Tekken 8 releases worldwide on January 26th 2024, and the public were able to get their hands on the game at the Red Bull Pindrop – Tekken 8 event, where an in-depth showcase of Victor and Reina was also broadcast from London’s Red Bull Gaming Sphere.
Reece Barrett caught up with London-based fighting game commentators Hassan ‘Spag’ Farooq (pictured right) and Ryan ‘Bubsy’ Sinclair (left) on how Tekken 8’s features like the Heat System are ‘taking things to a whole new level’ compared to Tekken 7.
Reece Barrett, Esports News UK: Tekken is a game where we haven’t seen too many Brits play at the top level in recent times. How important are events like Red Bull Pindrop to promote the game domestically and grow the scene in the UK?
Hassan ‘Spag’ Farooq: I think it’s very important to have these types of events because they’re quite rare in the fighting game community.
Through Tekken Tag 2, Tekken 6, these old Tekkens, the UK community was probably one of the strongest in Europe, but they weren’t strong on a global level.
Tekken 7 is where events like Red Bull Golden Letters started to come through slowly and the UK started to get involved.
We saw a massive influx of players through the pandemic and now we are seeing [UK] players on that world level, even competing at the Tekken World Tour final last week.
If Tekken 8 is anything like 7, it’s looking even better, and I’m sure that there’s going to be more players getting involved and reaching that top level.
Ryan ‘Bubsy’ Sinclair: I think there’s so much hidden talent out there. I know this is a bit [off-topic] to your question but these kind of events being available just brings so many hidden guys out.
I remember years ago there was a tournament in North London, and there was a player called ‘KaneAndTrench’ [Kane Heartfield] who just showed up and was beating some top level guys. And we were just sat there like ‘who is this guy?’
So these kind of events are really, really important because they give guys that may not quite have the confidence yet the chance to come down and showcase [their skills].
I’ve been playing Tekken for a while now and with some of these new players who come out, I’ve been really shocked and surprised at how they’ve levelled up so quick in such a short amount of time.
You talk about levelling up, have you had much of a chance to get your hands on the new game? Is Tekken 8 a big level up from Tekken 7?
Bubsy: Oh, definitely a level up. There’s still so much to learn and I feel that’s going to be the most important thing, the learning process.
Even just from trying out the betas and the demo, there’s so many things that I want to try out. I’lll finish playing and then two hours later, I’ll be sat thinking and go ‘hold on, this might work.’
It feels very refreshing – I’ve primarily played as Jax from Tekken 6 onwards, and from 6 to Tekken 8 he’s changed so much. I can’t wait to see him in the final build.
Spag: Tekken 8 is super, super fun. The mechanics of the game, the new Heat System, it’s really flashy but when you actually hit the opponents it gives you this different type of impact.
The Heat Smashes and the things that they’ve added into the game look good for the spectators, but also for the players, because when I’ve been talking to the community and the top pros, I haven’t heard any negative things from them.
It’s been such a positive reception which I think is rare in most fighting games, but when it comes to Tekken, everyone is just excited.
‘We saw a massive influx of players through the pandemic and now we are seeing UK players on that world level, even competing at the Tekken World Tour final last week. Tekken 8 is looking even better than 7, and I’m sure that there’s going to be more players getting involved and reaching that top level.’
Spag
Do these flashy elements excite you as commentators yourselves? Will they make the game a little more fun for spectators?
Spag: Tekken Tag 2 was not fun for spectators. That’s a fact, people did not like watching it.
Tekken 7 brought the new graphics and the rage arts, the slow-mos, all of these things that are aesthetically pleasing.
Just adding very small things like that made a huge difference to me as a commentator and made me excited, and people still talk about certain rage arts from four years ago.
People remember these little moments, and I think Tekken 8 is going to bring so much more of that.
Bubsy: I feel like all these new mechanics are so interesting and you can get so deep with it.
When it does get released, people are going to discover new ways and new things, and I really feel like this is a fresh new game. One thing that Tekken 8 does great is that it still keeps the core feel, so it feels like you’re still playing Tekken, but it just takes things to a whole new level. It’s just great.
You two have worked together with years now, and there’s a bit of a bromance between you as you’ve represented the EU scene. Are you excited to work together again in the new game?
Spag: That’s my guy! We’ve been doing stuff with Tekken Tag 2, travelling and trying to help grow the scene. We want the UK community to grow a lot and Red Bull have helped a lot by allowing us to host these tournaments, the little ones and the big ones.
These things have brought so many new faces and new fans into the Tekken scene, so of course I’m excited to work with Bubsy and all of the commentators to help to keep on growing this community.
The sky is the limit man, the game is amazing.
Bubsy: I’ve been speaking with [Spag] about his growth as a commentator and how much he’s learnt over Tekken 7.
We’ve grown such a synergy where it just feels so natural, almost like when people can finish off the end of your sentence. We sit down and just know.
But I’m also looking forward to see any new commentators who step up, like [UK commentator] K-Wiss [Kobi Scarlett] who was at the Tekken World Tour finals, and he’s an amazing commentator.
You’ve got the likes of ‘PunLife’ [Lukasz Drozda], so there’s going to be so much opportunity for the new talents to break through.
“[Spage and I have] grown such a synergy where it just feels so natural, almost like when people can finish off the end of your sentence. We sit down and just know. But I’m also looking forward to see any new commentators who step up, like K-Wiss and PunLife, so there’s going to be so much opportunity for the new talents to break through.”
Bubsy
You’re at the Red Bull Pindrop – Tekken 8 event at London’s Red Bull Gaming Sphere. How has the atmosphere been?
Spag: The venue is amazing! The set-up they’ve got here is worth coming down for alone.
We’ve got some really, really top guys coming here, even from Europe.
Having all these guys come here and the way they’ve done the venue up, it’s amazing.
There’s been a hands-on showcase of new Tekken 8 characters Victor and Reina at Red Bull Pindrop. How these two characters change the Tekken landscape?
Spag: I’m very excited to give these characters a go, everyone is super excited.
I remember I was watching the Victor trailer in Thailand and we had all the top players from the region watching with us, we had no idea it was coming out and we all got super excited to see Victor.
And Reina, this character has taken the scene by storm, become super popular already and I think most of the community is excited to see what this character is about.
Bubsy: They’ve got my mind in a swirl.
I’ve never been one to watch trailers and break them down, but with these ones, I’m rewinding, I’m looking at this, I’m saying: ‘Is this something?’
I just can’t wait to get my hands on the game and to see how these new characters work.
I reckon they’re going to be fan favourites, on week one when you go online at launch, everyone’s going to be playing as these characters.
Nobody has been able to use them yet, so who knows how they will play?
How much time have you managed to get hands-on with Tekken 8 so far?
Spag: Not a lot of time. But when the game comes out, I’m just going to be grinding it for hours and hours, I’m sure everyone will be.
This game is very deep as well, so with a short amount of time you’re never going to be able to figure everything out, but I definitely want more time so I can get a grasp on Victor and Reina especially, because they’re so unique compared to the rest of the old Tekken system.
So with that brief time that you’ve had with the game, how would you briefly sum up the big differences between Tekken 7 and Tekken 8?
Spag: It’s difficult to say in just a few words.
Just the fact that there’s so many changes where moves now do different things, like certain moves on hit will give you guaranteed damage and the way that these characters hit is so much different.
Victor has his weapons and Reina is like a hybrid of so many characters because of how many moves she has. It’s hard to put into words, but what I can say is that it’s so much fun. The more that you learn about these characters, the more fun you’re going to have.
Bubsy: I haven’t had enough time to get in depth with the Heat System, and on surface level, it just looks like enhanced moves but as time goes on I think people will figure out strategies.
They’ll figure out the best scenario to use the heat move, or say ‘I don’t want to use it yet, I’ll save it for later on in the round.’
For now they just seem like moves, but that’s something that’s going to take time, because in the beta, there’s not really enough frame detail to go into the underlay of the game yet.
Is that Heat System the one thing you’re looking forward to the most then?
Bubsy: For sure. I’m a bit of a lab nerd so I love to break things down and see how each move works.
I like to break the game down more to a science. That’s how my mind thinks when I play the game.
To be able to finally get my hands on practice mode, get that knowledge and then share the knowledge with the community, that’s how we learn things and that’s how we make the game grow.
Esports News UK conducted this interview around the Red Bull Pindrop – Tekken 8 event at London’s Red Bull Gaming Sphere. Tekken 8 drops worldwide on January 26th 2024 on PS5, Xbox Series X|S and PC.
Reece is a sports journalist who has previously worked with the likes of BBC Radio Solent, Southern Daily Echo, Salisbury Radio, VAVEL and many more. He is currently studying a degree in Sports Journalism at Solent University.
