual audience, and TEKKEN 8 does a lot to make sure that casual audience is happy and has enough content to keep playing for a long time.
The single player fights aren’t difficult at all even at the highest CPU difficulty rating. If you’re new to fighting games, these single player modes can be a cakewalk at easy, and if you’re a seasoned TEKKEN player, everything will be a breeze even at ultra hard.
Story: The Dark Awakens
TEKKEN 8's story mode is as good as fighting game story modes get. In the realm of fighting games, Mortal Kombat's sprawling epic narrative has always been the benchmark, but TEKKEN 8 is no slouch in that department either. This game's story mode is probably the best of the entire series.
You know a fighting game story is good when despite having to go through fighting game story mode tropes like suddenly wanting to fight your allies to “know them through their fists,” the overall plot still keeps you wanting to know what happens next. Without spoiling too much, I’ll try to point out some of the more interesting plot points of the story.
Primarily, this is Jin’s redemption arc. If you’re familiar with TEKKEN 6’s story, Jin commits atrocities against mankind, starting a war, all in a misguided attempt to draw out Azazel by filling the world with negative energy.
In TEKKEN 8, the main story revolves around how Jin redeems himself and accepts who he is. To do that, Jin attempts to stop Kazuya, whose real plans are gradually revealed throughout the story. Jin thinks that the end-all be-all of his redemption lies in the destruction of Kazuya and the Mishima Zaibatsu, which he eventually learns isn’t going to be enough.
Helping him on this journey is literally the entire cast. In no other TEKKEN game has more of the bit players been involved so heavily in the main story of the game. This makes me happy as a King main, because he’s usually NEVER in the story. Of course, some characters do more than others.
You have Lars, the anti-Kazuya, the lawful good to Kaz’s chaotic evil. He’s kinda like Captain America in this game. Then there’s Lee, the adopted brother to Kazuya and Lars. Victor, the newcomer to the TEKKEN franchise, heads up the UN force that aims to thwart Kazuya’s plans – he’s essentially French Nick Fury. Claudio and Zafina represent the other faction of good who have a more mystical approach to the whole thing. Xiaoyu is there as Jin’s emotional support/ bodyguard. To know how Jun is being brought back, I won’t spoil it, just play the game. IYKYK.
On Kazuya’s side, there’s Nina, who will always work for the highest bidder. She’s an assassin for hire, after all. You also have all the other chaotic forces such as Dragunov and Bryan. Oh, and Law. Wait, what? Law?! Heh, play the story to find out why.
Then you have the enigma, Reina, who is yes, confirmed to be Heihachi’s daughter. However, there’s still so much mystery surrounding her that hasn’t been addressed in TEKKEN 8’s story. I’m happy for her inclusion. She’s a rushdown-type character who shares a lot of moves with her dad, Heihachi, and Lidia, a stance-based Polski Karate practitioner from TEKKEN 7.
The Dark Awakens plays across 15 chapters, mainly focusing on controlling Jin, so it’s probably best to learn a few bread and butter combos with Jin, Devil Jin, and Jun to make the mode more rewarding.
While it suffers from the aforementioned fighting game story tropes, the mode also does things to make the gameplay feel fresh from story beat to story beat, such as the TEKKEN Force mode that is found exclusively in the story.
It takes approximately 4 – 6 hours, depending on how hard a time some surprise bosses give you. However, there are some secrets here and there. If you look up the achievements, it’ll tell you that the game has two endings. Who knows, there might be more that just haven’t been discovered yet. There’s also a way to fight a souped up version of Leroy Smith who auto-parries everything you throw at him. There might be more secrets in there that we just don’t know about, so there is some replayability there.
Character Episodes
This wouldn’t be TEKKEN if it didn’t have character episodes. Each character, whether part of the main story or not, has their own motivations and reasons to be in the tourney. This mode explores those motivations and gives you beautifully rendered cut scenes that explores the outcome if a particular character would actually win the King of Iron Fist Tournament.
Some of them are more inspired than others, but it’s still interesting how each character’s story plays out. The unlocked cutscenes give a lot of flavor to each member of the roster and it’s something nice to collect. I like seeing how Law’s drive to be rich and Reina’s hunger for power would manifest themselves should they win it all.
If you like character lore, I highly recommend checking these episodes out.
Oh, and as a bonus, the tournament is announced by Lenne Hardt, the voice from the TEKKEN character trailers.
Arcade Quest
If there’s one disappointing thing about TEKKEN 8, it’s gotta be Arcade Quest. Not that it’s bad or anything, but I was hoping it was a little more drawn out, a little more epic, a little closer to Street Fighter 6’s World Tour mode.
All it really boils down to is a tutorial wrapped in a series of missions you embark on as a TEKKEN player to on their way to win the TEKKEN World Tour, but it feels so… small, so rushed. I guess there are legal implications about having pro players in there to interact with, but there could easily be allusions to specific players and moments in TEKKEN competitive history to make the mode worth playing for even more seasons TEKKEN players. Maybe there could be a fight against an amazing player in King player named Small Majoon or an amazing Korean player named Elbow or a Pakistani player named Arslan Mash, I dunno. I just feel like Arcade Quest could’ve been a bit more than what we got. There is so much potential here for new and veteran players alike, but it is literally something you can complete in an afternoon.
However, for what it sets out to accomplish, it does an admirable job. If you are a new TEKKEN player, and this was your introduction to the franchise, I don’t think you could ask for a better one to be honest. It teaches you fighting game basics, as well as the more important mechanics specific to TEKKEN 8, all while hiding Treasure Battle in there within the Super Ghost Battles.
Super Ghost Battle
Super Ghost Battle is a mode where you can play against AI-powered CPU opponents who learn based off the playstyle of actual players. It is quite possible to download the pro player Ghosts and play against them to get a taste of what it’s like to go up against them. This had a lot of promise, but unfortunately, unless someone takes the time to actually train their Ghost, the Ghost doesn’t really perform like a human. Thankfully, the tech is still young and there’s still a lot more they can do with it.
In the meantime, though, it doubles as a sort of Treasure Battle of sorts from TEKKEN 7. You know those costumes that say “Unlock with Defeat the specified Ghost in a Super Ghost Battle?” Yep, those are the ones. You have to go to Super Ghost Battle and play against preloaded CPU Ghosts to unlock some skins. Don’t worry, they’re pushovers.
Defeating Harada_TEKKEN’s Feng will give you a trophy/achievement, too.
Arcade Battle
This is a series of 8 matches with increasing difficulty that ends with a bout with Devil Kazuya. Once you complete the mode, it gives you a game over screen. Not much to write home about but I’m glad it’s there.
SELF EXPRESSION
A lot of fighting game players will tell you that fighting games are a lot about self expression – more than in any genre. No two players of the same character will have exactly the same play style.
Characters
There is a total of 32 characters at launch, with 4 more planned as Season 1 DLC. The first DLC character revealed is Eddy Gordo.
You have returning fan-favorites like Paul Phoenix, King, Marshall Law, Lee Chaolan, Lars, Asuka, Leroy Smith, Nina, and of course the main characters Jin Kazama, Jun Kazama, and Kazuya Mishima. No, Heihachi is nowhere to be found.
As for newcomers, there are three – Reina Mishima, Victor Chevalier, and Azucena Milagros Ortiz. Both Reina and Victor play pivotal roles in the main story, while Azucena plays more of a bit role, focusing on promoting her coffee brand.
32 characters is a lot. You have so many varied characters to pick from and to fight against. You can easily find someone who you think represents your preferred playstyle or someone you just think is cool. But that’s a double edged sword, as well, because you’re going to have to learn 32+ match-ups, countless situations and interactions, if you plan to get proficient in TEKKEN 8.
Character Customization
No doubt by now you’ve seen some of the crazy customs people have made. 2B, Velma and Fred from Scooby Doo, Satoru Gojo from JJK, the Power Rangers, Terry Bogard, John Wick, A-Train form The Boys, Scorpion from MK, Leon Kennedy, and the list just gets longer everyday.
For those who don’t want to make TEKKEN versions of their favorite characters, you can totally do that, too. I personally just like making my characters look like different versions of themselves – I still want them to retain their personality.
On top of the already generous possibilities for customs in TEKKEN 8 at launch, we’re also getting a shop, which will sell us classic costumes and avatar skins.
Avatar Customization
If you’re doing the Arcade Quest, and you should if you’re a new player or a trophy hunter, you’ll be creating an Avatar. This is going to be your representation in the TEKKEN Fight Lounge (more about that later!).
This character creator is nowhere near as extensive as Street Fighter VI’s. It does give you a few options to really stand out, like helmets and accessories such as fight sticks and things like that but it is quite limited. Currenty, it isn’t that deep and I don't see people clamoring for more avatar cosmetics, but we’ll be getting more character skins in the shop soon.
GAMEPLAY
The combat in TEKKEN 8, is as always, easy to learn but very, very difficult to master. Newcomers will find most of the moves easy to execute. The skill floor is low. You can do some gnarly moves with just two buttons and a direction. My favorite King launcher is just a d,1+2 move. You can do quite a lot with just basic execution.
However, if you dig deeper, you will find more and more things to do. From moves that require a bit of practice to do perfectly like blue spark instant while running attacks such as Dragunov’s ridiculously powerful Russian Hook Special to Electric Wind Godfists to combos that require frame-perfect execution. All skills levels can jump in and have a blast.
This is made even more apparent with the inclusion of Special Style.
Special Style
Special Style is not actually new. There’s a version of it in TEKKEN 7, and yes, you can also toggle it on and off in that game, as well, but in TEKKEN 8, instead of assisting with single moves, it assists with whole-ass combos, power crushes, heat engagers, and lows/throws. It’s a whole game plan.
And in the right situation, it's so good! I had cousins over who have never played a single game of TEKKEN before. When we fired up the game up to play, I turned on Special Style for them and they had a blast! They were doing combos and moves they wouldn't have any idea to do without the help of Special Style.
But it’s not just for beginners. It was designed to be used in regular online play as well – that’s why it can be toggled on and off. With it on, you lose access to the majority of your moveset, including the all-important jab and your entire arsenal of pokes. However, it has its advantages. You can play most of your match normally, only to toggle it on to get access to some insane things such as a 1-button EWGF. Imagine having access to hitting a single button and getting +5 on block every single time. Thankfully, your opponent knows you’ve toggled Special Style on because it’s displayed on the screen. So far, in all my online games, no one purposely uses Special Style but I am betting it won’t be long before it gets incorporated into regular online games.
Changes from Tekken 7 to Tekken 8
If you’re familiar with TEKKEN 7, then TEKKEN 8 will come as second nature to you. There are a few updates and changes that you must familiarize yourself with.
Chip damage – some key moves and moves powered by Heat (more on that later) do recoverable chip damage. Chip can’t kill you in this game.
Recovering health – The main theme of the game is aggression. When you push your offense, you recover your gray recoverable health. 50% of most combo damage is recoverable, which is pretty good because that means even if you eat a massive combo at the start of a round, you have the chance to bring it back by being more aggressive. Also something to remember – throws don’t give any recoverable damage, which makes throw-heavy characters particularly strong because they deny comeback potential.
Throws – In this game, throws are pretty strong. With Victor, they’re broken with a 14f break window, while everyone shares a 20f window for most generic throws. Blue spark throws give a shorter 17-18f break window. Throws track either direction so you can’t step Giant Swing or Shining Wizard attempts anymore, you have to be ready to break them. Crouching throws are unbreakable, and a few characters have hit set-ups to force opponents into an untechable crouch throw.
And then, there’s the Heat system.
Heat System
This is the signature mechanic of TEKKEN 8. Heat is resource that each combatant gets at the start of every round.
Activating it gives some moves altered properties, like making things launch on regular hit, giving armor to moves, or lowering skill requirements for difficult moves. Characters with EWGF can access it in Heat without being frame perfect.
To activate it, you can either use a Heat Burst, which pauses the action, and steals your turn back, or hitting a Heat Engager, which gives always puts your opponent in a crazy 50/50. Heat Burst attacks can be cancelled.
The Heat Smash, a powerful attack that can only be used once per round, can only be accessed during Heat. Some characters have stronger Heat Smashes than others – a large majority of Heat Smashes leaves the attacker at advantage, while there are a few that start low but are punishable on block.
Learning and Improving
One of the most impressive things about TEKKEN 8 is the replay system. WIth the replay system, you can go back to a previously played match and take control of your character for 10 seconds to see what you could have done differently. This is an amazing tool for new and old players alike. It lets you make incremental improvements to your game by learning specific situations in different matchups. It's a fantastic tool I highly recommend everyone look at frequently.
ONLINE MULTIPLAYER EXPERIENCE
Online play is fantastic but is still somewhat lacking compared to other modern fighting games. It’s nowhere near as good as Street Fighter VI’s or Granblue Fantasy Versus: Rising’s, but it’s definitely better than the previous game. Games against Wi-Fi players do feel a little more inconsistent than with wired players, but when it works, it works really well.
TEKKEN Fight Lounge
For all intents and purposes, the Arcade Lounge simply acts as a menu. From there, you can play casual or ranked matches, but with a few extras like Group Battle and access to the volleyball mini-game TEKKEN Ball.
Ranked Matches
Both ranked and casual are both set to a best of 3 formats. Old TEKKEN heads are split on this. Some like it because it lets you play a lot of different matches in a short amount of time and gives you less chance to get really toxic. Others enjoy the infinite rematch format more because it lets you learn matchups for longer time. Personally, I am a big fan of the new FT2.
The ranking system has also evolved to be more forgiving towards newcomers. You cannot lose ranked points until you reach Warrior rank. However, once you achieve that, the gloves come off and you are thrown into the harsh world of the TEKKEN ranked community.
FINAL THOUGHTS
In its presentation, TEKKEN has never looked or sounded this good. The character models all look fantastic, the gameplay is superb, the single player is fun as heck, and customization is pretty deep and is only really limited by your imagination.
That said, it isn’t perfect. Online matches still sometimes feel a little off. With it being the vanilla version, there are some weird interactions like some buggy hitboxes. Sometimes moves will hit opponents behind you, which is insane, or Rage Arts just pass through your opponent completely. Over time, these things might get ironed out but for now, TEKKEN 8 is still a blast to play.
TEKKEN 8 is 9.5 out of 10.