If you want to learn Tekken 7, I hope you have a phone or computer nearby.

3D fighting games are not as popular or numerous as 2D fighting games. There are likely several fighting game players who haven't touched a Tekken game since the early 2000s, and other series like Soul Calibur and Dead or Alive are stagnant because they haven't released a new game in years.

If there's one 3D game that has the ability to cross over and pull in 2D players, it's Tekken 7. Although it has technically been out for a few years, the official worldwide console/PC release has been successful so far, with tournament registration and sales numbers to back it up.

The increased interest in Tekken makes it even more frustrating that the game has no tutorial to help new players learn the game. The closest Tekken 7 gets to a tutorial is in the Mishima Saga story mode. Some fights will display one or two tips on the bottom left corner of the screen. “Hold back to block”. “Hold down to crouch”.

But these tips disappear shortly into the story mode, and many concepts are left unexplained. Tips will occasionally appear in loading screens, but there is no database to revisit them. Keep a notepad handy.

The next step is to look at your movelist in Training Mode. Scrolling through this, you can quickly see which moves are screw attacks, which moves hit sidestepping opponents, and your armored Power Crush attack.

But you're still just looking at the move's effect on a dummy, not what makes it useful. You have a Rage Drive and a Rage Art, but aren't given the context as to why you would ever use the Drive instead. From the perspective of a new player, Rage Art is stronger because it does more damage, right?

In a game where most tournament commentary consists of people constantly telling us the frame data, why is there no frame data accessible in the game?

The option to display your movelist in game is flawed. In Dead or Alive 5 and Guilty Gear Xrd's Command Training, an indicator flashes on screen to let you know you executed a move properly. You can also set an option to automatically move to the next attack, or repeat the current one until you feel comfortable. Smaller games got it right, and the premier 3D fighting game should be able to do the same.

In Tekken 7, you can watch a demo of the move. You have to compare your attack to the demo to see if you did it properly. There is no confirmation that you did it, and no automatic progression to the next move.

The training mode is robust, but some things are confusing compared to other fighting games. Many games have a “1 hit guard/guard after 1^st attack” setting to test combos: the first hit will count but the opponent will block everything else if it didn't naturally combo.

In Tekken 7, you must do this:

CPU Opponent Action 1: Stand

CPU Opponent Action 2: Guard All

To get a “guard after 1^st attack” setting. I didn't even understand how that worked until I looked up a guide online. There's also no easy option to see how to break throws, leaving players to experiment or research online when it comes to escaping command throws or chain throws.

Tekken 7 has multiple ways to get up off the ground after being knocked down, but with no tutorial it's difficult to know how to do any of them. If you ground tech, you can hit a punch button to roll into the background or a kick button to roll into the foreground. But if you're already lying down, you press Left Punch to roll into the background and Down+Left Punch to roll into the foreground. Kicks do different things now.

Again, I had no idea how that worked until watching a tutorial. And this is deadly for new players, because if you aren't waking up properly you can basically get stomped to death before you can stand up and reset the situation to neutral.

It's not a complete lost cause for new players, however. Despite the lack of a true Tutorial mode, I believe Tekken 7 is easier to pick up and play than any 2D fighting game.

There is a fair amount of single player content, including character customization, Treasure Battle for earning customization gear, arcade mode, and miniature story modes for each character. If you can't play locally, there online connectivity is very good and online tournaments are a nice feature.

Remember, single player content matters when engaging new players. Don't let anyone tell you it doesn't!

Having combo strings makes it easy for new players to pick someone who looks cool, mash 1, 2, 3 or 2,3 or roll your face on the pad (if you're Eddy/Lucky Chloe) and maybe even pick up some wins online. The combo system feels natural and intuitive from the start, while deep enough to allow players to build if they seek outside resources.

But the issue is requiring outside resources. The game won't explain to you how Rage mode works, the difference between Rage Drive and Rage Art, when you should sidestep, the numerous wakeup options when you're knocked down, how to use certain training mode features, how to break throws, how to break command throws, or when to block low vs. high.

I am enjoying Tekken 7 a lot and got 9^th place at a local tournament recently(there's proof, don't @ me: http://challonge.com/cfgTekken7_01/) (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLRSuhxXhTziYR2IGVam4AFz_8u2c-9-p6) I'm looking forward to playing more and improving. I'm just frustrated that the game has no way to teach new players because Tekken 7 is excellent and I want everyone to try it.

If you're interested in learning Tekken 7, bookmark these pages for tips and system mechanics.

Basic How To Play Guide at Tekken.com:

http://tk7.tekken.com/guides

Video Tutorials for Beginners and Intermediates by AvoidingThePuddle:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMCyLSAjLlQ0YEDmZ-Esbnzd4gcstVOC5

Video Tutorials by KingJae:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSCxY9aJNnYohfANVI4hSPT00AZsP7wOu

A Street Fighter Player's Guide to Tekken by jmcrofts:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2N8qJGW36fx_gu6lKkjF_GmEzHl7gj-D

The Top 15 Moves for Tekken 7 Characters by Drunkard Shade:

https://drunkardshade.com/2017/05/27/tekken-7-top-15-moves-for-all-characters/

Combo Guides from LegendaryMihawk:

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLeEk_GDSnydYwPax0IATKf_x5WXYKTwBc

Every Character's Strengths and Weaknesses by Fergus:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1yqgxbES6su4clpQou2hzlZN40rpPBtwmMRKWfexbj3g/preview

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nbewxse8DlI

Tekken Terminology:

http://www.tekkenzaibatsu.com/wiki/Glossary

http://www.tekkenzaibatsu.com/wiki/Tekken_Jargon

TekkenChicken Frame Data App:

http://tekkengamer.com/2017/06/03/tekken-7-frame-data-app-tekken-chicken-now-available-android-powered-tekkengamer/

Tekken Zaibatsu Discord:

https://discord.gg/H4Y9mMN

I remember when all you got was a manual and practice mode, set the ai on hard and get wrecked lol. And the manual didn't even have all the combos lol.

The learning curve is what scares me away from this game. The last Tekken game I played was 3. I was of course a child and was "good" in comparison to my dad who didn't really know how to play either.

Does the game ease up on newcomers with a good training mode or no?

@frostyryan: It doesn't really have a training mode. It is one of those you just need to study it. I highly recommend Aris "AvoidingThePuddle" that is linked in the Original Post. This game is very movement heavy. Mastering movement will go a long way. I feel like this game makes Street Fighters 'footsies' seem basic. I haven't played the game since Tekken Tag on PS2. So, it has been a really interesting learning experience.

What is really terrible in this game is that is has a lot of hidden techniques that are never explained and not much community support explaining them. A parallel example of this is Balrog's super in street fighter. I had no idea the super has two different states, straight punches and uppercuts. Tekken is worse in that it doesn't make it clear when you need to crouch dash or do a QCF movement in some cases. Also, characters have different stances that aren't explained at all in the move list.

It is a really fun game. Just requires a lot of extra curricular to git good.

@rickyyo: @frostyryan I'm going to assume you both mean tutorial and not training mode. It has a good training mode if you want to test out a bunch of different scenarios or practice combos, but it doesn't explain how to do shit. I would say if the game looks interesting to you then go ahead and dive in. It's complex yet simple. You can play it at a superficial level and still have fun but there's more depth if you want there to be. At its core, it's about movement and spacing, blocking and punishing, and making the most of your opportunities. It's been a fun rabbit hole for me to fall down.

Don't forget Korean Backdashing; it's a move that is arguably the foundation of movement in Tekken. I'm sure Avoiding the Puddle has videos about it, but here is an article that goes in depth about the move:

http://shoryuken.com/2017/02/17/this-is-the-year-you-will-learn-how-to-perform-tekkens-korean-backdash/

I'm a really bad Tekken player; cannot play defense to save my life, and I only played a couple of hours online. But I can pull off the KBD in small spurts, and I could tell that it's important not just to create separation between characters but to still keep a character's guard up (that would otherwise be non-existent if you were performing a normal back dash).