Official Website

Platform: Playstation 2

Genre: Fighting

Number of Players: 1 - 2

The King of Iron Fist is back, and it’s bearing down on the competition and ready for yet another no holds barred match. Let’s face the facts here; Namco has essentially become THE company to beat when it comes to street fighting games. Tekken and Soul Blade/Caliber have set a fairly high watermark in terms of just about everything. Sega may have very well been responsible for initially bringing the fighting world into a 3-D arena, but Namco has most certainly broken that mold. The other companies really have nothing to do but stand in the shadows. Capcom has been using the exact same engine for their fighting games for how long? Mortal Kombat lost its edge when babalities and friendships became a part of the game play, and Virtua Fighter has gone for originator to imitator. Namco now holds all the cards.

Although it may very well be the fifth installment in the series, Tekken 4 is the direct sequel to Tekken 3, with Tag Tournament essentially being a sort of side game. It certainly looks and plays nice, but it doesn’t carry on with the story too much. Tekken 4 on the other hand takes place two years after the third tournament, and quite an interesting development has arisen. Heihachi has discovered that Kazuya is alive and well, resurrected by the G Corporation. After having his Tekken Force devastated by an enraged Kazuya, Heihachi formulated a plan, and thus the call was sent out to all fighters to enter the fourth King of Iron Fist Tournament with the ultimate prize being the vast finances of the Mishima Corporation.

As with all Tekken games, there are a host of fighters making a return appearance. Those that are initially selectable include: Kazuya Mishima, Paul Phoenix, Marshall Law, Ling Xiaoyu, King, Hwoarang, and Yoshimitsu. But, what would a Tekken game be without having a few hidden characters on board. These include: Brian Fury, Heihachi Mishima, Jin Kazama, Julia Chang, Kuma/Panda, Lei Wu Long, Nina Williams, and Lee Chaolan (who appears in the game under an alter ego known as Violet.)

Now, the newcomers to the tournament:

Steve Fox: a British boxer and former middleweight champion who was instructed by the Mafia to throw a big fight. Steve however didn’t do as the Mafia wished, and has been forced underground, as the mob has put a hit out on him. The latest Tekken tournament however has brought the young boxer out into the limelight once again.

Christie Monteiro: trained by Eddie Gordo, Christie has been looking for Eddie since his disappearance with the King of Iron Fist being her only lead.

Craig Marduck: a former Vale Tudo champion who was convicted of murder and incarcerated. An unknown benefactor however has paid off the right officials, and Craig is now free, with his eyes set on winning the Tekken tournament.

Combot: designed by Violet, Combat was designed to become the ultimate fighting machine by learning the fighting styles of its opponents. A bug in its system though causes Combat to use only one fighting style at a time.

At first, I was dismayed and shocked by the strange absence of one of my favorite fighters: Jun Kazama. Many a friend quickly met their end when I selected her in Tekken Tag, eventually leading to having no one who would even dare challenge me, and even having a ban placed on playing her if they were to try and have a go at me. However, I quickly found that Christie was as good a replacement as any, and I found that even though I had also liked playing as Eddy, she was in some ways superior to him in many ways.

Quite a few things have been taken into consideration regarding the fighters. Steve Fox for instance doesn’t throw any kicks at all, but then again, he is a boxer by trade, thus keeping the kicking to the martial arts trained characters. Combot, in contract to all fighters, is nothing more than a new guise of Unknown or Mokujin/Tetsujin, and it’s a craps shoot playing him (or it I suppose) since you never know exactly what you’re going to get. Height is a big factor as well, and it definitely shows. Marduck is a monstrosity, dwarfing all that oppose him, and even making some characters, like Xiaoyu for instance, look like they don’t even stand a chance against him.

The graphics are just as good as Tag Tournament, and even better in some aspects. A huge area of focus/design this time seems to be water, and it seems like every developer is trying to get a good grasp on how to make it look just right. Though Square definitely nailed it with Final Fantasy X, Namco comes in a close second, and their rendering is nothing short of fabulous. Water aside though, there some other great effects that have been used, in particular the fog effects that are present in a few stages, presenting a somewhat eerie feel in certain stages. There’s crowds and bystanders once again, showing how well Namco can push the polygon count without risking any slowdown. However, where Namco really shines brightly once again is with their CG, and don’t expect this to be limited to just the opening movie. This time, instead of getting endings like in Tekken Tag, these ones are done in full CG style, and although they are short, they are beautifully done and for a change, do have a bit more of a serious side to them, with a few exceptions of course.

One of the nicest features however is Namco’s close attention to hair. I’m probably not the only one who’s sick to death of playing fighting games where the combatants have gravity defying hair that moves in one big clump. With Tekken 4, that’s not even the case. There’s plenty of free flowing hair flying about on both male and female characters, adding in a nice touch of realism.

There’s also a bit of interaction this time with various stationary elements. Nothing brings a greater feeling to an anxious fighter like slamming his opponent through a pillar or a phone booth, and Tekken 4 offers plenty of break away action in just about every arena. Even the smallest thing will yield some sort of result, check out some of the pipe work in the laboratory stage of a good example. Also, a nice touch is some interaction with the crowds and onlookers. Once in a while, someone comes in the line of fire and either gets knocked down as quickly as a sack of potatoes, or manages to flee from the area to avoid bodily harm. It doesn’t really add anything to the playability, and you don’t get penalized for harming them, but it’s a nice touch, and funny to watch as well. The good thing is that the breakaway sections aren’t over the top like in some games (Dead or Alive 3 for instance) and you don’t have any fear about having to battle on multiple levels.

The game plays just like the previous Tekken games, and the controls are as responsive as ever. There are a few minor changes though, and these are definitely for the better. You can change your fighting stance, which is a great asset, or hindrance at times. Also, reversals have been included and are generally pretty easy to accomplish. If you’re a newcomer to the arena, or want to take some time to learn the moves of the new characters, or brush up on your skills, there’s always the famous training mode, which gives you the move combinations. You can even customize your combos this time, allowing some nasty and devastating maneuvers that will leave your opponent speechless.

For fans of Tekken Force, it’s back, and in full force. For those that aren’t familiar with this concept, Tekken Force is a mini game that pits you against wave after wave of soldiers as you work your way to fight the boss at the end of the stage. In some ways, it’s a bit like what Square had tried with The Bouncer, but done a bit better. However, it’s really only a nice break from the real action, and nothing more than that as the novelty wears out rather quickly. Still though, it’s better than the bowling game that was a bonus in Tekken Tournament. Other goodies include the option to save an entire match for replay, as opposed to just a frame like in Tournament, and the ability to go in a listen to the soundtrack or replay any of the movies you’ve seen.

For those that were a bit disappointed by Virtua Fighter 4 or the latest Capcom vs. whatever franchise they’ve decided to use, Tekken 4 is a definite must have. More than anything else, it proves that the fighting genre is still alive and quite well, and that Namco is still ahead of the pack with the design and playability of their games. Even though there's not a vast amount of additions or innovations, Tekken 4 is still a great game to play, especially if you've got a friend over and have had (too much) time to master all the moves. Go out and pick this one up. You won’t be disappointed.

 -mike-