According to a post on the forums of Tekken fansite Tekken Zaibatsu, the May issue of Japan’s Arcadia magazine contains some new exclusive details regarding Tekken 6, which plans to be released in Japanese arcades by the end of 2007. However, at this point in time, the game is still only 40% complete.
One of the major differences going from Tekken 5 into Tekken 6is the complete change of character animations for every single character on the roster. What this means is that players will no longer be able to rely on the same old visual cues when it comes to predicting their opponents’ techniques. The article takes particular notice of the animation changes made to both Lei and Yoshimitsu, who have gradually sunk lower and lower into the character tiers since Tekken Tag Tournament and have therefore been in serious need of a character overhaul.
In particular, director Katsuhiro Harada explained that Yoshimitsu has been too difficult a character to control with too high of a learning curve in recent Tekken games, so his moves — particularly, his sword styles — have been changed drastically for Tekken 6. As the story goes in this game, Yoshi’s sword has been losing power, which threatens his position of leader of his Manji clan. So in order to adapt, he’s been forced to adopt two new fighting styles: one that uses twin swords and one that uses fists. Whether Yoshi can freely switch between styles during play remains to be seen.
