50 Years of Video Games: Tekken (PS1)
1995 was a huge year for 3D gaming. The Sega Saturn released to markets outside of Japan, the Nintendo 64 was nearly released before its development was pushed back, and arcade systems were producing solid video games with decently detailed polygonal figures. There was still a primitive look to it in general, but the video game market was ready to move into this new dimension, and it turns out rather than any familiar names leading the way, it would be a new player taking the reins and helping 3D leave a huge impact: PlayStation. Sony’s new console had released in Japan the year prior, but as it entered the global stage, it would soon receive some major help in becoming a hit from another major step forward in 3D gaming: Tekken. Released first as an arcade fighter, the game embraced polygonal characters and fighting arenas with actual depth beyond a two-dimensional plane. It wasn’t the first fighting game to do so, it even took a few clear notes from Sega’s Virtua Fighter, but the Tekken series would go on to prove a fitting rival to Street Fighter as the two sat atop the pile of fighting game franchises.
The PlayStation port for Tekken was no mere formality either, as it not only showed that home consoles could capture much of the arcade experience now, but it could even improve on it. Tekken’s arcade version only featured eight playable fighters to choose from, and while there were unique penultimate boss characters to cap off the solo play’s sequence of fights, none of these special characters were selectable and neither was the game’s main villain Heihachi Mishima. The home port would not only make these characters unlockable for play (although rather than adding them to the character select screen you need to keep pressing right or left at the screen edges to find them), but it would also create new cutscenes to serve as a wrap up to the solo run of fights with each of the original cast member having one. Many character motivations are only really laid out in the manual though so some of the scenes can be a bit inexplicable in game, and even if you do have some context for what the endings might mean they can feature some hilariously unusual character expressions and scenarios as well as odd choices like mixing real footage of school children with the much simpler in-game character models.
For the broader context though, Tekken’s framing is that the rich martial artist Heihachi Mishima hosts the King of Iron Fist Tournament and the participating characters are all aiming to win it, although the game’s front man Kazuya Mishima has a deeper reason for participating as he wishes to face off with his father who tossed him from a cliff when he was young to toughen him up. Other participants in the tournament include characters like the wrestler King who wears a jaguar mask and fights to raise funds for an orphanage, the assassin Nina Williams who is entering to kill Heihachi, and Michelle whose father was seemingly killed by Heihachi’s men and she desires revenge. Many of the playable fighters seem rooted in reality and utilize real martial arts techniques, but while characters like Paul Phoenix and Marshall Law are fairly grounded human fighters, you do also have a few outlandish choices like the large android Jack who is sent to kill Kazuya and Yoshimitsu, a supposed “ninja from space” who brings a sword to the fight even though he rarely uses it. Some of the boss characters continue the strangeness, Kuma the actual bear being the standout, but while they are mostly constructed from moves from other characters, you still have characters like Ganryu the sumo wrestler with unique abilities as well and the mixing and matching of moves can lead to fighters who play differently than their clear inspiration.
With a total of 17 unique character movesets as well as a special Kazuya costume if you are able to do well at the game’s cute Galaga load screen minigames, Tekken has itself a hearty roster on the PlayStation. When it comes to how the fighting is handled, the game makes an interesting choice in how it maps buttons to attacks. On the PlayStation controller Square and Triangle are set to left and right punches and X and Circle are set to left and right kicks. This layout actually makes it fairly easy to imagine a sort of tilted body mapped to the buttons so it is a quick idea to pick up, but one might wonder how someone would fight differently with their left and right limbs. For basic attacks which most of the roster shares, you won’t find too many differences between a kick or punch from either side, although it does help to differentiate moves like whether you do a sliding or running kick while charging the opponent. However, when you start getting special moves or deeper combos into the mix, effectively mixing up the attacking limbs is key to pulling them off and, more interestingly, it gives the opposing player some easy to parse visual information. If someone is pulling off an impressive attack, you can watch their movements and have a good idea how you can possibly perform it when playing as that character. You’ll still need to figure out the directional inputs and if the attack was held or executed normally, but special moves tend to favor forward and downward inputs rather than anything that feels too unintuitive.
The special moves and attack strings are where individual characters really start to get their fighting personalities as well and clear niches become apparent. Marshall Law can dish out rapid fire strikes but they won’t be as strong as something like Jack’s slow but powerful slams. King has a variety of throws that will deal heavy damage if they land, while Yoshimitsu’s more unusual attacks can leave the opponent guessing if he’s finished throwing out attacks. Certain characters can attack effectively even when they’ve been knocked to the ground to discourage trying to get in free shots, some pack unblockable attacks that can even be dash attacks, and depending on the character, the elusive but rewarding 10 hit combo might be easier to pull off which can devastate a foe if you pull it off at the right time and can get the input rhythm down right. The unlockable boss characters are able to feel different from their inspirations at times as well which is fortunate since quite a few are built off of Jack’s move template.
What makes fighting in Tekken truly interesting whether you’re up against AI players in the single-player tournament or fighting friends in multiplayer is the way the game’s generally high damage output for attacks leads to a certain style of play. In Tekken you don’t want to run in and start flailing your limbs in hope of hitting your foe in the right place. Guarding is done by holding backwards and since button mashing doesn’t often produce anything complex such mindless play won’t feel fruitful. This can make the game feel a little rigid at first as you feel out what your attacks do and find they don’t string together too fluidly unless you really get a sense for the actual attack strings, but if you do land something as simple as a kick you can find the damage it dealt rather large. Getting hit is definitely impactful in a Tekken fight and soon you come to respect the fact that battles will involve a bit more thought into how close you are to the opponent and what you try to get out of the moments when you do break past an opponent’s guard.
Punches can be fairly weak, but if you’re in close they’re much faster than kicking and when linked together properly can sometimes add up to a good chunk of the opponent’s life bar. However, you’ll likely want to keep a good bit of space between you and the opponent as it gives you room to back off or reply with a kick if they begin to attempt something, although whether or not your character excels at acting when you’re spaced so far apart will also determine how you want to break from that focus on maintaining that safe distance. The round timers are fairly short in Tekken at only 40 seconds so things won’t boil down to overly defensive play, but respecting your opponent’s reach is pivotal to starting to understand how to land your strikes and prodding their defenses for your opening ends up leading to a fight with a good bit of thought. One thing that definitely helps avoid the concern of players refusing to engage is the efficacy of grabs, since if your opponent is just going to guard you can run in and quickly and easily grab them to deal heavy damage. Going for a grab is a natural risk though as it can whiff if the distance isn’t right or the foe strikes before they’re snatched up, but it’s an important element to avoid stalemates as is the ability to quickly push in and strike when you’re ready to close the distance.
While it can take a bit to understand the somewhat methodical tactics involved in Tekken’s fights, it does lead to a fighting experience where you do feel like gauging your opponent’s behavior and attacking in different ways does lead to well-earned victories. It’s difficult to bumble your way into a win against someone who knows what they’re doing and the later computer players in the tournament make sure to show you that you need to incorporate defensive movement and exploiting openings well to succeed, and with a character like Heihachi able to shear off over half your health bar with a not too difficult to execute special punch, Tekken achieves a fairly appropriate idea of marital artists’s respecting each other’s strengths instead of just trying to overpower their opponent. There certainly isn’t perfect balance across the cast though. Heihachi is definitely meant to be absurd with his ability to deal such heavy damage but he’s also incredibly hard to unlock for it, but even regular characters can have chains where you launch the player up in the air and can deal incredible damage with the right string of moves to juggle their body while they can’t respond. The impeccable execution requirements for these and the fact most cast members can deal heavy damage easily enough to offset that danger does at least mean the playing field isn’t intensely skewed though, the deliberately measured pace meaning careful play can still thrive rather than play being dominated by trying to land one big hit.
THE VERDICT: Tekken’s battle system thrives on fighting with finesse and caution, choosing your attacks rather than throwing things out and hoping they hit. It can be a little rigid for this and the character models can look rather off, especially in the goofy ending cutscenes, but the actual one-on-one battles become far deeper once you come to understand the danger even a single hit can pose. Tekken is about finding your opening and capitalizing on it, heavy damage forcing you to respect the reach and attack options of an opponent and needing to think on your feet to find those moments you can really leave a mark. It is a shame the boss characters are mostly light remixes of the base roster and the power skew is rather stark at times, but Tekken’s focus on battle strategy over speed and fluidity still makes for a layered battle format worth experiencing.
And so, I give Tekken for PlayStation…
A GOOD rating. Tekken found a pretty smart way to include tactical consideration in its combat without slowing things down too much, the strength of individual moves meaning many fights will wrap up without the round timer even really being considered. Both players will be trying to find that moment where they can slip in a move to either rip a chunk out of the opponent’s health bar or start a string of attacks that can add up to some incredible damage, but decent movement and spacing will let you hold your own and potentially reply with a punishing counterattack. Grabs are a smart addition to the formula as well with them being a quick and clear way to pull a foe out of overly defense play, and with some characters like King even able to squeeze more damage out of that by having throws be special attacks in themselves, you start to see not only the need to mix aggression and caution but also how different characters fit into the system. Even not considering the unlockable boss characters for a moment though it would be nice if there were more distinctions between individual cast members as sometimes it can feel like a fighter’s unique options are too obvious or not varied enough to really give them room to creatively fight, but the basics do work well in regards to the focus on visual clarity that not only is important to guarding against attacks but can also help you come to understand the opponent’s options better. Battle arenas look nice even if the character models can look goofy in scenes and it is a shame there is only solo tournament play or one-on-one multiplayer bouts rather than the option to train or face computer players outside of a tournament context, but Tekken is still able to provide a fun and strategic battle system despite some of the shortcomings and lack of features.
Like most fighting game series, the sequels would help smooth out Tekken’s systems and add deeper strategies and variety to it, but the original holds up surprisingly well so long as you can laugh off some of the visual design choices. Characters moves being clear and readable in the fights is what is important in this battle system and for what would become the premier 3D fighting game series such things were certainly important, the basics of what makes this strategy-focused approach to one-on-one combat where they need to be to ensure the action is still effective. The extra content almost makes it a clearly superior version to the arcade version as well save for the PlayStation launching with the joystick-free controller which looks bare in retrospect, but Tekken on PS1 is an enjoyable and smart little fighter that is neither too complex nor too basic, a great way to not only usher in a new console and new game series but a great way to help 3D games truly cement themselves as they began to dominate the game industry.