Experts will tell you that fighting games are all about a delicate balance of attack and defence, of risk and reward, of intricate combos and precise timing. They'll say that some games value aggression, others strategy, others speed. Maybe verticality needs to be mastered, or dodging, or charge meters. Often though, none of that ever matters, because most of us aren't experts. We play fighting games because they're satisfying zero sum games and great with friends. If we're halfway decent, we might have that one character we have, or maybe even that one move. After a week or so of playing Tekken 8, 'that one move' always feels great.
I've been with the Tekken series since 3, and have gone back since to revisit the two I missed, so I know my way around a King of Iron Fist tournament. I'm not an expert, because being an expert at a fighting game doesn't mean just knowing the characters or the lore, but being very good, and I'm not very good. But I'm okay. Okay enough to beat other players who are okay.
Note: You can read my joint piece with our reviewer George Fosꦜter here, about our hard fought online battles 💮in the review period that resulted in a narrow 7-6 victory for me.
Being around Tekken that﷽ long means I have some mains, and some idea of how to use them. I try out new characters to expand my horizons from time to time (Zafina could work her way into my mains), but for the most part, I rely on a core four: Hwoarang, Lili, Xiaoyu, and Alisa. Eddy was once in there too, but somewhere along the way, I outgrew him and his button mashing ways.
I have been playing with Hwoarang and Xiaoyu since Tekken 3, and I still couldn't name many, if any, of their moves. But I do know a handful of combos by feel rather than name, and these are the most satisfying. Juggling has lost its bounce and so Hwoarang has slipped down my list, but the spinning kick where he throws his opponent into the air then hops onto the other foot and keeps it raised before pummelling them with quick heel slams is pugilistic le mot juste.
For Xiaoyu, it's the low leg spin, the kick over her shoulder, and that powerful shoulder barge that make you feel in the zone. Playing as Lili, nothing makes you cackle harder than the cartwheel into a backflip, except maybe a backflip into a cartwheel - all while your feet smash into your opponent's jaw, of course. And then with Alisa, though it's always satisfying to launch into her chainsaw attack or even hand her exploding head over to an unwitting foe, it's the jetpack boomerang flip that really raises the hairs on the back of your neck.
Maybe for you it's not these characters, or maybe it is but it's not these moves - Lili's stamp, slap, and trip is a classic of the field too. Hey, maybe it's not even this game. Tekken is my favourite fighter but the shiver you get from executing That One Move is a universal feeling across the genre. There's nothing like it, not a kill in a shooter, not a goal in a sports title, not taking down a boss in an MMO. That One Move is your move, and fighting games have a special type of intimacy to their wins. Winning with That One Move is winning your way, and it feels unique as a result.
We often talk about fighting games chiefly from the perspective of experts who chain multiple attacks together and know every fighter's style and benefits in exact detail. But most of us just pick a character with a vibe we like or who lets us land a few quick That One Moves in our early outings, and we're hooked. For all those fighting game fans who aren't any good at fighting games, relish the feeling of That One Move as you get to grips with Tekken 8.
Tekken 8 Review𒐪 - The 🧔Iron Fist Hits As Hard As Ever
Tekken 8's s🐟hift towards aggressive matches fits the series well, and its epic campaign 🦩and great newcomers make this a mighty combatant.
Tekken 8 is the next-gen evolution of the long-running fighting game series from Bandai Namco. It brings back several popular characters and adds new, while it also introduces the new 'Heat' mechanic.
- Developer(s)
- 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Bandai Namco Entertainment, Arika
- Platform(s)
- PC, PS5, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xbox Series X, 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xbox Series S
