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Tekken is an odd 3D fighting game. That's saying a lot considering its a completely canon to have an Terminator looking robot fight a bear. But Tekken has always had this drive that many fighters don't have to be bigger than before. Tekken 7 seems to have followed that tradition especially its arcade update, Fated Retribution. Yet I'm starting to get a little worried that its drive to be bigger might have gotten a bit too big in its newest update.

 

Tekken 7 was already a much different Tekken than the ones before it. Smaller cast but a lot of big game play changes. The three biggest was the decrease on the ground bounce combo extention mechanic, known as bound, the inclusion of armored moves (Power Crush), and rage arts (super attacks). However at the tail end of last year in December, we were shown the next update to arcade version and oh boy it threw everyone for a lieu. The newest update, Fated Retribution, added of all things, Akuma from Street Fighter, who is also canon in the story.

 

That is still a weird thing to say. Also to answer your second question, no, this isn't Tekken X Street Fighter. The Fighting Game equivalent of Duke Nukem Forever is still claimed to be in development, while Akuma's appearance in Fated Retribution is completely different matter. Beyond just Akuma, Fated Retribution brought a whole host of changes to Tekken 7 as well. Updated graphics, new costumes for the returning cast, the return of Nina Williams, and even new game play changes that allow players to enhance their moves at the cost of rage. Think of it like EX moves in Street Fighter. Speaking of Street Fighter, Akuma himself will come complete with his own two bar EX meter which will allow him to do EX attacks, Supers, and even Focus Attack Dash Cancels (FADC) like in Street Fighter IV. Its that amazing attention to details that make Fated Retribution so complex...and worrying as well.

 

Fated Retribution's new mechanics and complex characters seems to push Tekken into new places its never been before. It also seems to go largely against much of rationale with the changes to the core game that were made in the original Tekken 7. Much of the changes made in Tekken 7 were after some felt previous games, especially Tekken Tag Tournament 2, were too complex. I would say a game like Tekken Tag 2 was “complex” but I will say that there were a lot of mechanics to juggle and most weren't explained very well in the game. So a lot of the core mechanics of Tekken were changed around this idea. You can see much of these changes in affect in Tekken Revolution, the Free to Play, PS3 only Tekken game based around a modified Tag 2. Much of these changes were implemented in Tekken 7. The changes in Revolution were met with divided skepticism, some enjoyed the things like reduced bound while other didn't like the armored moves. Still these changes were made to attract new players who might have been turned off in Tag 2. Fated Retribution's changes on the other hand seems more geared for hardcore players who stepped away from 7. However, I'm worried that the changes are already making a heavily changed Tekken well heavier. It reminds me a lot of the changes that were done through out the Street Fighter IV series, made to facilitate new players, but ending up breeding a slew of new problems. Tekken is always known for being a head-strong but simple to pick up series. That “simple mindedness” has been a bit of a mixed blessing but its a series staple. With Fated Retribution, a lot of that simplicity is going away. This might be the best thing for the series or be a terrible change. It wouldn't be a Tekken game if it didn't up the ante and the risks.