Tekken 4 [ NTSC | J ]

After waiting for months for the unveiling of Tekken4 for arcade last summer (2001), I left very disappointed once I got my sweaty hands on the joysticks of my local arcade's Tekken4 machine. The changes to the Directional movement, the lack of new character / fighting styles, and the abuse of wall damage.

8 MONTHS LATER...

After a sucessful eBay Dutch auction, I get the import version of Tekken4 from a seller in Hong Kong for $50. Seeing as that is a fair price for a New Game, I wait for it's arrival in the mail as I read the online reviews. The talk is not very positive from the Tekken players as they find even more disapointments with very few extras and average quaility endings (compare to previous Namco CG endings).

However, once my copy arrives, and go straight to TIME ATTACK and selected Random. After a few matches, I find myself getting back into the swing of things, and even enjoying the new Tekken feel. While it's not the old school Tekken of past, it serves as an entertaining game with just a few glitches here and there. I' continue to use Random, forcing myself to learn everyone and their new way of fighting (moves). I have seen the endings on a friend's copy and so I know that they are concider alright, but not the "wow" factor of previous Tekken games, so I am ignoring the Story Mode for now. Other than that, I have enjoyed playing the TIME ATTACK, TEAM BATTLE, VS MODE, SURVIAL, and even the crazy FORCE MODE.

All in all, Tekken4 is a game that must be played using perfect joysticks, or on a Dual Shock 2.