This is the story of the Mishimas
The story is a continuation of that of Tekken 7. Kazuya Mishima, after killing his father Heihachi, continues in his desire to dominate the world and the only hope of humanity is in the hands of Jin Kazama, Kazuya's son. However, everything does not necessarily go ideally, because Kazuya is much stronger than he seems and Jin is clearly no match. It is only through a long journey and the meeting of numerous allies that Jin can hope to compete with his father.
The story of Tekken 8 is certainly one of the most important compared to the various episodes already released. We are here on 15 chapters featuring fights between different protagonists (mainly Jin Kazama) and antagonists. It should be noted that the game seeks to innovate in its mechanics to avoid offering only classic confrontations. Not necessarily in the best way, because we see a lack of work on certain chapters wanting to offer a third-person view. In the same vein, certain fights, particularly towards the end of the story, are far too long.
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One of the points that disappointed me the most in this story mode was the voice acting of the characters. In addition to having the characters speak in their mother tongue (thus linking Korean then French then English in the same scene), we often end up with uninspired scenes where the protagonists respond to each other a little mechanically. and without really any life in the dubbing. It should also be noted that some dubbing was only done from drawings rather than directly within the scenes.
On the other hand, I liked that the story really focused on the Mishima transgenerational conflict with a desire to develop in the manner of a nekketsu. In terms of lifespan, there are three difficulty modes in the game (easy, normal and hard) and it will only take you a few hours to reach the end of the story. A little advice, don't hesitate to go into training mode beforehand to try out Jin and his different movements. In fact, in 80% of fights, it is him that you will play.
In addition to the story mode, there are also bits of story for each character which are nice without really going into depth about what we already know about each one. Generally, you go through 5-6 fights and then you are treated to a short video featuring the character. For example, for Asuka, her sworn enemy, Lili, prevents her from creating her own dojo and, therefore, she fights in order to be able to do so. Nothing incredible either, but it's still nice in terms of content.
New characters
The cast of Tekken 8 was revealed little by little (and it's not finished yet, because we're still waiting for the trailer by Devil Jin) and we discovered new faces compared to the seventh opus.
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Azucena Milagros Ortiz Castillo, it's strong coffee: As cheerful as possible, Azucena is passionate about coffee and it's her job. He is always a very positive character, but with unclear goals and usually only concerns coffee. Of Peruvian nationality, the character was inspired by a trip by Katsuhiro Harada (father of Tekken). At level From her fighting style, she is considered an MMA fighter with a specialty in dodging and powerful strikes.
Victor Chevalier, Vincent Cassel in a fighting game: As strong as Jean Reno in Omnimusha, Victor Chevalier is French elegance, but above all he is director of the independent UN forces in the Navy. Armed with knives, blades and handguns, Victor excels like John Wick in close combat. However, he is capable of quickly approaching his opponent, but, with his sword “Takemikazuchi”, he is also capable of having a significant range.
Reina, mysterious but not only: Reina is a character that presents more questions with answers. It is particularly around her fighting style that we wonder, because she is capable of performing Mishima style movements which are reminiscent of those of Heihachi Mishima.
Although it's not really a new character, Tekken 8 sees the return of Jun Kazama who we haven't seen since Tekken 3. Jin's mother, she was assassinated by Ogre in Tekken 3.
Miscellaneous and varied additions
As part of the various and varied additions, we of course find the great return of Tekken Ball, a mini-game that arrived in the license with Tekken 3. The objective here is to send a ball towards your opponent's field or towards him in order to inflict damage. With each riposte, the ball returns to the enemy, storing more damage. The first one to have their life points at zero loses the round. A mode that is quite classic in its mechanisms, but which allows you to diversify the activities carried out in the game.
There arcade quest is a new game mode in which you join a universe similar to that of the online mode. This mode allows you to carry out different tutorials allowing you, for both beginners and experienced players, to discover the basics of the game. After this discovery, you will have the opportunity to face different opponents in the country's arcades. Your goal is to win the regional tournament. The idea here is to offer a mode that allows you to familiarize yourself with the game and its mechanics while offering some unlockable customization bonuses and a semblance of story.
Besides this, we find several modes already present in Tekken 7 such as training mode, character customization (and here in 8 of theavatar arcade/online modes). There is also a gallery mode which allows you to resume the story from the first Tekken of the name. Concretely, it appears that the different menus are still just as pleasant and even customizable via a “favorite” menu which allows you to put your best game modes there.
Some characters you knew are still present and they even brought their moves. On the other hand, many movements have changed status and others are completely new. For example, certain moves were considered launchers (which allow you to start combos/juggles), they are no longer so and have been replaced by other moves. Therefore, even if you know your Tekken 7 character well, don't hesitate to spend some time in training mode to discover the new movements and changes.
Tekken 8 brings two new mechanics: the Recoverable Gauge and the Heat System. Concretely, the first is a possibility for the character to recover part of the damage suffered by blocking certain powerful blows or by suffering aerial combos. The second mechanic is a new bar called “Heat Timer“. You can activate this bar once per round for 10 seconds. Heat mode allows you to use the Heat Smash which is a powerful attack and automatically ends Heat mode. There is also the Heat Dash, which allows you, after certain hits, to rush towards your opponent to follow up with a combo. In addition to this, the heat mode means that in case of guarding, your opponent suffers damage (transformed into a recoverable gauge). A system which brings to both aggressiveness, but also a way to get back into the fight if you take a combo that's a little too powerful. This system still requires some adjustments, but it is rather well thought out and above all quite easy to set up.
Moreover, speaking of the training mode, this has clearly been improved since Tekken 7. It now allows you, in addition to learning the moves, to also understand when to use them.
Online mode
I played a few hours in online mode during the available slots and it was definitely enjoyable. I was a little afraid of the lobby in Mii character mode, but ultimately, it's not really annoying and the customization allows you to make your Mii quite nice in the end. The lobby has several options both in terms of customizing the avatar as well as training or fighting against other players.
Connection level, everything went well, the servers held up even if they were not really put to the test. I think there were a maximum of ten people connected (influencers, journalists, YouTubers, etc.). At this level, there is little chance of being disappointed, Tekken 7's online mode was pretty solid in itself.
The ranks have been changed and there are now fewer than in the previous installment, so we are going from 46 ranks to 30 ranks.
On the combat side, the round sequences are MUCH faster than before and this gives the impression of constantly fighting. There is also no longer an infinite stage as was the case with Infinite Azure on Tekken 7. Here, there are many levels with transitions between the ground and the sides of the arenas if you send your opponent flying.
In conclusion
I was really skeptical about the arrival of Tekken 8. After spending more than 250 hours on 7, I was skeptical about the new mechanics and also the desire to make the combat even more aggressive. After testing the game for 15-20 hours and mainly online, I must say that the work done is still quite incredible.
First of all, here we certainly have the first Tekken game to offer a sustained story even if imperfect, but that's not all, it is also the most accessible Tekken game in my opinion. Whether via arcade mode or training mode, it is now much easier to embark on the Tekken adventure and easily understand the different aspects and mechanics of the license. I also found that certain characters (notably Victor) had a very intuitive movement logic in training mode. You are presented with a few moves and you quickly begin sequences in an intuitive and logical manner.
Whether musically or graphically, the game is quite incredible. For the first point, you just need to hear the music from the original trailer to realize the quality of the title. If some music is more striking than others, we remain here with a quality sample. On the other hand, graphically, we are also seeing a real improvement whether in terms of characters, costumes or even settings.
In my opinion, the only point that can make players hesitate at the moment is the roster. Indeed, quite a few characters have currently disappeared from the roster and if it was your main character, it smells a bit bad. We'll have to hope that he returns as part of a DLC, but imagining buying a character that you had already purchased in Tekken 7 (like Lydia or Fahkumram), it's not crazy either.
Finally, Tekken 8 shows itself here on a facet that is clearly improved, revised and better thought out than 7. I didn't particularly have the impression of having just the continuation of my lost hours on Tekken 7, but rather a new product finished and fine-tuned to the bone to offer a varied and accessible experience. I never thought I'd say one day that Tekken would be accessible…If you're a Tekken 7 player, you've probably already pre-ordered the game and you've done well! For others who are still hesitant, if you really want to get started and you are still hesitant to embark on the Tekken adventure, this is clearly the ideal opus to get started!
This test was carried out by Glaystal using a key provided by the publisher