Fighting games are in a bit of a renaissance right now. We have A new (somewhat controversial) Marvel vs Capcom coming, a new Injustice game, A DBZ fighter from Arc System Works is coming and Nintendo is bringing multiple fighters to the Switch. One of the titles that stand out the most though is Bandai Namco’s Tekken 7.
Tekken 7 is a mechanically beautiful and visually stunning game, and a well-designed fighter great for a variety of players. I have been a Tekken fan for years and was extremely excited for the game, as I couldn’t wait to play my favorite characters again in new ways. What I found in this experience was fun but at times frustrating, though not to the extent of a certain other fighting game that may or may not now is in continuity with the Tekken series. 
As I stated, Tekken 7 is gorgeous visually. The art style was a perfect choice and I didn’t have any framerate issues, so playing it just felt awesome. Visuals are not the most important thing in a fighting game, true, but I can appreciate good visual design in them. The game also made great use of the soundtrack, especially on PS4. Accessing the classic music was a real treat and made the game feel like a great throwback to the old days. The new music composed for the game is excellent as well, and all of it fits the characters.
Speaking of the characters, the new additions are a mix of hit and miss with me. I loved characters like Katarina and Claudio as they felt fun to use, while a character like Josie and Master Raven were okay but I did have some issues with. With Master Raven it is more due to the teleporting nature of the character, which is just not something I like, and I admit it is a personal thing, although the character could be fun. With Josie, the character just didn’t click with me, but I can see why she is popular ( plus her fighting style is great).
There are certain characters that I just did not like, however, like Eliza and surprisingly enough Akuma. The reason for this is that, while Akuma is cool to have in Tekken, the more I played him, the more he felt so out of place and awkward. it just broke up the flow of gameplay to me and that obviously is not what was supposed to happen. Eliza also felt like a character that should be in a different game and not Tekken. She feels more like a Street Fighter character than a Tekken character and again breaks the immersion of the gameplay for me.
Speaking of gameplay, the fighting is the best its ever been for the most part and the story mode is excellent, although the changes to arcade mode are not for the better in my opinion. I get what they did, but I like traditional arcade modes with proper endings. I am glad there is still an arcade mode but the way endings were done, is something that will make some people upset. In terms of online, I had many issues for a long time and couldn’t even connect at first. When this was finally resolved, however, I had a blast playing online and the connection ran well.There are other single player modes that offer variety as well, and that is something I can appreciate a great deal. There is enough here for players who want to play casually and not be concerned with online.
Tekken 7 overall, is one of the better fighters. It lacks some features but makes up for it with what it has. With good music and visuals, fun online and offline content, and mostly good characters, I feel that Tekken 7 is a real standout game this year. If you like fighting games at all, then you owe it to yourself to check out Tekken 7!
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