Tekken Bloodline Needed To Be More Self-Indulgent

thegamer.com:

Tekken debuted 28 years ago and has gone on to become one of PlayStation’s signature titles and one of the most beloved properties in the entire fighting game genre. I still recall the wonder of loading up Tekken Tag Tournament as a launch game for the PS2, but the series arguably reached an early peak on PS1, in 1998’s Tekken 3.

Namco really pulled out the stops for this third entry, with outstanding production values throughout, and also including some fantastic mini games. The quality of presentation was evident in Tekken 3’s amazing endgame FMV sequences for each character once you’d completed Arcade mode. It was like watching a mini movie, and the graphics looked exceptional for the time. I can still remember Lei Wulong perching in the hands of a golden Buddha to this day. This was a series known for its deep lore and rich characterisation, but also wasn’t afraid to get silly when it mattered either.

Related: Tekken 8 Needs To Make The Men As Stylish As The Women

So it was that I settled into watching Netflix’s Tekken Bloodline, a new anime series that aims to revisit one of my favourite entries in the entire franchise. I had high hopes after viewing the trailers and coming to realise that the writers had chosen to hone in on adapting the time period from Tekken 3. For this was the apex, before things got rather convoluted.

Here’s the gist: Heihachi Mishima is the evil head of a shady business empire, one that Japan, with its Yakuza traditions, is not shy of dramatising. But he is usurped by his even more evil son, Kazuya, who also has supernatural powers. In mysterious circumstances, Kazuya goes missing. But Heihachi’s grandson, Jin Kazama, appears on the scene, with his good looks and sweet disposition, but who,