Wednesday, October 3, 2007

The Return of the King of Iron Fist Tournament



Same Whooping, New Faces. Basically Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection is the same old school beatdown of Tekken 3, Tekken 4, and Tekken Tag, but some new faces have been added to the mix. And some of them are not the kinds of faces that I'd like to meet in a dark alley.

Basically, the Namco has been hitting it big with Tekken since 1995, and now they've come to the conclusion that what they were doing before was good enough to keep them in business. Well, Darn if they weren't right. Originally, this game was released under the title "Tekken: Dark Resurrection" and was only for the PSP, but since it was one of the better PSP games that came out during the first edition runs of the new device, Namco agreed to make it into a full version game to be played on the PSP's bigger brothers--namely the PS2 and the PS3. I chose to go with the PS2 version because, well, I'm cheap and that's all I could afford. Nonetheless, I knew that Tekken was going to be Tekken no matter what version it was, but just to certain that I got the full go around, I did play the PS3 version to make sure that it was all the same--which it turned out it was. The only difference is the inclusion of Eddy Gordo and Jinpachi Mishima as playable customizable characters.

Anyway, there was talk that the console versions of Tekken 5 would have new move combos and different control designs, but those changes were minute. If you're a fan of the previous Tekkens, then you'll be able to slide right in and lay the smack down. In fact, without bring up the command screen, I decided to see how well I'd do playing the Story mode at the "VERY HARD" setting, and well, I didn't do too bad. I expected the continual increase in difficulty, and found that it actually capped at Stage 4 before continuing in the same level all the way to the Boss--something that I've never experienced in other Tekken games. But I was pleased to find that the uneven surfaces in Tekken 4 were taken out, which made the fighting a lot smoother.

I also noticed a significant change in how the game was put together. You see, until now, all, and I repeat ALL for emphasis, of the characters, regardless of orgin, would speak Japanese in the previous Tekken games. The character taunts and pre-fight voices would be in Japanese, done by japanese voice actors, but this Tekken has actual voiced over cut scenes and languages, which makes it nice. It always cool when you're Korean Taekwondo character actually taunts his enemies in Korean and during the cut scenes goes on and on in Korean about wanting to take Jin to the cleaners. Or when Paul and Law get into an argument in English before the stage 4 fight breaks out. All in all, the languages and taunts were a lot better in Tekken 5.

As far as the game's story goes (and I know that Tekken is notorious for it's varied storylines), the game starts directly following Jin's ascent at the end of Tekken 4. For those of you unaware, when Kazuya wins the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, he enters a shrine that has been in the Mishima family for years and finds his son Jin chained to the wall. A fight between Kazuya and Heihachi breaks out, but Jin manages to break free by turning into the demon/angel creature that he has been since his parents (Devil/Kazuya and Angel/Jun) mated somewhere during the second game. Jin smashes through the ceiling and gets away, leaving Kazuya and Heihachi staring at the new skylight.

Well, the game starts with Heihachi and Kazuya looking into the sky, wondering what the Mishima heir is going to do next. At this moment, there is the sound of incoming aircraft, and suddenly a platoon of Jack-5 robots come crashing through the building. At first, the father looks at his son, assuming that these Jacks are sent by the ever cryptic G Corporation, but Kazuya is just as confused by their intrusion as Heihachi. So, like true Mishima's, Kazuya and Heihachi begin showing the Jack's why you never mess with a family of samurai. Unfortunately, the Jack supply is endless, overwhelming the two men.

Kazuya, never happy with his father, takes advantage of the opportunity and escapes, leaving Heihachi to fend off the men by himself. Timing seems to be Kazuya's speciality, because at that very same moment, one of the Jacks detonates his self-destruct device and destroys the entire Mishima family shrine in a mushroom cloud. Meanwhile, on a cliff top nearby, the explosion is watched by a man dressed in black(revealed as Raven). He raises his hand to his ear, and speaks into James Bond-like communication device, saying, "Heihachi Mishima...is dead."

At that very moment, a Jack robot attacks unexpectedly attacks Raven from behind, only to find itself instantaneously sliced into two bits by the mysterious man, who then disappears into the night. As the aircraft disappeares into the night, a pile of debris is blown apart, and something dark emerges from the fire, unseen. The very next day, news of Heihachi Mishima's death spreads rapidly across the globe. Most people believed that Heihachi's death would bring about the end of the Mishima Zaibatsu, but behind the scenes someone else has taken control, and business goes on as usual. A month later, it is announced that the Mishima Zaibatsu will hold The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5.














Returning Characters
Heihachi Mishima (unlockable)
Kazuya Mishima
Jin Kazama
Nina Williams
Yoshimitsu
Marshall Law
Paul Phoenix
King
Ling Xiaoyu
Julia Chang
Anna Williams (unlockable)
Christie Monteiro
Eddy Gordo (Alternate, uncostomisable costume for Christie in Tekken 4, but he is a separate, customisable character in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection)
Lei Wulong
Lee Chaolan
Bryan Fury
Hwoarang
Kuma (unlockable)
Panda (unlockable)
Mokujin (unlockable)
Baek Doo San (unlockable)
Wang Jinrei (unlockable)
Bruce Irvin (unlockable)
Ganryu (unlockable)
Steve Fox
Craig Marduk

New Characters
Asuka Kazama
Feng Wei
Raven
Jack-5
Roger Jr. (unlockable)
Devil Jin (unlockable)
Jinpachi Mishima (playable on Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, PlayStation 3 version only)

Though the main boss is cheaper than any other Tekken predecessor, I still loved this installment on the already good series of games. I'm glad they made it into a console game for the PS2, because that meant I could play it, own it, and give it an A for being a fun fighting game that you can play with friends.

Good luck and don't get hurt too much.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Good words.

Daniel said...

Hello I am Daniel and tb play Tekken like to know how the story from beginning to end. And you did a good summary ... GOOD WORK.

Anonymous said...

It's interesting to see just how permeant virtual memory has become in our lives. It seems like everywhere I turn, I see something with a card slot or USB jack, haha. I guess it makes sense though, considering how much more afforable memory has become as of late...

Gahhhh, I shouldn't be moaning and groaning. I can't make it through a single day without using my R4 / R4i!

(Submitted on ZKwa for R4i Nintendo DS.)