Next week, after 9 years, a new installment of the legendary Tekken series is finally being released. For MeinMMO author Nikolas Hernes, it is the most anticipated game of the year because it reminds him of his childhood.
Tekken 8 will be released next week on January 26, 2024, and is the latest installment of the fighting game series after 9 years. Along with Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, the game is one of the biggest representatives of the fighting game genre and aims to offer an incredible amount of content.
In addition to a story mode and a classic arcade mode, there are more single-player modes, as well as some features designed to prepare beginners for online modes. However, for me personally, that’s even secondary, because I’ve loved the Tekken series since Tekken 3, especially because it always reminds me of how I used to fight virtually with my family for hours.
Tekken is not just a family affair for me in the game
At its core, Tekken revolves around a family feud of the Mishima family. This conflict has been ongoing for decades and usually ends with one being thrown into a volcano. The other quirky characters have their own little stories in their arcade endings.
I love the characters of the Tekken series. Especially because everyone takes themselves so incredibly seriously. A bear is trained by Heihachi and loved more than his own sons? Wrestlers wear tiger masks and talk by roaring, and everyone understands that? These are things that happen in Tekken and are simply taken seriously in this world.
This seriousness with such silly premises has taught me to love many of the characters. At the same time, I associate many iconic characters with my family, because I grew up playing Tekken.
When I was younger, we often went on holiday to my grandma’s in Poland. Alongside us was the PlayStation 2 and Tekken 5. We played the game with my grandma for hours, gradually unlocking new characters. Everyone had their favorites. As a fan of Kung-Fu movies, Feng Wei was my father’s favorite. My sister loved to mash buttons with Eddy, and my mother enjoyed fighting with Marshall Law or Nina.
And my grandma was also there. She usually didn’t play video games besides Facebook farm games, but she was all in with Tekken. There were nights when I had already fallen asleep and heard button mashing from the living room at night. The next morning, suddenly all characters were unlocked.
Tekken is a great game for beginners
Don’t get me wrong, Tekken is an incredibly difficult and complex game at the highest level. You have nearly endless possibilities to express yourself with the characters. However, unlike Street Fighter, which requires moves like quarter circles with the stick, you can mash the buttons in Tekken, and it still looks spectacular on screen.
If you don’t take the game with friends and family seriously for a casual evening, even total gaming noobs can have moments of success when they pull off a good-looking combo on the screen. Many people hate Eddy, but a character like him is perfect for players who just want to play for an evening with friends.
Tekken 8 seems even more effective. It looks more cinematic in the fights and the characters are more flamboyant and, in my opinion, cooler designed than before. Additionally, several single-player modes have been announced, along with new training opportunities.
I am really excited to play the game next week. I want to improve and play online, but I’m also looking forward to the single-player content. However, my biggest anticipation is playing with my friends who may not be hard-core gamers to show them why Tekken is one of the best game series of all time.
Apart from the old familiar faces in Tekken, I am also looking forward to the new characters that are resonating with the community: “She is brutal and I love her” – Players are excited about the new evil fighter in Tekken 8
