Tekken – Finding Beauty in Consistency and Balance
Tekken 2 built upon its success and gave the series a significant boost. It proved to be a perfect solution as both Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat lost their place in the collective interest due to the releases of Street Fighter III and Mortal Kombat 4 in 1997. Then, in 1998, Tekken 3 was released on the PlayStation console and became such an important production that it ranked fifth among the best-selling games on that console. More people chose to play as Jin Kazama than Lara Croft or Crash Bandicoot.
Amidst the rising popularity of 3D games, Tekken reigned supreme. Not only did it master this concept better than traditional 2D games in the genre, but it also overshadowed the Virtua Fighter series. Fighting games started to decline in the 2000s, but Tekken continued to hold its ground with consistent releases. Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat regained their status as household names with Street Fighter IV in 2008 and Mortal Kombat X in 2015, but Tekken never lost its position. Although the success of the latest installment of Tekken falls short compared to Mortal Kombat, Tekken 7 swept its rival, the recent Street Fighter games, in terms of sales.
Consistency in Gameplay
In previous articles, I have analyzed the hierarchy of all Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter games up until that time. There was a lot to cover, considering how scattered their titles were. As the years passed, each installment of these series took a different direction in terms of visual style, gameplay, and overall quality. Tekken, on the other hand, continued to evolve.
Ignoring “Death by Degrees,” Tekken games seem like a homogeneous product. The first game was rough around the edges, but there was something promising about its engine. Then, Tekken 2 improved upon it, and Tekken 3 even more so. Each subsequent installment added more ideas that built upon what came before. Even with such significant advancements in Tekken 7, there are players who haven’t played Tekken since Tekken 3 and don’t have any issues getting reacquainted with it.
Tekken offers a satisfying formula that is easy to pick up but difficult to master completely. Controlling the characters feels gratifying. Executing a long combo that involves smashing the opponent into a wall is satisfying. Pummeling the opponent after winning a round is satisfying. The variety of attacks, evasions, backsteps, and elaborate move sets provide countless possibilities in combat. Even watching fights is incredibly gratifying. When it comes to esports, Tekken tournaments are always the most exciting events in the fighting game community.
What truly sets Tekken apart from the competition is the balance between realistic martial arts combat in a fantastical world. Typically, fighting games have anime-like physics, where fireballs are dime a dozen, and everyone on the street can jump 15 feet in the air to avoid them. It took a few games to find its proper identity, but Tekken characters aren’t as cartoonishly acrobatic. While it may not be “realism” in the literal sense, these fights have something that resonates well in cinematic fight scenes without breaking the suspension of disbelief. Of course, some characters have extravagant attacks like lasers, fire breath, and crazy robots, but they are unique and fit within the MMA-inspired setting.
FAQ
The source of the article is from the blog enp.gr