Tekken 8is now in development for PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC, and will be the latest entry in the nearly 30yr old series. Just in case that didn’t make fans feel old enough, the series achieved the Guinness World Record for the Longest Running Cohesive Storyline in a video game. That is, it’s followed the trials and tribulations of its lead characters more than any other video game franchise.
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The series itself has had its ups and downs, both of which have made their impact in one way or another. Some have shaken up the fighting game community. Others went beyond and reached wider society in general. So, with that out of the way, here are theTekkenseries’ most memorable moments.
10The Smirk
Technically,Tekken 1’s big moment was being the first PS1 game to get over 1 million sales and help kickstart the console as a contender. However, the original game got left in the dust once its sequels took off into the stratosphere. Its graphics and gameplay stood up better againstBattle Arena Toshindenthan its own follow-ups.
Still, it did lay the groundwork that the series would follow. Like the Mishima family being tools. Kazuya’s Arcade Mode ending shows him getting payback by dropping his unconscious father Heihachi off the same cliff he was chucked off years ago. All with no regrets, happy music, and a big smirk. The man has had similar endings over the year, but the original stands out for how odd and funny it’s gotten over the years.
9Tekken 2’s Intro
Tekken 2improved so much over the original that it wasn’t even funny.It had better graphics, smoother gameplay, multiple game modes, a large roster with everyone their own Arcade mode endings, and more. It also helps that it still has the best intro and music in the series.
The intro managed to showcase everyone in the game, including their storylines, in a dramatic way. Whether it’s Heihachi climbing back up the cliff he was chucked off of, or Yoshimitsu showing off his new spinning arm, it was a tour-de-force in 1996. Later games would attempt to replicate it, but they’d either go on too long (Tekken 5) or suffer from butt rock (alsoTekken 5).Tekken 2’s intro looks old, but its direction and music are evergreen.
8The New Generation
Street Fighter 3: New Generationgot rid of nearly all its classic characters, and almost killed the series.Garou: Mark of the Wolvesdid the same, and actually finished theFatal Furygames offfor 20+ years. ThenTekken 3did it and became the most iconic entry in the series. Why did it work for them? There are a few reasons: it was 3D, it kept more of the classic characters, and was on the PS1. Its new characters were really well-designed.
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Hwoarang had a more intricate take on Tae Kwon Do than his master Baek. Xiaoyu had an original move set with unique tactics that set her apart from her grandfather Wang. Eddy was notorious for his silky-smooth capoeira moves. While new protagonist Jin Kazama took Kazuya and Jun’s moves and made them his own. He became the heroTekkenneeded between his smirking dad and ruthless granddad. If only it lasted.
7Tagging To The PS2
Instead of going straight intoTekken 4, Namco got everyone from the prior three games together for a tag battle. The original arcade game was basically a spruced-up version ofTekken 3withTekken 2characters. It played fine, though it wasn’t much graphically. If only there was an upcoming console that needed some bangers for launch day.
Namco wasn’t a stranger to stepping up their console entries.Soulcaliburutilizedthe power of the Dreamcastto leave the arcade original in the dirt graphically. So,Tekken Tag Tournamentdid the same with the PS2, being its big highlight in a scanty launch lineup. While the background elements have aged, the main character models hold up quite well even today.
6He’s Back
Tekken 4is the black sheep of the series. It was a noticeable downgrade fromTekken 3as it has fewer characters and some rough character designs. It also introduced Just Frame moves, which were a double-edged sword. They were satisfying to pull off, and also really broken in the right set of hands. Especially for Jin players.
Though afterTekken Tag Tournament, there was a renewed interest in the classic cast, andTekken 4was the beginning of their reintroduction. The biggest of which was the return of Kazuya Mishima. He was presumed dead after being dropped into a volcano inTekken 2and missing inTekken 3. Yet his return was teased inTekken 3, andTekken 4delivered by giving him a new look, voice, and move set that’s persisted to today.
5Return To Form
Tekken 5bounced back fromTekken 4’s frosty reception by going back toTekken 3’s formula. It’s almost funny how far Namco went to undo its predecessor in character design, story, and more. But it worked!Tekken 5became the second best-selling entry in the series behind the classic third entry.
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Tekken 4’s walled stages, Just Frames, and the like were kept on. But it also played more likeTekken 3with its open, flat stages. Older characters like Baek and Bruce came back, and Devil Jin made his long-awaited videogame debut by using Jin’s old Mishima-style move set. New characters like Asuka and Feng Wei kept things fresh, and the new final boss Jinpachi kept players on their toes by being the series' first truly difficult contender.
4Multi-Format Madness
The problem withTekken 5is that Namco couldn’t leave well-enough alone. Even after they merged with Bandai.Tekken 5: Dark Resurrectionrebalanced things, added the series’ favorite Lili, and gave PSP owners something to play. While the next two entries keptTekken 5’s character designs right down to the win pose camera angles. People couldn’t be blamed for thinkingTekken 6was justTekken 5in HD with its looks and gameplay.
There were changes, though their effectiveness has been questionable, like making Jin as bad as his dad, the shaky online mode, or the bloated Scenario Campaign mode. Still, it played solidly enough for its 360 debut. Thanks to the PS3’s rough launch among other factors, the main series would no longer be exclusive to Sony. It would also turn up on Microsoft machines fromTekken 6onwards, andeven the Wii U.
3Everyone Is Here
To finish off the PS3/360 generation, Bandai-Namco brought the Tag formula back inTekken Tag Tournament 2. It was expanded with more characters, additional tag techniques, and more. Yet it sold the worst out of the series. Maybe fans were burnt out on theTekkenformula or were turned off by the high execution yet broken tag techniques. More likely, it got scorched by the bad pressStreet Fighter X Tekkenreceived.
It’s a shame, as it has the best presentation out of all the games. It brought back nearly everyone from the past games (even Dr. Boskonovitch!) and retooled them to fit in with the newbies. Certain teams had their own tag techniques and win poses, and their endings used a wide variety of animation styles. If all games had presentation on par withTTT2, it would be a better world.
2“Die 1,000 Deaths!”
Guest characters have become more common in fighting games over the years.Tekken 3arguably started it by having themanga dinosaur Gonon its roster. But then the series left all that to their rivals…untilTekken 7. It perhaps had the weirdest ones with Noctis fromFinal Fantasy 15and Negan fromThe Walking Dead. But its first guest character made the biggest impact.
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Most guest characters hung out on the periphery of the game’s lore. ButStreet Fighter’s Akuma is stuck deep in the Mishima family drama. Kazumi, the mother of the Mishima family, tasked him with killing her husband Heihachi, and her son Kazuya. His gameplay also clashed enough with theTekkenformula to make him tricky but top-tier.
1Heihachi Mishima Is..?
Despite going through multiple protagonists over the years,Tekken’s most iconic character has to be its original big boss: Heihachi Mishima. His horned hairstyle and ruthless nature have made him a constant figure in the series, be it as a boss (Tekken 1, Tekken 4), sub-boss (Tekken 3,bothTekken Tags), or a regular character.
Namco teased killing him off inTekken 5, only to renege on that soon afterward. If he could survive being tossed off a cliff, he could survive getting blown up, right? But as ofTekken 7’s fiery conclusion, the original King of Iron Fist maybe gone for good. His departure was cited by the devs as a ‘turning point’ for the series. The only question left is which direction willTekken 8go in without him? Only time will tell.
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