“Fighting game is something so great” – These were the words echoed by legendary Street Fighter player Tokido upon victory at EVO 2017. While fighting games are subjective to taste, the sheer sense of competition and fighting spirit they tend to showcase is second to none.
One wonders though, in the global arena of fighting games, how did Pakistan manage to carve out its own niche as a TEKKEN stronghold?
Well, it’s relatively simple, yet also complex, much like a lot of things in our country. Fighting games first of all put great emphasis on the community aspect and usually, the countries who dominate are ones with a thriving arcade culture and community.
Pakistan luckily has been blessed with such a culture. While now only thriving in Lahore, Gujranwala, Faisalabad and Multan, arcades were once easily accessible and could cater to even the lowest common denominator. No judge to keep you out except for how long you could fight to stay on the machine.
We’ve all been there as kids, going to arcades which could be found just about anywhere, with one turn at a machine costing one single rupee. The only way to ensure you could get the most out of it was simply to play to the best of your ability, fighting off all challengers who stepped up.
This is primarily where it all comes from. The simple fight to make sure you kept on playing. Pakistan’s arcade culture is so pervasive in fact, that one can somewhat regularly see rickshaws or trucks emblazoned with popular fighting game characters.
While a whole host of games have been enjoyed in Pakistani arcades, two legendary franchises in particular form the backbone of our fighting game culture. King of Fighters and TEKKEN.
King of Fighters over its long history has shown to be a series that, while it isn’t one of the top games in countries like the US and Japan, it has long since been a cornerstone of arcade culture in developing nations like Mexico and Pakistan.
Its fast-paced and dynamic action combined with its striking art style captured the imagination of countries like ours. The case of TEKKEN primarily started with TEKKEN 3, which struck a chord with fighting game enthusiasts due to its unique position as a top 3D fighting game that stood out with its polygonal models and movement which allowed for more than just forward and backwards.
The KOF scene has contributed to it as well, with quite a few of the top Pakistani players being longtime players of both KOF and TEKKEN. Arslan Ash for example, even partially takes his name from Ash Crimson, a popular character in the KOF series.
His first major international event wins were both in KOF XIV as well as Tekken 7. The combination of fast-paced and quick reaction-based gameplay in KOF and the solid fundamental-based play of TEKKEN has led to a perfect storm of playstyle that has resulted in a very unique style of Pakistani TEKKEN.
So the next time any of you are in Lahore specifically, check out an arcade (most notably Maniax Gaming Hub). Who knows, you might even run into a future fighting game legend.
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There was no need to write such a long article when the reason for Pakistan being so good in fighting games is obvious. As a nation, we do only two things:either we do nothing or we fight. There is no day when you do not see in the media the news about people being killed in fights of different kinds. What we do in our real lives is likely to be reflected in our activities like games.
Have we ever done anything useful in the country’s history since independence. If we did, please share it with the readers.
bhai kaheen aur karle CSS ki tyaari aese nahi hona pass
Good Article bro keep it up. Well justified perspective and clearly conveyed