Written by Jeff Buckland, 8/31/2006
Played on:
PSP
I'll fully admit it right now: I've never really liked the Tekken series of fighting games. My allegiance has been with the Street Fighter and Soul Calibur games, and every time I tried to play Tekken I'd get frustrated with just how quickly fights would end, the huge offense-oriented style of the games, and some of the really goofy characters. Now, with Tekken: Dark Resurrection on the PSP, I think I finally understand just what makes this series so fun.
Dark Resurrection continues the Tekken series with all kinds of great features, and the best part is that they only had to sacrifice a little bit of graphic fidelity on the PSP. The action is super-smooth, there are a huge number of gameplay modes to try, and while there is no "infrastructure"-based online play through the PSP's wireless connection, ad-hoc local wireless play is included and there's a nice feature to make up for it anyway - ghosts. More on that later.
Tekken: Dark Resurrection includes the largest roster in the whole series' history - 34 characters in total. That's every character from Tekken 5 along with one returning fighter (Armor King) and two all new ones (Lili and Dragunov). There are also 35 stages, including every one from the last game, making for a very diverse range of arenas to fight in. Some are modern city rooftops, others are arenas with the crowd around, others are out in a field or dojo. There's a good mix here of arenas with limited space and walls for you to crush your opponents against, and open places which go on infinitely. Either way, there are no "ring outs" here.
The four-button system used in every Tekken game converts over perfectly onto the PSP. The D-pad takes a little getting used to for this game and the stick is useless, but after a couple of hours I think I was doing fine. The number of gameplay modes here will dazzle you if you like fighting games but might be new to the Tekken series. Sure, there's the classic story mode with its goofy intros and cutscenes for each character, but you can skip those if you want. Then we've got Time Attack, Gold Rush (where every hit sends money flying for you to spend on stuff), the Tekken Bowl mini-game, and Survival Mode. There's an Arcade mode which actually tries a little to simulate an arcade with its unique AI system. You'll fight endlessly against AI opponents, each with their own style and memory - this is a breath of fresh air compared to most fighting games, where the AI always controls the same character the same way. Here, you'll notice totally different styles between each personality.
The Dojo system allows you to move up from one dojo to the next in tournaments and ranked ladders, and you'll also get special challenges like the need to defeat four opponents inside of four minutes in the ring. This mode is particularly fun because even if you lose fights you can still move up the rankings, but when it comes time to jump into a tournament, you have really got to get serious to win it since one loss will require you to restart the tourney.
There are several other gameplay modes, like quick Vs. CPU battles, ad-hoc wireless two-player fights (with game sharing! - only one copy of the game is needed for two people to play), and practice modes where you can be taught every move in the game. But the most unique feature is the ability to upload your "ghost" - an AI character that assumes your fighting style - online for other people to download and play against. Your character will then show up in those players' normal games, including the Tekken Dojo or Arcade modes.
Almost everything you do in Dark Resurrection will earn you money. You can then go and customize your character with different outfits or accessories, and these range from small things like sunglasses to outlandish things like pixie wings, and anything you customize your fighter with stays when you upload your ghost for other people to download and play against.
When it comes to actual fighting mechanics, I don't think that Tekken has ever been more sharp or satisfying. The hallmarks of the series are big combos and countering your opponent's moves with moves of your own, as well as "juggle" combos where you send your opponent into the air and keep him up there by continuing to hit him upwards. This can lead to combos that take off over half of a fighter's health with little chance of retaliation, but it's pretty easy for any player to do it. There are some "dial-a-combos" built in to Dark Resurrection, but they're very tough to do and usually you're just better off learning the moves and when to use what (which is the way I think it should be in a fighting game).
Tekken: Dark Resurrection has a massive number of characters, stages, bonus items, and extra gameplay modes. The action is smooth and satisfying and the ghost gameplay is actually a really great alternative to real online play. This has got to be one of the most full-featured fighting games I've played on any platform, and this is all on the PSP! This is one of a few rare killer apps on Sony's portable console, and truly one of the best fighting games ever made on any portable platform. Even if you previously hated Tekken like me, I think you should give the excellent Dark Resurrection a real chance.
