Tekken 7 focuses on 1v1 battles. Two mechanisms are introduced in the game. The first, Rage Art, allows the player to execute critical attacks that deal roughly 30% damage depending on the character once their health bar is critical, in exchange for inactivating the normal attack power increase. The second, Power Crush, lets the player continue their attacks even while being hit by the enemy, although they would still receive the damage dealt by the enemy’s attacks. The mechanic also works for absorbing high and mid attacks. The bound system, which staggers a character to increase opportunity for additional hits, is replaced by Screw Attack, which makes the enemy spin sideways when they are hit airborne, allowing the player to inflict additional hits after they reach the ground. Unlike bound, however, Screw Attack cannot be used to do wall combos. With a new display system, the game’s multiplayer allows players to choose which side of the screen to play on. Movement has undergone some changes and is similar to the movement mechanics found in Tekken Revolution, most notably when characters walk backwards.
The arcade version features the traditional stage-based play through, in which the player progresses by beating five different opponents one by one, ending with a fixed penultimate and final stage. Matches may be interrupted if another player joins the game. Online mode is available for both local and international play. Character customization is featured, allowing the player to modify characters’ appearances. For the first time in the arcade series, the game features a practice mode, which allows players to train moves against an opponent for a limited amount of time, as well as an option to collect in-game rewards, mainly customization items, through “Treasure Box” by winning enough matches.
Fated Retribution features several game play changes to the game. The new “Rage Drive” allows the player to empower certain attacks by sacrificing their Rage Mode. Rage Art is also adjusted so that the amount of damage dealt to the enemy is inversely proportional to the player’s current health bar. The update introduces meter-type characters, who utilize jump-in attacks and special cancels, and use an EX/Super meter as a limiter for some special attacks in place of Rage Drive. However, they have no 10-hit combo moves. This type is reserved for three characters: Eliza, and the guest characters Akuma from Street Fighter, and Geese Howard from the SNK fighting game series. Meanwhile, Noctis Lucis Caelum from Final Fantasy XV incorporates both aspects of preexisting game play types (he has Tekken-type game play but possesses jump-in moves). The update also added Wall Bound, which initially only applied to guest character Geese Howard. The Season 2 update eventually added the mechanic for every character.
Further game modes were released as post-release downloadable content (DLC), such as a bowling mini-game.
Characters:
The game has 48 playable fighters (including palette swaps), 20 of whom make up the default cast on launch; other characters are to be added over time. Eight make their debut in this version, along with a new form of Jack, and four guest characters from Capcom’s Street Fighter, SNK’s fighting game franchises, Square Enix’s Final Fantasy, and Image Comics’ The Walking Dead.
New fighters:
Akuma: The dark master of the Satsui no Hado from Capcom’s Street Fighter, added in Fated Retribution. Within the story, Kazumi asks him to repay a debt to her by killing Heihachi and Kazuya. The player can fight him in place of Kazumi as the final boss if a certain condition is met.
Claudio Serafino: A white-clad man from Italy who’s a member of an Anti-Devil organization combating the Devil Gene’s threat. Empowered with a Sirius magic.
Geese Howard: The crime boss of South Town from SNK’s fighting game series Fatal Fury, The King of Fighters and Art of Fighting, added to the console version as post-launch downloadable content. His fighting style is Hakkyokuseiken. Geese was the second most requested character in a fan poll on Harada’s Twitter account.
Gigas: A hulking, red-skinned humanoid who appears to have cybernetics attached to his otherwise nude body. He uses destructive impulse to pummel his opponents. He was discovered in leaked arcade data before his official reveal by Bandai Namco.
Jack-7: A new model of the Jack series, he has a slightly modified design with red hair and green glowing arms. As with the previous Jack series, he uses brute force to pummel his opponents.
Josie Rizal: A young Filipina woman who wears a yellow top, a blue miniskirt, and a red bow. She practices Eskrima and Kickboxing. Like Gigas, she was first discovered in leaked arcade data before being officially revealed during a Tekken 7 broadcast on Niconico on March 29, 2015.
Katarina Alves: A sassy woman who practices the art of Savate. She was designed to be a beginner-friendly character.
Kazumi Mishima / Devil Kazumi: Heihachi’s wife and Kazuya’s mother, who possesses the Devil Gene. Kazumi’s fighting style is Hachijo Style Karate, which is similar to the Mishima Style Fighting Karate as used by her husband and son, but with additional abilities such as summoning a tiger and levitating. She originally served as the game’s unplayable final boss prior to becoming the seventh time release character added after launch. Kazumi also has a devil form, which remains unplayable outside of the final stage in which she is fought.
Kid Kazuya: He is unofficially a new playable character and, as the name implies, is a younger version of Kazuya Mishima. He is unplayable outside a brief period in the story mode.
Lucky Chloe: An idol who wears a kitten-themed costume and has a “freestyle dance” fighting style.
Master Raven: A female ninja with a fighting style very similar to Raven. She is in charge of the organization that the original Raven works for.
Negan: A villain from The Walking Dead comic and television series. He wields a baseball bat wrapped in barbed wire, known as Lucille, which he uses to bash his foes. He will be added as post-launch downloadable content.
Noctis Lucis Caelum: The prince of the kingdom of Lucis and the main protagonist of Final Fantasy XV, added to the console version as post-launch downloadable content.
Shaheen: A keffiyah-wearing Saudi Arabian man who uses a “military self-defense” fighting style. He was also designed to be a beginner-friendly character.
