"Tekken 7" made its debut as a limited release for arcades in Japan last month. No news yet on when it will appear on other platforms, but hardcore fans in the United States already got a glimpse of the new features and gameplay and a taste of how the game will be played during the Final Round 18 in Atlanta, Georgia.
Meanwhile, reported leaks abound, especially on all new characters, and the game's developers seem pretty cool about it. In a live interview at the Final Round event, recorded on Avoid the Puddle's Youtube channel, Bandai Namco Games director Katsuhiro Harada spoke about the character leaks.
He said, "Leaks happen all the time, like the Street Fighter 1 that's a pretty big one [and] that was directly Capcom apparently...there's no one to really be angry at."
Confirming at least four new additional playable characters for the ninth game in the "Tekken" franchise, the official Japanese website has already put up a character data page for the additional characters.
Female fighter Katarina Alves hails from Brazil, the first Brazilian fighter in the game. It is yet unclear though if she will practice capoeira or jiujitsu. Shaheen, meanwhile, is the first Arabian character and hails from Saudi Arabia. Another female character, Lucky Chloe, is also introduced but her nationality remains foggy as of now. A new character, Claudio Serafino, is an Italian. He also seems to have a deep connection with the new game's storyline, and will be a significant player.
Harada added, "We originally had plans to have a setting with an organization that was put together to defeat the Devil, but that eventually turned into the character of Claudio."
Meanwhile, it seems that Jin Kazama will also make an appearance in "Tekken 7," at least as a hidden sub-boss character. Harada tweeted in response to a player's discovery of Kazama in the game that the conditions for the hidden sub-boss' appearance in the fourth stage in Arcade Mode will be difficult.
