Bringing a sword to a fistfight — Final Fantasy’s Noctis to join ‘Tekken 7’

By Jon Martindale November 13, 2017

TEKKEN 7 - Noctis Lucis Caelum Reveal Trailer | PS4, XB1, PC

Final Fantasy XV‘s Noctis Lucis Caelum is joining the roster of Tekken 7 at the start of next year as part of its third downloadable content (DLC) pack. Announced by developer/publisher Bandai Namco with a new trailer, Noctis will make his appearance in spring 2018 following the already planned debut of fellow DLC character, Geese Howard.

The past week has been an exciting one for fighting game fans, with the announcement of a couple of intriguing franchise crossovers in different games. The Ninja Turtles have been announced as additions to the Injustice 2 roster, and now we’ve learned that Noctis is making the jump from Final Fantasy to Tekken. As the new trailer shows though, he’s a good fit for the side-on brawler.

As much as Noctis’ pals might like to have taken on this mission themselves, he ultimately decides it’s up to him to fulfill his friend’s request, and he heads into the tournament, fighting off human and ursine enemies alike. Along with some of his gravity-defying attacks from Final Fantasy XV, Noctis takes the bold step of bringing his sword into the otherwise fist and feet-focused fights.

Alongside the addition of the new character, the planned DLC release will also introduce a new stage, which as Polygon points out, is based on the Hammerhead Garage location from Final Fantasy XV. Noctis should feel right at home.

All of that was announced a this year’s Tekken World Tour finals which took place on November 11 and 12, with 22-year-old Byeong Mun Son, better known as Qudans, ending up the victor after a hard slog as Devil Jin.

Before fans have a chance to test out Noctis or the stage he comes with though, they’ll be able to take control of Geese Howard of SNK’s Fighting Fury fame. He’s an old pro at this type of brawling, and has been beating the snot out of opponents of various types since his original debut in 1991. He hasn’t lost a step though, and should provide great competition for both the existing roster and Noctis when he becomes available.

Howard is expected to become playable before the end of the year, following his original July unveiling. Noctis will follow up in the spring.

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