Fighting Games Friday: Tekken 7 Charging for Frame Data Is Fine

Detailed strategies are eventually made available to help players learn how to play and potentially master the intricacies of fighting games, and frame data is among the most useful information. The data determines how long recovery animations for the techniques of each character are, and whether they can safely use specific attacks without being punished. Attacks with shorter recovery frames in fighting games are useful pressure tools if they can’t be easily punished, but those with longer recovery frames are unsafe attacks that are risky though rewarding. Frame data varies depending on the attacks, and can teach players which strategies are useful at certain points.

This kind of info is important to have, and is immensely useful as an in-game feature, though it’s rarely provided by the developers themselves in this method. So, it’s good that this came to Tekken 7 as a downloadable feature, making it easily accessible to the player base. But several of those fans are also upset that it’s a paid downloadable feature. This was given to anyone who purchased the third Season Pass, but it costs $4 separately. There are all sorts of takes about this on social media.

There’s nothing wrong with Bandai Namco charging for frame data. In fact, it would have been a surprise if it was free at all.

Frame data is incredibly intricate info usually reserved for the biggest fighting game nerds. Calculating all the data for normal and special techniques in fighting games is hard and tedious work for a dedicated individual or team. But this is especially the case for a 3D fighter like Tekken 7, which contains nearly 50 characters (with more on the way) with a plethora of moves and combos — and almost literally goes double for characters with multiple stances. The team that slaved over this game and provided the data should be paid for the hard work, and $4 isn’t too much to spend for the privilege of having it accessible in the game.

Consider this: The best frame data for fighting games isn’t typically available for free, and it never was for older titles. This kind of info was included in strategy guides, which cost between $10 to $30 depending on how robust they were. In fact, they’re still included in strategy guides for games lucky enough to receive them. Compared to that, $4 is a bargain for having the data right in the game’s Training Mode.

There are fans who can provide this data for free, or translate it from Japanese guides. But in that case, it’s worth acknowledging how dedicated those players are, willing to spend copious amounts of time to provide — or, geez, calculate — the info for the fanbase, similar to those who provide fan translations (or fansubs and scanlations for anime and manga, respectively). It is nonetheless work so time consuming that those who do it professionally should still be monetarily compensated for the effort.

It’s tough to blame anyone for being skeptical of fighting game DLC, given how many companies love to charge for even the smallest content, like new outfits. But Tekken 7’s frame data isn’t even close to one of the worst extra expenses in recent memory. The biggest fighting game nerds would love it if this became a regular feature for fighting games, but don’t be surprised if other publishers charge extra for it too — especially for 3D fighters.

Meanwhile, one of the newest characters released for Power Rangers: Battle for the Grid is the Quantum Ranger from Power Rangers: Time Force, with actor Daniel Southworth reprising the role. Southworth is also well known to the gaming audience for providing the voice acting and motion capture animations for Vergil in the Devil May Cry games, and there was no way the team wouldn’t include references to the character here. The lines “I need more Quantum power” and “Foolishness, Lord Zedd” are direct nods, and the Ranger himself can use the Stinger from the DMC games. This is what good fanservice looks like.

Toshiro Hitsugaya from the Bleach series is coming to Jump Force soon, indicated through a new trailer. He should arrive closely alongside Grimmjow Jaegerjaquez from the same series, and Trafalagar Law and Madara Uchiha from One Piece and Naruto, respectively, sometime before the end of the year. This is the first day of November, so they should only be weeks away.

It’s nice that fighting games have the ability to receive downloadable content at all these days, especially when it’s reasonably priced. But the fact that frame data is being included as part of that content shows how good of a time we live in for the genre, even if it doesn’t always seem that way. Not to say everything is rosy. We’re currently in a time when games can receive updates, and we aren’t forced to purchase updated versions; but it was nice having all that content on a physical disc instead of tenuous digital files, which makes preservation uncertain. It’s a brave new age of pros and cons, and endless debates about them.