Tekken 3

"The new king of Iron Fist and fighting game is here."

The Tekken series has come a long way. Tekken literally means ''Iron Fist'' that represents the power of a man. I'm sure everyone has played Tekken 3 in the arcade at least once. Its fast lightning speed graphic, special color effects, and realistic fighting styles used in the game. Now Tekken 3 is coming home on Playstation, will its conversion from the arcade's System 12 board to the PlayStation end up flawless or a mistake? Fear not, Namco done it well on the conversion. Not only they ''duplicate'' arcade game into a system console but also added some unique options to give the game a new taste.

Playstation has been among us for almost four years, more and more games are pushing its limit, and Tekken 3 is one of those that makes it very apparent that the PlayStation is reaching its physical limits. At first, you may notice that it was the arcade instead of Playstation version of Tekken 3. With its detailed characters, impressive animation speed, and textures on character model that proves Playstation is one powerful system. But once you look closely, you can see the chunky character model and simple 2D backdrops. Still, it's the best looking 3D fighter game since Tekken 2. Also the FMV are better than ever. You think Tekken 2's FMV are realistic and well done, think again. Once you see Tekken 3's, you will be more amazed the greater details, colors, lighting, character model, and actions are more realistic toward real life.

Tekken's fighting system is arcade-perfect. In fact, I say its one of the best Playstation fighting game. Tekken uses two punch buttons and two kick buttons to simulate arms and legs of your fighter. The fighting system also got better and faster. There are tremendous amount of moves and combos you can pull out against your opponent. Namco also threw in some extra modes to play with. For example, Force Mode is where you control any character and you fight on the street, pick up food, and beat the end boss. Kind of like Final Fight with Tekken characters. There is also a Ball Mode where you hit a ball with your special moves and try not to let the ball hit the ground or other wise you lose life. Also if the ball come toward you with full strike and you forgot to block, it will do damage to you when it hits you. This mode is actually pretty fun. Of course, no game today will ever have a Practice Mode, but Tekken 3 Practice Mode has so many options for you help turning you into King of Iron Fist. There's one las t mode called Theater Mode. This is where you view all the FMV endings and including a jukebox to listen to Tekken 3 background music. The music of Tekken 3 is great, just like the arcade. But Namco also threw in Remix version background music to give the game a new look. Also in Theater Mode, there is a jukebox and let you listen to background music. Not to mention it also let you change disc to the previous two Tekken games and let you view all the FMV endings and listen to the music too.

Tekken 3 for Playstation is a landmark. Overall, it is one 3D fighting game you must have. With fast gameplay, new extra modes, the best FMV endings I have ever seen, and music to my ears that I would jam with it in my car. Score one for Namco.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/31/00, Updated 08/07/01