Bandai Namco finally announced Tekken 8, developed on Unreal Engine 5 and built from the ground up for Xbox Series X/S, PS5 and PC. It’s crazy to think that Tekken 7 is currently over seven years old (coincidence or not), but there’s a lot to hope for in the sequel. Conversely, there’s a lot we hope doesn’t get in. Let’s look at ten things we don’t want to see in Tekken 8 and why.

Bad network code

In recent years, the demand for rollback net code has grown steadily among fighting game fans. Arc System Works implemented the same for titles like Guilty Gear Endeavor and older games like BlazBlue Centralfiction, Guilty Gear XX Accent Core Plus R and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax of Dragon Ball FighterZ and Guilty Gear Xrd REV 2 Is yet to come. Even the controversial Street Fighter 5 jumped on the cart and added rollback netcode, and Street Fighter 6 builds its netcode from scratch to ensure the best experience.

During it all, producer Katsuhiro Harada revealed that: Tekken 7 had rolled back netcode. It’s all well and good, but unfortunately the execution leaves a lot to be desired. Of Tekken 8hopefully there are some improvements if not a major refurbishment.

Tekken 7-Style Movement

There is a wide range of opinions about the movement in Tekken 7. Some like that you don’t have to do complex button input for backdashing. Others believe that attack tracking is strong, while evasion isn’t as good as previous submissions. You could interpret this as ideal for newbies or argue that it’s bad for the overall game, as throwing strings is more effective than using core movement techniques that have been in the series for decades. Perhaps there is a balance between attack dodging ability and good attack tracking, where backdash abuse isn’t the only way to win at the highest level. Time will tell in the end, but changes must take place.

Nearly endless combos

Tekken 7

Combos are essential for fighting games, but what happens when they get a little too long and deal too much damage? Tekken 7 has combos that seem to last forever, taking opponents from 100 to 0 in a short amount of time due to their damage output. You could argue that mastering these combos is one of the biggest draws of a fighting game, and titles like Guilty Gear Endeavor initially attracted flak for streamlining combos. It’s a delicate balance where you want to reward skill, but also make sure it doesn’t get too crazy.

Insane Wall Carry for all characters

Wall Carry is a fighting game mechanic where certain moves or combos can push an opponent back into a wall, which can end up in a Wall Splat. It is, of course, most effective in arenas with walls nearby. In Tekken 7, certain characters were better than others at Wall Carrying opponents, which helped them distinguish them. Somewhere along the way, however, Wall Carries was polished to a ridiculous point. Jin and Fahkumram are now just as effective at Wall Carry as Dragunov, Nina and Leo.

While you could argue that Wall Carry has been good since Season 1, it’s only improved further, and the increase in combo damage and generally small scale of stages hasn’t helped either, allowing characters with few problems to get from wall to wall. can go. Even if Tekken 8 weakens the damage and length of his combos, Wall Carry should be tuned accordingly to avoid such situations. Of course, having bigger stages can’t hurt either.

Limited customization (with RNG)

Customize your character in Tekken can be fun, but Tekken 7 was a noticeable step backwards in terms of clothing and hairstyle options at launch. While returning fighters could unlock their legacy outfits, some outfits required you to go through Treasure Battle. The worst part? It was purely RNG – you can get outfits for multiple characters instead of the one you’re currently playing. Even if you enjoy Treasure Battle, it gets mind-numbing after a while. It would also be nice to get more free customization sets in addition to the ones included with the season passes.

Bad anti cheat

Cheating ruins the integrity of any competitive multiplayer title, and fighting games are no exception. To that end, Tekken 7s anti-cheat leaves a lot to be desired. Content creator K-Wiss told VG247 earlier this month about running into a cheater almost every day during Season 4, and tools that can automatically block attacks and quickly break throws are still available. Hilariously, your online rank data is stored locally on your system, which leads to PC players simply saving up in the event of a loss. These things need to be fixed before Tekken 8 to have an ideal online experience.

Tell a story

tekken 8

Listen, we get it – Tekken is by far the record holder for longest running story in a video game series. It’s understandable that you want a story mode, and many games can do it right. But Tekken 7s story wasn’t that good. The choice then is to either hire a better writer and possibly start from scratch instead of trying to tie things together endlessly or go back to Tekken 3s great Arcade mode.

It offered different paths and opponents for each character, along with separate endings ranging from cool to hilarious. While Bandai Namco no doubt wants to keep the Mishima saga going (like Tekken 8s announcement trailer shown), it’s probably better to go with a different story structure.

Rage Arts

tekken 8

Introduced in Tekken 7Rage Arts are powerful moves that can disrupt your opponent midway through the combo. They are only activated when they have 25 percent health and can deal massive amounts of damage depending on the player’s health. It’s a comeback mechanic and hilarious at how quickly it can turn the tide of a fight. While comeback mechanics are nothing new in fighting games, Rage Arts is drawn out excruciatingly rather than being snappy across the board. If they return, it would also be ideal to fine-tune the damage and make them a little more challenging to perform.

Frame Counter DLC

Tekken 7 - Frame Data

Tekken 7 received a lot of negative feedback when it decided to make the Frame Counter paid DLC. Not just because it was introduced several years after the game’s release, but because such a feature should be free (especially when it’s vital for competitive play). Watch games like Guilty Gear Endeavorthat delivered Frame Data for free, or even the next one Street Fighter 6, which completely revamps the original Frame Counter and incorporates it into the game. Locking and possibly other vital functions behind a paywall is something that should not happen again.

Treasure Battle only

Treasure Battle was a good enough concept, with random battles for players to clear and earn cosmetic rewards. However, it can get old and the lack of other offline modes didn’t help. That’s why it’s probably better to play Treasure Battle (or a similar mode) in Tekken 8 while you have some recurring modes for players. Bring back Tekken Force or Scenario Campaign for a fun beat ’em up style. Reintroduce Tekken Ball for more crazy fun. Add Team Battles, Survival Mode and some real tutorials to get players into the game or add the old Tekken titles for fun. Yes, multiplayer is where it is, but that’s no excuse to skimp on the offline features.