Tekken Advance
Reviewed by Dogg
Yes we never expected it. The Tekken series coming to
a handheld, especially one with powers just a bit
greater than a SNES might have sound a bit ludicrous.
But time has passed by and we've seen that this might
be a good look for the Tekken franchise, especially
with Tekken 4 coming soon. Time has passed and the
game finally has been released in Japan, but was it
worth the wait? Let me just say that it was
definitely worth the wait.
Gameplay: 8 out of 10
Before starting I must say this. Tekken Advance for
the Game Boy Advance follows closely to Tekken 3 more
than any other Tekken title. And just like Tekken 3,
Tekken Advance follows most of its characters and
fighting mechanics from it. The character list
includes mainly Tekken 3 favorites: Ling Ziaoyu,
Yoshimitsu, Nina, Forest Law, Gun Jack, Hworang, Paul
Phoenix, King, and of course Tekken 3 favorite Jin
Kazama. Each of the characters in this game follow
many of the same attacks while also offering some new
attacks like different combos and different throw
maneuvers. The main story for the game follows
this................ for one of these fighters to win
the tournament and be claimed greatest fighter in the
world. While with a simple story, the game
should also follow some simple controls. Mainly the A
and B buttons are used for punching and of course
kicking and if they are used with other buttons your
character can perform a combo or a much more stronger
move. Also the Directional Key comes to great effect.
Now you can block, walk, backtrack, run, and jump,
just by using the directional cross key buttons. They
can also be used to make your combos. The R and L
buttons execute you to use your throw move and to tag
in your partner in some of the modes.
Tekken Advance also follows many modes so you can
truly get a kick out of this Tekken handheld
experience. Now you got your basic Arcade single
player game. But you also got many more. Theirs now
VS Battle where you and your friend (or relative and
pesky sibling) duke it out to see who needs more
practice and to see who has practiced enough. There
are also Tekken favorites Time Attack and Survival
Mode. This game also has a feature similar to what
was distributed in Tekken Tag Tournament.
Tag-teaming. But now instead of 2 on 2, theirs now 3
on 3, something that helps broaden the action even if
it is affected by the chunkiness of the game's
gameplay. These irrelevant tag-team modes are called
3 on 3 ARCADE and 3 on 3 VS Battle. There is also a
Practice Mode, in which you practice your moves and
such. The game even supports Auto Save, so once you
are beat from playing you can simply save and later
continue from where you left off.
Now I know this all sounds pretty innovative, so then
where is the problem that's holding this game back?
The problem is that whenever you played Tekken on a
console you get fast as heck fighting, but the move
to a small, and dark handheld has ceased this to be a
slow, but steady fighter. Yeah, it runs slow, but in
my humble, but not-important opinion the 2 player
modes should make you come over this even though this
affects the game greatly. All you can say is great,
but not perfect.
Graphics: 8 out of 10
I don't know why everyone says that these graphics
are bad, personally in my opinion they are pretty
good for a handheld despite some blocky texturing and
lighting. The backgrounds are also well done and the
character models were perfectly put into this game.
Character animations are also done very respectively,
so a true Tekken buff should be surprised in no time.
Oh, and one more thing don't expect replays or any
big 3-D gimmicks here with this game.
Sound: 7 out of 10
While the past Tekken games always had a smooth, but
uprising techno beat, well this game doesn't. The
music is still rather good just don't expect much.
However, the sound effects are well done and many of
the grunts from Tekken 3 are in this game.
Replay: 8 out of 10
Tekken Advance is one of those games that should
definitely be played over and over again, despite the
game's uprising slowdown. The game also offers some
secrets like a hidden character and 2 new modes that
involve 2-player play as well. All in all this game
is worth purchase to Tekken and non-Tekken fans.
Overall: 8 out of 10