Tekken 7 is one of the most popular fighting games. It does not have well-known characters of Injustice 2, but this series has developed its own Universe for quite a few years of existence.
What about playing Tekken 7 on the casual level? Is it good for people, who don’t want to participate in esports events but plan to just have fun?
Tekken 7 for newcomers to fighting
For many other gaming genres, there usually is a story that gives a reason for doing something. Such plots are present in some fighting games as well, but Tekken… Tekken is special. The game does have a Story Mode, but it gives almost nothing for understanding the plot. In fact, the story is a mess of (emotional) events, where you take the role of different fighters and fight against other fighters - seemingly for the sake of fights themselves.
And please, get this right! The lack of a proper story with a beginning and an end is a very good thing for Tekken 7 (and probably for fighting games in general). The Story Mode gives players reasons to explore this specific gaming Universe, get to know characters, and understand the basic fighting mechanics. But it does not give the feeling of completeness - the Story Mode, named The Mishima Saga, is an introduction to a much bigger adventure, which is multiplayer fighting.
So, the newcomers can feel free to start with the story. The first fights here are not too tough. Even mashing the buttons is acceptable - a bit of practice with such chaotic control, and you will defeat a few opponents and get interested in this fighting. And thus, you will reach the limits of button mashing and start looking for more effective ways of playing Tekken 7. The casualty level is still not over, but you have dug a bit deeper than just a surface of fighting.
Tricky moves
Tekken 7 characters can attack with one of their limbs, and you press one of four buttons on your gamepad for this. Sounds easy? Yes, it is easy, but not effective.
In the game, you can’t beat opponents with only basic attacks (even if those opponents are not powerful at all). Tekken 7 has lots of moves, or combos that activate much stronger hits. You have to press special combinations of buttons in specific moments to use the combos. And only they allow you to progress in the story and eventually consider multiplayer.
Offline Practice offers a calm environment to train these moves. Check them out in the game menu, choose one or two (the list is huge), and then use them on a defenseless dummy. Slowly expand your arsenal, make the opponent in the practice modes move and attack in response, and then repeat the process again and again with different settings.
Wait, are we still talking about casual fighting? Yes, almost. Unless your target is trying to remember all the moves and get perfect in them, you can have fun in such practice.
But practicing too much is boring. Use your new skills in the Arcade and Treasure Battles! The fights here are also not too tough (on the normal difficulty), and still they are challenging enough to significantly improve your mastery. In the process, you earn internal currency, experience, and cosmetic items.
Characters
The game has a lot of fighters. In the story mode you have a chance to try out many of them - especially in the Character Episodes. But playing with everyone in Arcade/Treasure Battles may become quite a chore: it would be a hardcore experience to learn effective combos for all the Tekken 7 fighters.
Casual players (those who are not ready to play Tekken for many years, at least yet) can choose one character. Anyone you like in the roster will do. If you are here to have fun, then don’t bother with calculations. Choose a few with an appearance and personality that are interesting for you, and try them out in the Offline Battles. Choose one out of them to play with that guy or girl (or bear) a lot and get prepared for the online fights. And use the internal customization options! It’s a good place to go nuts and express your creative humour.
Multiplayer Tekken
This is the level, where the casual fun may disappear. Especially if you enter the Ranked Matches.
Tekken 7 has lots of dedicated fans. They are strong virtual fighters, so it’s not easy to stand against them. The online ranking system will try to connect players of the same level, but with no proper preparation, the experience here may be super harsh.
To save your enthusiasm it would be better to:
- finish the story;
- complete all the character episodes;
- choose your fighter;
- learn around 10-15 effective combos;
- win quite a few Arcade/Treasure Battles;
- and only then consider visiting online matches.
Choose Player Battles (casual matches) to have multiplayer fun in Tekken 7. Multiplayer is the real core of this game and the very fighting genre. All the previous activities make up a preparation - a long preparation, but the developers have managed to make it interesting.
When the casualty ends…
Of course, there is no such moment when you become “promoted” to a hardcore Tekken player. Even ranked matches may be not tense at all if you delve into them with a positive attitude. So it’s only up to you which level to reach in this art of gaming fights.
Tekken 7 is quite accessible to casual gamers - but this will be a short experience if you are not ready to practice repetitive moves and participate in repetitive offline fights.
The game is often on sale, so it would be better to get it with a nice discount. If you are interested, buy Tekken 7 for your platform:
See more…
It’s a good thing to be a casual player - you have a chance to try out different games and genres, even if they offer challenging gameplay. Check out this list of light and hard games to get ideas for your next gaming adventure:
The gaming culture progresses creatively and technically. Do you plan to purchase a next-gen console? Here is an article about the choice between the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X:
