That Green Dude

At EVO 2018, Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada took to the stage after a fantastic Tekken EVO 2018 finals and announced that a second season pass for Tekken 7. People were expecting a Season 2 given the success of Tekken 7 and the first season pass.

We know three of the characters that we will be getting in Tekken 7’s second season pass, Tekken originals, Anna Williams, Lei Wulong and Negan (yes, you read that correctly) from The Walking Dead. This leaves three character slots open and they are ripe for speculation. Who will fill the empty character slots? Could they be more legacy characters or, could one of them be another guest character?

I’ve come up with a selection of contenders who have a chance of being a part of Tekken 7’s Season 2. I’ve chosen three legacy characters and two guest characters as I think, we will get either three legacy characters or, two legacy and one more guest character. Now let’s dive into who I think will enter the King of Iron Fist Tournament 7.

 

Three legacy characters

Armor King

Armor King has been in several Tekken titles and he fights similar to King. Like King, he is a wrestler and uses a lot of grappling moves that can be chained together to deal devastating damage. Armor King’s move set is a bit more aggressive than King’s with his repeated ground stomps being one example.

His absence in Tekken 7 was felt as he is a fan favourite. Also for those into each characters stories will know that Armor King had one of the more interesting ones. The ending of Armor King’s story in Tekken 6 left on a huge cliffhanger and many thought that we would see the conclusion in Tekken 7 however, that was not the case.

Will Armor King be a part of Season 2? I think it’s very likely.

Chance: 85%

 

Julia Chang

The lack of any of the Chang characters in Tekken 7 was a kick to the gut for me. I’ve always enjoyed playing as Michelle and Julia Chang and in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, I put in more time to learn the characters. The more I played them, the more I enjoyed them and understood how good they were. After practising with them in TTT2, I completely understand why so many people like the Changs.

I was looking forward to playing and learning either Julia (Jaycee) or Michelle more in Tekken 7 but sadly, they weren’t in the roster. I hope one of the Changs return because I had so much fun learning them in Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

Will Julia or Michelle Chang appear in Season 2? I think Julia has got more of a chance than Michelle, as Michelle hasn’t been in a numbered Tekken game since the second game. Another question to ask, is will it be Julia or her wrestling alter-ego Jaycee from TTT2? I honestly think it’s a fifty-fifty split. If she is a part of Season 2, then I think she will use the move set from TTT2 and Jaycee will be a costume that will be purchasable in the character customisation.

Chance: 65%

 

Roger

Roger and Roger Jr are weird characters (yes, I know that they are kangaroos with boxing gloves on) are some call them “trick” characters. However, simply labelling them as trick characters would be doing them a disservice, as when you sit down and learn them, you’ll find that they are pretty damn good characters that are incredibly fun to play.

Now there’s a story as to why Roger Jr wasn’t in Tekken 7 and that is because of a video where a man punched a kangaroo. Yeah, you read that right. Remember that video of that man who punched a kangaroo because the large marsupial had a dog in a headlock? That video was the reason as to why Roger isn’t in Tekken 7, as Harada was worried about the backlash from animal rights activists. I never understood this because Tekken also features a brown bear called Kuma and a panda bear called Panda. If Namco were truly worried about animal rights activists then they should have removed Kuma and Panda too.

Roger is a beloved character and I still think that the reason given for why he wouldn’t be in Tekken 7 is rather weak. It’s been nearly two years since that video was released and I think now the dust has settled on the whole thing. Also, I’d be asking the question, why would activists take time to focus on Tekken because of Roger? Wouldn’t their time be put to better use helping real kangaroos, not digital ones?

I hope Roger or Roger Jr comes back, I miss seeing him in the roster.

Chance: 50%

 

Two guest characters

Kyo Kusanagi

When Geese Howard was revealed as a guest character for Tekken 7 last year, I lost my mind. Geese freaking Howard is in Tekken 7, it still feels surreal saying that. Geese plays very well in Tekken 7, perhaps too well. Now I would have chosen Terry Bogard who has a had a long-standing feud with Geese but he has just been revealed as a guest character for Fighting EX Layer. So I’ve chosen the King of Fighters poster boy, Kyo Kusanagi.

Given how good Geese plays, I’m confident that the Tekken team will do a good job with Kyo. I would prefer Iori Yagami but I can’t see Namco picking two bad guys from King of Fighters as guest characters.

Will Kyo join his fellow KoF fighter and enter the King of Iron Fist Tournament 7? I think he’s got a good chance and with how well Geese Howard has been received, I think Tekken players will welcome Kyo with open arms.

Chance: 60%

 

Ryu (Street Fighter)

 

 

I’ve got a feeling that if Tekken 7 is going to have more guest characters, that there is a good chance that we will see another Street Fighter character. It has been known for several years now that Namco is working on Tekken X Street Fighter. The highly anticipated fighting game was supposed to release a few years back but the development of the title hasn’t been smooth and the last we heard of it, was that it was put on hold.

Since Akuma’s reveal for Tekken 7, I’ve been wondering if his inclusion was them testing the waters for Tekken X Street Fighter. Akuma plays rather well in Tekken despite him being from a 2D fighting game. If my feeling is correct, then we will see another Street Fighter character and who better to bring over than Street Fighter’s poster boy, Ryu.

I don’t know a great deal about Street Fighter and how well he could potentially work in Tekken’s style but if it is anything like Akuma, then he should fit right in.

Chance: 70%

 

Which characters would you like to see in Tekken 7’s second season pass? Let me know in the comments below, or you could tell me on Twitter – @ThatGreenDude95