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There’s Going to be a New Tekken Anime…and I’m Not that Excited

Posted on March 27, 2022 by gamerangel301

*The tweet from the current director of Tekken, Katsuhiro Harada*

A Tekken anime series was announced on 19th March for Netflix. This is the official description from Netflix themselves:

“Power is everything.” Jin Kazama learned the family self-defense arts, Kazama Style Traditional Martial Arts, from his mother at an early age. Even so, he was powerless when a monstrous evil suddenly appeared, destroying everything dear to him, changing his life forever. Angry at himself for being unable to stop it, Jin vowed revenge and sought absolute power to exact it. His quest will lead to the ultimate battle on a global stage — The King of Iron Fist Tournament.

*L-R: Heihachi Mishima, Kazuya Mishima and Jin Kazama*

The anime will take place after the events of Tekken 2 and Tekken 3. For a quick recap, during The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2 (T2) Kazuya Mishima (son of Heihachi Mishima and wielder of the Devil Gene) meets the mysterious Jun Kazama. The tournament ends with Heihachi “killing” Kazuya and Jun having their son, Jin. Jun raised Jin away from the Mishima family and taught him how to fight. Despite their peaceful life, they were ambushed by the monster, Ogre. Jin tried to help his mother fight the monster but was knocked unconscious. When he awoke, his mother and the monster were gone. He assumed the worst and sought out his grandfather, Heihachi. Heihachi took his grandson under his wind, trained him and at 19, announced the third King of Iron Fist Tournament. Jin entered, hoping to avenge his dead mother, only to be betrayed by his grandfather by killing him. Little did Heihachi know that he shared the same blood curse that his father did – the Devil Gene. Jin transformed, attacked Heihachi and left him to go into hiding.

*There has been an anime OVA, along with 2 live-action movies and an animated film of Tekken*

While I am glad Tekken is getting an anime adaption, I’m not so happy that it another hashing of Jin’s origin story. It is a story that most Tekken fans know as it was a focus point from Tekken 4 onwards. There have been previous films that have retold this story, so we have already have the game story as well as other media forms of the story.

*Nina Williams as she appears in Tekken 7*

Tekken is not short of tragic stories nor characters. I understand that Tekken focuses on the Mishima family and their stories, however there are other characters with great stories: Nina Williams is one that comes to mind. I would like to see these stories too.

*Jin appears in all media adaptions of Tekken apart from the Tekken 2 live action movie*

It will be great to see things we haven’t seen in regards to Jin’s story – like in the trailer, it is shown Jin being bullied by other kids and seeing how (badly or not) Heihachi treated Jin after the tragic “death” of his mother.

Another detail is that the trailer shows a character who was not in Tekken 3 – Leroy Smith. Leory doesn’t show up until Tekken 7 (which was released June 2nd 2017). In all fairness, he has become a popular character, so I understand why Netflix have added him into the mix but it puts a little niggle of fear in me that Netflix may stray from the main story and may tell it their own way, so to speak. This has not bode well for the 2 Tekken live-action movies.

*There have been comic adaptions of Tekken, as well as a novel*

I hope that I am proven wrong. However, I feel my enjoyment and knowledge of Tekken is a double-edged sword when it comes to media adaptions of this video game. I hope this doesn’t stop me from enjoying this when it comes out.

Tekken: Bloodline does not have release date yet, but will be coming out later this year.
Watch the trailer here.

Tekken 7 Review

Posted on July 1, 2017 by gamerangel301

[WARNING OF SPOILERS AHEAD. PLEASE DO NOT READ IF YOU ARE PLANNING ON PLAYING THE GAME. OTHERWISE, ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK. THANK YOU]

I make no lie of being a huge fan of the Tekken series – if you’re a consistent reader of my blog and/or watcher of my YouTube channel, then I talk about it a lot.

This is how much I love it: if anyone asks me what franchise I would take with me to a desert island – before the words are even out of their mouth – my answer is Tekken.

So, understandably, I was really excited about Tekken 7 when it was announced earlier this year. I pre-ordered the Special Edition for PC and the PS4 version as well (due to extra content available). It’s been around 2 or 3 weeks since it was released, and I’ve been playing it no-stop. So, what did I think of it?

Rather than commenting on Presentation, Soundtrack, Story/Gameplay and Overall Experience like I usually do for reviews, I’m just going to do small reviews for each aspect of the game. And yes, because I’m a fan girl, I am going to go into detail.

The Story Mode

This was the part of the game I was most excited for – after Tekken 6‘s story mode Scenario Campaign, it left me with so many questions and was definitely open for expanding the story (especially after the post-credits scene). This time, the format was slightly changed as there are 2 Story Modes – The Mishima Saga, which follows the battle between the Mishimas which has been prolonging for decades and then Character Episodes.

As I mentioned, the Mishima Saga follows Heihachi and Kazuya’s ongoing battle against eachother. After Jin is missing from his fight with Azazel, Nina briefly takes over the Mishima Zaibatsu, until Heihachi turns up, defeats Nina and takes over the Zaibastu again. The story follows a reporter who has a personal vendetta against the Zaibastu and Jin Kazama after his home town is destroyed and his family killed as casualties of the ongoing war.

You play as many different characters in different scenarios as the story progresses. The fights are fun and the way it is presented is very reminiscent of Soul Calibur V‘s Story Mode with drawn and unmoving cuts scenes, to full-fledged animated cutscenes (it makes sense as Tekken’s director Katsuhiro Harada also works on the Soul Calibur Project). The visuals are fantastic (both PC and PS4), with very little jarring (there was sometimes a brief pause between a cutscene going into gameplay, but apprently it’s fine running on the PS4 Pro). However, on the PC version, the scenes would occasionally glitch with speech over speech and pausing, forcing it to catch up. Also, there were quick time events (QTEs) which sometimes felt weren’t necessary along with being able to use guns, but only in one scene. Yes, Tekken Force and Scenario Campaign use guns, but this scene with Lars rescuing Jin was fiddly for me, as the gun controls where the same as punches, so I often drew out the gun when I didn’t want to.

The story was great and definitely answered a few questions about the Mishima family but the reporter as the narrator made it a little bland as he used the same tone all the time (even when he shouted at Heihachi). There was just no emotion, despite him being given a tragic backstory.

The second Story Mode was Character Episodes – these followed characters who did not make an appearance in the Mishima Saga (apart from Nina and Devil Jin). Unlike the usual Story Mode of previous games that usually have 7 battles that include a pre-fixed battle, followed by an ending, these Episodes only had one fight followed by the ending, which were only a few minutes long. It was lack luster and gave alternatives to endings depending on who won the fight (apart from Shaheen, Miguel and Eliza – they had episodes all to themselves). The Tekken comedy is there and I would rate it poorly, however it did give more insight into the Tekken lore, which I think saved it.

Overall, I believe the Story Mode is what the Tekken production team were mainly focused on and sold the game the most, however it was lacking and fairly short (you can play the Mishima Saga in the space of 2 hours or so. You’ll probably need another hour to complete all the Character Episodes). I understand that this is a fighting game – there isn’t really meant to be a story, and even if there is, and it’s not great (apart from the Story Mode in Tekken 5 – that was amazing with the small interludes), however Scenario Campaign was much longer, so I expected the same.

Overall, the Story Mode – for me at least – is the selling point of the game, and will it was enjoyable and added more lore, it was still lacking.

Arcade Mode

The Tekken series is known for it’s Arcade Mode – especially for Tekken 5 as it added ranks to the system – however for Tekken 7 – as Caddicurus said in his review – is actually pretty pathetic.

You have 5 stages – 2 of which are fixed battles of Heihachi as a sub-battle then Kazumi or Akuma – then that’s it. No cutscenes, no ending, no nothing. And to add further damage, you can only rank up to 1st Dan within Arcade Mode, whereas in 5 and 6, you were able to conquer your way all the way up to Tekken God.

I don’t think I need to say any more – well actually, I can’t. There’s not much to go with, apart from – if you’re like me, you what Fight Money for Customization and rank every character up to 1st Dan.

Ranked Matches and Tournaments

Despite being 2 separate modes, I’m putting them together for one simple reason – neither of them work properly.

Ranked Matches allows you to go against anyone else in the world and put yourself in a category (there’s only 7). Once the fight is over – that’s it. No option to rematch, just go back to the menu.

The Tournament Mode, however, is a new mode – this allows 8 players to battle it out and become a champion (no, this does not effect your ranking). Even if you’re knocked out of a round, you go up against other losers to become King of the Losers (in the literal sense, not the bullying sense). And naturally, you win fight money.

These modes are great if you’re more of a competitive player of Tekken, that’s if the Online Modes actually work. On all three platforms – PC, PS4 and Xbox One – none of the Online stuff seems to work. Namco have been releasing patches, but people are still complaining (from what I’ve been reading).

I honestly have not played much of the Online Modes, mainly because they are lacking, but also because a few modes have been removed – such as Team Battle, Time Attack and Survival. Granted, they’re not revolutionary, but they have been included in every single Tekken title – even the spin-offs.

Treasure Battle

Like Tournament, this is a new mode, and actually fairly decent. This mode – similarly to Tekken Revolution – can introduce random battle conditions, such as Turbo Matches and the like. You can fight for money, customization items and ranks. Again, it’s short like Arcade Mode, but a bit more fun. Only a little bit more. This is Offline, so it actually works.

Speaking of Customization, this game actually follows its counterparts – as more games are released, the customize options get bigger (it’s funny to think that Tekken 5 started Customization, but only allowed 4 or 5 items in each category. Tekken 7‘s Customization range is the largest by far, and this time allows you to customize personal stuff, such borders for your health gauge.

Gameplay

Now, I’m a big fan of beat ’em ups, but one of the reasons why Tekken is my favourite of the genre is because of the controls. I’ve always found Tekken the simplest and easiest because each button is assigned to a different limb – back when Tekken was just on the PS platforms, square and triangle are for punches, while X and circle are for kicks. It hasn’t changed at all, and certainly does not change for Tekken 7 – not that it needed to. I’ve always felt the controls allow for more freedom in your play style, rather than just mashing buttons.

There were 2 new added features to gameplay this time though – Rage Drives and Rage Arts. Rage Drives are unblockable combos that can break someone’s defense. Rage Arts work in a similar way to the Rage system in Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (which does not feature in Tekken 7) in that when your health bar depletes to a certain amount, your character goes into Rage Mode. In T6 and TTT2, this gave you extra strength to turn the tide of battle, however in T7, Rage grants you access to Rage Arts – a combo played by a cutscene by pressing a trigger button (which has never been used in a Tekken game, unless you assign it in the controls options). Again, it can turn the tide of a battle and some of these combos are amazing.

The gameplay is still the same for Tekken, which is not a bad thing – I think it’s good for beginners and experienced alike. So if it’s not broke, why fix it? I also love the added detail of slow-mo when both fighters are about to hit eachother simultaneously.

Soundtrack

I really enjoy the soundtracks of Tekken (TTT2‘s soundtrack is by far my favourite, just for the remade version of Fiji Paradise), but Tekken 7‘s is…OK. It’s nothing special. To be honest, I forget what most themes are for certain stages – compared to previously playing Tekken, seeing the stage I would be playing in then getting excited because I love the soundtrack. Most of them are forgettable and a bit behind in the times – a lot of songs are heavy in the bass drop department, which was so 2016.

The soundtrack for the opening movies and The Mishima Saga where great though – Namco took a completely different turn with it this time and served orchestra, haunting voices realness. The music for the final stages of The Mishima Saga fit in really well.

Presentation

Tekken 7 was made in the Unreal Engine 4 – the same as Life is Strange, Street Fighter V and Kholat – so of course, it was going to be stunning (Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII Remake will be made in the game engine too – squeal!). Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online surprised me when I first played it on the PS3 (because it was the first Tekken game to be on the PS3) due to it’s presentation in details – you could see every frill in Lili’s dress; every fibre in the belt of Christie’s ‘trousers’; every strain in Anna’s tight dress. As systems developed and Tekken developed along with them, the graphics got better, so Tekken 7 is no exception. I found myself noticing every character’s facial expression as they fought and watching how clothes flowed as I played. Speaking of which, I enjoyed how hoods would fall with Jin and Steve, along with Nina’s veil and Shaheen’s keffiyeh (his head scarf, essestionally) when they were hit too hard. Tekken is known for it’s extra detail, which was not lacking in Tekken 7 (I know this has nothing to go with presentation, but I had to mention it somewhere).

Of course, there was the occasional glitch and some scenes that looked…weird (like in the fight between Kazuya and Heihachi when they punch eachother in the face at the same time – the cheeks look a little strange). On PC, the game looks great as well as the PS4 version.

Conclusion

I think the repeating theme of this game is lacking – the game lacked time in Story and Arcade Mode, only 4 modes for Online and Offline and not a lot of the characters from Tekken 6 reappeared in Tekken 7 like previous games. I feel like the focus was mainly on Story Mode and the presentation (despite a lot of the stages being kinda boring – expect Infinite Azure as that stage is stunning).

But that isn’t a bad thing – yes, in lacked in playtime in the Story Mode, but it expanded so much in the lore and left a possibility for Tekken 8. It still keeps the mechanics that make Tekken so enjoyable, but with less modes and characters to play, it does feel like something is missing.

I also disliked how Tekken 7 jumped on the DLC wagon – yes, it’s had DLC before, but the majority of it was free or you had to pay a bit extra for the Special Edition, which included everything (compared to the price, it would be much cheaper). This time, you could pre-order for a bonus character, as well as a Season Pass to get the next 2 DLC characters being released later this year and next year (granted, it does cover the whole year, but that’s not the point). Tekken has rarely used DLC, and when it has, it does it the right way. However, with Tekken 7, they haven’t, and in my eyes, makes them seem greedy.

Harada argued that if there was no DLC, the game could not be supported. I argue this – Tekken is one of the most popular games in the fighting genre – all my gamer friends know the franchise, even if they’ve never played it before. Tekken 7 did very well within it’s first week of release and I have seen many new players as well as old as there are recurring.

OK, so I’ve picked on the negatives a lot, but I don’t think Tekken 7 is a bad game. OK, it’s not up there with Tekken 5 or 6 (the best games in the series, in my opinion), but it’s still good and I would recommend picking it up. Maybe not for new players – unless they really enjoy the beat ’em up genre – but this game is definitely more for the lovers of the series purely for the focus on the lore in Story Mode. The time between releasing 6 to 7 is almost 10 years, and despite that time, I think Namco and Harada may have been (or still are) focusing on other projects – I know during this time, the Tekken Project team was working on Tekken X Street Fighter, however it’s production was halted back in 2014.

I do think that Harada is a great listener and has asked for fan feedback in the past (he did this a lot with new character Shaheen), so maybe he will listen to us and add more content into the game. There is a rumor that Tekken Bowl will be making an appearance again, possibly as DLC.

Strengths:

Great adding into the lore
Beautiful visuals and presentations
Great gameplay mechanics

Weakness:

Lacking in different modes
Bad online presence
DLC

Overall: 7/10

I would recommend this game – but only to experienced beat ’em up players and fans of the series. Tekken 7 is a good game, but – for me at least – it has not peaked up there with previous games in the series.

Thanks for reading – hope you enjoyed! Let me know your thoughts.

I have a playthrough of Tekken 7 on my YouTube channel, so check them out here.

Until next time, take care!

Modes in Tekken 7

Posted on May 27, 2017 by gamerangel301

The Tekken series is known for it large quantity of different modes as time goes on (Tekken Tag Tournament 2 for the Wii U had so many), so here’s what to expect when you finally get to load up.

Story Mode

The pinnacle of Tekken 7 (or at least, in my eyes, the bit I’m most looking forward to) that promises the conclusion of the Mishima Family Saga (I very highly doubt it though). Here, you see the story from the very beginning (before Tekken) through the eyes of a stranger who began investigating the Mishimas very early on. However, you will be playing as different characters in different situations at different times. Many of the scenarios will be standard Tekken side-on fighting scenes, along with a few quick-time events and use of weapons, such as guns.

It is split into 2 – so the other half will have character specific chapters to complete.

Arcade Mode

The standard offline mode that allows you to fight against computer-controlled opponents and make your way up through the ranks, such as Kyu, Dan, etc., etc.

Ranked Match

This allows you to fight against other players around the world who have similar abilities to yourself. It’s based on skill, so you better be confident! Or you can just choose your opponent, you know? (You actually can now).

Tournament Mode

This is new – this allows 8 players to ‘duke it out’ in a tournament styled game. Once one player is victorious, they advance further to see who is the best fighter. But don’t worry if you lose – there will also be Loser Finals so everyone can be categorized based on their performances. The Big Prize is in-game money and the chance to boast your skills.

Lobbies are password locked and allow players to chat to eachother.

Versus Mode

Self-explanatory – you can fight against friends and other players to see who is the best.

Practice Mode

This is where you go if you’re new to Tekken or a little bit rusty – pick a character and learn the moves list. You can go up against a gingerbread man-like opponent or go up against the AI.

Treasure Battle

Sadly, this is console exclusive (sorry PC users…wait, I’m getting the PC Special Editions…grrrr!!) that allows you to fight against CPU and win items that you can customize your character with (we’ll get onto that in a minute) as well as in-game fight money. However, these battles can range from normal to speed turbo battles and such. Oh, and you can face Devil Kazumi for special items.

Customize

Since Tekken 5, this has allowed players to change anything they wish in regards to a character’s appearance. In the past, they were themed but as time went on, more and more items where up for grabs – you can even make Yoshimistu look like a hammerhead shark. For real.

Items can be bought and even the gauges used to measure life during battle can be made to look pretty (this is new too). There’s also a lottery system that is also used as a crafting system to get items too.

Jukebox Mode

This is PS4-only that allows you to change tunes from a selection of previous games scores (similar to TTT2‘s Tekken Tunes mode).

Gallery

Similar to Jukebox Mode, this allows you to view any video – such as endings – from previous Tekken games. I may as well have not played the numerous games in the series for the past 10 years! Well, maybe not – there’s some extra stuff in there too (I saw a couple of anime-like scenes, so who knows).

Things to remember:

I’ve you’ve pre-ordered, you will receive Tekken Revolutions exclusive character Eliza.
If you have the Season Pass, you will have access to 2 more characters being released post launch date.
Rage Mode (introduced in Tekken 6) is still around, but not quite as effective – you no longer to extra damage on lower health but it does allow better access to Rage Arts.
Rage Arts (not to be confused with Super Moves, but they basically are) are an animation which allows the character to perform a special combo that can alter the entire game
There is a new feature called Power Crushers – these allow players to absorb more damage but vulnerable to other attacks, such as low attacks and throws.
There are a LOT of items – Idolmaster have designed outfits for female characters, along with swimwear making a return as well as other items
Gold Rush may have been removed (sad face)

There we have it – now only less than a week away until Tekken 7! There will be no Tekken 7 article next week as I’m at London MCM this weekend so you’ll get a review of that instead but I will be playing Tekken 7 on my YouTube Channel. I’m hoping to cover Story Mode as a usual video series then stream other modes such as Arcade Mode and Online Tournaments. And when I complete the game, I will be posting a review on here, so keep an eye out!

In the mean time, enjoy these videos:

Here is a link to a Japanese-spoken video that shows off a lot of the modes
Here‘s a link to GameSpot’s quick playthrough of a few chapters from Story Mode (some spoilers, so watch out)
Watch Tekken‘s latest video of the Opening Cinematic here.

Enjoy, and see you next week! Take care!

Stages in Tekken 7

Posted on May 20, 2017 by gamerangel301

OK, so we know when, who and what…but do we know where?

Yes, you we do – so far, 20 stages have been confirmed for Tekken 7 but that doesn’t rule out the possibility of more being added. Granted, neither Namco or Harada have confirmed that Tekken 7 will more more stages to the games (and 20 is a lot), with DLC and a Season Pass who knows – Tekken may do a Overwatch on us.

Now, if you’re a Tekken vet like myself, you may recognise a few of these places. And I thought only Nintendo recycled their content (just kidding, I love Namco and Tekken Project really). And carrying on with the tradition of stages in Tekken 6, these stages will also contain breakable walls, multiple floors and stuff going on in the background.

Here’s the list:

Arctic Snowfall
Devil’s Pit
Dragon’s Nest
Forgotten Realm
Jungle Outpost
Mishima Dojo
Souq
Twilight Conflict
Abandoned Temple
Mishima Building
Duomo Di Sirio
Kinder Gym
Precipice of Fate
G Corporation Helipad (both day and night segments separated into two different stages)
Arena
Violet Systems
Geometric Plane
Infinite Azure
Brimstone and Fire

Sadly I don’t think we’ll be getting any stages like the Snoop Dogg Stage in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, but we’ve also got the Story Mode to explore.

Characters Confirmed (so far) in Tekken 7

Posted on May 13, 2017 by gamerangel301

Tekken is known for its large partition of applicants for the King of Iron Fist Tournaments, so let’s have a look at returning characters:

Alisa Bosconvitch
Asuka Kazama
Bob
Bryan Fury
Eddy Gordo
Eliza (she was playable Tekken Revolution, which in itself is not a canon game due to being based off of Tekken Tag Tournament 2, but she still counts as a returning character rather than a new one)
Feng Wei
Heihachi Mishima
Hwoarang
Jin Kazama/Devil Jin (they count as 2 separate characters despite being the same person practically)
Kazuya Mishima/Devil Kazuya (same for Jin Kazama)
King II
Kuma II
Lars Alexandersson
Lee Chaolan/Violet (similar to Jin and Kazuya, except Violet hasn’t been playable since Tekken 4/Tekken Tag Tournament 2, depending on how you view it)
Leo
Lili
Ling Xiaoyu
Marshall Law
Miguel Caballero Rojo
Nina Williams
Panda
Paul Phoenix
Sergei Dragunov
Steve Fox
Yoshimitsu

tekken_7_hwoarang_render_by_datflashkid-d8wzg5m

And here are the new characters, along with a synopsis of why they have entered the tournament:

Katarina Alves: she enters the tournament to look for her lost mentor
Claudio: a mysterious man who can use light magic as an exorcist
Lucky Chloe: a J-Pop inspired G Corporation representative (I’ve already written an article for her here)
Shaheen: a Saudi Arabian man who works as a bodyguard
Josie Rizal: a model from the Philippines who enters the tournament to become a member of the Tekken Force
Gigas: another robot who bears a resemblance to Craig Marduk (who has not been confirmed so far for this game)
JACK-7: A newer model from the JACK series
Kazumi Mishima/Devil Kazumi: Kazuya’s dead mother and Heihachi’s wife who may be the origin of the Devil Gene
Akuma: from Capcom’s Street Fighter series who has a pact with Kazumi in regards to her husband and son
Master Raven: a female ninja who is in charge of the organization that previous combatant Raven works for

For the first time ever, Tekken will have lockable characters that can be unlocked by paying for them. However, if you pre-order the game, you will obtain a season pass that will last for 12 months to purchase a character. There are 2 characters that will be revealed in the future, which leaves the possibility of:

Baek Doo San
Bruce Irvin
Christie Monteiro
Ganryu
Wang Jinrei
Zafina
Jun Kazama
Julia Chang/JayCee
Lei Wulong
Roger Jr.
Anna Williams
Craig Marduk
Armor King II
Mokujin
Maybe Raven as well?

The Tekken Story So Far…

Posted on May 6, 2017 by gamerangel301

With Tekken 7 underway, let’s take a look at the story we know so far that is leading to the conclusion of the Mishima Saga…

Before Tekken

It all began around 50 years before the first King of Iron Fist Tournament with Jinpachi Mishima, a well-known fighting legend. He originally founded the Mishima Zaibatsu, however his son, Heihachi, got greedy and challenged his father. Heihachi won, and gained the Zaibatsu. He did not kill his father outright – instead he sealed him under Hon-maru, a Mishima-owned temple.

Either before or after Heihachi gained control of the Zaibatsu, he married Kazumi Hoji, then went on to have a son together – Kazuya. Something happened to Kazumi shortly after Kazuya’s birth – many people believe she died during childbirth – however, Kazuya had the idea that Heihachi was behind it.

At some point, Heihachi adopted Lee Chaolan – a Chinese orphan with a great ability to fight. Heihachi hoped that Lee would be a suitable rival for Kazuya, but he did not factor in Lee’s own motivates to gain the Zaibatsu for himself.

At the age of 5, Heihachi was training Kazuya to be the next heir of the Mishima family, however he believed Kazuya was too weak and threw him off a cliff. Kazuya survived, however went into hiding to plan his revenge.

Tekken

Around 20 years later, Heihachi opened the first King of Iron Fist Tournament, hoping to find a challenge. However, he defeated everyone who opposed him. Then Kazuya appeared – now under the influence of the Devil. Many believed Kazuya sold his soul to Devil in order to gain power to defeat Heihachi, however Tekken 7 has hinted that Kazumi originally had the Devil Gene, thus Kazuya inheriting her powers.

Kazuya defeated Heihachi and returned the favour of throwing him off a cliff and gained control of the Zaibatsu.

Tekken 2

In Heihachi’s absence, Kazuya took over the Mishima Zaibatsu and instead of reversing his father’s destruction, he became an even more ruthless leader with at the power at his disposal. He even conducted illegal experiments on animals (with the help of Dr Bosconovitch, Alex and Roger was created). His experiments caught the eye of the WWWC and Jun Kazama was sent to stop Kazuya’s experiments when the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2 was announced.

During the tournament, Kazuya and Jun met (it is hinted that it wasn’t in battle) and were ‘mysteriously drawn to eachother’. This resulted in Jun dropping out of the tournament. Kazuya proceeded to the final round of the Tournament – only to face his father who had also survived his own being-thrown-of-a-cliff situation.

Even using the power of the Devil, Kazuya was defeated by Heihachi, but instead of being thrown off a cliff, he was thrown into a volcano.

Tekken 3

With Heihachi’s power restored, the Zaibatsu kept a low profile while investigating a legend of Toshin – an orge like creature hidden in a temple in Mexico that is rumoured to have immense power. Heihachi created the Tekkenshu (Tekken Force) to investigate the temple, but only body bags returned.

Meanwhile, Jun Kazama gave birth to a boy, Jin. They lived together in peace as years continued, however around the time Jin turned 15, Jun sensed something forbidding. She told him that should anything ever happen to her; he should seek out his grandfather, Heihachi. Sadly that day came when Toshin attacked Jun, where Jin assumed she was murdered.

Toshin had previously attacked other former fighters – many of which had previously entered the last King of Iron Fist Tournament. – causing them to go missing (he only outright killed the first King). Heihachi soon announced the third King of Iron Fist Tournament.

Under Heihachi’s guidance, Jin trained vigorously to gain power to eventually avenge his mother’s death. Much like his grandfather and father formerly, Jin defeated every opponent that posed a threat, however returning champion Paul Phoenix defeated Toshin, ending the tournament.

But not for long – unknown to Paul, Toshin had a second form which Jin took on. He was successful and felt his mother’s spirit at peace, until Heihachi ordered the Tekkenshu to shoot his own grandson down. Upon realising Jin may have Kazuya’s powers, Jin’s Devil Gene manifested and in turn attacked the Tekkenshu there. Once they were dealt with, Devil Jin grabbed Heihachi, threw him through the temple wall, slammed him to the ground before he flew off into the night.

Tekken 4

Heihachi continued his reign in the Zaibatsu, conducting more experiments – this time, he wished to combine his own DNA with Toshin’s (they were able to find Toshin’s left over skin cells after he dissolved into light). The experiments however failed and the Mishima Research Lab believed it was because of Heihachi’s lack of the Devil Gene. Heihachi was also trying to locate his missing grandson Jin – he was unable to but during his search he obtained a photograph of a burnt body – one that had a resemblance to Kazuya.

Heihachi’s investigation into the photograph lead him to a small, newly established company called G Corporation. He discovered that they had taken a near-dead Kazuya and had nursed him back to health by generating a new body. Once located, Heihachi sent a squad to infuriate them and discovered his theory to be true – Kazuya was alive.

2 years after the third King of Iron Fist Tournament, Jin Kazama was residing in Brisbane, Australia where he had been unlearning his families’ fighting style and replacing it with karate. He had been undetected by anyone – including his friend Ling Xiaoyu – until The King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 was announced, with the Mishima Zaibatsu on the line. But Kazuya and Jin entered, despite already dissecting Heihachi’s plan.

Kazuya proceeded through the rounds and eventually was meant to face his son, however Jin never showed. Kazuya was told to proceed to the next round, where he faced Heihachi. Beknown to Kazuya, Heihachi had a squad of Tekkenshu ambush Jin who was on his way to face Kazuya. Jin fought hard, but sadly was suppressed, knocked out and taken away.

Kazuya and Heihachi fought once again, but Kazuya came out as the victor. Heihachi revealed he knew where Jin was located and lead Kazuya to the mist-filled temple of Hon-Maru. On arrival, Kazuya discovered Jin, still passed out and suspended by chains. As soon as he laid eyes on his son, Kazuya was overtaken by the Devil and knocked Heihachi out. While trying to absorb the other half of Devil’s power, Jin awoke and they fought. Jin was victorious and battled his how rejuvenated grandfather. Once again, Jin was victorious but before he could deliver the final blow, he saw a vision of his mother and spared his life. Using the power of the devil, Jin flew into the night, leaving his family behind.

Tekken 5

Just as Kazuya and Heihachi were waking, the Hon-Maru was ambushed by JACK-4s sent by G Corporation. Understanding that the JACKs had come to kill both of them, Kazuya and Heihachi worked together, however it was short-lived as Kazuya betrayed his father before escaping. Hon-Maru exploded, leading bystander Raven to believe that Heihachi Mishima was dead.

Kazuya returned to G Corp. and killed the many people who betrayed him. Despite Heihachi’s nonappearance, the Mishima Zaibatsu was being controlled by someone in the background. Just 2 months after the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 ended, the 5^th Tournament was announced.

Jin had flown back to his home town of Yakushima while trying to control his Devil Gene. At one point, he lost control and woke up in a destroyed forest – he had no doubt he was responsible. When he received word about the 5^th Tournament, Jin decided to enter in order to finally rid himself of the Devil Gene.

Little did anyone know (apart from Wang Jinrei) that Jinpachi Mishima who had been sealed underneath Hon-Maru and was released when the JACKs had exploded. He took control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, despite being under the influence of some monster, hoping to be defeated in so his reign would stop.

Jin managed to proceed through the Tournament (attacking his rival Hwoarang in the process) and defeat his great-grandfather, in turn taking over the Mishima Zaibatsu.

Tekken 6

Beknown to anyone, Heihachi had actually been thrown far away during the explosion and had been unconscious for 2 months. When he awoke, he discovered that Jin had taken over the Mishima Zaibatsu and used to declare war across the world. G Corporation stepped in – after Kazuya took over – and was seen as the saviour to the public. The Zaibatsu caused death and destruction transversely, and so G Corp set a price on Jin’s head. Almost as if a response, Jin announced the 6^th King of Iron Fist Tournament.

Lars Alexandersson – a Tekkenshu member – rebelled after feeling that the war they were causing wasn’t just. He took half of the Tekkenshu soldiers with him and inflirated the Zaibastu to finally stop Jin. G Corp surprised them too, their attack causing Lars to suffer from amnesia. He comes across a robot called Alisa Bosconovitch who aids him in finding his memories again. During the journey – with the help of Tougou and the rebelluion Tekkenshu army – they encountered many fighters of the Tournaments and able to regain Lars’ memories when he faces Heihachi – who turns out to be Lars’ father. Lars finally comes face to face with Jin, only to discover that Alisa was being used by him to track Lars’ movements. Jin rebooted Alisa, who turned on Lars. They fought, however Lars had the upper hand and Alisa fled. Raven joined Lars and eventually followed Jin to Egypt, where he meet his half-brother Kazuya and discovered Jin’s true motive – when Jin and Kazuya clashed previously (Tekken 4), it stirred a legendary monster named Azazel who spoke in Jin’s mind. It told him to fill the world with negative emotions, Azazel would gain his true form. Jin had done his research, and believed that if he defeated Azazel, he would free himself of the Devil Gene. Jin faced Azazel’s final form, sacrificing himself in the rumble of the temple.

However, Jin actually survived but did not rid himself of his curse.

Tekken 7

Not much is known about the storyline of Tekken 7, however it seems that Heihachi has gained control of the Mishima Zaibatsu again and this time, is prepared to finish the feud between himself and his son, once and for all. Kazumi Mishima – Heihachi’s presumed dead wife – and Akuma from Street Fighter are somehow thrown into the mix; Jin is alive and somehow in a complete different outfit compared to the post-credit scene of Scenario Campaign and Alisa might still be evil? Who knows how it’s going to end.

But I don’t think this is the end for the Tekken series.

My Top 10 Female Fighters from the Tekken Series

Posted on March 11, 2017 by gamerangel301

Another International Women’s Day has come and gone, so here’s another list to celebrate females in video games – more specifically from my favourite video game franchise, Tekken.

Rules:

This list is in no partical order apart from the top 3 spots.
I can put family members in the list, i.e. Julia and Michelle Chang can both be included in this list
Having said that, I’m not allowed to put two female characters in the list if they have the same fighting style, i.e. if I choose Miharu Hirano, that I cannot put Ling Xiaoyu on the list either are their fighting styles are the exact same.
However, I can put family members in the list if they have the same fighting style but they differ in execution, .i.e. again with Julia and Michelle Chang, they have the same fighting style, but their execution differs due to they way they perform some moves, along with different grapples and throws.
These rules don’t really make sense, but I don’t care – I had to restrict myself some way so I could get this list done
Oh, and I won’t be including any new female fighters from Tekken 7 as I have yet to play them (but I will by June – maybe I’ll do a 2.0 version of the list then).

Enough about the rules – let’s crack on!

#10 – Kunimitsu

Introduced in the original Tekken, disppearing by Tekken 3, but included in Tekken Tag Tournament 1 & 2, Kunimitsu is a fox-mask wearing ninja banished from the Manji Clan by their leader and fellow fighter, Yoshimitsu.

Despite her fighting style being similar to Yoshimitsu’s, I had more fun playing as her – especially in the last game she appeared in TTT2 where her style had been slightly revamped, along with her image.

She is quick, nimble and has some great blocking moves. That, and she can spit fire in TTT2.

#9 – Zafina

Zafina is probably one of the newest characters on this list, but also probably one of the most mysterious. She also plays a very big role in Tekken 6, especially in the Scenario Campaign. She from a line of assassin’s who guard a sacred temple that houses a legendary monster (Azazel). She also a astrologist.

Her fighting style is often described as ‘creepy’ due to her 3 stances (Scarecrow, Tarantula and Praying Mantis), flexibility and strange animations. That, and she also laughs when performs some moves.

Her style is almost successful in button-mashing but the fact that she took down a group of foreigners who were after the contents of the temple single-handedly at a young age and the fact that she seems to know a lot about other Tekken characters, such as Dragunov and Raven, says to me she is wise and strong female not to be messed with. Unless your name is Jin Kazama (spoilers!).

#8 – Nina Williams

One of the originals who has appeared in every Tekken game (she’s actually the only female character to do so), Nina is not only an iconic figure for the Tekken series, but she’s an all time favourite (in September 2012, DigitalSpy released a poll of who the most popular Tekken character was at the time and Nina won by 10.8% of total votes).

Nina is your typical assassin (don’t let the wedding dress fool you) who grew up with her young sister Anna (who also appears in the series). Both her parents were trained assassins and so passed their skills onto their daughters. Despite this, the sibling rivalry began at a young age when their father clearly favoured Nina over Anna. Her storylines throughout the games don’t really differ either – she was sent to assassinate all three of the Mishima boys (OK yes, Jin is technically not a Mishima because of his last name but his heritage dictates that he is, end of) in the first 3 Tekkens, then Steve Fox in Tekken 4, then settling things between herself and Anna in Tekken 5 and then becoming Jin’s bodyguard in Tekken 6 – meaning her storyline isn’t exactly original, but I love the sibling rivalry between her and Anna. Then again, families seem to get fucked up in Tekken.

She also has a tragic backstory – she lost her father before Tekken 2; she kidnapped and drugged by a underground assassin group; she was kidnapped again after Tekken 2 and put in the experimental cryosleep where she was impregnated (not raped) unwilling; suffering from amnesia and then having to fight her sister constantly – I would say that’s pretty messed up. Yet, none of it really seems to affect her – she is ruthless, even after finding out about her child who she ‘felt nothing’ for.

She fighting style is tricky but she can pull off some great moves, including breaking limbs and even stabbing the heel of her shoe through her opponents back.

If you’re a fan of Nina, I highly recommend you play her side-story game, Death by Degrees. It’s a bit more X-rated compared to Tekken (although her ending for TTT2 was pretty brutal) and the control schemes are different, but it is good (the story, not so much).

#7 – Ling Xiaoyu

Xiao is probably the least-liked character from the series to be on this list but I see her differently. Yes, she is annoying by following Jin around all the time, being immature when getting into arguments with her grandfather and she’s so cutesy, it hurts. Despite this, I still like her.

Her fighting style is hard to master – or maybe it’s because she has so many cool moves that I want to keep doing them over and over again so I do and my opponent ends up predicting my moves. But that doesn’t explain why I had such a hard time defeating Jinpachi Mishima during Tekken 5.

I like to think Xiao has matured as year go by (but still not graduated high school) and is someone who can handle herself. However, in the least movie Tekken: Blood Vengance, I didn’t really enjoy how she was portrayed – in the beginning, she was shown to be a bit of a trouble maker because of her lateness to school and breaking the gym equipment easily. Then it came to the ending segments (with that awesome 3 way fight scene) where she was hugging a half-broken Alisa, crying constantly and whining at Jin to stop. No, Xiaoyu! You’ve done well without him so far, you can do well without him now.

Sorry to the haters, but Xiao is a small, powerful woman with a caring personality and that whole anime-cute vibe.

#6 – Asuka Kazama

Another ‘annoying’ character – only because she keeps the peace and sticks her nose into other people’s business. But she is a ‘brutish tomboy’ who’s pretty strong and has a comedic side.

Asuka is Jin’s cousin (don’t even get me started on the pairing stuff I’ve seen for them) with the same fighting style as Jin’s mother Jun (still with me?) but poplar opposite. In comparison, Asuka’s execution of the Kazama Style Traditional Martial Arts is much ‘heavier’ with more damage made than Jun. That and Asuka enjoys fighting, whereas Jun uses it as a last resort.

If I would compare myself to any character in Tekken, it would probably be Asuka. Yes, I have brown hair and brown eyes, but the fact that believes in justice (and not quite as patronizing as Pharah from Overwatch) and isn’t afraid to fight with the boys makes her very appealing to me.

#5 – Angel

OK, so there’s something you should know about me – I’m obsessed with angels (the clue is in the name, right?). It’s not because I’m religious – because I’m not – but I’m drawn to angels because of their good energy and the fact that they have wings.

Angel has only appeared in 3 games – Tekken 2, Tekken Tag Tournament and Tekken Tag Tournament 2. In Tekken 2, she wishes to fight Devil so Kazuya can be at peace with himself once again (despite not being a part of his soul, as many players speculated). After that, she disappears and it is thought that she was unsuccessful.

Granted, she uses the same moves as Devil and Kazuya (including a laser beam) and makes some weird sounds sometimes but she is a beautiful character, despite the games hinting of her having a ‘merciless’ side. Kinda reminds me of Elysium from Soul Calibur V.

#4 – Alisa Bosconovitch

When I first saw Alisa in a reveal trailer for Tekken 6, I definitely thought she looked a like out of place for Tekken. She’s more anime than Xiaoyu, and that’s saying something. Then again, she is a robot and Tekken does not skip out on robots.

I’ve always been a fan of robots in any genre, mainly because of how they perceive humans. For example, in Tekken Blood Vengance when Xiaoyu is crying (yet again) about how humans should destroy eachother because they are not worthy to live, Alisa says, “Don’t say that, Xiao-san. I’ve grown rather fond of you all,” (or words to that affect). And who can forget the joke on when Xiaoyu falls asleep on her – “Are you recharging too, Xiao-san?”.

Despite her sweet personality, she can have a deadly side – I mean, she has fricking chainsaws in her arms! Her head can explode! She can fire her fists like rockets! That, and she was created for Jin when he went all dark side. That twist in Scenario Campaign!

T6_BR_-_Alisa_versus_Law_-_Head_Explosion_-_2

Alisa_versus_Bryan_-_Tekken_6_Bloodline_Rebellion

She’s not like other robots – especially the many in Tekken. She has emotions and cares for other people – even putting herself in danger for the sake of their lives. And she’s super polite (I know a rough amount of Japanese and I know for a fact she uses many of the polite terms that are not always fully translated).

#3 – Emilie “Lili” De Rochefort

I was really surprised how quickly Lili became popular after her debut in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection. Maybe it’s because of her fighting style – it is a unique form of ‘Street Fighting’ that comes from mainly classical dance and ballet choreography. Much like Christie Monteiro and Eddy Gordo, she is a heavy button-mashing character – despite this, her moves are gracefully and poised, but do a hefty amount of damage. That, and she’s great to use when you have your opponent pinned against a wall.

Her backstory is also much more personal compared to other characters. She comes from a rich family and so was targeted often by kidnappers. One day, she fought back and managed to take down her attackers (the Tekken 5: Dark Ressurection opening is a good example of this). Thus began her lust for fighting but her father despises violence, so she does it in secret. She then gained a rival – Asuka Kazama.

I have great satisfaction in using many of Lili’s great moves and somewhat snobbish personality.

#2 – Christie Monteiro

Christie was included in my blog entry for Internal Women’s Day last year, so I’ll keep it short.

Despite being an almost carbon copy of Eddy Gordo, Christie adds that playfulness and sex-appeal that Tekken needs to appeal to the not-as-serious fans. She’s very much happy go lucky and cares deeply for her loved ones – mainly Eddy and her grandfather.

However, I feel that in Tekken (2010) she is portrayed as nothing but a love interest for Jin (despite their paths never really crossing in the games) and rarely fights (granted, she took down Nina, but apart from that, she doesn’t really fight much).

And let’s not forget the possible romantic connection between her and Eddy (I’ve written about it for another blog entry).

#1 – Jun Kazama

A beautiful, fearless fighter who wants nothing but peace and purity in this world. She hates fighting, but will do so in order to make things right again. Despite the parallels between herself and her niece Asuka, she also draws some similarities to Angel – they both want the same things and even their endings in Tekken Tag Tournament are remarkably similar. Even in one of the Tekken comics, Angel gives her power to Jun in order to stop Kazuya, making many fans speculate that they may be one in the same person/spirit. I personally think they may be connected, but not necessarily two halves to a whole person.

I do feel sorry for her – when she knew she was pregnant with Jin, she got as far away as possible from the Mishimas in order for him not have hatred filled in his heart like the rest of them – even to the point where she fought off Devil before he was born. Jun was the only family he had, but even she knew he would not be able to survive on his own should something happen to her and instructed him to find his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, despite his actions in the past and what eventually happened at the end of Tekken 3. Sadly, her prediction was true, and she disappeared. Many thought she was dead, but Tekken’s director Katsuhiro Harada, confirmed that they only deceased Tekken characters are the first King and the first Armor King.

If Jun does return, it will definitely shake things up and , hopefully, answer some questions.

Jun is mysterious yet good hearted, as portrayed in Tekken: The Motion Picture where she worries over Michelle Chang. I hope that she does come back, even though Tekken 7 may be the end of it all.

And there you have it – I hope you enjoyed it! Let me if you would make any changes to this list – do agree with my decisions, or do you disagree?

I may do more lists like this for other games serious I enjoy. Who knows?

Thanks for reading. Until next time, take care!

My Top 10 ‘Nearly Couples’ in Video Games

Posted on February 18, 2017 by gamerangel301

[WARNING OF POSSIBLE SPOILERS]

In the spirit of Valentine’s Day earlier this week, I’ve decided to write a list of 10 of my favourite ‘nearly couples’ in video games. But what dos ‘nearly couples’ mean? Well, it means that both characters express an interest in eachother, but neither they nor the game ever states that they are a ‘true couple’ – so official and married couples will not be on this list (sorry Nathan and Elena). But here are some rules:

As stated, these couples cannot be married or in a relationship.
I will not include games from manga and animes with spin-off game titles (mainly because I’ll probably do a anime version of this list) and I will include comic book, graphic novels, etc., etc. (otherwise this list will never be complete).
I can only choose one ‘couple’ per franchise, i.e. if I choose Mario and Peach from the Super Mario series, I cannot choose Luigi and Daisy (spoilers, I didn’t choose either)

Alright, I think those are enough rules, let’s count it down!

#10 – Batman X Catwoman (various games)

For me, Batman and Catwoman are one of the golden comic book couples – their story is complicated yet not complicated at the same time. Their tales have been told in many different ways – sometimes they are in a relationship and even have children together; other times, they choose to abandon their love over their duties.

In the Arkham video games series, Catwoman appears often (even appearing as the antagonist in one of the games), however their relationship is touched upon, but never really explored. You can tell there is something between them – mainly evident in Arkham Knight when the Riddler kidnaps Catwoman so Batman has to solves puzzles in order to defuse a bomb planted on her. A relationship is also hinted between them in Injustice: Gods Among Us when Catwoman pleads with Batman to leave Gotham with her, but Batman being Batman, he declines so he can save the city once again, and they end up fighting eachother.

In Telltale’s Batman game, Catwoman is included at the start and over the course of the 5 episodes, their relationship intensifies to the point where they spend a night together. But in the end, Catwoman flees Gotham out of fear, and Batman has to let her go.

The reason why they’re #10 is because their origins are comic books and is predictable, but being such an iconic couple, I couldn’t not include them.

#9 – Reiji Arisu X Xiaomu (Namco X Capcom, Super Robot Taisen OG Saga series, Project X Zone series)

Who the hell are these people? No, what you should be asking is – who is this man and fox girl thing?

Reiji and Xiaomu first appeared in Namco X Capcom – a action RPG consisting of characters from various Namco and Capcom titles. It was Japan-only release game, so that’s probably why you’ve never heard of them or the game.

Reiji and Xiamou work for an organisation called Shinra, whose investigate disturbances in time and space, known as ‘fluxes’. 10 years prior to Namco X Capcom, Reiji’s father Shougo, was killed in a battle between Shinra and Ouma (another organisation). The game’s antagonist, Saya, is held responsible for the death of his father, which is why the two hold a grudge against her.

Namco X Capcom is a pretty long-winded game (it consists of 45 chapters) and through it, Reiji is given the role of being a ‘tight ass’ – all he cares about is duties and on the occasion, does show his caring side, especially towards Xiaomu. Xiaomu, however, is almost completely the opposite – she’s high spirited, comedic and often flirty towards Reiji. The two are a great team and seem to care deeply for one another. Hell, Reiji has a gun called ‘Gold’ while Xiaomu has a gun called ‘Silver’. Coincidence? I think not.

#8 – Solid Snake X Meryl Silverberg (Metal Gear Solid series)

Now, I haven’t played much of MSG but I know enough to dictate that Meryl was a definite love interest in Metal Gear Solid (it’s even stated on Wikipedia, so it must be true).

Meryl is a trained solider with a tomboyish attitude. She is very open with Snake – evening stating that during her childhood, she understood the world of guns more than the world of female puberty. He fate can also be decided by the player – if Snake endures being tortured by Revolver Ocelot, he will escape with her in the final segment of the game. If Snake does not, however, Meryl is later killed and Snake leaves her body to be buried in the ruins of Shadow Moses.

There are also some scenes the player can prompt during gameplay – for example, if Snake stares at Meryl during first-person mode, she begin to blush and ask embarrassing questions.

Meryl does return in later MGS games (despite her absence in MGS 2 to leave the previous game’s ending ambiguous) but is no longer seen as Snake’s love interest – in fact, she goes on to marry Johnny Sasaki/Akiba, the solider who imprisoned her in the first MGS game.

#7 – Delsin Rowe X Abigail ‘Fetch’ Walker (InFAMOUS: Second Son)

This is the first game I picked up in the InFAMOUS series, and also for my PS4. Second Son follows Delsin Rowe – a typical ‘bad boy’ teenager who suddenly gets super powers and decided to use them to fight against the prejudice of ‘Conduits’ (people who can absorb superpowers).

After discovering a series of murders of drug dealers, Delsin tracks down a girl called Fetch. After having a little fight and talking some sense into her, Delsin discovers that reason why she has been killing drug dealers is because of the death of her brother – the only person who accepted and protected her (this is explained more in InFAMOUS: First Light). Fetch eventually begins to trust Delsin, and there’s even a flirty conversation between the two before she helps him out on taking down some down guys.

#6 – Silver X Blaze (Sonic the Hedgehog series)

Not all of my ‘nearly couple’ can humans. Equally, I wanted to include LBGTQ characters too, but I couldn’t find any (boo).

Both Silver and Blaze first appear in Sonic ’06 (shudders) working together, despite how they met never being explained. Together, they try to stop Iblis and Sonic himself. Blaze is seen as the more calmer of the two – even to the point where she has to rescue Silver to ‘keep him out of trouble’.

Upon finally defeating Iblis, Silver tries to seal it within himself, but is rejected. Blaze, with her pyrokinesis skills, was accepted as vessell, and thus sacrificed herself. However, all events are erased, meaning that Silver and Blaze never actually crossed paths.

Due to Blaze’s powers, she often isolated herself due to other people’s fear, meaning she often spent time alone and found it hard to trust people. So, in order for her to even consider Silver a friend – despite how they met – means that they have some sort of special connection.

#5 – Warren Graham X Max Caulfield (Life is Strange)

Life is Strange is a beautiful indie game about friendship and consequences. You play as Max Caulfield – a shy and dorky teenage girl who discovers the power to turn back time. Warren is one of Max’s closest friends and a typical ‘science geek’. He is introduced almost at the beginning of episode 1, in which Max has to return the flash drive Warren gave her which contains films. Once Max gets it back from one of her classmates Dana, it is hinted that Warren has strong feelings towards Max, but she does not feel the same way.

Throughout the episodes, there are little ‘moments’ between the two – Max can help Warren with a science experiment to help his grade advance later in the week. At the end of episode 2, Max is seen with Warren watching an eclipse after going through the day’s events, ending with Warren moving closer to her so she is no longer cold.

Warren also takes a few beatings for Max through the game, mainly by one of the game’s antagonists, Nathan Prescott. Many characters seem aware of Warren’s feelings for her, despite Max being oblivious or just plain ignoring it. You can also make a choice to go on a date with Warren for a movie marathon in episode 2 and towards the end of the final episode, she can choose to hug, kiss or leave Warren before jumping back in time.

How Max’s and Warren’s relationship develops after the game ends is down to the player’s final choice in episode 5. If the player decided to sacrifice Chloe for Arcadia Bay, all of their developments through the episodes are erased due to Max rewriting history. But if the player does not sacrifice Chloe, a body is seen covered in a blanket by the Two Whale Diner next to a car that looks similar to Warren’s, indicating that he was killed during the storm.

#4 – Alex Weiss X Lara Croft (Tomb Raider (2013))

Similar to Max and Warren, it is heavily hinted throughout Tomb Raider that Alex has feelings towards Lara, but she does not return them. Alex often defends her when Reyes turns on her or tries to cheer her up when she feels helpless.

Alex is the last member of the Endurance to die (apart from Whitman, but I don’t count him for obvious reasons), and is certainly the saddest death for me. The crew discover the PT boat that needs to be repaired in order to escape Yamati. Alex volunteers to sneak back aboard the now broken-down Endurance, hoping he may get the chance to impress Lara when he returns. Despite this, Lara goes to search for him after he doesn’t return, only to find out that he is stuck and cannot escape. Despite being injured, Alex found the tools but has a gas container pinned on his leg, ultimately breaking it. Lara tries to free him, however with the impending Solarii and the ship on the verge of destruction, she has no choice but to leave him.

A journal can later be found written by Alex, expressing his feelings for Lara. She takes his death hard, and vows that she will may sure no-one else dies.

#3 – Cloud Strife X Tifa Lockhart (Final Fantasy VII)

I’m sorry, but I am a true supporter of Zach and Aeris being a couple.

The Final Fantasy universe has created a large amount of true love stories, but with Cloud being my favourite Final Fantasy character, I had to choose this couple over everyone else.

While Cloud and Tifa’s relationship is not hugely displayed in Final Fantasy VII (due to player’s choice as well), it is probably more evident in the movie Advent Children. I mean, they’re living together with 2 kids no less!

Tifa is a date option in the Golden Saucer segment of the game. It is also revealed that Cloud and Tifa were next door neighbours in Nibelheim before it was destroyed. When Tifa’s mother dies when she is 8, Cloud protects Tifa while climbing Mt. Nibel (despite her mother dying, Tifa thought her mother was there, so she went to go find her) but ended up being injured and their relationship somewhat impacted. However, before Cloud joins SOILDER, he sees Tifa one last time at the clock tower (a frequent date spot, apparently) and vows to protect her should she ever get a in trouble.

#2 – Eddy Gordo X Christie Monteiro (Tekken 4 – onwards)

Despite Tekken being a fighting game, it definitely explores personal relationships – the whole Mishima family are a good example.

Eddy was first introduced in Tekken 3 after being released from prison for a crime he did not commit – the murder of his parents (Kazuya Mishima was the one who actually killed them) and enters the tournament to extract his revenge (even though Kazuya did not appear in this game).

Christie is introduced into the following game as Eddy’s pupil. Eddy’s master is her grandfather and they were both in prison together. Eddy was release before his master, and so he made a vow to teach his granddaughter Capoeria. The two became close – so close that all 3 of Christie’s storylines revolve around Eddy and finding him while he broods on his first world problems.

In Street Fighter X Tekken, Christie pairs up with Detective Lei Wulong to search for Eddy, who she believes is after the Pandora Box. Lei warns her that it is a small chance he is involved, to which she replies, “Even if there’s the smallest chance, I’ll go! I have so much to say to him..,” She later witnesses his ‘death’ and is taken over by the power of Pandora.

Needless to say, Christie shows a much later interest in Eddy (this is especially evident in both their endings for Tekken Tag Tournament 2) but due to Eddy’s ambitious nature, he leaves her behind.

#1 – Link X Zelda (The Legend of Zelda series)

Link and Zelda’s relationship is easily one of the most frustrating romance pairings I have had to deal with. Link is – majority of the time – rescuing Zelda from Ganondorf and other evil doers; Zelda aids Link like a complete badass; it’s obvious they love eachother BUT THEY HAVEN’T EVEN KISSED YET!

Skyward Sword is probably the most we’ve gotten out of their relationship. It is placed as the first Zelda game and probably the strongest of their relationship – not just because of those scenes where it looks like Zelda is about to kiss Link but actually pushes him off Skyloft; or because Zelda’s father mentions how Zelda is slightly jealous of Link’s relationship with his Loftwing (yeah, she really gets jealous over a huge bird) or because of the way Zelda defends Link from Groose’s bullying ways – it’s because everything Link does in Skyward Sword is for Zelda. Yes, he rescues her in Ocanria of Time, but in Skyward Sword, Link allows Zelda to stay under the care of Impa – despite his mission being returning her to Skyloft. Skyward Sword certainly explores Link’s and Zelda’s relationship more than any other Zelda game, but then again, Breath of the Wild looks promising.

And there you have it – I hope you enjoyed! Do you agree with my list? Or would you make any changes? Let me know!

Until next week – take care! And happy belated Valentines Day!

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