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 superb yr for followers of Bandai Namco’s legendary Tekken sequence. As one of many earliest preventing video games on the unique PlayStation, Tekken has a novel hyperlink to the consoles, with the sequence 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 preventing video games to debut on the unique PlayStation, launching in early 1995 in Japan and in fall elsewhere. Moreover introducing the diabolical Mishima household and establishing most of the sequence’ base mechanics, such because the four-attack-button management scheme, Tekken additionally set a brand new excessive watermark for future house ports. Up till this level, gamers have been used to house ports of arcade video games compromising for weaker {hardware} with downgraded visuals and sound and lacking content material. Nonetheless, since Tekken’s arcade launch was on superior {hardware} similar to the PlayStation, the port was arcade good. However Namco went the additional mile and added content material not within the authentic: Ending motion pictures, playable sub-boss characters, even a hidden unlockable character who would play a really huge function in future video games–that you just’d have to 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 sequence’ repute for high-quality cutscenes. It additionally added new gameplay modes: Group Battle, Time Assault, Survival Mode, and a Observe Mode.
For a lot of followers, Tekken 3 was their introduction to the sequence. It was each massively in style 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 rapidly change into fan favorites going forwards, together with Hwoarang, Bryan, Eddy, and Xiaoyu. To higher benefit from 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 type 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 might come to anticipate from the PS2. TTT modified up fight the method: slightly than enjoying one character, you’d kind a staff of two fighters and be capable of swap between them in battle. The roster was additionally considerably expanded to include a number of characters from throughout the sequence, together with pre-story-timeskip characters. Lastly, we bought one other wild mini-game within the type of Tekken Bowl.
Tekken 4 would emerge just a little over a yr after TTT’s PS2 debut, reintroducing Kazuya to the story and altering gameplay up fairly a bit. Beforehand, all phases in Tekken had been “infinite” phases with no set boundaries. Tekken 4 switched issues up by introducing phases with uneven floor, partitions, and different obstacles–which might bestow further injury and combo alternatives when opponents have been slammed towards them. Motion was additionally adjusted, altering some in style motion methods seen in T3 and TTT. Tekken 4 additionally emphasised the story to a higher diploma than earlier video games: console additions have been a full-fledged Story Mode in addition to a enormously expanded Tekken Drive sub-game.
It will take a couple of extra years earlier than Tekken 5 would step into the ring. Choosing up straight the place Tekken 4 left off, with Heihachi Mishima seemingly useless and Jin’s satan aspect extra outstanding, Tekken 5 would change into 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 gadgets 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 battle 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 really 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 towards. Whereas the sport was effectively obtained on PSP, gamers nonetheless needed a console model, so some months later T5DR was made a downloadable sport 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 yr, 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 answerable for large companies waging all-out-war towards one another and Heihachi unaccounted for. Bloodline Insurrection, a late 2008 replace, would additional complicate the household battle 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 Sure system and interactive background components like breakable partitions and flooring.
The PS3 model, based mostly closely on Bloodline Insurrection, launched in 2009 and featured the largest story mode but within the type of State of affairs Marketing campaign. It adopted the duo of Lars and Alisa as they lead a band of rebels towards the Tekken Drive and the Mishima Zaibatsu. Tekken 6 additionally launched on the PSP, and whereas it lacked the State of affairs Marketing campaign, it did supply a number of the finest visuals on the platform and ad-hoc multiplayer.
It will be a couple of 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 authentic 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 fascinating spin-off emerged after TTT2: Tekken Revolution, a free-to-play model of Tekken centered on on-line matches. By enjoying, gamers might earn in-game forex to unlock additional characters, in addition to use earned Talent Factors to boost character attributes. Tekken Revolution obtained frequent updates so as to add characters and gameplay options all through its life, ultimately ending service in 2017.
The battle 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 effectively, alongside a number of new phases and system adjustments. Making an allowance for a number of the suggestions from Tekken Revolution, T6’s bounds have been adjusted and lowered, being supplanted by new screw combo starters. The Rage system was additional developed as effectively, creating new Rage Drive and Rage Artwork expertise that may very well 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 expertise and including loads of new phases, music, and characters over time. Moreover re-introducing previous favorites disregarded 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 Remaining Fantasy XV, and Neegan from The Strolling Useless.
As Tekken 8 marked its first anniversary on PS5 this previous January, followers can stay up for loads of additional surprises. Season 2 of DLC guarantees that much more new, beloved, and surprising characters can 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.
