Tekken is one of the most iconic videogame franchises of all time. Since its initial release in Japanese arcades to the current
day it has demanded players’ attention. With high fidelity graphics, awesome characters, wacky plotlines and great gameplay,
each of its mainline releases felt like an event. An explosion of cool that pulled millions of people in with the sheer gravity of
its awesomeness.
There have been some misses in its storied history, but by and large the series has remained a cultural cornerstone of the
videogame landscape and I know this is true because, more so than the fact it has been chugging along for over twenty years,
more so than Tekken 7’s sales being the highest in the franchise’s history, I know this because everyone has a story that they
want to tell about playing this game. Everyone has a favourite character, and everyone has a favourite Tekken.
So which is yours?
Were you there at the beginning? When Kazuya’s blisteringly high-fidelity smirk made our jaws collectively hit the floor in
awe? Were you there when Tekken 3 landed and utterly captured the minds and hearts of a generation? Was Tekken 4 your
introduction to the series, and thus your perception of what a good Tekken game is is irrevocably skewed as you try to justify
that you didn’t spend your childhood playing a pile of hot garbage that was rightly scooped up and thrown in the dustbin to
make way for Tekken 5? Just kidding… or am I?
Honestly speaking there are no wrong answers, because only you can decide which games you love and which games hold a
special place in your heart. And I do all this prefacing because now I am going to set the internet on fire with the what is
probably one of the hottest takes in the Tekken community.
I think Tekken 6 is the best Tekken of the entire franchise. That’s right, I said it. Tekken 6 is the daddy. And I’ve put hundreds of
hours into all the Tekkens (except 4 and tag 2 which was also hot garbage- I mean come on, what is with this motion blur,
were the developers all just smearing Vaseline in their eyes!?) so when I say this it is not coming from a place of bias or petty
fanboyism and I will argue my position anytime anywhere with anyone forever.
But I’m not gonna do that right now. In case you can’t read the title of this video is not ‘Why Tekken 6 is the best Tekken’,-
followed by Tekken 5DR, Tekken 3, Tekken Tag, Tekken 7, Tekken 2 Tekken Tag 2 and Tekken 1, it is called ‘Put Some Respect
on Tekken 6’s Soundtrack’. I wanted to call it ‘Why Tekken 6 Has The Best Music in The Franchise’, but I thought a take that
spicy might be too hot for the internet to handle and I don’t want people spontaneously combusting in righteous indignation.
But it’s true, and to make my argument I am going to come at it from three angles. Angle one- Tekken 6 has the most varied
and vibrant music across the whole franchise whilst still suiting the setting of having two people reel all non-human characters here putting everything on the line, locked in high stakes hand to hand combat. Angle 2- Tekken 6 has some of
the most insane and ambitious compositions of any game, let alone any Tekken game and Angle 3- the best song in all of
Tekken history resides on Tekken 6’s holy blu-ray disc.
So let’s take a look at that first point. One thing I remember when I think of Tekken 6’s music is just how absolutely out there it
is, you have Big Beats James Bond music Lightning Storm, climactic metal standoff music City After Dark or Tunnel Disaster, The Prodigy rip-offs Temple Grounds, Naruto rip-offs Noh Theatre The Sound of Music Ripoffs Sheep Grassland. It just never stops surprising you with these insanely imaginative compositions that blend genres like nothing I’ve
ever heard before outside of an Igorrr or Mr Bungle album. And the crazy thing is, it is all so so good! In the moment the music
hypes you up like you wouldn’t believe. Each song is curated and paired with a level that matches the audio’s idiosyncrasies
and inferences with visuals that perfectly complement it to create a singular, sublime environment in which to duel. Other
Tekkens have pulled of this trick as well Moonlit Wilderness, Infinite Azure, King’s T3 stage but none have done it so well
and so consistently as Tekken 6. I mean take a look at this zone Mystical Forest and then think about the music that would
fit with this area. And now imagine two people fighting here cue the music. Manji Valley see how cold this place is, how
serene and desolate. Almost silent. Now imagine that silence is interrupted by a robot ninja and trained assassin who are
about to have a showdown from which only one gets to walk away. This is the music you put to that scene cue the music.
The dubstep wubs come in loud, setting up the stakes, the strings introduce you to the soundscape you’re going to be working
with. And then, after that initial crescendo, the volume decreases to reveal the main melody and to get out of the way so that
you can start your battle. Focused, prepared, unflinching show reel of you getting bodied with voiceover of you cursing that the cpu hacks.
The thing that blows my mind is that each of these songs are so different. Tekken 3’s music was also fantastic but it certainly
had a vibe. The big beats influence can be felt in practically every song, and again this is fine, but if you’re not into that stuff
then there’s not much for you. Tekken 5 had a great soundtrack and basically came up with the blueprint that Tekken 6 would
follow- basically a solidifying of ideas and a proof of concept before Tekken 6 took that ball and smashed it out of the park. It’s
a shame that after this carnival of soundscapes that Tekken 7 decided to fall back onto generic dubstep music to shore up
most of its soundtrack. Now credit where it is due, there are some bangers on T7’s OST, but even those live I the shadow of
the beats that round out Tekken 6’s triumphant track list. But enough about Tekken 6’s C-tier music, let’s start talking about
the good stuff.
The best tracks in Tekken 6 just blow my mind. How did anyone come up with these songs? The vision to even conceive of
some of the music that features in this game just leaves me in awe.
Two of the most killer tracks in Tekken 6 in my opinion are Fallen Colony and Anger of The Earth. They are both actually quite
similar to each outside of that little microcosm they are so far removed from anything else I have trouble even telling you
what genre they are. The closest I can come to is classical-techno-eastern fusion. You just have to listen to it. In two minutes
these songs have violins, synthesisers, bongos, woodwind flutes, choir singers, electric guitars and more! The fit so many
sounds and textures in such a small space and yet they keep it so focused. All you’re doing is playing a silly little fighting game,
it doesn’t need to go this hard but I’m so glad it does! One thing that I love about using all these instruments and placing it all
so densely it that it really ups the tension in the levels, and even in these tracks there are spaces for you to breath. Whenever
one of these levels is randomly selected your posture foes from this relaxed seating position to this leaning gamer mode
because the music pushes you to. You just can’t help but get sucked into the bombast of it all. I mean look at the level that
Fallen Colony takes place on. Where are we!? What is happening!? Why are jet planes flying around us!? You can barely keep
your footing and the music can’t either. And when the song crescendos it’s just orgasmic, a scintillating race to the crescendo
with an amazing payoff.
My God I love this track. It might be my favourite in the whole Tekken series. But as we all know, favourite does not mean
best. And you know it’s coming. I’ve been talking for XX minutes now and still not even deigned to mention Tekken 6’s
crowning musical achievement. Tekken has been home to great music from its inception right up the current day. There are
pretenders to the throne. Moonlit Wilderness from Tekken 5 is iconic song and is probably the best Tekken level of all time.
Infinite Azure’s music gets you in the zone like no other and is perfect if you want to spend hours practicing and improving
with your favourite character. But there can only be one. The best. The undisputed. The King of Iron Fist Music. Take it away
play electric fountain.
