Tekken: Dark Resurrection

"A fighting dynasty worth playing for a lifetime."

The Tekken series is arguably one of the best, if not THE greatest fighting game ever. With Tekken 5 recently becoming a Greatest Hits, proving well that Tekken still lives on, PSP owners can now also experience the compelling stories, the tight gameplay, and beautiful graphics as Namco-Bandai bring Tekken: Dark Resurrection to the PSP.

First of all, what is Tekken: Dark Resurrection? Is it a Tekken 5 port? Is it an exclusive Tekken for the PSP? Yes and no. Tekken: Dark Resurrection is more like Tekken 5.2, using Tekken 5 as a base and adding some new things. To start, there are 3 additional characters added to the already 30+ characters from Tekken 5. The first new character is Lili, a rich daughter of a wealthy oil company executive who discovers that she has kick for street fighting. The second new character is Dragunov, a Russian soldier with little words and a sort of Sambo style of dealing pain to his enemies. And the third and returning character is none other than Armor King. Whaa? I know what you're thinking... **SPOILERS** Didn't Armor King die before Tekken 4? He did, but now he's back and with a vengeance. All three characters fit right in with the Tekken story with their own personal story involved with why they have joined the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5. Of course, old favorites such as Paul Phoenix and King are strapped and ready to dish out some punishment.

Also, what's new of Dark Resurrection is the additional bonus games that weren't in Tekken 5. Namco-Bandai has traded the side-scrolling game starring Jin Kazama for Tekken Bowl, which debuted in Tekken Tag Tournament and Gold Rush Mode, where every amount of damage you give turns into Fight Money and every amount of damage you recieve takes away Fight Money. Plus, aside from the bonus games, there is Tekken Dojo, a new mode in Dark Resurrection, where you take your favorite characters and take them through Dojos to fight, earn ranks and become the top fighter in the world! (Not literally, but you'll feel good about it, at least!) Also, what's neat about Dark Resurrection is the Ghost feature. Now you can actually save your ghost and upload it online for players around the world to download it and see how they stand against your ghost. You can also download ghost packs to see how well you fare against many Tekken fighters around the world.

Now that I've given you, the reader, a glimpse of what's included in Tekken: Dark Resurrection, it's time for the review!

Graphics: 10/10
The character models are amazing by PSP standards. It isn't as smooth as console Tekken games, but it holds well. In fact, it's one of the best-looking PSP games out. Each character animation is very smooth and very clean. The facial expressions are well-detailed during the cutscenes. The stages are well done and look very good. Although I noticed that some things in the backgrounds are slightly jagged in some stages, but it doesn't affect the gameplay. And in some of the cutscenes, there is a small slowdowns here and there, but it's not bad at all.

Gameplay: 10/10
Most people have bad experiences with fighting games on the PSP due the difficulty of pulling diagonals with the D-Pad and Tekken: Dark Resurrection is no exception. Many moves require a diagonal input and it's a little tricky at first, but surprisingly, it's easy to master. It just takes time and practice. The loading times are short and sweet and you won't have to wait long to bust some skulls. Loading times vary from 4 seconds for normal fights to about 9 seconds for story fights where a cutscene is played beforehand. The characters move very quick and there is no lag at all when you fight. Also, what's great of Dark Resurrection is the ability of Game Sharing, a feature not found on many PSP games. Full Game Sharing is great in Tekken: DR because if your friends want a fight, they can join in and they're able to pick from all the characters. The only sacrifice is sound but who needs sound in a fighting game? There is slight lag in two-player games which shows up when a lot of action is happening like when you pull off combos or you counter a running opponent with powerful strike, but it barely noticable. If you're not wanting to fight, other modes are open for you to spend your time. Tekken 5 introduced the Ranking System, a system where it judges the fighter's abilities and their skill level. CPU characters will also have a rank to show how difficult they are. Plus, Arcade Mode is no longer a start to finish mode, but an never-ending mode where you can bash your opponents for as long as you want as well as building your ranks. It doesn't hurt to brag that your character is a higher rank than your friend's character. Or does it?

Sound: 10/10
The music in Tekken: Dark Resurrection are catchy and easy to listen. Each songs fits well with their respective stages and brings that mood that you are actually fighting in a Space Station or a Cathedral. One thing about the in-game music, however, is that the music gets a little too repetitive in some points.

Replay: 10/10
With 30+ characters with individual endings, Tekken Dojo, the ghost system, exclusive bonus games, Tekken: Dark Resurrection will be spinning in your PSP for a long time to come. And with the ability of Game Sharing as well as battling opponents via Ad-Hoc mode, the replayablity is very, VERY high.

Overall: 10/10
Tekken: Dark Resurrection is the perfect example of a great PSP fighting game. Short loading times, amazing graphics, very tight gameplay, and an interesting story is what makes the Tekken series so strong and so popular as it was when it was first released. Pick it up and get ready for the The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, right in the palm of your hands!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 08/14/06