Tekken

The classic PlayStation fighter

Publisher:Namco
Developer:Namco
Genre:Fighting

What can be said about Tekken? It is surely a next generation brawler classic, rivaled only by the Virtua Fighter series for sheer beauty and control. It helped set a high water mark for poygon fighters, and continues to do so with its more recent sequel, Tekken 2. Tekken, however, is an excellent game in its own right, and deserves to be regarded as such.

Perhaps Tekken’s best aspect is its attention to individual characters’ moves. Yoshimitsu has his sword and spin punch, Law has his devastating body slam, and Nina has her unbelievable back breaker. A joy to behold! And while some of these moves are a little complex to pull off, once learned they can be the deciding factors in a tight match.

Tekken’s only downfall is its graphics. The action and control is smooth, and the characters look good in a basic sort of way, but the backgrounds are flat and lifeless. This was greatly improved upon in the sequel (see review of Tekken 2 for more information). All in all, an excellent game.