Tekken is not an easy game. No matter how hard you try and practice, at some point some guy will pick Eddy and you will lose to bullshit, it’s the name of the game. There are so many characters all with hundreds of moves. It is impossible to deal with all of it, especially as a new player.
This post is about Tekken as a game, how to improve in it, and what life skills it teaches us.
I am by no means an expert when it comes to Tekken, but I have played and watched a lot of Tekken 7.
With the release of Tekken 8 I thoguht it would be a good idea to explore 5 things Tekken teaches us about life and the game.
1 practice makes perfect
When it comes to Tekken and fighting games in general, there is no way around practice mode. You simply have to practice to get better at the game. It is not enough to simply play the game. You have to learn to punish your opponent’s moves. You have to learn combos so you can do damage.
This process is not fun at all. It’s never fun to suck at something. It’s not fun to be a total beginner when it comes to playing an instrument, it’s fun to be a master who can show off their skills. To get to the point of mastery you need to put in the time.
It truly sucks to spend hours in practice mode falling at a set-up or a combo, but it is necessary for success.
2 You will lose a lot
No matter your talent, you still have to work hard to become good at anything. The very best Tekken players have played the game for years and years and have also gotten their asses beat multiple times in the process.
As mentioned in the beginning there are so many characters with so many moves. It is impossible to know everything, especially as a new player.
Just like life, you split it up into smaller parts.
Instead of learning ALL characters you start by learning your own character. What can they do? What is punishable? Next, you start to learn the most used moves by the most used characters. That way you will know how to handle specific situations.
You have to celebrate the small victories. Celebrate if you finally manage to punish a particular move correctly. Even if you lose the match it’s still worth focusing on what you did well, what works, and what you improved on. Even if it feels like a slow process.
3 don’t use bullshit
Some players only think about winning, not improving. It can be tempting to pick a bullshit character with a lot of moves that are hard to punish for beginners. However, this is not a good way to improve at the game.
If you play like that it will feel good to win in the beginning, but at some point you will rise in the ranks and meet someone who knows what to do against your moves.
Because you have spent no time improving at the game you are not able to adapt in a fight when someone knows your gameplan. Thus you will lose a couple of ranks only to be put back where you started and the whole thing continues again.
Believe me, it is endlessly satisfying to finally figure out how to deal with certain playstyles and moves that you struggled with before.
4 Learn from players better than yourself
There are a lot of streams you can watch to get inspiration. However, Watching the very best of the game can be daunting since they play on a completely different level than anyone else.
Instead, if you find yourself losing to the same opponent (who is not using bullshit, but is simply better) ask them for tips and even a practice session.
5 Don’t give up
It can be frustrating and annoying to play the game. At times it feels almost impossible to carry on, but only those who persist through the hard times will improve. It takes time and effort more than anything. It is impossible to get good at the game right away, even for other fighting game specialists.
Bonus Tip Play on PC
In my own experience, people who play on PC are more friendly, less toxic and they rematch more. I personally also found the overall level to be higher.