Hate to break it to you...Took some time looking at T8's story (minus the character episodes. Not done looking through all of them). Given I didn't play the story but I watched as a spectator. I'll give praise where praise is due, this story is miles better than Tekken 7, heck even T6's. Not to say this is on par with Injustice. But this is a story mode that did what I hoped it would do in most parts.
Pros:The final battle was excellent.
Jin was a solid protagonist. I'd say he's a much more understandable protagonist than T7 Heihachi. His progression, though anime-like in some ways, was well executed. And I think an active Jin always makes the story more engaging (compared to T7 Jin).
Kazuya was a good, menacing villain this game. T7 Kazuya was kinda an anti-villain to me that went from 0 to 100 . T8 showed Kazuya as an actual threat which has been missing in not only fighting games but even media in general.
This was the strongest I've seen Ling in. Ling as a character in this story is exactly what I was mentioning when I talked about seeing characters grow, develop, and having story arcs reach its conclusion. I don't know if the anime helped or something. But I actually liked Ling as a character in this story.
Supporting cast had some decent moments. Moments with Leroy, Hwoarang, etc. was solid enough for me. Leo had more shine as well, which was relatively good.
The tekken force stuff was very well put.
Ngl, I was feeling Azucena in the story.
Opening was strong (considering that's what we see with the T8 demo, I liked the opening a lot).
Ngl, Lars had a good role as well. I wasn't feeling that T6 Lars and T7 Lars didn't do much. This was a good story for him. He held his own against Kazuya for the most part. And he was a good deuteragonist.
For what little the iron fist tournament was, it was kinda cool to touch up on some of the other characters if not for a brief moment.
Cons:
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I wasn't a fan of Reina in this story.
Asuka was underwhelming. Though to her credit, she was much better than any of the other games (besides 5) and it look like they finally put that lili rivalry to bed (I don't know about the character episode though so...)
Wasn't feeling Victor neither. Felt like he was stepping on Ravens toes.
The other "antagonists" were super underwhelming (minus 1).
This might be super unpopular but Nina to me is pointless story-wise. Maybe T6 was the last time I saw Nina in a positive light story-wise.
Though Jun does make an appearance, it was underwhelming. To her credit, her character episode was good.
If I had to nitpick one aspect of the over-arching story it's basically, the power of friendship wins. While it's not a bad theme, I can't help but think they could've executed this better.
Overall, though the story did feel like a shonen anime in some regards and I really wasn't feeling Reina (Her character episode though was good and I still like her overall), Victor, & such, for a Tekken story, this was by far the best story to date. And I'll even give it bonus points because we got none of that narrator again.
Asuka isn't mentioned in Lili's episode. It's just her, Leroy and Law.Hate to break it to you...
Asuka vs Lili rivalry is VERY strong still in Asuka's character episode and I can probably assume the same in Lilis episode. (I've only done Asuka Jun, Reina atm)
At this rate Namco should get sued by Hanna Barbara for all these scoobydoo assetsI wish I was. I mean I would assume that Namco got permission to use them, but I’ve heard several different takes and more often than not that can cause confusion.
Oh well. I guess they're going with this similar to how Karin, Ibuki, & R Mika were in SFV. I did wish Asuka had like a Sakura kind of growth but maybe T9. I'll at least give a positive point that she wasn't hostile to Jin in the story. I guess it goes into another con with the story in that it could've expanded on some things more. But I'll take what I can get.Hate to break it to you...
Asuka vs Lili rivalry is VERY strong still in Asuka's character episode and I can probably assume the same in Lilis episode. (I've only done Asuka Jun, Reina atm)
I think I saw that episode. 3/5. Liked the Leroy aspect though.Asuka isn't mentioned in Lili's episode. It's just her, Leroy and Law.
Combo Challenges are KT assets, they should send lawyers after Bamco!
In seriousness I am curious what exactly Shimbori was involved with in the game. He said on Twitter he had little to do with the stage interactions. Was he hired at the beginning stages of development or near its completion or what?
I'm not so sure, cuz DOA 3 and 4, in my mind, had pretty bad story modes, as I've said before. I do agree there should be a separate mode, but my God, T8's character episode endings suck.I really miss how when Dead or Alive 3 and Dead or Alive 4 had those FMV Character Endings whenever you finish through a fighter's story that plays out through the game. I honestly would rather wish those Character Episodes like that for each fighter should make its return for Dead or Alive 7. Just really hope so...
Bingo.So, all the budget went to the Story mode. Everything else makes it feel like a $30 game.
I don’t agree with you saying that Dead or Alive 3 and 4’s Story Modes are awful, it’s just they made those Characters Endings to understand their origin traits a little more. I think it’s a little more better once we get Dead or Alive 7, we might have ourselves a nice flashback of those fighter’s past experience and that would make a lot of sense.I'm not so sure, cuz DOA 3 and 4, in my mind, had pretty bad story modes, as I've said before. I do agree there should be a separate mode, but my God, T8's character episode endings suck.
I don't think FMV or CGI endings will really be a thing anymore if DOA does get another installment, I think fighting game devs and devs in general deem it easier to just use their own game's models and environments to do pre rendered scenes rather than just separate CGI movies since it saves time and money.So I have been able to experience through Tekken 8's Main Dark Awakens Story Mode and... it was ok. It wasn't really much when I had to go through the character's plot detail and some past references that anyone might know just somehow is thrown into the game. I honestly wasn't too hyped over it because it reminded me of something what Dead or Alive 5 has worked over before, and that's just my experience. In light of this game, those Character Episodes are a nice comeback to the players that remember those FMV Ending Cutscenes whenever you complete each fighter's playthrough match. It's just.... I really miss how when Dead or Alive 3 and Dead or Alive 4 had those FMV Character Endings whenever you finish through a fighter's story that plays out through the game. I honestly would rather wish those Character Episodes like that for each fighter should make it's return for Dead or Alive 7. Just really hope so...
Barely. I didn't expect you to agree, to be fair, but I don't think those endings told us a whole lot. Especially when both games had a lot of loose ends they just left hanging until later games tried to address them. (If at all.)It’s just they made those Characters Endings to understand their origin traits a little more.
That's a big if, but it also depends on the character and context. If they try to somehow tug at the heartstrings with Helena, despite her being the one who initiated a PR shitstorm within her own company, I'm leaving the room in a heartbeat. "It's like pineapple on pizza. It's just wrong."I think it'd be better if we get a flashback of each fighter’s past experience and that would make a lot of sense.
But even so when those two Dead or Alive games were released back then, their CGI/FMV Endings had a sort of feel over what those characters are thinking in their minds and what the canon stories are really. Even if they're not the best in terms of the plot, it would only mean for show. But I still do want that Character Episodes to return for DOA7 when the developers would be smart enough to bring that one back over to their game.I don't think FMV or CGI endings will really be a thing anymore if DOA does get another installment, I think fighting game devs and devs in general deem it easier to just use their own game's models and environments to do pre rendered scenes rather than just separate CGI movies since it saves time and money.