I believe in Tekken 8. This entry into the Tekken series is by far the most dazzling, but with that said, no, I will not be playing it. Tekken 8 is a case of what happens when the pendulum swings back too far in the opposite direction: Tekken 7 was an uber defensive game, and that’s exactly why I fell in love with it. Tekken 7's defense meant movement, poking, and lots of neutral pressure. Tekken 8 is the exact opposite, where offense is king, and if you ever catch yourself defending, then say goodbye to your lifebar.
But now the dust has settled and the pitchforks are lowered, it's time to take a look back at Season 2 and look forward to Season 3.
Season 2 Disaster
On April 01, 2025, Bandai Namco dropped Season 2, and we all hoped this was some cruel April Fool's joke. Tekken 8 Season 1 was already an offensive-sided game, so the promise of a defense-focused season by Bandai Namco left many drooling. Tekken players craved jab checks, and instead, they got strong aerial tailspins, heat smash mixups, and safe on block mid heat engagers. The exact things players didn’t want.
Of course, personally, I didn’t care. I wanted to give this game a try. The patch notes were scary, and it was a clear sign the game was heading into a completely different direction than I wanted, but I loved Tekken. How could I not sink in a few hours of pure brain-dead offense? Boy, was I wrong.
I completely forgot that another person was playing the game, and most of my player matches were just guessing games. Whoever landed the first hit could just snowball their way into winning a round. Losing felt less like a lesson and more like a punishment. I quickly realized this wasn’t the Tekken that I grew to love, and like other players in the community, stepped away from the game. I lasted two weeks playing this version of the game, and just recently, I reluctantly returned.
State of the Game
Truth be told, nothing much had changed. It was still the one-sided offensive game that it was at the start of Season 2, with a few tweaks. At one point, I realized I was actually having fun. Well, as long as I didn’t pay too much attention to the required playstyle of the game. But that’s when it hit me:
Is Tekken 8 a bad Tekken game, or am I just too stubborn to adapt?
Most of the players who have stuck with Tekken 8 throughout Season 2 have said that the game is actually fun and well-balanced. Every tier list I’ve seen says that every character is top tier, and if there are any lower-tiered characters, that’s just because the top tiers are so overwhelmingly strong, which I kind of believe, but in a completely negative way.
Every character is great because they play the same exhausting game plan, and now that characters have access to these tools, then of course, everyone’s going to be top tier. I firmly believe that this all started because keyboard warriors on X kept complaining about their character. Newsflash to all of you, characters are meant to have weaknesses! It’s part of their character identity, and we can’t all be jacks of all trades.
The longer I played Tekken 8, the more I craved for a specific character archetype that I realized just doesn’t exist in this game yet. I say yet because, as a long-time fan of the series, I still want to have high hopes.
What Needs to Change?
At this point in the game’s lifespan, everyone who plays it and reads the patch notes is getting the sense that the Tekken 8 balance team is too afraid to make any major changes. I personally don’t blame them; changes in broad strokes are why we’re here in the first place. Instead, they’ve been trickling out small changes that “fix” the state of the game without compromising on their identity as the offensive Tekken. Congratulations, Bandai Namco. We are offended. But remember, I don’t want to be stubborn about this anymore.
As I’m writing this, there are gods out there still winning and staying on top regardless of all the bad balance patches. Every match by my heroes still rocks and has me screaming my lungs out. I want it, I miss it, and if this is the direction the game is going in, then the only thing I ask of devs is to bring back character identity.
Dragunov was not meant to do pigeon rolls, Asuka was not meant to be an offensive powerhouse, and Steve was definitely not the stance 50/50 mixup character. If Bandai Namco reverted these characters and made their unique strengths and weaknesses shine brighter by design, then maybe I wouldn’t have to wait another dang year for that Miguel DLC. But oh well, at least Miary Zo looks cool.
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