The PERFECT fighting game (Tekken 3 (PS))

Member Name: valve90210

Product:	Tekken 3 (PS)
Date:	10/09/08 (127 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Absolutely everything

Disadvantages: Nothing

In my second year of university I lived in a shared house. In the lounge we had a playstation, on this playstation we had Tekken 3....

There is only one game I have played more than this and that is Sensible Soccer, which many will tell you is the finest game to ever grace the world of computers, if that is so, then in my opinion this is the second greatest to ever do so!!! I have long since lost count of how many hours I have spent on this game. In my days at university hours and hours would be spent in front of it. There were 8 of us in the house and we pretty much all played it. The hours of winner stays on stretched into long nights and early mornings. From quick single round fights against novices to best of 5 round infinite time full health epic battles between the best of us, the play was always fun, always exciting and surprisingly quickly very controlled.

For me Tekken 3 stoods head and shoulders above any other fighting I had ever played. Upon first play it seemed like so many others, a massive celebration of the ancient art of button bashing, however, very quickly this became much more controlled unlike other fighting games which often had a special moves button or punch and kick buttons. This game basically has one button for each arm and one for each leg, which from the very outset made it nice and easy to plan your attacks. As time went on and we played more and more. The control system just became so intuitive and natural it was such a pleasure to play, the attacking, blocking, side stepping, everything was just so natural.

I can remember epic battles between myself and a friend, we both being the two who played Tekken 3 the most. We would set our health as high as possible, set it to the best of 5 rounds and set it to infinite time. These fights would go on for ages, each of us would bide our time, jumping forward and quickly back in an attempt to draw an attack from the other player which would give an opportunity to launch our own attack.

In addition to the usual attacking moves and defensive blocks this game featured throws or grabs which you could trigger when in range, these could be used either to hurt the opponent or as a useful way of bringing your opponent down allowing you time to get some space between you again, very useful when your opponent keeps coming at you.

Another addition which really helped to make the game so incredibly playable was in the inclusion of reversal moves. With the right timing and button presses it was possible to perform a reversal move, for example if your opponent launched a kick at you, your reversal might grab their leg and then kick them back. These reversal attacks could also be reversed, so with skilled players it could lead to some great tussles going back and forth. This addition really helped the game to be much more strategic than some fighting games and meant that the players needed to be much more thoughtful about their attacking play than in most games.

When I left university I got myself a playstation and a copy of Tekken 3 because I was so addicted to it still. Part of the draw of the game is the great depth in the range of moves of each of the fighters available, and the perfect balancing of each character. There are no characters who are vastly better than any other, and none that are much poorer than any other. Initially it might seem that some of the characters are easier to play with as it's easier to perform more powerful or greater ranged moves but as when they come up against a player with greater patience or a bit more skill, they can soon find that the lack of depth of the easy moves is easily out fought by careful and considered play. A rampant button basher can easily be beaten by a tactical patient fighter who waits for the right moment to launch each attack.

Also, each character has at least one move which is unblockable, while unblockable moves can in some games be a real nuisance, especially if they are quick and easy to perform as they are over used, in Tekken 3 they are just about perfect. While you cannot block them, most of them can be avoided with a well timed side step or jump out of the way. Also, they take just long enough to execute, and leave the person doing it unable to block for just long enough that you can launch an attack at the person trying to do the special move, which stops the execution.

In addition to the normal arcade gameplay whereby you fight your way through a series of opponents until you either are defeated or you win the tournament, there are several other modes of play

Versus
this is your standard two player affair, you each chose a character and fight

Team Battle
In this you can either play against the computer or another player. You chose what size team to have, from 4 to 8 fighters. Then you select your fighers (or have them randomly choosen by the computer) and then fight. Both teams start with their first fighter, when they lose they move to their next fighter while the winner stays on and only has slightly more health than they had when they won their fight. The overall winner is the player who is left standing.

Tekken Force
This is a fairly short sideways scrolling game in the style of Double Dragon. In this you can chose any character and you have their full range of moves at your disposal as you fight your way past various henchmen and bosses (who are fighters from the main game). It's nothing spectacular but is ok to play for a short time.

Tekken Ball
This plays like a sort of volley ball game. each player stands at one side of a court. A ball drops down and you have to keep it in the air using punches and kicks. If the ball drops on your side of the court you lose health. You can use special or powerful moves to charge the ball which when it hits your opponent will knock the over, during which time it is easier to get the ball to land on their side of the court and hence deplete their health. It's a bit of a strange game and in my opinion the weakest part of the whole game.

Practice Mode
This is a great mode as it allows you to choose any character to practice with and lets you check out their entire moves list, along with instructions on how to perform them. it also demonstrates each players combination moves. A bit of time spent using this really does pay off.

I have recently purchased a PSP and have got hold of Tekken 3 for it, and am amazed that even 10 years on from my first playing of it, it is still as fast, furious, tactical and fun as it ever was.

In my opinion, this is the perfect fighting game, everything about it is perfect, the speed, the blocking, the attacking, the tactics, everything!!!

Summary: The best fighting game ever!!!