Summary
VeteranTekkendevs Katsuhiro Harada and Michael Murray don’t think releasing a collection of retroTekkengames would work due to the differences between 2D and 3D graphics. Some of the most well-received entries in theTekkenseries are 90s retro titles, such asTekken 3.
From the time of arcades to the era of home consoles,Tekkenhas been a constant for fansof the fighting game genre. Throughout its three decades of existence, Bandai Namco’s franchise has garnered praise for the developer’s commendable work with each entry, whether it beTekken Tag Tournament 2orTekken 8. While fellow Japanese studio Capcom is repackaging its retro fighting games and porting them to modern systems, Bandai Namco has so far strayed away from using this tactic withTekken. And, it appears that this may remain the case for the foreseeable future based on recent statements by veteran series devs.
In an interview withTheGamer,Tekken 8co-producer Harada shared that he doesn’t think a retro game compilation would work forTekkenas its earliest games use 3D graphics, unlike the 2D graphics used byCapcom’s retro fighting titles. He explained that those who play 3D fighting games “tend to play the latest installment” and seeing the earliestTekkengames' polygon character models wouldn’t look “nearly as impressive” as they did before. TheTekkenexecutive producer continues that 2D fighting games, being “just sprite characters and stuff,” don’t face this issue as they “don’t seem to age graphically that much.”
Tekken’s Chances of Getting a Retro Fighting Game Collection Seem Low
On the other hand, Murray, who was translating for Harada, also gave his own opinion on the matter. Similar to Harada, he feels that 3D fighting games tend to age worse than those with 2D graphics. However, he acknowledged that if the gameplay offered something “drastically different,” as in the case ofTekken Tag 2versusTekken 7, he might be tempted to give a fighting game with outdated 3D graphics a try “for a little bit.” Harada recently suggested that long-servingTekkendevs may depart after the next game, which would leave the question of aTekkenretro games compilation open for new devs to consider.
With both longtimeTekkencollaborators not excited by the idea of a retro games compilation, it is more or less settled that the series' fans shouldn’t expect anything along the lines ofCapcom Fighting Collectioncoming for Bandai Namco’s fighting game IP. As a result, there currently seems to be little hope for anyone wanting to play classics like the originalTekkennatively on modern consoles. However, that doesn’t mean there’s no demand for retroTekkentitles among players today. Collections likeMarvel vs Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classicsare often boughtout of a sense of nostalgia, which is catered to by modern ports of retro games. In caseTekkenalso receives its own retro games collection some years down the line, it would offer fans a more convenient way to play the classics.
Tekken 8
WHERE TO PLAY
Tekken 8 brings the fight to the latest generation of consoles, powered by Unreal Engine 5. Feel the power of every hit in Tekken 8, the latest entry in the legendary fighting game franchise from Bandai Namco. Utilising the power and realism of Unreal Engine 5, Tekken 8 pushes the envelope for fighting games by taking full advantage of the power of the latest generation of consoles. Ground-breaking new features, breathtakingly detailed character models and dramatic environments make this one of the most visually stunning and immersive titles in the genre yet. Tekken 8 picks up after the gruesome battle that ended in Heihachi Mishima’s defeat in Tekken 7, focusing on a new rivalry, pitting father against son as Jin Kazama stands in defiance against Kazuya Mishima in a city-shattering face-to-face showdown.
