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Amongst the participants of the Red Bull Golden Letters Tekken tournament is one of the greatest players of all time, Jae-Min “Knee” Bae. Very few names in the professional world of Tekken 7 strike fear into the hearts of players quite like his does. He’s arguably the best Bryan player on the planet and has mastered the entire roster of the game.
While many of the world's best players are participating in the Red Bull Golden Letters tournament, the GOAT of Tekken 7, DRX Knee himself, is present as well. I recently spoke to the three-time EVO champ ahead of the upcoming matches through an interpreter. Although anyone can win the tournament, thanks to the new rule added to the competition, Knee stands a very good chance.
We spoke about the new rule of winning a set via three Perfects/Greats, players he’s excited to get a match against, and what Tekken 8 could use to be a more enjoyable game for everyone involved.
The GOAT of Tekken, Knee, speaks about the Red Bull Golden Letters Tekken tournament
Q. You're getting ready to compete in the Red Bull Golden Letters tournament, where many of the best players in the world are coming together in the UK. How are you feeling about your chances this year?
Knee: With the new rule set of three Greats or Perfects, this system adds a layer of volatility to the game that makes it harder to be confident about winning.
Q. You're a seasoned veteran and a three-time EVO champ, amongst other accolades. As someone who has played the best Tekken 7 has to offer, are there any players you're particularly excited to play against this weekend?
Knee: He's looking forward to and wants to play against Chikurin in a revenge match. He’s also looking out for JoKa as he’s a strong player, and he doesn’t have any experience with playing against him.
Q. One of your earliest major wins was when you won Tekken Tag Tournament 2, at EVO 2013. Although Tekken 8 is on the way, do you miss the tag games? Do you think the time has come to bring that style of game back?
Knee: He really enjoys Tekken Tag 2 because it had a more sophisticated combo system which led to more exciting variations in combos that were enjoyable for both him and viewers. Tekken 7 was a bit too simple in terms of combo routes, which is why he's looking forward to a potential Tekken Tag 3 if it were to come out after Tekken 8.
Q. Across 2022, you racked up several first-place victories. Do you have any moments or matchups that really stood out as challenging or memorable?
Knee: Evo 2022 was a memorable event because he was playing against the Pakistanis and he feels that with all of the Korean/Pakistani rivalry, victory was very important, as both the second and third place were Pakistani players.
Q. On the topic of Tekken 8, many veterans of Tekken 7 are discussing the Heat System. Some are saying it's just a gimmick to lure in fighting game players of other genres, such as 2D and anime fighters in particular. Do you think this is true, and if so, is it a good or bad thing?
Knee: When he saw the Heat System, he felt that the overall reaction wasn't very good. And for him personally, the issue with the Heat System is that it exists in many other games, so perhaps it's not the freshest system.
Q. Tekken 8's really shaping up to be an interesting fighting game. While not too much is known yet, many are praising the trailers that have been released. Is there anything you're excited about seeing in the game? What about mechanics or features that you think would make the game far more enjoyable?
Knee: Some things he’d be interested in are more like quality-of-life stuff. There are a lot of good offline features, but the online features could use some improvement. He feels it would be good to have something where you can find online matches more easily, or maybe search for types of players or features to look for matches online. So, that’s kind of an online thing. There’s also something that I don't fully know about, but he says that how the rank system apparently works is that it gets saved locally on your computer.
So, like, you rank up and you get to, you know, Tekken God Prime rank or whatever, it saves that locally. But a lot of people, when they lose their rank, just take the file that they saved from their higher rank, and simply replace that file. This brings them back to their original rank.
So, I guess if people are kind of cheating the ranks, he feels that maybe they should put that on the server side instead of the client side. It might be better that way. So, those would be two really important changes.
Q. Tekken, as a fighting game, is often seen as incredibly difficult to get into in comparison to other 2D fighters. Is there any advice you'd offer a new player who is trying to get into T7 before T8 comes out?
Knee: Basically, what he wants to say to new players is Tekken, well, he’s played a lot of fighting games, and Tekken is a great game. It’s a game where, when you win, it feels very satisfying, and it’s super exciting for spectators to watch as well. So, he really recommends Tekken.
Q. So far, Bryan has not been revealed as one of the Tekken 8 characters, unfortunately. While you are easily one of the best Bryan players in the game, you're also skilled with the whole Tekken 7 cast. If Bryan doesn't show up, are there other characters you're looking forward to?
Knee: Yeah, he says that he’s been looking at the trailers of the other characters. He said he’d really love to see how Bryan looks in these graphics. He’s really looking forward to Bryan, and he does think that Bryan will make it into the game. It’s hard for him to imagine that he wouldn’t. Otherwise, he does have some interest in the Mishima characters as well as Steve.
The Red Bull Golden Letters Tekken tournament takes place this weekend, and you can watch it on Red Bull’s Twitch and YouTube channel.
Interested readers can find Knee on his Twitch, YouTube, and Twitter account.
