Official Website

Platform: Playstation 2

Genre: Fighting

Number of Players: 1 - 2

A decade ago Namco released a fighting game that would become the love of fighting game fans across the globe. Games like Street Fighter II and Mortal Kombat may have been the thing that once lured gamers into the arcades, but developers soon saw that three-dimensional fighters were the wave of the future, and while Sega had already unleashed Virtua Fighter to the delight of video game addicts, Namco proved that they could do it better. The game of course was Tekken and ten years later the series shows no signs of throwing in the towel to retire. Tekken 5 not only represents Namco’s latest entry into the series, it also serves as the celebratory title in honor of 10 great years.

As with any fighting game, the story is the least of anyone’s concern, but it does serve as a way for all of us to find out exactly who it was that won the previous games tournament. Tekken 4’s final round occurred between Jin and Kazuya and Jin managed to achieve victory, but that’s not quite the end of our story. Heihachi and Kazuya soon find themselves under attack by a platoon of Jacks, and while father and son fight wonderfully together, Kazuya has another plan. He betrays his father, leaving him to die in a fiery explosion. Many believe that the death of Heihachi means the end of the Mishima Zanibatsu, but that’s not the case and now the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament is about to begin. 

I know that for any Tekken fan, the first item of business is discovering who is back, who is new, and what characters are hidden within the game. Since the first game Marshall Law, Kazuya Mishima, Nina Williams, King, Lee Chaolan, Yoshimitsu, and Paul Phoenix have always been a part of the lineup, and once again they return, ready to brawl. Wei Wulong makes a return appearance after not having been seen since the days of Tekken 2 while characters from Tekken 3, Hwoarang, Jin Kazama, Brian Fury, Ling Xiaoyu, and Julia Chan are on the list of selectable characters. Tekken 4 on the other hand has given us a few fan favorites, namely Craig Marduk, Steve Fox, and Christie Monteiro, who also all make the final roster. Jack 5 on the other hand is all in how you look at him. While he’s the new version of Jack, Gun-Jack, or whatever name has been applied to him, he can’t necessarily be considered a new addition.

However, Tekken 5 does have three new fighters that are added into the growing list of fighters. I’ve been a little upset that Jun Kazama hasn’t returned to the series since Tekken Tag Tournament, but newcomer Asuka Kazama is a good replacement. The schoolgirl fighter uses the same moves pallet as what Jun has used, with a few minor changes, and for those that have mastered those deadly combos (the single reason why no one will play Tag with me) Asuka is an ideal selection. Raven on the other hand, a master of ninjistu, serves as the always needed mysterious force within the game while Feng Wei, the devastating master of Chinese Kempo, finishes out the list in the “who’s new” category.

As with any fighting game, half of the challenge is unlocking those secret fighters. In the arcade, they may have been time released, but for the home version you’re going to need to work for them by finishing the game. Some of these fighters we’ve seen in the games in the past, though not for a while. These include such familiar faces as Anna Williams, Baek Doo San (not seen in the series for quite a while), Bruce Irvin, Kuma (or Panda if you use the pallet swap option), Mokujin, Ganryu (another character that has been missing for a while) and Heihachi Mishima, proving that death simply can’t stop him. Other characters are new like Wang Jinrei or are simply utilize more pallet swapping like with Roger Jr., Eddie Gordo (available as a bonus costume for Christie.) There is one however that you will need to do a good deal of work to obtain and that’s Devil Jin, a character only available after 200 fights or the completion of the mini-game included with the game.

There isn’t too much difference with the control setup for the game, and by now most of us should be relatively familiar with how it all works. Unlike other fighters that rely on the directional movement combined with a button or two (Street Fighter) Tekken of course relies more on combos, and this continues to be the case. As we all know, there is some degree of thought and strategy required, especially with the games final boss, Jinpachi Mishima, who just seems to cheat whenever the opportunity presents itself. You can customize the controls as well, but there is even a little more that you can play around with besides that. Much like now the newer Mortal Kombat games are set up, Tekken 5 will reward you with prize money for winning fights. This can be used to customize the characters further with new accessories or outfits.

The control structure in Tekken and also the response time certainly has come a long way, and if you don’t believe me all you need to do is hop on into the arcade history section of the game. There you will find the original versions of Tekken 1 through 3. The games are laughable these days, but back when they were in the arcades, they were the things drawing gamers in day in and day out. Tekken 5 also includes the mini-game Devil Within, a 3D action game that will find you controlling Jin to learn a little more about his past. It’s not a bad game, but really doesn’t requite much though and doesn’t have nearly the same level of visual appeal the Tekken 5 has, and (though I had to admit it) the Nina Williams spin-off game Death by Degrees. If that isn’t enough extra material Namco has also given you the ability to check out the entire soundtrack (and I will be buying this at some point), view the characters endings (after completing them of course) and even check out some of the trailers that were done for the game both in Japan as well as in the United States.

Tekken 5 features two different methods of play; story mode and arcade mode as well as the option to go into training and learn more about character moves. This is one area where I would love for Namco to return to the training that was included as a part of Tekken Tag. In Tag, you had the computer telling you what moves to do, and this served as a much better way to learn and mater them, but this won’t be available to you here. Also included are the standard survival mode as well as time attack, all things that we’ve all come to accept as being a part of any fighting game.

The game also looks better than ever with plenty of improved lighting effects, breaking and cracking pieces of your fighting arena, and fantastic animations in both the cut scenes as well as the game itself. At times there are just little things that may not seem to be that interesting, but truth me, they can make the game. There is one particular level that finds you fighting in a field late a night and the detail is amazing. The same goes for a stage filled with treasure that looks very much like a stage seen in Soul Caliber II. Also, the characters all have full computer animated ending, most of them at least. The one that I’ve found who doesn’t is Xiayou who instead has anime as her ending.

The only thing that I can think of that I would have liked to have seen included with Tekken 5 would have been a cross-over into the Soul Caliber series, though I really can’t think which of the characters would have worked best in unarmed combat. I know that quite a few people where a little disappointed with Tekken 4, though I really can’t understand why as it was a good game, but Tekken 5 should win them back. The list of selectable characters is huge, the action is furious, and Tekken once again shows that there really isn’t such a thing as too much a good thing. It’s time once again to lace up those boots, jump into the ring, and get ready to beat your friends (and everyone else) within a fraction of their life. Tekken is back . . . and with a vengeance.

 -mike-