TheTekkenWorld Tour concluded this weekend after its finals were held in Bangkok, Thailand. Trailers for two new characters were shown, a gameplay trailer for Leroy Smith who was announced earlier this year at EVO, as well as a brand new character reveal trailer forFahkumran. But a returning character was shown as well, the Sumo fighter Ganryu, and Julia isn’t too pleased by it.
Ganryu has received a complete design overhaul inTekken 7. No longer just a generic-looking Sumo fighter, Ganryu has much more personality with this design with plenty of wardrobe options for customization that make his movement much more visually engaging as well. TheTekkenteam loves to have fun with their trailers, and almost as if they were expecting a lackluster reaction to Ganryu’s reveal, the trailer urges the crowd to make some noise for his return.
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There are several armored moves in Ganryu’s arsenal including a headbutt and an armored grab that launches the opponent into the air leading to a massive juggle opportunity. Ganryu also has a wall bounce move that leads into a juggle opportunity. This move might be on counter hit only though, as Ganryu is punishing a whiffed normal from Steve Fox while doing it in the trailer. Because if not, having a free wall bounce available at all times might be too powerful.Tekken 7doesn’t need any morePS4 crashes at EVObecause of OP combos.
Ganryu also shows off a double palm thrust that causes a crumple stun, and several moves that have him falling on the ground. These moves are obviously meant to be combo enders, as doing them without confirming will obviously leave Ganryu wide open for punishment. Punishing whiffed normals is very important in this game and is what makes characters likeNegan so strong inTekken 7.
Ganryu’s Rage Drive is a low palm strike that can duck under high attacks and slams the opponent into the ground for a follow-up. His Rage Art slams the opponent into the ground, tosses them into the air, and reverse throws them in the air to end up sitting on his opponent, extremely similar to T. Hawk’s Ultra inStreet Fighter 4. At this point, this is probably the closest thing fans will ever get toTekken X Street Fighteroutside of Akuma being in the game.
Ganryu is definitely more of a joke character inTekken 7, stealing Julia’s stream gimmick and continuing his obsession with her from previous games, even sporting an “I Heart Julia” shirt. After the trailer, Michael Murray said that Harada himself was used for the facial capture of Ganryu, but in typical Harada fashion, it is unclear as to whether he was joking or not. Ganryu will release alongsideLeroy Smithand the new Frame Data Display Mode this Tuesday, December 10th.
Tekken 7is available on PC, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.
