Score
Gameplay:	9
Graphics:	9
Sound:	9
FunFactor:	9
PlasmaFactor:	8
Overall:	8.8

Tekken 5 Review
March 19, 2005 by Peter Skerritt

by peter - March 19, 2005

Tekken 5 marks the 10th anniversary of Namco�s flagship fighting franchise. Starting first in coin-op form, running on PlayStation-based System 11 hardware, the series has now spanned several PlayStation and PlayStation 2 sequels. With this latest release marking the fifth King of the Iron Fist Tournament, can Tekken 5 continue the series� run of success, or is Tekken finally reaching the point of saturation?

Tekken It To The Limit

Tekken 5 gives players a few different ways to play, right off the bat. The mode of play that most players will dig into right away will likely be the Story mode, which pits players against various opponents through up to nine different rivals as the story behind each character�s motivation behind entering this tournament is revealed. As players complete Story mode with different characters, new high-quality (and usually pretty hilarious) CG cinema sequences wrap up the story and new characters are unlocked. Be forewarned, however: the Story Mode�s final boss, Jinpachi Mishima, is one of the cheapest end bosses in fighting game history� and can lead to fits of intense rage. Imagine this scenario: After beating Jinpachi in the first round and whittling his health bar under 25% in the second round, he then goes on to beat you without taking further damage and then wins with a Perfect decision in the final round. Yikes.

Tekken 5 also introduces a revamped Arcade mode, which plays similarly to the one found in Sega�s Virtua Fighter 4. There�s no story involved here; instead, it�s all about racking up wins to advance in rank and collect enough winnings to customize your favorite characters. This customization ranges from adding items like jewelry and trinkets to new clothing and hair colors to completely new outfits. Players can also win gold by playing through the Story mode, and with the variety of unlockable items for each character, it�s almost a necessity to play through both consistently in order to get everything.

When players tire of the one-on-one fighting that Tekken 5 generally offers, Namco has another mode to explore. �The Devil Within� plays out much like �Tekken Force� mode from Tekken 3. The story follows Jin Kazama and his interaction with the Devil gene, up to his transformation into Devil Jin�a character that players face off against in Story mode. This mode features a lot of beat-�em-up action, with a few platforming puzzles and secrets thrown in and some challenging boss encounters. Jin will encounter armies of similar-looking enemies, and the platforming and jumping sequences don�t feel as tight as they could, but the gameplay is passable. It�s not an overly deep minigame and there are some issues, but is certainly a nice bonus for players looking for a change of pace.

One of the great things about the Tekken series is its accessibility for players of all skill levels. It�s just as possible for players with lesser skill to get into these games as it is for expert players to learn all of the moves, combos, and subtle nuances of the core gameplay. Tekken 5 is no exception to this rule of thumb. Although there are some new characters to play as, the move sets are pretty similar and there�s a fairly deep Practice Mode to learn as many of the moves as players wish. There is an option to adjust the game�s overall difficulty, which helps too.

Lastly, it�s worth mentioning that Namco has included accurate arcade emulations of the first three Tekken games, which are accessible right out of the gate. These emulations include actual coin-op options, like switch tests, color tests, and adjustable difficulty settings. Some players may not like the fact that all hidden characters are immediately available in Tekken 2 and Tekken 3, or that results from these emulations cannot be saved to the memory card; however, the emulations are true to the coin-op originals. Namco has also hidden a full version of their lesser-known rail shooting game, Starblade. In fact, players can actually play through a bit of Starblade as Tekken 5 loads up.

Violent Beauty

Tekken 5�s visuals are strong, beginning with the impressive CG sequences, then bleeding down into the fighting areas and then the fighters themselves. The fighting areas are particularly impressive. One stage puts players in a moonlit cotton field, and the cotton gently blows in the wind. Another takes place in a stained glass chapel. As the fighters do battle, objects within each stage can be broken or sustain damage and the ground can even show signs of damage when falling bodies make impact. The environmental damage is a nice touch. Each fighter is quite detailed, including whichever customizations that players may add, and the character animation is silky smooth. Considering the number of moves per fighter, getting all of the moves to animate so smoothly is no small feat. One minor point of contention lies in the special visual effects that can be seen as hits are landed�it still looks rather cheesy, although this has been a staple of the series since its inception.

Big Beats and Breaking Bones

The Tekken series consistently had some great music, mostly of the techno or electronic persuasion� and Tekken 5 is no different. In fact, the music in this latest Tekken game is among the best that the series has had to offer in its 10 years. There seems to be a bit more variance to the styles of the music tracks in the game, with one track even introducing some choral elements� and variety is certainly a good thing. As for the sound effects, they�re essentially the same ones that Tekken fans have been hearing for over a decade now; however, they�ve got a bit more kick behind them thanks to some increased bass. It�s also worth mentioning that, for the first time, there are actual voices for the characters. In the case of Paul Phoenix, especially, the result is pretty funny as he�s made out to be lacking in the intelligence department. One nitpick about the sound would be that Namco didn�t include any Dolby Pro-Logic II encoding. While very few players will notice this, the use of Dolby Pro-Logic II sound encoding has become almost standard�especially for big-time releases, such as this one.

The Fun of Fighting

To say that Tekken 5 is fun to play would be a gross understatement. Despite some issues with the Story mode�s final boss�which may lead some to violent outbursts�the overall game is still a blast to play, whether it�s with a friend or by yourself. The Arcade mode alone can make hours fly by, between trying to gain higher ranks and trying to spruce up your favorite characters. The Story mode has 10 characters to be unlocked. �The Devil Within� mode is a fun diversion. Add the arcade emulations and a few other modes that weren�t touched upon earlier�like the Time Attack and Survival modes�and you�ve got a lot of content to play through and keep you busy for weeks, or longer. The best part of all this is that the core gameplay is as fun and accessible as it�s ever been with this series. Players can get good enough just to unlock everything, or can improve their skills even further and challenge others. It is somewhat unfortunate that there isn't an option for online play, as that would extend the replay value even further, but that's really a nitpick.

The Curse of Jinpachi

You�ll notice that the PlasmaFactor score is the outlier in a sea of 9s. A lot of this is because of the rather frustrating nature of fighting Jinpachi and the anger that ensues as a result of sometimes having to face him more than 15 times before beating him. While it�s true that this doesn�t really take away from the overall fun of Tekken 5, since he�s only in the Story mode, frustration can lead to a temporary dislike of the game and impede a player�s progress as he (or she) attempts to unlock the game�s hidden characters. If you remember being totally frustrated by the cheapness of M. Bison while playing Street Fighter II, you�ll be in for some d�j� vu here. The good news is that the other modes don�t make you deal with this cheapster and plenty of fun to play, otherwise.

 

A Fitting End

Tekken 5 is a great fighting game. There�s no other way to say it. It�ll be interesting to see how Namco tries to top this game, but with the next generation of consoles merely months away, it�s a certainty that they�ll try. In the meantime, if you�ve ever been�or currently are�a fan of Namco�s flagship fighting franchise, the decision to add Tekken 5 to your collection should be a no-brainer. It�s a fitting celebration of 10 years of Tekken, and easily deserves the highest of recommendations.