TEKKEN BEGINS | How Tekken changed the game in 1994

In this look back at the first Tekken game we consider the origins of the Tekken story, the blossoming relationship between Namco and Sony, and what started a 30 year journey to becoming a powerhouse of the fighting game genre. We look at how this first game distinguished itself from its contemporaries, by having a vengeful anti-hero Kazuya Mishima in the leading role; and the roster of bizarre, but ultimately grounded fighters from Paul Phoenix, Nina Williams and Michelle Chang, to sub-bosses like Wang Jinrei and Lee Chaolan. We also consider how movements within the gaming industry, such as Namco obtaining Virtua Fighter designers including the seminal director Seiichi Ishii, allowed Tekken to make the most of innovative 3D game design.
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[@nixonszombie]

I always enjoyed your Tekken projects.

[@AlleywayJack]

Thanks, hoping there'll be plenty to discuss around Tekken 8

[@knifemind]

I'm in my 40s so I've played Tekken games on and off since the original. The control scheme was a big hook for me, and to date I've never been able to get into other franchises.

[@AlleywayJack]

The first fighting game I played was Street Fighter II, and I was rubbish at combos/special moves etc and still am with the newer games. I also found Tekken much more intuitive right out of the gate and in a lot of ways the fundamentals of basic combos from Tekken 1/Tekken 2 are still there which is great if you've dipped out of the series for awhile and gone back to it.

[@riry0ku]

It was a demo disc of Tekken 3 that introduced me to the Tekken series and the intuitive control system definitely contributed into it being a smoother experience. The only other fighting game I've been able to get into was Soul Calibur which also had a simple control scheme. I played Tekken so much when I was young. I loved unlocking the characters, earning their FMVs when you completed Arcade with them, getting snippets of the stories and the characters personalities and some of the side modes were super fun as well like Tekken Bowl, Tekken Force and Tekken Ball.
But I'm a solo player. I'm not interested in multiplayer so the newer games haven't had much to offer. Tekken 8 looks like its going to give some solo content so I'm keeping an eye on it. I'll wait for some initial reviews to come in to see if it's worth me picking up. I'd love to play out the finale to the story.

[@AlleywayJack]

I am fond of Soul Calibur too, which I got into because they did the crossover with Yoshimitsu. I'm also primarily a solo player (and I pre-ordered Tekken 8 exclusively for the story) so I'm hoping they deliver it well. I think Tekken 7 made a good go of solo content with its story-mode, and the demo of Tekken 8 seemed to lean in that direction too, so we'll see!

[@realamericannegro977]

I wonder how Seiichi feels about where the series is now.

[@TheBlackOtaku]

I wonder if Tekken 9 happens I wonder we will get a 3rd generation of characters? Like Jin has a child and he will be the new main protagonist.

[@AlleywayJack]

That would be cool I'd love to see another next-gen switch. Also interesting to see what significance, if any, Reina has on the core story and whether she has the potential to carry the series forward.

[@loughlin14]

Tekken turns 30 this year, alright!

[@goranisacson2502]

Tekken wasn't my first 3D-rodeo (I think that was Battle Arena Toshinden which is... a very different story), but it was definitely up there AND looked better than Virtua Fighter on release, even if that's an easy throne to take. But even if it was less flashy than Toshinden, it definitely had a cooler mood and HAD story and character in the first place, unlike Virtua Fighter... so even if they weren't as technically good as VF yet, they definitely upped the presentation-game. And yeah, from what I can remember they were forerunners on unlockables in 3D fames. Virtua Fighter had none that I can remember, and Mortal Kombat beat Street Fighter to it in 2D. And in terms of supernatural shenanigans, even as modest as it is here, Tekken DEFINITELY had more wacky stand-out charactees than VF, with it's quite down-to-earth ninja.

[@realamericannegro977]

Not going to lie. Virtua Fighter graphics has always been leagues above Tekken graphics. Even VF2 looked better than Tekken 3.

[@parrisxsummers]

ALWAYS critique graphics in context of the time period.

[@realamericannegro977]

Tekken was so cool when it was new. Its borderline too silly and over the top now. 1 to 3 had the right balance and all the characters were cool. Now everyone is a joke character but the Mishimas.