Tekken Revolution

Tekken Revolution is one of the best Tekken games in recent memory. Its also the most frustrating. Kind of out of nowhere prior to E3 Tekken Revolution was announced. On the surface the game looks a LOT like Tekken Tag Tournement 2. The way the menus , the HUD and even the characters all look very similar to TTT2. This is a good thing since TTT2 was a flipping fantastic game and absolutely the best Tekken game since Tekken 3.

So lets get into the meat and potatoes here. If it looks so much like TTT2 then what under the hood has changed? Well, a lot actually. First and most noticeably there is a stat progression system. Each character has three stats Attack, Endurance and Vigor all which are fairly self explanatory except for Vigor which segues into the other change. Each character has a list of moves called "Special Arts" and "Critical Arts" both kinds of attacks have a chance at random to deal a critical attack. Special arts also have invincibility frames on startup which is a complete game changer. Critical arts are a fantastic way to keep over aggressive players on their toes as even players with frame disadvantages can turn the fight to their favor with one well placed Critical Art.

I've had multiple instances where these moves have saved my bacon in fights they really change the tempo of fights in a fun way. You would think if the moves have invincibility frames on them that they would be over powered and easily abused. And while they can be easily abused if blocked they leave the person entirely open to eat a full juggle combo. The other main change is the bound system from Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag 2 is gone. This changes the viability of some moves and juggle strings but overall I don't think it is a huge bummer.

So, this all leads us to the part of this where the game is a bit of a bummer. I feel kind of weird complaining about a game when its free. I also realize that money needs to be made on this game if it is going to be supported in the future. However that doesn't make the free to play model any less frustrating.

Your game playing is regulated via a virtual currency. You need "Battle Coins" to play the game you get up to five online tokens at one time and up to two offline tokens for "Arcade Mode" coins re-spawn over time and here in lies one of the biggest bummers of this. The viability of jumping in a non-ranked lobby with a group of friends and yelling at each other while you play some matches for a few hours is limited at best. That is... unless all of your friends want to throw down $5 every time you wanna play in a lobby for a few hours. The upside to this is all of the characters that are in the game are included for free. Unlike other free to play fighters like DOAU5 or Killer Instinct which are charging for their fighters.

That is the understandable bummer. The thing that isn't understandable is there is no practice mode to be had. With the bound system gone and combos and viable juggle strings changed for a lot of characters being able to figure out your go to combos without a practice mode is a bit of a chore. All in all though the game is well worth your time. I mean it IS free so at worst your going to waste 1.9 GB of bandwith and a few minutes of time to try it. The core combat and online experience is absolutely superior to a lot of recent fighters. Why can't all online netcode be as silky smooth as Tekken Revolution and Tekken Tag 2? This game gives me great hope for the next full proper Tekken game and I wouldn't mind if they adopted the core combat from this game into Tekken 7 or whatever the next step in the Tekken series is. If you are a Tekken fan this is a no brainer and if you're just a casual fighting game fan I'd suggest checking it out as well. I'm just patiently waiting for them to add Anna Williams to the game now. I'm waiting Namco. I'm waiting.