Souq

Souq is a stage in Tekken 7. The stage takes place in a Middle Eastern marketplace.

Description

The marketplace is set in a town in amidst old ruins and modern covered shop stalls. There are pillars and crumbling architecture, and cracked stone flagged floors, along with a mostly-intact intricate, blue-tiled mosaic building front, which forms the arched entrance of an indoor bazaar. In the distant cityscape, minarets can be seen. Various vendor stalls line the walls of the stage. They appear to sell Arabian and Persian style carpets, spices, fresh produce, and vases. Slamming an opponent into the walls can sometimes cause objects to fall off the stalls. A tramline runs next to the stage, and trams can be seen coming and going. Palm trees can also be seen on one side of the stage. Spectators can be seen around the marketplace, inside the bazaar and on top of buildings, cheering on the fighters.

The stage is slightly revamped in Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, as the colors of the stage are much brighter and clearer.

Story

In Tekken 7, Jin Kazama stumbles into the souq, having wandered the desert after escaping from a UN helicopter. He is disorientated and, moments later, UN Peacekeepers rush the marketplace to recapture him. Lars Alexandersson drives an armored car into the scene and rescues Jin, fighting off troops before driving over the tramlines and escaping with him.

In an ending that may canonically take place before this scene, Hwoarang confronts Devil Jin also in this souq. The two fight, before UN Peacekeepers interrupt and toss a grenade at Devil Jin. Hwoarang saves him but is caught in the grenade blast, injuring his eye in the process.

Background Music

The BGM is titled "A Grain of Sand".

First Round

Tekken 7 OST- SOUQ - Round 1 (A Grain of Sand 1st)

Final Round

Tekken 7 OST- SOUQ - Final Round (A Grain of Sand 2nd)

Gallery

Version in Tekken 7

Alisa in the final version of the stage in Tekken 7: Fated Retribution.

Tramline running next to the Souq.

Lars's pre-fight animation in the Souq. The lighting causes the customized clothing to appear brighter than normal.

The Souq as it appears in the Tekken 7 Story Mode.

The Souq in Tekken 7 story mode, from Jin's point of view.

Jin's arrival causing disturbance in the Souq in the Tekken 7 story mode.

Souq as it appears in Hwoarang and Devil Jin's Character Episodes - Notice that the crowd is not present and the building along with the train are on fire.

Shaheen vs Kazuya

Trivia

• The name "Souq" (السوق) means "market" in Arabic. The word is a synonym for bazaar used to refer to bazaars in Arabic countries specifically.
• The registration plates on the truck full of fruit are Saudi Arabian. The prices on the price tags are also given in SR, likely standing for Saudi Rial, the currency of Saudi Arabia. This seemingly makes the stage the second Saudi Arabian stage in the series after Modern Oasis and from the same country as newcomer Shaheen. In the story mode, however, the stage is said to be located more vaguely only somewhere in the Middle East.
• Hwoarang and Devil Jin's Character Episodes and endings take place in this stage. This version of the stage features no spectators.
• Shaheen's Character Episode prologue takes place here.
• The lighting in this stage can cause items that have been Customized to be white to shine brightly during a character's intro or win pose.
• Camels can be seen on one side of the map.
• This stage features significantly in Tekken Pachislot 4, where it is initially Lars Alexandersson's base of operations as he seeks out information on his enemies.
  • Within Tekken Pachislot 4, it is revealed that the Souq has a number of indoor bazaars as well.