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GRAPHICS: A (9.75) When Tekken 2 came out in the arcades, no one though it could be translated to a home system. Its graphics were just too advanced for its time. Ironically, Namco’s conversion for the PlayStation proved that not only could it could be done, but it could be done far better than its arcade predecessor. A few years later… The same story. Can the PlayStation handle such a complicated game as Tekken 3? You’ll once again be surprised at the power of the PlayStation, for it is better in many ways. Lets start with the characters. The characters in Tekken 3 are awesome, although some of the 2P costumes are really ugly, each has a very unique look and are translated from the arcade flawlessly, with only a slight, unnoticeable polygon loss due to the system’s obvious graphical and memory limitations, but they kept all the detail in their faces, which many other games like MK4 were not able to do. The lighting effects are spectacular, they have particle effects and are fluidly animated. The backgrounds have lost a lot of detail and are no longer 3D, which is rather disappointing and affects the overall look of the game. Besides the backgrounds, not much else was lost, and lots was added, such as extra characters, moves, and many new options. Namco makes the best CG movies. Until you see these you probably won’t believe me when I say that they are the best FMV scenes ever created, they capture facial expressions and hair movement like no other motion video studio has ever been able to do. Tekken 3 is the best looking fighter at the moment, outside the arcades.
MUSIC/SOUND: A- (9.25) Tekken 3 has two soundtracks, the arcade original, and a new remixed one, much like its PlayStation prequels. Most of the music is very good, but there are a few annoying ones that will make you reach for the volume control on your TV. The characters’ voices are really cool and there are no silly one-liners like in Virtua Fighter and other fighting games. But the problem is that some of the sounds are pretty weak and don’t have enough impact to make it seem as realistic as Virtua Fighter 2 (which is still a better game by the way). GAMEPLAY: A+ (10) There’s no doubt that this is a deep game, it has 6 familiar game modes (Arcade, Versus, Team, Survival, Time Attack, and Practice), and 2 all-new game modes, which are Tekken Ball (volleyball type mini-game) and Tekken Force (Final Fight type mini-game). Although the latter two aren’t that original, they are relatively fun for a while and help break the monotony that’s always associated with fighting games. There are a few new hidden characters such as Gon and Doctor. B, but they all suck. Since those characters are extra however, they shouldn’t affect the score. The regular new characters are Eddy, Hwarang, Xiaoyu, and Jin, and all the old characters have returned except for Jun. Each character has a lot of moves and it will take you long to memorize them. This game does support the new Dual Shock Analog Controller (very nicely I might add), which heightens the experience by offering different degrees of force feedback with each hit or miss. If you still don’t have the Dual Shock controller, go buy it now. Most future games will support the new shock feature. Hidden in this game is a new feature called Theater mode, this allows you to see all the FMV in the game after you reveal them, and it also allows you to listen to all the music in the game. You can also see and hear all the FMV and music from Tekken 1 or 2, provided you have the discs or stored memory.
FUN AND REPLAY VALUE: A (9.75) As unimportant as the new additions may be, Namco should get some credit for at least trying to make the experience as enjoyable as it could. Tekken 3 is a very fun game that doesn’t wear out quickly. You’ll want to learn the moves for most characters and get all the endings. The real fun of this game though, is playing it against a second player, because that’s the whole purpose of fighting games after all. The computer opponent does offer you a challenge in case you don’t have a friend to play against, but not enough to frustrate you.
WORTH BUYING: YES If fighting games are your thing, Tekken 3 is the best currently on the PlayStation and you should buy it. Even if you're not a fighting game fan, you should at least give it a try. It has cost $44.99 since it came out in June and is going down in price, so it’s one of the cheaper titles. A must buy. OVERALL: A (9.75) Another great game from the company that keeps giving us one awesome game after another. Tekken has yet to reach the perfection of Virtua Fighter 2, so lets not even comment on VF3. To order Tekken 3, click
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