Fans of the popular fighting video game series Tekken are eagerly waiting for new updates, and the eventual release of Tekken 7, the next installment to the hugely successful franchise but the game developer and publisher Bandai Namco is guarding the details of its development like a hawk.
In addition to the release date, Bandai Namco is not providing any hints if Tekken 7 will be made available on PlayStation 4 (PS4), Xbox One, PC, Xbox 360, and PlayStation in the future. Currently, Tekken 7 arcade has been widely released in Japan.
What we know so far is that Tekken 7 will run on Unreal Engine 4. The game also marks the 20th anniversary of the Tekken series.
Tekken 7 director Katsuhiro Harada teased the possibility of adding guest characters. In his latest Twitter post, Harada hinted that Eliza the female vampire who was introduced in Tekken Revolution might be returning (only if there are sufficient request from fans).
Harada writes, "RT@yellow_motion #Eliza is waiting patiently for her official announcement for #TEKKEN7."
Bandai Namco has stopped released playable characters for Tekken 7 following the release of Mishima matriarch, Kazumi Mishima on June 2 of this year, reported Cross Map. There were 20 characters when Bandai Namco released the Tekken 7 Arcade in Japan early this year, then added seven new characters, including Jin Kazama (March 31, 2015), Devil Jin (April 7, 2015), Jose Rizal (April 21, 2015), Gigas (April 28, 2015), Yoshimitsu (May 12, 2015), Jack-7 (May 19, 2015) and Kazumi (June 2, 2015).
In all, there are eight new characters who made their debut in Tekken 7, including Katarina Alves, Claudio Serafino, Lucky Chloe, Shaheen, Jose Rizal, Gigas, Jack-7 and Kazumi Mishima.
What is notable with Tekken 7 is that it has lesser characters than its predecessor, Tekken 6. Tekken 6 boasts of 42 playable characters, ten more characters than Tekken 5. In the game's official publication, PlayStation: The Official Magazine, Harada said, "The number of playable characters will be bigger than Tekken 5 and be the largest roster in the series."
Confirmed Characters: Alisa, Asuka, Bryan, Claudioa, Devil Jin, Dragunov, Feng, Gigasa, Heihachi (Stage 4 Sub Boss), Hwoarang, Jack-7, Jinb (Secret Stage 4 Sub Boss), Josie, Katarina, Kazumi/Devil Kazumia (Devil Kazumi) (Final Boss), Kazuya/Devil, King, Lars, Law, Leo, Lili, Lucky Chloea, Paul, Shaheena, Steve, Xiaoyu, and Yoshimitsu.
Unconfirmed Characters: Eliza (Harada claims that Eliza can appear in the game if she is requested enough.), Jun Kazama (Harada hinted that she could potentially return if she were requested enough for Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and Jun was included in said title), and Nina Williams (She has appeared in all previous Tekken games.).
Cameos; Christie Monteiro (She appeared in the full trailer), Jinpachi Mishima (He appeared in the trailer), Kuma (His Tekken 6 CG art is printed on Tekken 7 tickets), Miguel (He appeared in the full trailer), Mokujin (His model is used during the position select screen, and there is a life bar customization based off of him.), Panda (There is a customizable icon using an image from her Tekken 5 ending), Tougou (He appeared in the full trailer), and Wang Jinrei (He appeared in the full trailer)
Tekken 7 was released in Japan's arcades in March 18 this year. Following the same timeline, the game could finally be released in the latter part of 2016 or the early part of 2017.
