Tekken 7’s About to Get This Dosukoi and Tiger Knee Work
Bandai Namco has done a splendid job with their post-release support for Tekken 7. The launch edition was already content rich, which included a story mode and extra characters over the arcade version at the time. But they’ve released plenty more characters and stages in the two-and-a-half years since the game launched. The first season’s lineup was underwhelming (though still impressive) thanks to only including one very fanservicey returning character and two guest characters. But several more returning characters came with the second season. The good content is why the game’s tournaments have been hosting more players and stream watchers over time, contrary to other fighting games.
The trend of good content established with the second season has extended to the current third season. It started with the release of returning character Zafina and free balance and move set upgrades in September, and the remaining content was confirmed at the conclusion of this year’s Tekken World Tour in Bangkok, Thailand.
The fanbase was elated after seeing the reveal of Leroy Smith at Evo, for clear reasons. Older black men aren’t that common in fighting games, though they should be, and he sports a killer design. He was also the first new character to be introduced through DLC. The new trailer showing him in action has only made him more popular, detailing, through the power of hip hop, how he learned the ways of Wing Chun from Hong Kong and returned to New York City to show everyone what he’s made of. He has moves taken from the Ip Man films, and can use a cane and his dog, Sugar, for certain attacks. It’s tough not to like him, though some people (who aren’t worth listening to — sorry!) have found a way.
It was announced at the Tekken World Tour (and leaked by the Microsoft Store listing before that, a very leaky source these days) that Ganryu will be the next returning character. He’s a sumo wrestler who debuted in the very first Tekken installment, who has his fans despite not being one of the franchise’s most popular faces. He’s been a joke character ever since he fell in love with Michelle Chang in Tekken 2, and he’s now a big fan of her adopted daughter, Julia Chang. In addition to being a sumo wrestler, he’s a streamer now, absolutely not a coincidence given his “I love Julia” shirt. When she finds out, it’s clear that she’s not impressed. Given the kind of streamer Ganryu’s copying, he’ll be ecstatic that his “waifu” noticed him. It will be a missed opportunity if he can’t wear that shirt in a customized outfit.
This season is a bringing a second new character: A Muay Thai fighter named Fahkumram, who’s dropped in from the sky like a science experiment gone awry. He can talk like a normal human, however. He also sports a lot of tattoos for the trademark “edgy” look that Tekken has so embraced with its character designs and redesigns nowadays. His outfit and fighting style are reminiscent of Street Fighter’s Sagat, given his reliance on kicking and kneeing techniques with the Muay Thai style. He (sadly) doesn’t come with facsimiles of the Tiger Shot and Tiger Blow. In another middle finger to Bruce Irvin fans, he inherits some moves that Josie Rizal didn’t take, further burying him in the grave. Poor guy.
The strangest aspect about Fahkumram involves his proportions. When he first drops on the battlefield, he looks to tower over Craig Marduk. But as they start fighting, Marduk is slightly taller. It harms the level of intimidation Fahkumram is supposed to present, and looks plain weird. Unless they used a bizarre visual perspective, Bandai Namco should fix this by the time he’s released.
Coming with Fahkumram will be a Thailand-based stage, the full name for which should be announced shortly. It’s a temple where, like other stages, the ground can progressively crack underneath the fighters if they’re slammed into the ground enough times, and both will fall into a cave area if it breaks. There’s a chance the music in the trailer could be used for the stage, which would fit better in a rave area.
Leroy Smith and Ganryu will release on Tuesday (though some PlayStation Stores around the world jumped the gun and released them this morning), along with the frame data — which will cost a justifiable price. Fahkumram and the new stage will arrive in the spring next year.
There might be more content coming following this season. If Bandai Namco plans to continue significant support for the game (“significant” entailing outside of balance updates), they should announce something in the spring or summer — conveniently when E3 2020 and Evo 2020 occur. But it’s possible the team will want to focus their attention on creating the next mainline game if they end support. If they do conclude new content releases, at least they’ll go out on a high note.
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Geoff
News Editor | Geoff is some nerd who writes for a blog and thinks he's knowledgeable. He write a lot about video games, but is capable of writing about other subjects, too. Twitter
