Tekken 3

Developer - Namco
Publisher - Sony
Players - 1-2
Extras - Memory card, Dual Shock

The bit on the box

"Once again, fate brings together those who heed the call...A new generation of fighters. Stunning high resolution graphics and movie sequences. All new Tekken Force and Tekken Ball modes. Literally thousands of moves and combos to master. The 3D fighting game champion has arrived."

Graphics

If Tekken 2 was as good as you thought a fighting game could get graphically on the PlayStation, think again. Namco have made many improvements (albeit small ones, not all are noticeable at first) in both the characters and the backgrounds, and though the backgrounds are 2D they still look well done. The animation of the characters is still as fluid as ever, and everything looks so much better and sharper using the PlayStation's high resolution mode than any other fighting title. If you thought you were going to get to the next section without a complaint from me however you are sadly mistaken. After playing Soul Blade and seeing how realistic Namco could make hair and clothing move in combat, and how smooth they can make the polygons look, it is a real shame that with this title they have taken a backward step, reintroducing the jagged edges and fake looking "hard" clothing of Tekken 2. A small price to pay for a smooth frame rate? I still prefer Soul Blade's looks any day.

Sounds

Tekken 3 appears to have kept many of the sound effects from it's predecessor, that in itself not necessarily being a bad thing. All punches, kicks, slaps, bones breaking, and collisions sound good and give some satisfaction when it isn't you on the receiving end, and the voices (what little there are of them) are well sampled. The music is good in parts, and while some of the tracks really get you in the mood for fighting, some others sound like they were performed by Parappa the Rapper while intoxicated. Alot of the arcade music (included as a choice in the options menu) sounds better than the remixed stuff, which is a pity as there are one or two really great pieces of battle music among a group of ordinary ones.

Gameplay

Now here's where this game is so good, and a massive improvement over Tekken 2. The use of the buttons on the controller and the way you can completely reconfigure the shoulder buttons to do combos is a brilliant idea, which makes you wonder why no one has done it before. Also the normal moves and throws seem alot easier to pull off now, causing less "sore thumb" syndrome while playing. There does seem to be a bit of a problem when your character gets hit though, as they seem keen on finishing their reeling/falling animation before the control pad will respond to any other instructions, which can be a tad annoying if someone is in a prone position and you can't take advantage of it, but this problem was also in Tekken 2 and if you are used to it it's no big deal and easier to avoid.

I feel a verdict coming on

Although Tekken 3 is an improvement over its predecessors and the best fighting game available at this time, i'm still not sure if enough has been added to make it worth buying for those who already own Tekken 2. The Tekken Force and Tekken Ball modes are a bit of a waste of space, and there is actually less characters here than in the last game, some of which are pretty uninspiring (Gon and Dr Boskonovich are useless, and Anna doesn't seem that much different from Nina). For those die hard fans and those who don't own a Tekken game yet though, this is definitely the pick of the bunch as it stands and definitely the best fighting game available on the PlayStation (Until Tekken 4 perhaps?).

Review by D.R.T.Barrett