I think fighting games are like religion - the one you’re raised with just makes sense, and all the others just seem like: “why would anyone spend their time with that!?”
I love Tekken. Played 1 a bit. Played 2 a lot. Played 3 a bit. Played Tag and 4 a huge amount at work. Played 5 a bit. 6 not so much. 7 lightly. And now I’m mainlining 8 and absolutely loving it. So I have to concede - after a lifetime sinking time into Tekken of one form or another, you can’t really take my views on it as anything other than completely biased.
But I love it. Every time I’ve tried to play another beat-em-up like SF or MK I’ve just ended up confused. I know, intellectually, that these are good games. But I just don’t understand the… texture of them. SF feels floaty, stuff happens but I don’t really understand what I’m doing or how it affects what I’m seeing on screen. MK feels oddly stilted, the way the characters move feels artificial, slow.
Only Tekken feels… real. Just the right amount of nimble. When I get hit, I know why I got hit. I can predict shit, and feel good when I block a load of stuff. I feel like only with Tekken can I worry less about the controller and more about the strategy, and the mind games.
King of Iron Fist all the way.
… and aren’t necessarily great for everyone. They cause a substantial number of people to feel nauseous.
If these achieve a similar effect without the downsides, then that’s both new and interesting.