Tekken 5

  Tekken 5 features a new graphics engine (System 258) which supports vibrant new arenas and incredibly well rendered character models. Tekken 5 came packed with a kicking soundtrack, hundreds of new moves, and over 30 diverse characters with deep move-sets. Of course all your Tekken favorites have been updated with a great variety of new fighting techniques, most of which looking nothing short of incredible (and hurt just as you'd expect). The three new characters introduced this time were: Feng Wei, Asuka Kazama, & Raven who added even more variety to the great line-up of fighters.    Graphically, Tekken 5 was a great improvement over the prequel and hosted a plethora of new animations, including all new pre-fight animations, throw escape animations, other animation tweaks which allowed for a smoother and more visually appealing experience. The gameplay was also an improvement over Tekken 4, featuring a very open-ended combo system and tighter wall game. The combo system allowed for new combo possibilities as well as the longest combos/juggles in Tekken's history, allowing skilled players get creative and mix up their combos (which heavily influenced the gameplay).  Along with the deepest move-sets in the series' history, Tekken 5's characters actually formed a few complete sentences for once, and have considerably more personality than in earlier games.

   The Tekken series has come a long way and characters have acquired a huge variety of moves, which makes Tekken a very different game than the old days. Due to the vast number mix-ups, footwork, stances, and combos each character can perform; a skilled player can be incredibly creative with the fighter of their choice... There are even a variety of ways to play each character.  Advanced Tekken 5 players also use an advanced side-stepping technique that allows you to get behind, or to the side of your opponent while they attack. The sidestepping game is the smoothest it's ever been, and is the key to winning on a high level. Players that still play Tekken like it's a 2D game will easily be destroyed by a skilled or casual player that use proper sidestepping... This is why Tekken is a true 3D fighting game (unlike some others out there).     I read in quite a few mainstream reviews of the PS2 version of Tekken 5..."The AI is great!" Yeah, suuure it is... For people that don't play Tekken.  *sigh* Comparatively to how actual skilled players play the game, the computer AI sucks pretty badly, even on "ultra hard." The AI pretty much just does random moves, doesn't even combo you very well, and doesn't mix up it's offense or defense (it's always offensive, which is pretty stupid). Even casual Tekken players should be able to mop the floor with the computer AI even on "ultra hard" (though it cheaply escapes throws every time), which is somewhat disappointing for players that don't have any friends with Tekken skills. The game of course is seen at it's best when two skilled Tekken players fight it out, but the developers have made the characters slightly more accessible and well rounded this time around; which should help new players get a hold of things.

   Some of the more "superficial" gamers will of course nag Tekken 5's graphical imperfections, such as the odd and unrealistic ground shattering (which even distracts players at times), unrealistically long air combos, disappearing rocks & penguins, etc... Moving in 3D can also appear awkward at times during high level play (but it's an overlooked flaw among us skilled players because the game gives you so much control over your character). The physics are indeed unrealistic and silly at times, and this may be where other 3D fighters like DOA3 outshines... but really, who cares about physics, this is Tekken! Tekken fans will easily overlook these cosmetic flaws, because the real action is the fight itself. Of course, true fighting game players play a particular fighting game because it's fun and a challenge against other skilled players, not because of the graphics. I actually think Namco made the ground "unrealistically explode" in Tekken 5 on purpose, just to show the world that people will still play Tekken even though it doesn't have the flashiest graphics or the most perfect physics.

   The Tekken 5 arcade cabinet isn't only sleek, it pretty much revolutionized arcade cabinets (in America) with it's unique customizable card system and PS2 ports which allows players to bring their PS2 controllers for use at the arcade (which was a nice surprise for us Dual Shock lovers)! The card system is basically a character customization system (formerly only found in Japan arcades with VF4) that allows players to use a data card to customize their character's color scheme and outfit. The arcade card saves information such as how many wins & losses you have, your alias, and your rank (all for one character). It was fun using those cards back in the day... Especially when your wins/loss ratio was something like 93 losses / 857 wins... Ahh, those were the days. 

    The PS2 version of T5 includes all the greatness from the arcade version, and then some... Tekken 5 for the PS2 is no doubt an awesome package. Namco went all out with the console version, including a badass intro (updated from the arcade version), Jin's 'Devil Within' mini-game (a fun third-person play-through backed with pretty sweet soundtrack), extra costumes, dialogue within the story mode between characters, and nicely rendered endings for each and every character, which once again shows off Namco's trademark humor and creativity. Ohh, and don't forget the home version comes with the arcade versions of Tekken 1, Tekken 2, and Tekken 3... Niiice. What more could a Tekken fan ask for?

   As fun as the gameplay is, and as balanced as it first seemed to be, there were a few infinite combos discovered in the original un-patched version of Tekken 5 (AKA the PS2 version)... And some would say that certain characters like Steve Fox are in fact "broken." I'm not going to lower my score because of this fact, it's only found in high level play (and besides, you can avoid getting caught in an infinite anyway ). Regardless, Namco fixed the infinites and made a few other tweaks to the balance with their 5.1 update to Tekken 5, which probably pissed off a few Tekken players here or there... Then again, Namco also pissed off arcade owners when they released the home version of T5 so quickly after the arcade release. However, by releasing the 5.1 patch, players returned to the arcade to spend their money once again, and arcade owners we're pleased all over again. See, Namco has a way of making everybody happy, and it makes you wonder if they planned it all from the start (by having a sloppy and quick beta test). 

Closing Comment : Over 30 characters, personal stats, customizable characters, rankings, etc... Wow, they really added a lot this time. Tekken 5 was unquestionably a solid enhancement to the series, yet brought back everything fans loved about the series... They didn't need to completely change the gameplay, and us Tekken fans don't want them to! The gameplay was the best of the series to date, allowing players to use use pure "creativity" with your fighting style, air combos, and not to mention customizations.

   Yes, Tekken 5's beta testing was rather quick and sloppy, making Tekken 5 VERY combo friendly... Which wasn't necessarily a bad thing, since it allowed skilled players to easily destroy the noobs, but I'm sure it turned some gamers off. Alas, Namco proved that they could clean up their act and "Resurrect" Tekken 5 to be a more balanced and respectable game. Tekken 5 was surely a great game for it's time, but since the release of Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection , there's really no reason to go back to the original Tekken 5... Tekken 5: DR is a much better and more balanced game, and fixed most of the original's quirks.