 Remember
the "good old days" of fighting games when two characters would fight until the
life bar at the top of the screen was gone, you only had eight characters to choose from,
and the best moves were fireballs? Well, those days are completely gone. With the addition
of Tekken 3 to the Tekken series, Namco has changed the whole genre.
With a name like Tekken, you know the game has to be good. Having
played the previous two titles in the series, I was a little biased. Whether you've
played a game in the Tekken series or not, you won't be disappointed.Tekken 3 breaks all of the traditional
barriers from the three dimensional fighting arena. The basic premise is the same as all
fighting games, attack and win. New dimensions have been added, however. For
example, you don't have to worry about the "Ring Out" penalty. I didn't
even notice this until trying to get a ring out. The way the game is programmed, it's
impossible. I really think that the game gains strength because of it.
The textures in Tekken 3 are
especially rich. Tiger, who is selectable only after defeating the game with
everyone, is a breakdancing disco man. "Saturday Night Fever" has never looked
so good. The variety of "skins" light up the game greatly. Jin and Xiaou
have school outfits. All of the characters look great.
 There
are many hidden items in Tekken 3, so you’ll be playing the game for hours
and hours trying to find them all. The variety of characters make the game well-rounded
for experts and beginners alike. For example, take Eddy and Lei. Eddy's a
cheesy breakdancer, good for beginners. Lei is great for experts that want to do many
different moves. Out of the 20 characters, all have unique fighting styles.
The ability to move three dimensionally is
great because you can dodge attacks easily. That adds even more to the game's scope.
Tekken 3 also adds the ability to have a team battle. This is what
separates the PlayStation version from the arcade. In team battle, you can choose a
team of up to eight fighters. You can only choose each fighter once, so that makes
it fair by not being able to have a whole team of Eddys. You can handicap yourself
too. You can pick four guys, while your opponent picks eight, if you think you're
that good.
The sound in Tekken 3 is great.
All the kicks and punches are accurately translated from the arcade version as far
as I could tell. The music in the game is especially good. They updated the music from the
arcade version. You have the choice of the arcade version music, which isn't that bad, or
the remixed music. The remixed music really is better fitting for the stages. If you
choose to use the arcade music, prepare for the same song over and over when you play
against a hidden character. With the remixed music, this problem is fixed, as all of the
characters have their own unique music.
 For
all of you Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat fans, as far as projectiles
go, there are only two characters with projectile attacks. Gon, a character unique
to the PlayStation version, and Ogre, a character that is unlocked by defeating the
game multiple times. The lack of projectile attacks also adds strength to the game by
preventing someone from sitting in a corner, just attacking with projectiles.
Another great part of Tekken 3 is
the fact that there are so many hidden characters. There are 10 playable characters when
you take the game out of the box, and then there are 10 hidden characters unlocked when
you defeat arcade mode each time with a different person.
Overall, Tekken 3 is the best
fighting game I have come across in a long time. If you have a PlayStation, I
wouldn't skip over this title. |
Tekken 3