With Season 2 kicking off and the beginning of the Tekken World Tour proper across the nook, 2025 seems prefer it’s going to be one other wonderful 12 months for followers of Bandai Namco’s legendary Tekken collection. As one of many earliest combating video games on the unique PlayStation, Tekken has a singular hyperlink to the consoles, with the collection evolving its gameplay and narrative alongside the platforms. Let’s have a look again on the saga of the Mishima household and all of the havoc they’ve brought on all through the years for PlayStation gamers.
Bloodline beginnings
The unique Tekken was one of many first combating video games to debut on the unique PlayStation, launching in early 1995 in Japan and in fall elsewhere. In addition to introducing the diabolical Mishima household and establishing lots of the collection’ base mechanics, such because the four-attack-button management scheme, Tekken additionally set a brand new excessive watermark for future residence ports. Up till this level, gamers have been used to residence ports of arcade video games compromising for weaker {hardware} with downgraded visuals and sound and lacking content material. Nevertheless, since Tekken’s arcade launch was on superior {hardware} similar to the PlayStation, the port was arcade excellent. However Namco went the additional mile and added content material not within the unique: Ending motion pictures, playable sub-boss characters, even a hidden unlockable character who would play a really massive function in future video games–that you simply’d must grasp Galaga as the sport loaded to find.
Tekken 2, which got here to arcades in late 1995 shocked gamers by shifting the main focus to the deposed patriarch and former villain of the unique Tekken, Heihachi Mishima, whereas additionally bringing in contemporary faces Jun and Lei. It additionally launched a wealth of extra characters that unlocked over time, encouraging gamers to return again and check out newly-debuted characters. In 1996, Namco introduced the sport to PlayStation with a port that was a marked enchancment. Tekken 2’s PlayStation-exclusive CG intro film and endings have been gorgeous and established the collection’ fame for high-quality cutscenes. It additionally added new gameplay modes: Crew Battle, Time Assault, Survival Mode, and a Observe Mode.
For a lot of followers, Tekken 3 was their introduction to the collection. It was each massively widespread in arcades and a best-selling smash hit worldwide when it debuted on PlayStation in 1998. Shifting the story forward 20 years, the mantle of main man switched to Jin Kazama, the son of Kazuya and Jun, and plenty of returning characters have been both older (although not all the time wiser) or changed by a successor. New characters have been launched that might shortly grow to be fan favorites going forwards, together with Hwoarang, Bryan, Eddy, and Xiaoyu. To higher make the most of the 3D arenas, Tekken 3 added sidestep dodges for all characters to make use of. The PlayStation model added two gameplay modes: The sidescrolling beat-em-up fashion Tekken Drive, and beloved occasion favourite Tekken Ball, in addition to extra characters: Anna Williams, Dr. Bosconovich, and Tekken’s first-ever visitor character, the tiny dinosaur Gon.
Vengeance, powered by Emotion Engines
When it got here time to debut the PlayStation 2, it felt pure {that a} Tekken title would launch alongside it. Tekken Tag Match got here to the console in 2000 with massively improved visuals over its arcade counterpart, showcasing the visible constancy that gamers may come to count on from the PS2. TTT modified up fight the system: relatively than enjoying one character, you’d type a group of two fighters and have the ability to swap between them in battle. The roster was additionally considerably expanded to include a bunch of characters from throughout the collection, together with pre-story-timeskip characters. Lastly, we received one other wild mini-game within the type of Tekken Bowl.
Tekken 4 would emerge a bit over a 12 months after TTT’s PS2 debut, reintroducing Kazuya to the story and altering gameplay up fairly a bit. Beforehand, all levels in Tekken had been “infinite” levels with no set boundaries. Tekken 4 switched issues up by introducing levels with uneven floor, partitions, and different obstacles–which might bestow additional injury and combo alternatives when opponents have been slammed in opposition to them. Motion was additionally adjusted, altering some widespread motion methods seen in T3 and TTT. Tekken 4 additionally emphasised the story to a better diploma than earlier video games: console additions have been a full-fledged Story Mode in addition to a drastically expanded Tekken Drive sub-game.
It will take just a few extra years earlier than Tekken 5 would step into the ring. Selecting up straight the place Tekken 4 left off, with Heihachi Mishima seemingly lifeless and Jin’s satan aspect extra outstanding, Tekken 5 would grow to be a fan favourite. Namco dialed again a number of the motion and stage design adjustments of Tekken 4 in response to participant suggestions. Asuka, Feng, and Raven joined the roster, together with the power to customise characters with beauty objects earned and purchased in-game. The unique Tekken 5 would see a PS2 port, the place the boss Jinpachi was made playable and Jin Kazama’s wrestle took middle stage within the action-based, story-driven Satan Inside mode–together with playable ports of the arcade Tekken 1, 2, and three. This wouldn’t be the final we’d see of Tekken 5, nonetheless.
Devils rising from a CELL
A 2006 arcade revision of Tekken 5, Darkish Resurrection, would introduce gamers to combatants Lili and Dragunov, change up some visuals, and additional fine-tune the gameplay. The primary port of Darkish Resurrection would truly come to the PSP in mid-2006, bringing with it the brand new Tekken Dojo mode, which let gamers share AI-controlled “ghosts” of their gameplay on-line for others to obtain and battle in opposition to. Whereas the sport was properly obtained on PSP, gamers nonetheless needed a console model, so some months later T5DR was made a downloadable recreation on the PlayStation Community. An replace would comply with in mid-2007 permitting for on-line matches to be performed. To this present day, T5DR is without doubt one of the most beloved Tekken titles amongst followers.
Later that 12 months, Tekken 6 would emerge in arcades, introducing new faces Bob, Zafina, Leo, and Miguel. Issues have been now getting wildly out of hand among the many Mishimas, with Jin and Kazuya each accountable for large companies waging all-out-war in opposition to one another and Heihachi unaccounted for. Bloodline Insurrection, a late 2008 replace, would additional complicate the household wrestle by introducing Heihachi’s forgotten son Lars and weapon-wielding mecha-maiden Alisa to fight. Gameplay additions embrace the Rage mechanic–the place gamers deal extra injury when at low life–in addition to the combo-extending Certain system and interactive background parts like breakable partitions and flooring.
The PS3 model, based mostly closely on Bloodline Insurrection, launched in 2009 and featured the most important story mode but within the type of Situation Marketing campaign. It adopted the duo of Lars and Alisa as they lead a band of rebels in opposition to the Tekken Drive and the Mishima Zaibatsu. Tekken 6 additionally launched on the PSP, and whereas it lacked the Situation Marketing campaign, it did provide a number of the finest visuals on the platform and ad-hoc multiplayer.
It will be just a few years earlier than Tekken’s return, and within the meantime, Bandai-Namco launched Tekken Hybrid in 2011. This set supplied an HD remaster of Tekken Tag Match with an unique CG movie, Tekken: Blood Vengeance, and a demo of the then-new arcade title Tekken Tag Match 2. True to its title, TTT2 introduced again the tag-match gameplay and expanded the selectable roster. The PS3 port, which launched in late 2012, added a number of legacy characters, a brand new stage and music monitor from famed musician Snoop Dogg, CG ending cinematics for the entire solid, and a few extra solid members and character variants.
One other attention-grabbing spin-off emerged after TTT2: Tekken Revolution, a free-to-play model of Tekken centered on on-line matches. By enjoying, gamers may earn in-game forex to unlock additional characters, in addition to use earned Talent Factors to reinforce character attributes. Tekken Revolution obtained frequent updates so as to add characters and gameplay options all through its life, finally ending service in 2017.
The wrestle continues
Tekken 7 took its time coming to the PlayStation 4, lastly reaching gamers in 2017, two years after its arcade launch. Throughout that point, arcade Tekken 7 obtained updates–together with Fated Retribution, which famously introduced Road Fighter’s Akuma into the roster. He wasn’t alone, nonetheless–Fortunate Chloe, Josie, Katarina, Claudio, and Shaheen all joined the fray as properly, alongside a number of new levels and system adjustments. Making an allowance for a number of the suggestions from Tekken Revolution, T6’s bounds have been adjusted and diminished, being supplanted by new screw combo starters. The Rage system was additional developed as properly, creating new Rage Drive and Rage Artwork abilities that might be used at low well being–however solely as soon as per spherical, and at the price of Rage’s injury increase.
Upon reaching the PS4, Tekken 7 obtained a console-exclusive, prolonged story mode–however, maybe extra importantly, it was given a full slate of DLC updates for years afterwards, tweaking character abilities and including loads of new levels, music, and characters over time. In addition to re-introducing previous favorites overlooked of the unique roster, the Tekken 7 DLC additionally introduced in new characters Leroy and Lidia–and, most memorably, a number of extra shock visitor characters: Geese Howard from Deadly Fury, Noctis from Ultimate Fantasy XV, and Neegan from The Strolling Useless.
As Tekken 8 marked its first anniversary on PS5 this previous January, followers can look ahead to loads of additional surprises. Season 2 of DLC guarantees that much more new, beloved, and surprising characters might be becoming a member of the roster, and the latest free story replace leaves off on a cliffhanger that guarantees but extra high-stakes inter-family drama between the Mishimas sooner or later.
