The best fighting games offer more to fans than just single-player stories or vs. and online battle multiplayer modes. The Chronicles of the Sword mode in Soul Calibur 3 and functional training of World Tour mode in Street Fighter Alpha 3 are great additional modes for players to invest time in outside the main events of those games, but the Tekken series, and hopefully Tekken 8, will stand above them. This can happen with the Tekken series' Tekken Bowl mode.
Originating as an additional mode in the PlayStation 2 port of Tekken Tag Tournament in 2000, Tekken Bowl has gone on to become a fan-favorite and even made reappearances in both Tekken 5 and as DLC in Tekken 7. Each character in the large roster of the Tekken games is assigned a ranking for power and spin and there's even a change in rule sets for switching from normal bowling pins to Heiachi pins, allowing for a surprising amount of strategy. As one of the most feature-rich and multiplayer-friendly additional modes in any fighting game, Tekken 8 needs to ship with Tekken Bowl included rather than charge for the mode as DLC or leave it on the cutting room floor.
Tekken Bowl is One of the Best Bowling Simulators in Gaming
The history of bowling in video games is a long one, with the first bowling video game aptly named Bowling released back in 1977. But perhaps more popular than the standalone full-fledged bowling video game is the bowling mini-game. The bowling mini-games' inclusion in gaming also has a long history and wild variations in terms of quality and mechanics. In addition to Tekken, the Mario Party, Grand Theft Auto, and Yakuza series (among many others) all feature a bowling mini-game. And while some gamers will fondly remember the 2006 Wii Sports version of bowling, Tekken Bowl is the better bowling game.
Where Tekken Bowl shines over all other bowling mini-games is in its skillful marriage of the gaming mechanics that one has come to expect in a bowling video game with the token characteristics of the Tekken franchise. A diverse and colorful roster of fighters, each with their own styles and strengths, the blending of the super-serious with self-aware parody, flashy presentation, and easy pick-up-and-play but difficult-to-master strategy are all features of the mode. The hallmarks that have made Tekken a legendary franchise are present in Tekken Bowl and serve to make it not only a great bowling game, but one of the best reasons to play Tekken.
How Tekken 8 Could Evolve Tekken Bowl
When considering the ways that Tekken 8 could iterate and improve upon the already excellent Tekken Bowl foundation from Tekken 7, one of the first things that come to mind is the use of the PlayStation 5's DualSense controller. Although Tekken is now a multi-platform release, the series has a long history of being connected to the PlayStation brand and originating as a console exclusive. Tekken 8 should both acknowledge and take advantage of the relationship the franchise has with Sony and implement DualSense functionality in a Tekken Bowl mode, with the touchpad being used to dictate power instead of a fluctuating meter and timed button presses.
With Tekken 8 being the first entry in the franchise to be developed using Unreal Engine 5, the inclusion of Tekken Bowl would make it the best looking version of the mode yet. The surfaces and lighting on display in a bowling alley would make for an excellent showcase for the engine's capabilities. Not only would the mode be a fun distraction from Tekken 8's main events, it could serve as the perfect playground for the power of Unreal Engine 5 to be on full display. When Tekken 8 launches later this year, Bandai Namco will be missing out on a golden opportunity for the franchise by not including Tekken Bowl on day 1.
Tekken 8 is in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
