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Tekken

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Tekken
Developer(s)Namco
Publisher(s)Namco
Platform(s)Arcade, PlayStation, PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Game Boy Advance, PlayStation Portable
Release(Tekken) 1994-1995,
(Tekken 2) 1995-1996,
(Tekken 3) 1996-1998,
(Tekken Tag Tournament) 1999-2000,
(Tekken 4) 2001-2002,
(Tekken 5) 2004-2005,
(Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection) 2006
(Tekken 6) TBA
Genre(s)Fighting
Mode(s)Single player, multiplayer

Tekken (鉄拳, "Iron Fist") is a series of fighting games developed and produced by Namco. Originally an arcade game, it has been ported to the PlayStation and the PlayStation 2 consoles with versions for the PSP and PlayStation 3 in the works.

Information

The series is one of the earliest 3D fighting game franchises, with the first game released less than two years after Virtua Fighter. There are five Tekken sequel games, Tekken 2, Tekken 3, Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken 4, and Tekken 5. An update of Tekken 5 dubbed Tekken 5.1 is now out in arcades. One can differentiate it by the red spotlights in the character selection background and green lifebars. A second more major update named Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection was released in arcades in late 2005. Also, Tekken 6 is thought to be in development for release on the PlayStation 3 console. The series also has one game for a non-PlayStation console called Tekken Advance which was released for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance in 2001; however, Namco did not release any more Game Boy Tekken titles after this due to the franchise's exclusive deal on the PlayStation platform. A PSP version of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection simply called Tekken: Dark Resurrection is due sometime in June of 2006. [1]

As with many fighting games, players each choose a character from different, exotic worldwide settings and fight hand-to-hand with each other. It is primarily a competitive two-player series, but a human player can fight an AI-controlled character for practice or amusement.

Tekken differs from other hand to hand combat games in some important ways. Traditional fighting games are usually played with buttons that correspond to the strength of the attack (for example, strong punch or weak kick). Tekken, however, dedicates a button to each limb of the fighter, making learning special attacks more of an intuitive process. The player could watch the animation on screen and figure out the appropriate command (if the character kicks low with his right leg, the move is probably executed by pressing down and right kick, or some variation thereof). Whereas traditional fighting games, such as Street Fighter, involve inputting commands as rapidly and accurately as possibly, Tekken slows the action down, emphasizing rhythm, strategy, and deception over speed and reaction.

File:Tekkenps1.jpg
PSone cover of the first Tekken

The Tekken games are popular within the martial arts community thanks primarily to the fact that most of the characters' fighting techniques can be found in real life martial arts. However, there is some question as to the accuracy of the style labels ascribed to certain characters. For example, in previous releases of the game the character Paul Phoenix is listed accurately as fighting using judo in spite of the fact that competition judo does not generally include punching and kicking (striking is known in Judo as Atemi-waza, but it is not allowed in competition). Similarly, the character of Marshall Law is listed as being a practitioner of "martial arts", yet in fact the fighting techniques of fellow characters Nina Williams, Hwoarang or Eddy Gordo are as much "martial arts" as anything Marshall Law does. Indeed, one who is familiar with the work of Bruce Lee would not fail to see the similarity between the Jeet Kune Do founder's fighting in movies and the techniques of his fictional counterpart in the game series as well as the similarities in physical appearance. Other Tekken characters also draw heavily from real life action heroes, such as Lei Wulong, a video game analogue of Jackie Chan.

Gameplay

Tekken shares some gameplay mechanics and characters with the other Namco-produced 3D fighter series, Soul Calibur. The original Tekken bears little resemblance to the most recent release, save for cosmetic similarities. Each iteration was improved upon both graphically and technically. Tekken 3 introduced the ability to move into and away from the background, commonly referred to as "sidestepping." Tekken 4 gave players even greater mobility, and added geometrically complex arenas complete with obstacles and walls to the series. This was a large break from Tekken tradition, as one of the characteristics of previous games was that all of the arenas had no boundaries - the player could walk infinitely far in any given direction. Tekken 5 saw the return of both walled and infinite arenas, while the very fluid mobility of Tekken 4 had been toned down to appease many players who thought it made the game too evasive. Tekken Tag Tournament is not a part of the normal series, but it is considered by many to be the pinnacle of the Tekken series. It involved each player controlling one of two fighters which they could swap in and out of the ring at will, and tag team attacks and juggles which were both damaging and visually appealing.

Continuity

The Tekken storyline tends to leave a decent amount of plotholes. For example, in the Tekken spin-off game Death by Degrees, Nina works in a joint operation run by the CIA/MI6. Anna works in the Tekken Force, run by the Mishima Zaibatsu. The Tekken Force was actually established some time after Tekken 2 to give world leaders the impression that Heihachi wanted to keep peace, masking his true intention of world conquest. What's even more confusing is that this game implies that this was how the rivalry between Nina and Anna started in the Tekken canon, though an already-present twin sibling rivalry turned worse when their father, Richard Williams, seemed to favor Nina and taught her the assassin trade, making Anna jealous; both also seem to blame each other for their father's death.

Appearances in other media

  • The Young and Dangerous series featured scenes where the cast played Tekken 2. The Young and Dangerous series was directed by Andrew Lau Wai Keung who also directed Kuen sun (a.k.a. Legend of Tekken) which is loosely based on the Tekken storyline.
  • Tekken: The Motion Picture, an anime movie, was released in 1997.
  • Christian, from Little Gamers, loves playing Tekken Tag Tournament.
  • Charles Stone III is directing a live-action movie tentatively titled Tekken which is said to only be loosely based on the games.
  • Comedian Dane Cook acknowledges Eddy Gordo's kicks on his comedy album Retaliation released July 26, 2005.
  • One of the most popular Indonesian thriller movies, Tusuk Jelangkung, shows one of the actors playing Tekken 4 on a PlayStation 2.
  • The British comedy-series Spaced parodies Tekken in one episode, even showing one of the Spaced-characters doing Nina Williams' win-animation.
  • Tekken 4 is seen being played in the French-Canadian movie Les Invasions Barbares.
  • In the movie Ichi the Killer, Ichi is seen playing Tekken Tag Tournament when he's finished killing his targets.
  • In the movie Shaun of the Dead, a reference is made to a night in which Shaun, Ed and Pete played Tekken 2.
  • A TV commercial by the Swiss Milk Producers Association aired in 2000 features their cow mascot Lovely fighting (and winning) against Tekken character Forrest Law.
  • In the British soap opera, Hollyoaks, numerous characters are seen playing Tekken regularly.
  • In the sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, actor Ben Affleck's character tries to get Jimmy Fallon's character to remember the good times they had sneeking into the arcade and playing Tekken until 2 in the morning.
  • In the British gangstar film Bullet Boy, the a child is seen playing Tekken 4 arcade mode and again later on playing the first level of the Tekken 4 Tekken Force Mode with Kazuya Mishima.

Games

File:PSX Tekken 2.jpg
Screenshot of Tekken 2.

The following is a list of titles in the Tekken series:

Trivia

  • The characters Paul, Nina, Yoshimitsu, and Heihachi have been in all Tekken games. However, both Forrest Law and Marshall Law have the exact same fighting style and both look the same, but are father and son so therefore Law cannot be accounted for, in which the same goes for King and Michelle Chang/Julia Chang. Also for Kuma (Tekken 1-2) and Kuma (Tekken 3-5)
  • The game Karateka is misattributed to Tekken on the Power Player Super Joy III albeit lacks technological advances that Tekken has.
  • Currently the only popular 3d polygon fighting game out from Japan that has the concept of 2 Punch buttons and 2 Kick buttons. Other popular 3d polygon fighting games such as Virtua Fighter and Dead or Alive series use different concept of 1 punch button and 1 kick button and Soul Calibur uses two buttons for weapon attacks as well as one for kicks. Also, unlike most fighting games, in Tekken, beginning from Tekken 2 there is autoblock funcion when the character is idle.
  • It has been announced that Tekken will be the next fighting game series to be featured in the trading card game Epic Battles, which currently features Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat.
  • Yoshimitsu appears in all of the games from the Tekken series and in Soul Calibur, Soul Calibur II and Soul Calibur III (though they are usually represented as different characters), and one of Tekken's main villains Heihachi appears as a "guest character" on the PS2 version of Soul Calibur II. Furthermore, both Tekken and Soul Calibur characters appeared in Namco x Capcom, a mega-crossover RPG involving various Namco and Capcom franchises.
  • Apart from Yoshimitsu and Heihachi, there are many cross-overs between Tekken and Soul Calibur series, such as King's mask available for custom characters in Soul Calibur 3, Isabella "Ivy" Valentine hairstyle for Anna in Tekken 5. Also, Tekken 5 Nina and Anna ending movies show the sisters sword-fighting each other for a movie with decorations (Zweinhander swords, armor and castle) resembling the ones in Soul series, and so on. Interesting fact, is that Yoshimitsu and Heihachi, being originally Teken characters, obtained many new moves when ported to SC and returned to Tekken with some of them.
  • Tekken 5 celebrates the 10th anniversary of the original game and includes the first three games in the Arcade History mode of the PS2 version as well as the Star Blade arcade game (playable while the game loads right after it’s turned on), later also unlockable for Arcade History. It is also the first in the series to feature character customizations, color palette choices and additional items that can be added to give a degree of personality to characters.
  • Tekken characters Law and Paul make appearances as unlockable, usable characters in the Namco made Beat-'Em-Up game Urban Reign.

See also

Regional

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