[8/16/04] Tekken 4

[Mag]

Game: Tekken 4

Genre: Fighting

Platform: Aracade, Playstation 2

Release: 2001

 

Tekken is back with a whole new concept of tekken, everything from character to stage is fully developed from the start. The tekken legacy continues where the 32Bit tekken 3 left off. This doesn't apply to what was left of Tekken Tag Tournament though, but it sure brought back the story. Everything has change completely modeled, from new characters to interactive backgrounds. This time the story set forward 2 more years where the 4th King of Iron Fist Tournament begins, During this time, Heihachi has found out his son Kazuya has been ressurected and plan to take revenge over Heihachi while Heihachi wanted his son's gene. This time the new tournament has been a alot different, the prize is gonna be the Tekken Zaibatsu (Financial Empire) instead of gold, andmost characters are entering the tournament for obvious reasons, aside from winning the deal. So thus the 4th King of Iron Fist tournament begins.

 

This time with 19 selectable characters total, yet again you will start out with 10 characters. Although this time, there is a connection line between all the characters, their story evolves accordingly to another. They all fit in to make the Tekken 4 story puzzle. Every movelist from the last tekken has manipulated over this installment, now they also included new moves and techniques as well. A nice selection of new characters but also old characters that wasn't avaliable since Tekken 2 are now playable such as Kazuya and Marshall Law. Some new characters actually portrait the old fighters style such as Christie, while Violet is just Lee in disguise. Returning fighters such as Jin has made a huge improvement in the style of fighting. For quite a nice roster of fighters to chose from, this game gonna worth your while.

 

The game is pretty much like Tekken 3 except, it has been cover with new color and a face-lift. The game stage of course is one of the new feature, it's fully 3D interactive backgrounds and area. You can cause serious mayhem as well. Objects in the environment such as Pillars can be knock down when you throw your oponent toward them, they will substain extra damage. Not all stage have obstacles or such, but they do have walls. Walls are good for trapping your oponent as well as advantage oppurtunities. There are also new techniques featured in the game, such push position change, by pressing Left punch and Left kick at the same time along with back or forward direction, you will able to push your oponent to a position of your choice. This technique helps to adjust the range you want, or you could use it to push your oponent against a wall. Now that there are 3D backgrounds you are fighting on, there will be elavation diferences such as when your standing on a stair way higher than your oponent, this will prevent you from making a ground attack effectively, most often you could miss. Everything attack you pull off will be base on elevation. This tekken will be focusing on the environment as you fight, so be sure to aware of that and play accordingly.

That pretty wraps up the general concepts of the game. Seems yet another Tekken included a mini-game. This time it's taken from Tekken 3, none other than Tekken Force, it's fully redone like never before. They give you a close view angle instead of a far side-scroll like they have done in Tekken 3. The exact game where you have to fight your way through the end of the level til you reach the destination to fight a boss of each stage. Going through this time will be alot harder than you think, you will fight numerous enemies at a time as you go through. As for the controls, they are pretty much self-explanable where it left off from Tekken 3.

 

This is a fighting game with rich high exquisite graphics like you never seen in any fighting game before. Everything starting with the character facial and figure, it's simply amazing, the detailed is way impressive than you think. For example, you can actually see sideburn from Paul's face. The design is as best as it could get, every character has new outfit, most are very stylish while a few almost look the same except remodeled. The environments of the stage is perhaps as gorgeous as it could get. For example, in the Forest stage, you could actually see a mirror reflection of yourself and your oponent when you are fighting on top of a puddle of water. Also the stage that poses like the one on the movie Fight Club is incredible, audience speculating the match, each and single individual of the audience is fully 3D figured, as well as animated so you actually witness quite alot of realism. More impressively, for a stage like that, you actually encounter no slowdown as you fight in that stage along with a crowded audience going on 60 frames per second. This tekken game has the top and best visual in the works.

 

The audio department hasn't made much of a improvement at all. Starting with the character voices, they are still pretty much the same accordingly to the old characters from tekken 3 and new characters feature new voice-overs. A new feature put in is whenever you about to being a match, you will hear comments of your character and oponent before the fight. The effect hasn't made much change or improvement, starting with the characters' moods. Also the only change in the sound effect is the obstacles being break down from the fight and whenever you or your oponent got pumel to the wall. You will be able to hear actual sound of an exploding rock when you pulverize your oponent threw a pillar, Other sounds include splash of water, breaking glass and so on. As for the music of the game, they have replace fast-pace music with regular music that fits exactly how the environment look, for example in the forest stage, you will hear music that reflect wilderness with nice beats.

 

This isn't the perfect Tekken game yet, but it's still a Tekken game the fans should not miss out on. For those that knows how to judge this game properly, you have to judge it by the gameplay, not by it's graphic. Although this is a great 3D title, and one of the top fighting game out there as well. It's worth playing and owning it for new and veteran Tekken players out there.

 

Visual: 10/10

Gameplay: 8/10

Control: 8/10

Sound: 8/10

 

Overall Score: 8

 

Overall Grade: B

 

Overall, I gvive this game a

[Weirdy]

I have this game. I kinda preffered Tekken 3 over it.

 

What I liked is that this TYME they actually put the voices in when americans and europeans were missing out on hearing voices since Tekken 2

Edited August 16, 2004 by Weirdanzeige

[Wizard]

I liked 4. More then 3. But i'd say the best would be 2.

[solidius23]

i liked 4, 3 still edges it out a little but it was good and shold not be missed i own all the tekkens and must say its a very good series. cant wait to play 5!!!

[shin_nihon_kikaku]

I absolutely loved part 4 and I now include a Tekken game in my top 20 games of all time! It was quite a large alteration to the Tekken series (the biggest so far) and I loved every part of it more than any previous Tekken.

 

I've heard that Tekken 5 is going back to flat floors but with walls (just like VF4 did) and find this terrible news. The developers of both games say that it helps players concentrate only on the fight, I completely disagree and think the hills and stairs add to make it more like a real life fight. You must have a cr@p brain if you can't keep your concentration on the fight whilst simultaneously traversing a flight of stairs or a hill.

 

Anyway, I loved Tekken 4 so much that I am now struggling to decide whether Tekken has overtaken VF (4 and evo lost it somewhat) as the best 3D fighting series. Well, I still like VF3 more than any other fighter but Tekken 4 brought it closer than it has ever been.

Edited November 12, 2004 by shin_nihon_kikaku