Big news on the fighting game front: Bandai Namco announced the release of Tekken 7: Fated Retribution at its King of the Iron Fist Tournament in Tokyo this weekend. This comes hot on the heels of the Tekken 7 announcement at Paris Games Week in October, and marks the twentieth anniversary of the franchise. Interesting stuff, but the big news is that the announcement also revealed a surprising new addition.
Akuma will be a playable character in the new Tekken game, as featured in the trailer. The once-hidden boss of Super Street Fighter II Turbo has come a long way. From the marketing, there’s also indication that Akuma and Heihachi Mishima are going to go head-to-head. Bandai said this “sequel to Tekken 7″ is set to be the finale of the Mishima clan’s struggle for dominance. That’s a fight worth playing, but if you stop and think about it, the issues with crossovers between the two games become apparent.
Hardcore members of the fighting game community are probably wondering how Akuma is going to fit into Tekken, considering that the series has a markedly different play style than Street Fighter. While Akuma’s — or Gouki’s — Shoryuken and Raging Demon might not be considered totally alien to other moves in the non-Capcom franchise, his fireball stands out since Tekken doesn’t really contain projectiles.
For those players clutching their controllers in anticipation for Street Fighter V in 2016, at least there’s one definite option to play Akuma, even if it means switching over to Tekken for a round or three. That’s taking into consideration that the great demon has been left off of SFV‘s character’s list, so far. And if you’re waiting for Tekken X Street Fighter to satisfy that crossover itch, keep waiting. There’s still no release date for it, even though it’s been in development for five years. Players will also have to be a little patient for Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, as there’s no release date confirmed for it yet either.
