The Tekken 7 World Tour Finals wrapped up recently, with Japanese player Chikurin taking the win over Korean player Ulsan in a rather quick grand final. However, right before the Top 8 started, Namco Bandai general manager Katsuhiro Harada and Tekken 7 producer Michael Murray came out on stage to make some Tekken related announcements. Amusingly, because the announcement was accidentally leaked a few days prior, the surprise was ruined and Harada initially berated the crowd just as a joke while downplaying the leak.
"I'M VERY UPSET. SHUT UP AND SIT THE HELL DOWN. DON'T ASK ME FOR SHIT. THERE IS NO LEAK" – @Harada_TEKKEN #TWTFINALS pic.twitter.com/NzfWcbxeTS
— HiFight(ハイファイト) (@HiFightTH) December 8, 2019
The first announcement was the gameplay reveal and release date for Leroy Smith. First announced at EVO 2019 as part of the Season 3 pass, the blind Wing Chun fighter grabbed the attention of many people across the Internet, including famous hip-hop artist T-Pain, who cosplayed as the character. The trailer was the first time players got a view of his fighting style in-game, which starts off with a large number of parries. This is reminiscent of another Tekken character and fellow Kung Fu user, Wang Jinrei, who was also known for his ability to parry multiple blows. The most prominent moves in the trailer are his rapid chain punches, made famous by Ip Man; the Chinese Wing Chun master and teacher of Bruce Lee. Players will have many opportunities to land these chain punches as they are present in his attack strings and also in one of his throws. He also comes with his dog, Sugar, that he can send out to attack the opponent, and his cane that he can use once per match as a long range attack. The trailer ends with his Rage Art; a flurry of punches ending with a powerful one-inch punch that sends the opponent flying.
The next announcement was the return of the sumo wrestler and Julia Chang fanboy, Ganryu. His trailer humorously plays on Julia’s new role in the Tekken lore as a streamer as his reveal trailer is him streaming his own announcement — even acknowledging his announcement is not exactly a fan favorite. He comes with an all-new design that almost resembles a tengu. He sports a full beard, prayer beads, and a large robe with hakama. Ganryu’s fighting style remains mostly unchanged since his last appearance in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, featuring hand thrusts, multiple grounded stances, and highly damaging throws. His trailer ends with Julia watching him host his own reveal trailer and with Ganryu trying to imitate her sign-off pose, much to Julia’s disgust. One other note of interest brought up by Michael Murray is the fact that Ganryu’s facial capture for the trailer was done by Harada himself.
The final announcement was a trailer for another brand new character; the Muay Thai colossus, Fahkumrah. The trailer starts with Tekken’s resident giant Craig Marduk being surrounded by soldiers who signal for a helicopter to airdrop a giant metal slab onto the field. The slab is revealed to be holding Fahkumrah in restraints and he walks into frame showing off his daunting size and intimidating appearance; his whole body covered in tattoos and his arms being larger in proportion to the rest of his body. Some have likened his appearance to a character from the manga series Baki the Grappler, where characters also have exaggerated muscles and proportions. His fighting style features the trademark Muay Thai skills of elbow strikes, knee blows, and slash kicks. His kicks, in particular, seem especially powerful as they can stagger the opponent even if they’re blocking. He also seems to have some sort of power-up ability where his tattoos glow red, though it is unclear for now as what this abilities does. Bruce Irvin and Josie Rizal both had similar fighting styles, so it remains to be seen how Fahkumrah will differ from those two.
Fahkumrah also comes with his own stage — an arena in a cave in Thailand surround by water and Buddha statues where the ground can be broken and players can fall deeper into a cave. This makes it the second floor break stage in Tekken 7.
Leroy Smith, Garyu, and the frame data display are available for download as of the writing of this article. Fahkumrah and the new Thailand stage will be coming some time in Spring 2020. DLC characters cost $6.99 individually and the entire Season Pass will cost $24.99 and will come with Zafina, Leroy, Ganryu, the frame data display, Fahkumrah, and his stage. Tekken 7 is available for Playstation 4, Xbox One, and PC.
