User reviews

"Heihachi Mishima…is dead", Or so the opening scenes of TEKKEN 5 would have you believe. But not to worry; you're in for a (weak) "surprise" as the antagonist and mascot of the famed Sony PlayStation fighting series, rises from the grave (literally) almost as immediately as he's (supposedly) assassinated.

The latest iteration of the Tekken franchise gets back to its "roots" Namco have proudly and loudly stated. The truth is, Namco, the game's developer & publisher, has made a quick and cowardly retreat from the new and exciting territory it explored in TEKKEN 4. The result is sadly unfortunate, because where as TEKKEN 4 felt new and fresh with it's multi-tiered & asymmetrical environments, wall-tech, position change and balanced damage levels, TEKKEN 5 basically plays as an updated TEKKEN 3 (1997).

By removing many of the superfluous characters in TEKKEN 4 and adding a few new faces, the game felt like a much needed ground-up revision of a series that, though great, previously demonstrated little in the way of innovation. And then there were the interactive environments. The "Garage" stage sticks out in my mind, where the combatants attempt manoeuvres on each other against a car or cement pillar for a damaging combo and win.

But hey, that's all gone now. The stages of TEKKEN 5 are completely flat, symmetrical, bland uninspired plains, just as they were at the beginning of the series back in "TEKKEN" (1994). Apparently, some of Tekken's older, newer and less experienced fans prefer the unornamented environs. I say they're either heavily retarded, boring or simply lack the gaming skills (and grey matter) to adapt and appreciate the complexity of navigating and battling within interactive multi-tiered asymmetrical environments.

Then there's the reintroduction of what can only be thought of as complete & utter nonsense. Remember Roger, the boxing kangaroo from TEKKEN 2? Or Mokujin the fighting tree of TEKKEN 3? Well, they're back as unlock-able characters which the player must earn, to which I ask a resounding "Why?". The minimalist approach of TEKKEN 4 as with TEKKEN 3 before it, with its smaller cast, has also been done away with in favor of bringing back just about everyone ever featured in the TEKKEN series, albeit Dr. Boskonovitch and Kunimitsu. Yes, even those who were supposedly killed (Baek Doo San) or were long thought of as dead (Wang Jinrei). I suppose it's hard to argue against a bevy of selectable characters, but it feels extremely overdone...like a very badly unorganized and unnecessary school reunion.

The mitigating factor behind all of my gripes against TEKKEN 5 is that the game for what it is, is actually enjoyable. I mean, come on it's TEKKEN! Personally, I would have preferred the series to follow and continue along the trail blazed by the previous game (TEKKEN 4), but hey, whatever. TEKKEN 5 is more of the same the way that every 'Nightmare on Elm Street' or 'Friday the 13th' is more of the same. When you get right down to it, the gameplay is fun. If you've either never really bothered with the previous Tekken games, you will most likely find favor with TEKKEN 5, probably in part due it's over simplification since the previous installment...erm...uh...sorry, I mean - designed to be more "accessible" and "user friendly" for 'new/general gamers' and PlayStation2 owners alike.

Some of the returning cast absent in TEKKEN 4 (Ganryu, JACK-5, Bruce) are more than welcome back. And maybe somebody out there actually likes trying to win using (a mockery of a character) the kangaroo in boxing gloves?

To be fair, it's not all old hat. TEKKEN 5 introduces three totally new characters, one of which is Blade™. Oops! Did I say "Blade™"?! I meant "Raven", the complete and utter rip-off of Blade™, the anti-hero played by actor Wesley Snipes, in the movie of the same name. We can forgive this borderline copyright infringement as Raven is totally hip, just like Blade™, therefore awesome. Without a doubt, he's the slickest black video game character to date, who has fortunately been spared the type of horribly typical (Japanese) stereotype that's befallen black video game characters of other fighting games, past and present. (Mohawk hair or Boxer's, anybody?)

Also new on the scene is the infuriating final boss, Jinpachi Mishima (whom makes his first ever appearance in the intro), the supposedly long dead father of Heihachi Mishima. Jinpachi is uber cheap - if he decides HE wants to win, well, there's really not a lot you can do in the way of dissuasion. It's a non-negotiable situation. Just bite down on something hard, It'll be over soon.....and then press start to continue, and try again.

Fortunately, Jinpachi's Achilles heel turns out also to be the very cheapness that makes him reviled. The battles against him are not actual fights ; but in fact are experiments to discover your selected character's few strategies Jinpachi can't seem to avoid or block.

TEKKEN 5 also comes with an "Arcade History" mode which contains TEKKEN (1994), TEKKEN 2 (1996), TEKKEN 3 (1997) in complete playable arcade perfection! A nice bonus for those not familiar with TEKKEN's rich history and former glory days.

The side game included with TEKKEN 5, named "Devil Within", is nothing short of an utter waste of time. Where as previous mini side games found on TEKKEN 5's predecessors (TEKKEN Ball, TEKKEN Bowl and TEKKEN Force) where short, fun and to the point; Devil Within is - painful, repetitive, overly-long and NOT fun in any way shape or form. A complete chor with absolutely no replay value.

Costume/Character customization is a neat idea (ripped off from Virtua Fighter 4:Evolution), but as to why the purchasable items are so few in number and limited to particular outfits only is a completely mystery.

Anyway...just know that TEKKEN 5 is good for what ails you, especially if you didn't like TEKKEN 4.

After disappointing fans world wide with the gameplay changes in tekken 4, It must have been pretty clear to the development team about what action to take for the next tekken installment : make every one happy again! And by that i mean take the game back to when it was at its very best- when their were juggle combos and a noticeable lack of gravity .

Well, making every one happy is exactly what namco did with tekken 5 and it has paid off beautifully-Tekken 5 is one of the greatest fighting games ever made ,its the beat em up equivalent to heaven .

Tekken 5 has it all- beautiful graphics, easy to learn/hard to master gameplay, a genuine sense of reward and a collection of well balanced characters -all unique in their own way .It even has arcade perfect versions of tekken 1,2,3 and starblade as unlocakble games that you can play at your own leisure! Honestly , you'll feel spoiled playing it.

The only problem with the game is its awful 3rd person adventure mode ,"the devil within"- an incredibly tedious mode of play in which jin wonders around drab halls and corridors solving boring puzzles and fighting hordes of uninteresting opponents. Hopefully the next games attempt at a value increasing bonus game mode will be lot better.

Thankfully though the devil within doesn't over shadow the absolute greatness of Tekken 5- one of the best beat em ups you'll ever play .

The best fighting game in the world advanced version is worse than ps3 if you remastered this game again i want to play devil within again this time come the second devil withinin

This game is one of my favorite video games of all time, it's also one of my favorites in the fighting game genre, and my favorite game in the "Tekken" series at least for now. "Tekken" is one of my favorite fighting games franchises and has had its share of high and low kicks, this game kicks way high.

I really like the wide range of options you must help in making the game anyway you want to play. But there are several things that really make this entry stand out. For one thing I really like is that it went back to the basic format. I honestly did like the fourth entry and what it was trying to do which made it slightly unique from any other entry. But like a lot of people, I preferred the classic format, and it really is the best way to go as it keeps things more focused and condensed. But they still have some impressive environments to fight in and really like how when you crash down or even fly off from a blow and crash into something and you see it. Seeing things like that just reinforces the feeling that your blows or the blows of another are really making an impact and delivering damage.

I even like the fact that whole moon jump which plagued previous entries and other third dimension fighting games is no more, I never really liked it because it meant little control of your character but also really cut into the momentum of the game. When you jump its medium which feels right not just in a realistic sense, but you have a better sense of control and gives you a small opportunity for either attack or evade. But also, really love the movements of the characters, which look even more crisp, fluid and well refined.

Really love the wide variety of characters you get to pick from and fight, this entry has at least at the time one of the biggest rosters in the series, which is fine by me the more the merrier. But this also guarantees loads of replay value as you can't just stop at one character to play and see what he or she is made of.

Like all good fighting games, it's easy to learn but hard to master, there is a command list to see on the grocery store list of moves and combos. I always look at it occasionally, to see if I can try out and execute another move set just to make the fights more interesting but is also just plain handy whenever you need it. And you do need some skill to go through each fight, for as you get further it means tougher fights where luck alone isn't enough. This ramped up difficulty just make the game even more entertaining and rewarding as it's your own skill that gets you further.

Of course, each of the characters is new and old, and each has their unique skill set, whichever character you're comfortable playing as it's all a matter of preference. I'll just pick out a few of them as there are a lot of characters, I like playing more than once, but these are my personal picks.

Jin: He's my main man, you get a good feel for his persona and depth as he's a person that is afflicted with the same curse as his father but unlike him, he can keep it in check due to being a person more levelheaded in the fires of torment. But as we see he can channel all that internal fire into something good. I really like his fighting style, which is based mainly on Karate, as he's more balanced as he's medium level in strength, speed, and power. Really like some of the kicking moves and combos from the multiple side kicks to even the trademark axe kick.

Marshall Law: He's my number two in my book. Really like him from the fact that he's obviously an homage to Bruce Lee. There is some depth to him as he' s a bit of an underdog that had hard luck but of course as we know in the realm of fighting games luck can change in an instant. However, he's got killer moves, his style obviously is Jeet Kwon Do as there is a lot of speed and power. Really like doing the kicks but most of all that trademark back flip kick, which is just awesome, especially when you do it multiple times, when that happens your opponent has no chance.

Christine: She's my main woman as she is hot and sexy with persona to boot, she kind of looks like WWE female wrestler Raquel Rodreguez. Or at least close both have the same hairstyle, physical look even a bit of that wrestler's persona is like the character in this game. Christine's got valid motives doing what she does like all of them, but you just get a feel she's mature but at the same time energetic, vibrant, and really likes to have fun. Really love the Kaipara style in use as it's a dance martial art style, it's just really cool just putting on some of those moves that looks almost like break dancing. Just fast, flexible, though also erotic which is a big turn on for me.... I'm human sue me, and I really do pick her out for her fighting abilities mind you.

Ling Xiaoyu: She's my number two, she's cute, sexy, and hot wrapped in one package with the good persona with it. She kind of looks and reminds me of actress Zhang Ziyi which makes it all the better as she's one of my personal fav actresses. Her style is Wu Shu Kung Fu as we see her perform the dancer like movements to deliver some graceful punishment. Just watching and utilizing her movements are just beautiful as there is just a flow and fluidity to them, as it shows the use of flowing energy without force to creates big impacts.

This vintage fighting game classic kicks high and beyond.

Rating: 4 stars.

Namco has always made sure that their games are original in design, appeal to the audience and most of all unique. Their Tekken and Soul Calibur series become more and more refined with every release. However, refinement is a long process and it just doesn't happen overnight. That's why when Tekken 4 hit the arcades fans rejoiced when they saw that the game got a real 3D face lift. Most importantly, Tekken 4 allowed players to not only utilize their actual skills in the game but also how well you use your environment. Trees, cars, telephone booths, barriers and unique level design allowed fans to take advantage of the playing field. Many characters also received minor tweaking and even the addition of a new fighting styles made Tekken 4 more about intellectual skill than actual gaming skills. Tekken 4 was refined in it's design, in it's gameplay and unique in it's character design. Then came Tekken 5 which is refined in it's graphics, but everything else seems rather underwhelming for Namco. As we continue on keep in mind that I am not trying to persuade you to side along with me. You have your opinion and I have mine so lets just leave it at that.

Graphically, Tekken 5 knocks it's predecessor, Tekken 4, out of the ball park. Everything is highly detailed and minor details, like moving pants and hoodies, actually move. Namco really payed close attention and offered the fans real life-like details. Characters mesh well with the stages and can even effect stage objects to an extent. When characters hit the floor they actually cause the floor to crack. This was used in Virtua Fighter 4 except the floor damage was permanent until the next round. As soon as you crack the floor in Tekken 5 another crack in another area will cause the crack prior to disappear. It's minor but I can't help but pay attention to it every time I knock my opponent down to see my first crack just vanish into thin air.

I want to continue on personally about the stages in Tekken 5. While they are pretty this is where it ends. Stages no longer have the interactive feel that they once had in Tekken 4. You cannot push your opponent into a telephone booth, tree or statue anymore. Stages are impressive in design but are ugly in their refinement. There's nothing new about any of the stages that were not in previous Tekken's. They lack any real thought to actually improve on this game whatsoever. It's a shame too since Tekken 4 had excellent stages- no other game put so much effort or concept into stage design than Tekken 4 did. All of the stages in Tekken 5 are pretty but shallow as they come. There are wide stages and infinite stages and nothing else.

In any case, the sounds are kinda boring and don't really and on anything new like they did in Tekken 4(Breaking glass, splashing sounds, engines roaring, people talking and the like). Tekken 5 seemed to have recycled most of the sounds from Tekken 4 and didn't really do anything new... but the graphics are pretty. Music wise, Tekken 5 is much more worse than Tekken 3's music. Some people may say that the music in Tekken was never that good but I disagree(Shinjuku and Airport are still my favorites). Anyway, the music is really uninspiring in the sense that it tries to make everything either too dramatic or too hardcore. The whole thug music wasn't really getting me in the mood to fight and neither does fighting with penguins. (Anyone like Poolside let me know).

Probably the worst part about gameplay is the characters. Now many of the old characters did get new moves to add to their array of attacks while some don't react too well to their old combo's (Steve's Wildman Combo-Flicker Stance is one that comes into mind). But the one thing that just shoves this series into the pretty but shallow isle is because of the returning roster of characters from Tekken 2. Asuka, Feng, Raven and Jinpachi (ugh) are the only new characters to this installation of Tekken(I don't count Jack since he was already in the first Tekken). The rest are recycled characters or recycled fighting styles from Tekken 2. Asuka's fighting style is similar to that of Jun's in Tekken 2. Raven is a ninja whose looks bare a similarity to actor and lover of Asian women Wesley Snipes Blade character. Feng uses a form of Chinese Kenpo and everyone who you saw in Tekken 2 fights exactly the same way they did years ago with minor tweaks of course. For this reason Tekken 5 is a really pretty game that is below Namco's standard of fighting games. I believe that they were quick to bring Tekken 5 out and that recycling used characters is a form of laziness and a cheap trick to make players think they are getting an entirely new and different fighting game.

My point is that Tekken 5 could have been so much better if they would have put a lot more ingenuity into it. It hasn't really been anything new and elements that made it new are gone and replaced with excellent graphics. The same flaw that DKC had for the SNES, all glamour and no gameplay, is the exact same flaw Tekken 5 has. Either Namco is running out of ideas or companies are just taking advantage of the shallow minds of many of it's fans and that's just wrong... it's just wrong.