Gaming Target - PlayStation 2: Tekken 4

Written by Eftal Sogukoglu on July 23, 2001

First Impressions: Can Nina please crush my head?

Back in the days of Street Fighter, idea of incorporating 3D graphics into a fighting game was unthought of, until the first Sega's Virtua Fighter hit the arcades. Innovative in almost all of its aspects, Virtua Fighter would only become popular with its second installation, but I do believe it started the 3D fighting game revolution. Virtua Fighter 2 was an excellent game, but the engine became too slow with the 3rd installation. However, it still enjoyed its pre-accomplished popularity, while another game series by Namco was finalizing its evolution process. Its graphics had never been as good as Virtua Fighter's, nor had it enjoyed as much popularity. However, while its predecessor had become chunky with an overhaul of awesome graphics, this new arcade smash was getting ready to really hit the ring. Enter the King of Iron-fist Tournament.

Tekken 3 surpassed any other 3D fighting game at its original release. Although its graphics weren't as flashy as Virtua Fighter's, it surpassed anything else in the market with its awesome and fast game play. Notice that most arcades today still have at least one form of Tekken 3, but you won't notice too many Virtua Fighters around. That is not to say Virtua Fighter is a bad game. We should genuflect before Sega because one game caused the evolution of games such as Tekken 3 and Dead or Alive 2 into what they became today. My claim is that Tekken 3 is just a much more of an advanced game.

Tekken 3 has enjoyed a very long life at the arcades. Although Namco took the game and played around with it a little to release a new version called Tekken Tag Tournament, we have not seen a major improvement over it. Ironically, Tekken Tag Tournament is still one of the most popular games in the arcades today. But people have been yearning for a new release, with better graphics, sound, and new playable characters.

Success stories usually get followed immediately, yet Tekken 4 is being released almost 4 years after Tekken 3. With such a great game, the hype is incredible and Namco has done a lot of work to live up to it. And since the arcades are supposed to see Tekken 4 anytime now, we have access to a few aspects of the game showing that Namco might just have another hit.

As all fighting games, Tekken 4 follows a pathetic story. It's even worse than a fairy tale. Apparently, after failing to capture Ogre, Heihachi asks his researchers to collect DNA samples so that he can splice Ogre's gene and become a super mutant. Unfortunate for him (and fortunate for us), this splicing is impossible without something as ridiculous as the СDevil Gene' Ц Jin Kazama's DNA.

If you remember, Jin Kazama gets shot by Heihachi in Tekken 3, but turns into a Devil and flies away instead of going into eternal sleep. So Heihachi goes into a relentless search for Jin to no avail. But than he catches a picture of Kazuya and sees protruding wings, so he decides to look for Kazuya's remains in Nebraska.

He attacks the lab where Kazuya's remains are supposed to be and finds the guy well and alive. Resurrected Kazuya causes some havoc and flees, and Heihachi decides the best way to lure him close is by throwing King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 Ц the grand prize: Mishima Corporation. That is the basis of the new tournament, and as before each character has a personal reason for joining in the fight.

In terms of characters, we see people from Tekken 3 and previous installations. Some characters don't seem to be in the game (like Forest Law) but their fighting style is still incorporated. Forest's Father, Bruce LeeЕerrЕahemЕMarshall Law is back, and Christie Monteiro is replacing the flunky looking Capoeira dude Eddie Gordo.

Tekken has traditionally added new fighting techniques in each installation, and we get treated to two completely new styles with 4. At this point, the most anticipated new style seems to be boxing. Steve Fox is one of the new characters, a British boxer who got into trouble with the mob after refusing to go down in a fight. He is a marked man, an adopted child with a past he himself doesn't know. He figures joining the tournament can put him in the spotlight again. As the Tae Kwon Do fighters don't use their fists often, Steve will be a hands only fighter as he is a true boxer.

Another interesting new character is Craig Mardux, representing the Vale Tudo fighting style. He was a champion of Vale Tudo, but apparently he got involved in a scandal and was kicked out. Enraged, he whacks someone dead in a local brawl, and gets sent to jail for 10 years. A mysterious benefactor gets him out through bribe and sends him a ticket to King of Iron-fist Tournament 4. Lovely, eh?

These stories are pretty nifty, but nothing beats what happened to Paul. Apparently, this 48-year-old Judo champion thought he had won the previous tournament, but he hadn't. And nobody believes his story. So he decides to kick everyone's hiney proving them he did, he did win the previous contest! Too funny.

Several Tekken 4 movies have been released so far, and from the looks of it, the game is crisp. Gone are the days when Tekken looked worse than Virtua Fighter. The environment effects are simply gorgeous, and the characters look as good as the ones you saw in the Final Fantasy movie. The faces now change expressions, and the fighters actually converse with each other. There are some innovative costumes for everyone, and as always the babes look delicious. How the heck does Nina fight in high-heels and skin-tight jeans, while most girls have trouble walking in them? The fantastic world of Video Games, that's how. Some of the innovative costumes include the church suit for King.

The innovations don't end there. Yoshimitsu can now learn new moves from his opponent, if he counters one with his Sword Reversal. Moreover, the game seems to have learned a few lessons from Dead or Alive, which provided awesome indoor battlegrounds. It has been announced that the new installation will feature surrounding walls and combos that can take advantage of bouncing opponents. Although fighting in the alfresco is fun, this change should definitely add a new edge to the fighting.