Why was six afraid of seven? Because seven ate nine! But this is one thing with Tekken. Tekken 6 is a game that came out in 2009 and Tekken 7 came out to consoles in 2017. So the games do have a significant time apart -- so why did Tekken 7 turn out the way it did? I had a very high expectation but it came crashing low. Although it's no secret that I tend to prefer Tekken 5 over Tekken 6 in my ranking list -- I still don't want to deny that I do like Tekken 6 even with some minor issues. I still WTF at the diversion where I must play through Scenario Campaign to unlock the character endings. It also sucks that Lars doesn't have his own ending too except for completing Scenario Campaign.
Gameplay
Okay, I can talk about the game's weaknesses such as the slower loading times and maybe the rage system can be imbalanced. I admit, the rage system can be very annoying and that was fixed in Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Sometimes, I can't decide which is more frustrating between being hit by the rage in Tekken 6 or a Fatal Blow from Mortal Kombat 11 just when you're about to win the match. But it does have a lot of new strategic ways. If MK11 made you think twice before using the only used once Rage -- I think Tekken 6's rage system adds depth to the gameplay. Either you're the cornered cat or your opponent is the cornered cat! Sometimes, I can't forget how I trolled friends by getting close victories and vice versa. It was worth a lot of laughs whenever either one of us won by rage mode.
Better roster
The roster of Tekken 6 is really what I'd call much richer than Tekken 7. I can't stand the new Tekken 7 newbies. Josie Rizal? I wonder why didn't the game developers make Christie Montero the first Filipino player WAY BACK THEN? Eddie Gordo could've passed as Filipino too you know! Zafina herself has more of a reason to be there than Josie -- she's the one who sees the prophecy of Azazel and she fits in perfectly! The cast of characters isn't there just for the sake of new characters -- a mistake that the 3D era of Mortal Kombat era made with characters like Drahmin and Hsu Hao. Leo who turns out to be a woman pretending to be a man (which is probably Katsuhiro Harada's trolling device) also has some bone with the Mishima. Miguel has a grudge against the Mishima Zaibatsu for the death of his sister. These characters were better integrated into the story than the newbies in Tekken 7 -- most of them were just knockoffs off previous characters!
Better content
Need I mention the single-player content is richer aside from the Scenario Campaign? Arcade mode? Well, while I was disappointed that there are no character endings in this mode but at least it was richer -- you got a satisfaction beating Azazel even if you didn't get the ending. Tekken 7's Arcade Mode was so DISAPPOINTINGLY SHORT like the novice tower in MK11. There's also the Ghost Battle which really is one of the best reasons why I enjoyed Tekken later in my life. Like, wasn't Tekken a game known for rich content? Tekken 6 has a lot of that! Sadly, its successor Tekken 7 failed to improvise on it except with buttery smooth controls. Need I mention that the game had none of those sleazy microtransactions that Corporate Commander loves to brag about? Unfortunately, I saved up my income and bought the disk so why do I have to pay for extra characters now in Tekken 7?!
Story mode has a better plot and dialogue
I may consider Tekken 6's Scenario Campaign to be the game's weakness but is it really that weak? I would admit that somehow Tekken 6's Scenario Campaign owns Tekken 7's rather bland Story Mode by miles. The Tekken 6 Scenario Campaign is nearly played to perfection except with boss fights and that stupid Arena Mode. We don't get Mr. Boring Narrator from Tekken 7. The narration of the cutscenes are so well-done. I have to admit that the way Lars was featured is really well-done such as how his relationship with the Mishimas is well-established. I just love how he knows of the ongoing blood feud or why he doesn't trust his father Heihachi to whom he's a bastard to. You can imagine the tension here and there as Lars seeks to stop the global war. I even think he's probably Tekken's version of Mortal Kombat Armageddon's Taven -- except he's far more interesting than Taven ever was! After all, wasn't Tekken 6 basically getting the world into the brink of Armageddon? Only that Lars succeeded while Taven failed. So eat your heart out Taven!
Better character endings
I would admit that while I hated having to go through Arena Mode to get the endings. It was somewhat worth it unlike Tekken 7's character episodes. Many of the endings in the character episodes lack personality. Tekken 6? Many of them present the what-if scenarios such as I love how Kazuya gets so badass or how Heihachi ends up getting killed in his own ending. These endings had way more personality than what I saw in Tekken 7's character episode endings. Sure, I have to play that stupid Arena Mode but at least it was worth it. Though I'd still prefer unlocking endings via Arcade Mode.
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