Tekken Force
The Tekken Force mini game was first introduced in Tekken 3 and made another appearance in Tekken 4. This mini game laid the foundation for newer modes like Tekken 5’s Devil Within and Tekken 6’s Scenario Campaign, which essentially built upon the original mini game from Tekken 3. Even then, the newer modes never garnered the same fanfare that the original Tekken Force mode still has behind it.
This mini game had players select their character before entering a side scrolling form of the game that pits players against Tekken Force members. The mode contained a total of four different levels with a boss at the end of each one. It was a fun Streets of Rage style mini game that broke up that monotony of just playing countless matches over and over again.
Tekken Ball
At one point people probably would have scoffed and laughed at the idea of volleyball and Tekken blending together to create a new mini game. Well, that’s exactly what happened in the third game’s Tekken Ball mode and it turned out to be a fan favorite. At first glance, Tekken Ball just seems like an intense game of volleyball that features characters from the classic fighter but it’s truly a lot more than that. This mode is still all about draining your opponent’s health bar, you just have to use a colorful ball to do it. There are three different types of balls available in this mode—the beach ball, the gum ball, and the iron ball. Each one respectively deals 60%, 80%, and 100% of the damage of the attack used to launch the ball at your opponent.
The only rule of actual volleyball that truly applies here is that you can’t cross the line into your opponents side of the playing field. Other than that, you’re essentially trying to launch the ball at your opponent and deal enough damage to eventually drain their entire health bar. It’s a surprisingly fun game mode that would make a welcome addition to Tekken 7.
Mushroom Battle
This one isn’t necessarily a classic game mode but it’s still a pretty fun one. The Mushroom Battle mode was added exclusively to the Wii U version of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and blended the world of Tekken with the world of Mario. This mode places gamers in solo battles but changes things up by tossing in a variety of mushrooms and the star from Mario. Each item gives players different stat changes based on which one they pick up in the game. The Super Mushroom increases the fighter’s size by one level. The Mega Mushroom increases the fighter’s size to its maximum. The Poison Mushroom will decrease the fighter’s size by one level, which will also reduce their stamina. The Golden Mushroom gives fighters a speed boost for a limited amount of time. The star, however, is where things can get really tricky if your opponent grabs it before you do. Staying true to the star’s impact in the world of Mario, this item will grant players invincibility for a short amount of time. As an added bonus it will also cause guard damage to the opponent.
This mode was created with Nintendo in mind so it’s clear that it can’t really exist on other platforms, but other versions of it could certainly do well. A one-on-one battle with stat altering items being haphazardly tossed into the match still makes for a great time. It would be fun to see similar versions of this mode make their way to this latest entry.
Team Battle
Tekken’s Team Battle Mode was a classic that remained in many of the games ever since it was first introduced in Tekken 2. This mode allowed players to make a team of eight characters to pit against a friend or just the AI. Players would then do their best to eliminate the opposing team of eight before their own squad was completely wiped out. Unfortunately, the mode hasn’t made an appearance in the latest game just yet, which caused some players to take to online forums questioning why the mode has been removed.
For now, there are no signs the mode will make a return but it was certainly a fun way to get some quick experience playing with and against a variety of different characters.
Published: Jul 7, 2017 09:30 am