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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A Legend is Born, 23 Mar 2002
By A Customer
And so it begins...! Tekken, Namco's crown jewel, has the best storyline any beat'em up has to offer - the Mishima Corporation's Iron Fist Tournament. Eight characters fight for the ultimate title... and for the largest cash prize in history! Sounds pretty simple, doesn't it? At least, that was the general idea, which would still wipe out the competition, completely. But, it gets a little more interesting than that. Besides the fact that every fighter has a personal reason for participating, there is also a darker motive behind the Tournament itself. This is the golden opportunity for Heihachi Mishima, the ruthless leader of the Mishima Financial Empire and mastermind behind the Tournament, to get rid of any supposed threat by annihilating the world's finest martial artists. Some of you are probably lost, by now. That's the main reason why Tekken is not a 5 Star game, in my opinion. You never really get to know (not even in the cut-scenes) what they're fighting for, how they got there or why. It's all so immensely vague, and it's such a shame that you can't gather more from it.Still, Tekken is an overwhelming visual experience. Not only does it have an exquisite variety of fighters, including references to real martial arts legends (Marshall Law has a striking resemblance to the late Bruce Lee), but it's also incredibly realistic, where true power doesn't rely on magic tricks, but on strength, speed and unique fighting techniques. We are also introduced to a revolutionary concept - the main character, Kazuya Mishima, is a villain, who seeks retribution. Tekken has no place for noble quests. Furthermore, and as if they weren't enough already, all eight fighters have a hidden character (sub-boss) that you can unlock after beating the Arcade Mode with each one of them. Afterwards, you can also gain access to the true master - Heihachi!!! This gives you a total of seventeen characters to choose from, although, only the eight main characters have a cut-scene at the end, unlike in Tekken's sequels. As for options, you don't get much to choose from. Besides the classic Arcade Mode, you have the Vs. Mode, in which you can play against a friend, and the Options Mode. Personally, I find Galaga (the pre-historic game that pops up on our screen during the load the loading of Tekken) a lame excuse for obtaining the Devil version of Kazuya. It has nothing to do with the game itself and proves to be a complete and utter waste of both time and patience. But, what can we do? Every rose has its thorns. Anyway, and in spite of being the first in a series, Tekken is still the mother of all fighting games. It has it all, in every aspect: awesome graphics, an aggressive soundtrack, ground-breaking motion sequences and it's also incredibly addictive (keep in mind that Tekken was first released in the summer of 1994). Unfortunately, no one can be shown how good Tekken truly is. You have to see it for yourself. Become the King of the Iron Fist Tournament. Enter the Tekken.
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