Tekken Card Challenge

"Some sweet Tekken action when you're on the go."

I only encountered this game because it was bundled with my birthday present a few years ago. I only remembered I got this game about a few months ago, and it proved to be fine.

Now this game is the first twist to the tekken series. Games like pocket fighters gave Wonderswan proof that it could handle great fighters, but Namco did a card battle instead. I personally liked this game because I like collecting cards myself.

Graphics (7/10)

There are two major graphic sections. The first is the battle graphics. Personally, I think these are decent. Namco did a fine job doing these graphics, as they resemble tekken characters in 2D anime style.

The second is the map graphics. These aren't pretty. They're ugly, and the characters look fat in here. But it's entirely tolerable.

Sound (8/10)

The sound is done quite decently. Some voice samples are present, like traditional Tekken style sounds like "You Win" and some other samples. The voice is good for a Wonderswan, but the music isn't too impressive. But it's still good enough.

Gameplay (9/10)

The gameplay is what makes the game special. If you were expecting some beat em up tekken action when you bought this, you won't be too satisfied, but it's still very nice. Its simple, like those old 8 bit days, since all you've gotta do is walk on a map screen, like an adventure game, on a 15 by 15 screen, as you fight against enemies like the Tekken Force, and rivals, who are other tekken characters. You'll also encounter cards to pick up and temples to heal yourself.

When you battle, you go spinning a roulette, when you land on a card, it is compared with the enemy's card to see which one is stronger. Then you try to knock the enemy's health down by trying to get a better card. There are cards like unblockables, comboes, normal moves and blocks. These cards are the cards that are used to determine if you rip off the enemy's life or not. You can even juggle enemies, juggling is a traditional fighting word where you keep hitting enemies in mid air as they cannot block there. This mumbo jumbo sounds decent, but it's simple and 8 bit style.

Replay Value (8/10)

The only replay value of this game is unlocking characters and cards. It's pretty addictive, and its simplicity makes is a beautiful game, because I didn't understand a word of the Japanese manual.

This game is simple yet addictive, and if you find it, it will be a good addition to any Tekken fan's collection.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/07/05