At a time when it seems most of the fighting-game franchises have been heading downhill into ignoble mediocrity, Tekken 5 comes along and restores the soul of the faithful fighting fan with a really fun game that has plenty to do and will keep players entertained for some time to come. And while 2004 may have been a low point for the fighting game genre, 2005 is definitely looking up.
It is difficult to believe that it has been 10 years since the first Tekken game came home for the original PlayStation in 1995 and helped bring that system to dominance in its generation of hardware. Though called Tekken 5, this is actually the sixth game in the franchise; Tekken Tag Tournament came out on the PS2 after the last Tekken for PS1, Tekken 3, and before Tekken 4 on the PS2. Tekken 4 was not particularly well received by series fans and Tekken 5 has pretty much junked everything from Tekken 4 and gone back more to the earlier Tekken games.
The game plays and controls like a dream. The fighting system is simple enough for beginners to use with some proficiency while masters will find plenty of depth to explore. Kicks, punches, guards dash attacks, throws and more will be added to the player’s repertoire as his skill with the fighting system increases. All the characters are well balanced, so the player doesn’t have to take a hit because he just likes the looks of a certain character that might be somewhat weaker. The PS2 Dual Shock is more than up to the task of controlling the player’s fighter and is very responsive, though I’m sure many will prefer one of the available specialized fighting joysticks when they tackle the game.
Tekken 5 has lots to do. The modes include Story Battle, Arcade, Time Attack, VS Battle, Team Battle, Survival, Practice, Devil Within adventure and Arcade History.
The Story Battle mode presents the player with a choice of 20 characters to play as and follow their stories ... basically shallow stuff like vengeance and old rivalries. It doesn’t matter anyway. While the stories can be mildly entertaining, we all know it is just an excuse for fighting matches. Of the 20 characters, 17 are returning from previous Tekken Games. Returning characters include Julie Chang, Lee Chaolan, Steve Fox, Bryan Fury, Hwoarang, Jack-5, Jin Kazama, King, Marshall Law, Craig Marduk, Christie Monteiro, Kazuya Mishima, Paul Phoenix, Nina Williams, Lei Wulong, Ling Xiaoyu and Yoshimitsu. Three new characters make their debut in the game. Raven is an international intelligence agent who looks like Dennis Rodman playing Wesley Snipes playing Blade. Feng Wei is a Chinese Kenpo fighter. Asuka Kazama is the Asian schoolgirl type and cousin of Jin. Of course each fighter has a handful of his or her signature moves to use in combat.
Arcade mode pits the player against computer-controlled opponents or a second player. As the player wins more matches his rank goes up and he takes on tougher opponents. Winning matches also earns the player game money that can be exchanged for items.
The Devil Within adventure mode is a third-person-perspective adventure game that allows the player to further explore the character Jin Kazama and his growing demon influence. It is a definite tack-on mode, but it is oddly better than the recent sub-par, stand-alone game Death by Degrees that starred Tekken fighter Nina Williams. In it Jin will battle hoards of robot fighters with a pared-down fighting system.
Arcade History mode offers the player a trip down memory lane with the first three Tekken arcade games. These games could easily have been a stand-alone compilation product. Who knows what possessed Namco to throw them in, but it’s great they did. They also included the unrelated Starblade arcade game, but that one you have to unlock by playing the Devil Within adventure.
Rounding out the modes are Survival, a one-player contest to defeat as many opponents as you can before your health runs out; Time Attack, also one-player where speed is of the essence to defeat an opponent; VS Battle, a two-player fight where handicapping is possible to level the playing field; Team Battle, a one or two-player mode in which a team of up to eight fighters takes on a team of equal size in elimination matches; and the Practice mode which allows players to try out their moves in a safe environment.
Playing the various modes a certain number of times, generally Story and Time Attack, will unlock even more characters. Earning money in the Arcade mode will allow the player to purchase items for their fighters to alter their costumes.
From a presentation point of view, this is a well-above-par game on the PS2. Animation is smooth. Characters are well detailed. Environments are varied and look really good. A great deal within the environments is destructible. The game supports progressive scan so the display has the capacity to be outstanding. Sound is good, with strike sounds that have the player feeling every blow. The music is also appropriate for the game and not annoyingly repetitive.
The game is near perfect. Notable shortcomings include little real innovation within the game: it is very similar to other Tekken games. It is also regrettable that no online mode was included. CPUs are okay, but real people are more unpredictable and friends can’t come over all the time.
As stated before, 2005 is looking far better for fighting games than 2004 ever did. If no other fighter but Tekken 5 comes out this year, genre fans can still consider themselves lucky compared to last year’s crop. With a rock-solid and responsive fighting system, along with great audio/visual presentation to match and lots of modes to play with, Tekken 5 is the early contender for fighting game of the year. It is surely going to be a challenge for other publishers to do better.
