Deep within
the clutches of the King of Iron Fist tournament, a fighting game classic was
being resurrected. Tekken 5, the game that brought the series back to its
hardcore, performance-filled roots, was to be reborn in arcades.
Given the
preliminary exclusivity for PS2 (how times have changed – it used to be the
other way around), the arcade port didn’t make as much of a splash as the
previous Tekken games. It did, however, lead the way for upgrades (why go to
the arcade if we can get everything at home?) and yet another port, this time
to PlayStation Portable.
The
PS2-to-arcade-to-PSP port is entitled Tekken: Dark Resurrection, and could be
best described as the Tekken Tag of the current generation. No tag feature is
present (the tag battle fad seems to have ended with most other gimmicks). But
Tekken Tag was like Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 in that it brought nearly every
character from the series together for one big brawl.
Dark
Resurrection does the same, featuring around 30 playable characters. The list
is comprised of the original Tekken cast (Paul, Nina, Heihachi, etc.), more
recent additions like Eddy Gordo, and a few rehash characters that look
different and tell a different story, but have moves that are identical to
another iron fist contender (Christie, etc.).
Arcade
Perfect
I remember
the time when my console dream came true: Saturn and PSone were released, and
we could finally obtain an arcade-quality gaming experience at home. For the
next decade I wanted to see the same thing happen for handhelds. Finally, the
fighting game master achieves what no other has: portable arcade perfection.
Dark
Resurrection plays, controls, and feels just like its arcade and console
counterparts. The competitive sense and unnerving urgency to win are
completely intact. Fighters are big and detailed, covering most of the screen
(just as they should). Every move from Tekken 5 is back. Their executions,
both physical (gameplay) and visual, are flawless. You’ll jump into this game,
pick your favorite character and, literally seconds after starting, be able to
say, "That’s Tekken." Not a port of Tekken. Not a handheld version of Tekken.
This is, unwaveringly, 100% King of Iron Fist Tournament.
Dark
Resurrection’s speed and consistency of the gameplay are equal to any other
version available. The inexorable result is that the replay value is also
equal to the other versions. Which, if you have a real-life competitor, is a
perfect 10 to every Tekken fan. Unlike the vast majority of PSP titles
available, this one allows for multiplayer game sharing. In other words, you
can play it against your friends even if they don’t have a copy of the game.
My belief has always been that, if someone gets the chance to experience a
game first-hand, they’re more likely to go out and buy it (that’s why demos
are so successful). Chances are this will lead to more PSP owners who purchase
Dark Resurrection.
If Beauty
Is Only Polygon Deep…
…Then it’s
a good thing Tekken’s polygons have a lot of depth. PSP graphics generally
range from decent to impressive, but these are unreal. Environments are
vulnerable to your attacks. Chips of pavement are broken off the ground after
dishing or receiving a painful slam. Any object in the background – say, hold
coins – will be kicked up and tossed around as you battle across the area.
Fighter detail is immense, matching the quality of many PS2 games.
New Blood
Two new
characters are introduced in Dark Resurrection: Lili and Dragunov.
A scene from Lili’s intro
Lili is big
on kicks and light punches, elbows, and back slaps. Her moves are stiffer than
most of the female fighters, and that’s probably due to the developers’ desire
to make her as different as possible. Newcomers could be impressed, but the
hardcore crowd is bound to see through her faux originality. She’s a decent
character that offers a lot of moves to learn. But when I control her, I don’t
feel like I’m in the next evolution of Tekken. I feel like I’m charge of a
rehash. Unfortunately, as far as character development is concerned, this
series hasn’t seen any innovation since the third edition was released nine
years ago.
Dragunov
suffers a similar fate. As you could’ve guessed, his new moves give you
something else to master. His moves are generally potent but stiff; like Bryan
but more low-key. I wasn’t looking for another lightning-quick character –
Tekken has enough of those. But when creating new characters, why not look to
Tekken’s own past innovations, or the innovations of others within the company
(Soul Calibur)? It sure beats scraping together two new characters
based on fighting styles that aren’t as interesting as those already featured
in the series.
Bonuses…Resurrected!
Although the
versus combat has been and continues to be Tekken’s bread and butter, the
series is also known for its interesting bonuses.
Tekken Bowling
Dark
Resurrection ends each character’s story mode with a CG movie (the exception
being Panda, who ends in artwork, and Xiaoyu, who ends with an anime
sequence). Watch movie clips at any time via the theatre mode. Tekken bowling
is back, along with a command mode where the game tells you to perform
specific moves against a lifeless opponent. It’s more of a “let’s see if you
can do this right” kind of mode than anything else.
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Gameplay: 9.0
Unbeatable,
arcade-perfect fun in the palm of your hand. Tekken: Dark Resurrection is
overflowing with depth. There are tons of characters to master (if you haven’t
already on a previous platform) and several interactive stages, as well as the
exact speed and unparalleled feel of the other Tekken games. The PSP’s D-pad
is not as good as the one on the Dual-Shock 2, but it shouldn’t take more than
30 minutes to get used to the difference. Or you could just use the analog
thumb pad, which allows for just as much precision in performing rolling moves
as you had in the arcade.
Graphics: 9.5
Amazing! A PSP
fighter has never looked this good. Dark Resurrection is not as detailed as
the PS2 and arcade versions (which run on more powerful hardware), but that
hardly detracts from what Namco Bandai has accomplished with the PSP. The
characters and backgrounds are overflowing with realism – fluid animations,
interactive environments, perfect collision detection, and a non-stop frame
rate. That last piece alone is worth a million praises. Tekken just wouldn’t
be Tekken if it were slow.
Sound: 8.0
A great
collection of catchy and entertaining music tracks. Sound effects remain
unchanged.
Difficulty: Medium
…Or “cakewalk” if
you’re a Tekken master, or “overwhelmingly hardcore” if you’re new to fighting
games.
Concept: 7.5
Dark Resurrection
doesn’t move mountains with new ideas (there aren’t any presented outside of
two, barely memorable characters). But it’s just like the game says – it is
the king of the iron fist tournament. And the king of handheld
fighting games.
Multiplayer: 9.3
No online
multiplayer, but you can play the game with a friend locally using only
one game disc. Needless to say, this is the wisest decision Namco Bandai has
made. Now everyone can enjoy the masterpiece that is Tekken: Dark
Resurrection.
Overall: 9.1
After more than
10 years of arcade mastery (and 10 years of dreaming of an arcade-perfect
portable adaptation), Namco has finally brought the game to a handheld
powerful enough to reproduce Tekken’s unrivaled fighting engine. As always,
you won’t discover the game’s true beauty until you’ve played it with a
friend. But like NFL Street, the handheld single-player experience is perfect
for perfecting your moves, which you can then use on any version of the game –
PSP, PS2, or arcade.
