Tekken

"One of the greatest fighting games of the modern era."

Tekken was released for the Sony PlayStation in December of 1995, a mere three months after the system’s launch in the United States. The game was developed and published by Namco, who was just beginning to warm up to PSX development at the time of this game’s release, following it, they knew the PSX was their system of choice. Tekken is a fast-paced 3D fighting game that shares bits and pieces of gameplay elements from the Virtua Fighter games, and adds some of its own into the mix. Much like VF, Tekken has eight characters. Each character has their own distinct personality, the personality of characters in fighting games is important because it can enable you to latch on to a character, who could lead you into loving the game, or, if you couldn’t find a character to connect with, you could just reject the game altogether. I can safely say that the characters in Tekken have one of the broadest ranges you’ll find. Odds are, you’ll find that one character that you can relate to in some way, that one character that will suck you into the game, and never let you out.

The gameplay in Tekken is much like the VF series in that it can either require a lot of strategy, or none at all, with numerous levels in-between. You can attack an opponent without mercy and destroy him/her swiftly; or, you can take your time, and slowly but surely whittle away your opponent’s life, allowing you to take pride in what you’ve accomplished. You can also mix these strategies up a bit. You could go full-bore at your opponent for a bit, then switch off into a more strategy-based style of fighting. The choice is yours. This freedom is just one of the gameplay elements that has made this game, and series, so popular. You’ll be able to discover your own technique for fighting in any one of the game’s numerous modes. You can go at it with a second player in the Versus (VS) mode, or you can try your hand at the Arcade mode, a mode in which you will uncover more about your character’s past, or future in some cases, if you succeed.

The controls of the game are as rock-solid as the gameplay. The game uses a very unique “button-for-limb” control scheme that matches a body part with a button, in an effort to give you, the player, maximum control over your character. Square and Triangle represent the left and right arms respectively; whilst the X and Circle buttons represent the left and right legs respectively. You can pull off a seemingly endless barrage of techniques thanks to this control scheme. Of course, the number of attacks varies by character, so be sure to learn as much about every character as you can so you can optimize your fighting prowess.

The graphics in the game are simply amazing. The characters all have a glossy look to them that does a great job in showing off some of the physical traits of the characters. The character designs are about as varied as they come, everything from a wrestler (who bears a more than striking resemblance to the legendary Tiger Mask), to a space-age alien (or whatever the hell Yoshimitsu is.) These character designs help to keep the game rooted in reality, yet the game never takes itself too seriously with some of the characters. Tekken’s amazing graphics don’t begin and end with the characters of the game. Tekken was the first 3D fighting game to incorporate Computer Generated (or CG) cinematics into the game. Tekken’s introduction and ending movies are all done via CG, and they look spectacular, they really add to the characters, giving them more depth, and allowing you to connect with them ever further.

The sounds of the game are top-notch. The music in the game fits the individual stage you fight on, and the sound effects manage to sound realistic, yet also allow for some leeway when it comes to emphasizing the damage done by an attack. Few games manage to pull it off, but this one does.

Tekken has about as much replay value as one could expect. Learning how to play as each character certainly has its rewards, as anyone who has beaten the game with all characters would know. Believe me, with this game, the ends do justify the means, you’ll be ecstatic when you beat the game with all the characters.

Overall, Tekken is one of the finest fighting games ever created. The game manages to find that elusive middle ground that allows you to control a fight at your own pace. The game gives the player the freedom to do what they want to do. The rock-solid controls give the player even more freedom. The graphics in the game are simply amazing, they can enable a player to connect with a character in ways they never thought possible. The sounds in the game do a great job of emphasizing what’s important in the game, while taking absolutely nothing away from anything else in the process.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/01, Updated 12/28/01