Namco has tapped Tekken's songs several times just as it did fellow 3D fighting game Soul Calibur, due to the widely varied soundtrack of the series. The genres may span several musical styles, but have a central electronic theme to them, which lends itself to many different and varied charts.
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SPARKING Tekken 5
SPARKING 鉄拳5
| Game | Genre |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AC8 PS2 6 |
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★5 (134) |
★6 (174) |
★7 (309) |
★8 (483) |
- |
115
spark (SPARKING)Tekken 5 was released in arcades in November 2004 and for PS2 in February the following year, bringing back a faster-paced gameplay and infinite stages. New to this version was the crush system, causing some moves to be vulnerable or invulnerable to others, such as jumping attacks being invincible to low attacks. The PS2 version had lots of nice goodies as well, such as a fully emulated version of Tekken, Tekken 2, Tekken 3 and StarBlade.
It made sense then that the opening theme to Tekken 5, SPARKING, would then be placed in Taiko as a promotion for their new fighting game. Composed and arranged by Satoru Kousaki (Hibike! Taiko no Tatsujin), with lyrics by yura and vocals by Tom Leonard and Jeff Pescetto, this electronic beat makes for a decent 8* old chart, with what will eventually become the charting style for Tekken songs visible even in this song from the past.
Haikei, Gakkou ni te... Asuka Kazama (CV: Ryoko Shiraishi)
拝啓、学校にて．．．／風間飛鳥(CV:白石涼子)
| Game | Genre |
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| AC11/11 Asia AC14 AC Nijiiro (Y4) Wii 3 RC |
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★2 (102) |
★3 (135) |
★4 (255) |
★7 (483) |
★8 (716) |
132 cna3 (Go Shiina 3rd song)Haikei, Gakkou ni te... (Long Version)
拝啓、学校にて．．．
| Game | Genre |
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| AC11/11 Asia AC14 Wii 3 |
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★3 (266) |
★5 (444) |
★6 (666) |
★8 (888) |
- |
129~136 excna3 (Ura Go Shiina 3rd song)Previously featured in: Song of the Week - November 6th, 2010
Well known as one of the first songs to have a full version in Ura Oni mode, Haikei, Gakkou ni te... is a great-sounding track that is rarely seen in the Taiko series. If it wasn't for the Taiko 14 Namco Original revival poll (which it got third place in), it would have stayed exclusive to Taiko 11 and nowhere else.
Taking a page from Ra Morena Kumonai of Katamari Damacy series fame, here's another Namco-Original-labeled Game Music piece coming from the tekken series, and more specifically, Tekken 5. It's the character song of one of the fighters, named Asuka Kazama (風間飛鳥). The song's title means 'Dear Sir, At School...' ('haikei' is a well-mannered opening greeting in a letter), and the theme inevitably revolves around an ordinary school day, with a love story behind it, like most typical romantic stories based on schoolgirls. Pretty strange for an ending theme of a fighter girl, isn't it? (especially since her backstory isn't half as calm as this song. Click the link above to learn more!)
Haikei is sung by Asuka Kazama's Japanese seiyuu (Shiraishi Ryouko, 白石涼子), while the music was made by Go Shiina (椎名豪), who made Fuun! Bachi o Sensei and later on, the Taiko cut of No Way Back. It's also one of the few songs to include the singer's name in the title of the song (in Taiko 11, the full name was actually 拝啓、学校にて．．．（CV：白石涼子）), but it was removed on its way to Taiko 14. With the jump to the 4th arcade generation, the song's entry credit mentions were standardized with the Tekken fighter and her CV as the subtitle, instead of being part of the song's title.
Originally, it was thought that full versions in Taiko arcade would be a bad idea, as not only would the player get tired (Taiko is a stamina game) but it would mean others have to wait longer for their turn. Haikei was the first full version song in Taiko, and to be honest, made it even better and more enjoyable than its non-Ura counterpart. Due to the low BPM it wasn't at all tiring, and four minutes isn't too long to wait. And so began Ura Oni's habit of making songs longer... until it was cut down, as years went by. Still this track did retain another notable first in Taiko with its Nijiiro Version revival: it became the first song with both a playable long version AND and Ura Oni chart for the shorter cut!
Don't let the low BPM fool you; Haikei can get tricky towards the end of the song, with many note clusters of two, four, and six hits for one of its 7* contemporaries of back then. Of course, the charting is more spread-out when the longer version's Oni is factored, but it still holds room for many of the 2nd gen's more troublesome longer clusters, if played at higher speeds elsewhere. Jumping into the Nijiiro Version-introduced Ura Oni and it's a whole new world on the hadswitching-side, as the modernization process made the original cut a more serious note density threat with many of the modern trends in handswitching management, from 1/24 spikes to long clusters that don't stick to consecutive even-number notes grouping all the times!
KARMA (Tatsujin Mix) Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion
「鉄拳6 BLOODLINE REBELLION」より
| Game | Genre |
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| AC14 PSP DX |
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★5 (157) |
★7 (245) |
★8 (472) |
★10 (876) |
- |
| Wii 5 |
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★5 (157) |
★6 (246) |
★8 (473) |
★9 (876) |
- |
| AC0 NS1 (DLC) NS2 (MP) xBox RC |
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★4 (157) |
★6 (245) |
★7 (472) |
★9 (876) |
- |
145 teken6 (Tekken 6)Previously featured in: Song of the Week - February 26th, 2011
Don't be confused- this KARMA has nothing to do with the other song named Karma in the J-Pop genre. That one's the theme song for Tales of the Abyss, this one is the remix of a stage song for Tekken 6, Electric Fountain, both of which are published by Namco of course, but this Karma is a lot harder. It is composed by the same person in charge of The Carnivorous Carnival and all songs in the Muscle March series, Tohyama Akitaka (遠山明孝).
KARMA (Tatsujin Mix) was revealed first as Taiko 14's secret song (and was pretty low-profile on the rumor mill due to the title) and fans immediately jumped onto it just like any other 10* Oni song. The game involved here is Tekken 6, one more sequel in the long line of Namco's successful fighting game series. The subtitle 'Bloodline Rebellion' was added to Tekken 6 one year after its initial release, with updated graphics and better technical frippery. The story involves Jin Kazama declaring war on Earth after taking control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, turning the world into a chaotic place. His father, Kazuya Mishima, tries to stop him by taking over the G Corporation and offering a bounty on Jin's head. Jin organizes the 6th King of Iron Fist tournament to oppose Kazuya.
This 10* Oni sounds great with a techno vibe to it, though the notes aren't anything that will make expert players work up too much of a sweat. Unlike IN THE ZONE, Karma doesn't have a definite 'combo-breaker' stream and all the notes can be hit pretty easily, save for the 1/24 red note chains at the end of the song. It has no drumrolls and the scoring for this song is such that getting exactly 4 white hits after 100 combo and outside of Go-Go Time will net you exactly 1,200,000 points. This amazing feat is shown in the above video too.
Wasabi Body Blow Tekken 3D Prime Edition
「鉄拳 3D プライムエディション」より
| Game | Genre |
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| AC8 PS2 6 |
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★3 (178) |
★4 (230) |
★6 (575) |
★9 (979) |
- |
180 tek3ds (Tekken 3DS)Tekken 3D: Prime Edition, the first Tekken game for a Nintendo system since Tekken Advance, was based on the PSP version of Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion in terms of gameplay and system mechanics. Don't be confused, though; there is no 'regular edition' of Tekken 3D, the subtitle is just to ensure you don't confuse it for Tekken 3.
Composed by Takairo Eguchi (江口孝宏), Wasabi Body Blow is the theme to the Wrecked Dojo stage, unique to Tekken 3D, and another electronic song typical of Tekken. With steady beats and an active synthesizer, it makes for a steady but unrelenting chart from notechartin sentai Matsumoto (マツモト) with many simple streams, ranging from 3 notes to 11, placing it nicely at a simple test of stamina at 9* and standing tall as its debut game's biggest note holder among Oni charts.
Highschool love! Tekken Tag Team Tournament 2 WII U EDITION
「鉄拳タッグトーナメント2 Wii U EDITION」より
| Game | Genre |
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| AC0 S Wii U1 NS1 NS2 (MP) |
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★3 (111) |
★4 (186) |
★5 (278) |
★7 (387) |
- |
138 tekwiu (Tekken WiiU)Previously featured in: Song of the Week - August 2nd, 2014
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is the sequel to the namesake Tekken arcade/console spin-off, in which up to two fighters per player can be selected in both 1vs1 and 2vs2 matches, the latter of which also featuring special Tag combos based on the team members chosen. Being a spin-off title, its plot can also be considered non-canon to the main Tekken storyline, with the rampaging chaos caused by a newer version of training dummy Combot and veteran fighter Heihachi Mishima hosting a new King of the Iron Fist tournament after the consumption of a rejuvenation serum he created.
The original TTT was released on Japanese arcades in September 2011, and upgraded on March 2012 as the 'Unlimited' version, featuring even more items and game mechanics. For the Western market, Tag Tournament 2 was released on both PS3 and XBox 360 as a retail game about one year after the arcade original, featuring console-exclusive characters and DLC content. With the debut of Nintendo's current-gen console, a 'Wii U Edition' of TT2 was made for the Wii U's launch, including all the DLC content from the previous console ports, Nintendo-related extra content (new outfits and the Mushroom Battle mode) and the return of the Tekken 3 fan-favorite minigame Tekken Ball. That's where the song Highschool love! comes in, as one of the 12 new tracks for the Wii U edition of the game.
As can you easily tell from the English lyrics, this is yet another school-centric song about dating in high school like Haikei, Gakkou ni Te, embodying the goofy and cheesy themes of school musicals, no less! It also features a big cast from BNSI for its creation; featuring Go Shiina (椎名豪) as the composer, Yu Manabe playing the violins, jesahn at the electric bass and sax, Petra Rose for the lyrics and six people for vocals: Laura and Nicole Intravia, Joe Popson, Omar Najmi are the main voices, while during the chorus Shoko Doi and Nami Nakagawa (of DON'T CUT fame) contribute as well. Being featured in the Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Original Soundtrack Plus, Highschool love! also has a longer version, available in said album.
Lastly, let's address that elephant in the room in the rhythm games lore: in pop'n music there's actually another song made by Yoshitaka 'DJ YOSHITAKA' Nishimura which has almost the same name as this, but needless to say there is no relation between the two songs whatsoever.
This unique Tekken song was charted by Taiko Team sentai notecharter Kan (カーン), who wanted to further emphasize the 'musical-esque' vibes of this song on all modes. The Oni chart is an average 7*; it's nowhere near as long as Haikei and filled with repetitive patterns and a slightly more intense final Go-Go Time.
Abyss of hell Tekken Revolution
「鉄拳 レボリューション」より
| Game | Genre |
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| AC0 M PS Vita |
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★5 (178) |
★7 (230) |
★8 (575) |
★8 (979) |
★10 (1100) |
165 naraku ('Hell' in Japanese)Tekken Revolution was a free-to-play spinoff created using Tekken Tag Tournament 2's engine, and with some changes to the mechanics amongst various balance changes. The idea was to simulate the feel of an arcade within the comfort of your home, as a play in versus mode requires a token, which true to the free-to-play format regenerates over time up to a cap, and can also be bought for more real-world money. Staying in the game and avoiding Game Overs allows you to keep playing on the same token, much like the arcade.
Abyss of hell is the theme of the Naraku stage, as seen in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and now in Tekken Revolution with a new theme. Shinji Hosoe, the sampling master MEGA himself, was the artist behind this flamenco-inspired theme; accordingly, the chart is a somewhat tricky one, using many even-numbered streams flowing together with the guitar strumming, making for a fun chart with a bouncy rhythm.
A hidden challenger rears its head: Abyss of hell has an Ura, a 10* challenge and the first Game Music song to exceed a thousand notes (together with BLAZING VORTEX)! The song is jam-packed with notes, and the odd rhythms are now even more emphasized compared to its regular Oni. Watch out for those 1/12 streams!
Heat Haze Shadow 2 Tekken 7
「鉄拳 7」より
| Game | Genre |
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| AC0 G PS4 PTB xBox (DLC) RC |
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★4 (157) |
★6 (243) |
★7 (482) |
★9 (765) |
- |
174 tek7he (Tekken 7 - Heat Haze Shadow 2)One of Session de Dodon ga Don's launch newcomers, here we have one of two tracks played in the story climax for Tekken 7, the iteration debuting worldwide on March 18th, 2015 as a PC-based arcade built, running on the Namco System ES3 board. It brought to the series a handful of new move archetypes for each character, among which are the cinematic fixed-damage Rage Arts and the Power Crush moves which are uninterrupted by non-Low hits. Plot-wise, it tells the events leading to the final bout of the Mishima household that has spun over the series' entire history: martial-arts master Heihashi and his son Kazuya. AJURIKA was tasked to make a 2-parter song for its Story's conclusion, and the second of those eventually found its place in the Taiko lore, too!
It's another 1/16-leading chart that draws from KARMA/Wasabi Body Blow/Abyss of hell's charting trend, only at a slightly-faster pace and with more repeating stanzas to face. That, however, doesn't make its longer clusters less threathening among contemporary 9* offerings, though!
Abandoned Temple Final 2nd Tekken 7 FR
「鉄拳 7 FR」より
| Game | Genre |
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| AC0 R 3DS 3 (DLC) xBox |
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★3 (111) |
★4 (204) |
★6 (339) |
★9 (614) |
- |
276 tek7fr (Tekken 7 FATED RETRIBUTION)The next arcade-debut song from the Tekken franchise comes from the July 2016 arcade installment known as Tekken 7: FATED RETRIBUTION (鉄拳7フェイテドレトリビューション) which, in the same vein of Tekken 6's Bloodline Rebellion, is the name of the upgrade from the original Tekken 7 arcade build, including new battle arenas, customization elements, gameplay mechanics and playable characters. Among the most notable aspects of FR are the introduction of the Rage Drive and the adjustment of Rage Arts, as well as a trove of playable guest characters from other franchises: Akuma from the Street Fighter series, Geese Howard from SNK's fighting game series (Fatal Fury, King of Fighters, Art of Fighting), Noctis from Final Fantasy XV and even Negan Smith from The Walking Dead! Tekken 7 FR is the version all console and PC ports are based upon.
The SF collaboration isn't the only one to be mentioned when talking about Fated Retribution, as the addition of Abandoned Temple Final 2nd in Taiko gaming has happened due to a Taiko x Tekken collaboration event in 2016! While Red Version arcades got this song as a playable track, Tekken 7 FR players have had the possibility to unlock a huge number of Taiko no Tatsujin-related customization gear, all of which being shown in this blog entry.
The seaplant-appreciator notecharter known as Marimo Institute (まりも研究所) was the one in charge for ABF 2nd's modes creation, with the Oni mode showing a decise trend to dip into the Phantom Rider Ura Oni cauldron with scrolloing speed cuts/alterations for the whole song and speed-focused single-note 'n 1/16 cluster formations to give some fast chills together with the (seemingly) sped up scrolling portions, with some spikes peppered in the chart itself in general as a whole.
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