It's five in the morning and I just watched the trailer for the seventh official installment of the Tekken series. Briefly, I'll share my two biggest narrative takeaways.
AKUMA'S STARRING ROLE
AKUMA'S STARRING ROLE
Street Fighter's ultimate warrior will be featured in the game. It's not overly surprising that a character from another fighting game franchise is making a cameo appearance in a Namco Bandai game. Cameos are a part of the bread and butter of the Soul series, after all. What makes Akuma's guest appearance unique is that he's actually going to play a direct role in the main story of the series.
In what seems like a prayer, Heihachi's wife, Kazumi, pleads to Akuma to deal with her husband, as his actions will bring about the destruction of the earth. She never uses the name "Akuma" or "Gouki," so we're not sure if she has a personal relationship with him. Akuma says that he intends to repay a debt, but the trailer doesn't show whether or not she can actually hear him. It could be one of those things where the woman did something to help Akuma inadvertently. My biggest question: what could Akuma possibly need from anyone? A debt requires a need. It's been well-established that Akuma has no needs outside of training and fighting the best in the world to the death.
Also, if Kazumi made this plea prior to the first Tekken tournament, there had better be a really, really good explanation as to why Akuma waited seven full games to make good on his promise to her. It better be plausible. It better be realistic. Otherwise, this all becomes a cheap crossover ploy by Namco Bandai and Capcom.
HEIHACHI MISHIMA IS RICHARD III
I have long held a belief that Tekken's main storyline, regarding the Mishima family blood feud, is a Shakespearian tale. More specifically, I've always seen Heihachi Mishima as a mirror for Richard III. This trailer further solidifies my position.
Both Richard and Heihachi are cruel, devious, calculating, and yet somehow endearing and legendary. I've been working on a full Heihachi/Richard III analysis. I've used parts of it in my presentations on Fighting Games & Literature. With the release of this trailer, I'll need to move up the timetable of its completion.
That's all for now. Back to bed I go.
