Tekken 3D Prime Edition Hands-On

"A double-edged sword."


Developer: /
Publisher: Namco Bandai
Release Date: February 14, 2012 (US), February 17, 2012 (US)
Platform(s): 3DS
Genre: Fight

 

Everything can be a double-edged sword; it’s a bit of a troubled expression. But on that notion, Tekken 3D Prime Edition is some of the most double-edged things around. It can even cut through metal on both sides! In all seriousness, in our time with the 3D handheld, we’ve uncovered many good qualities that could equally be skewed as lacking. Its biggest problem might be getting compared to Street Fighter IV 3D Edition and just sometimes, this might be a valid comparison.

 

 

Tekken 3D is a strange creature. First off, it seems to lack a traditional Story mode. This tale is sprinkled across the main Survival challenge, but it isn’t really character based. On the other hand, the cartridge offers the movie “Tekken: Blood Vengeance,” which is where it might spill all the background info. But do players really want this sterile segregation between action and story progression gained from advancement?

Luckily, the presentation is otherwise stunning in this fighting game running at 60fps. The impressive roster of 40 or so characters all perform moves in swift and fluid animations, even if the 3D aspect is very fragile and ends up breaking the view more than it enhances it. There’s always an option to shut it off; we advise doing so and enjoying the clean, flashy visuals from extravagant characters like Yoshimitsu or Bruce Irvin. All models and backgrounds pop in bright color and the camera adequately follows the action where needed. The only minor point is that prone position is still clunky, but that has always been the case in this series. It’s about keeping the action going and stringing together as much as possible and Tekken 3D makes excellent use of this.

 

I hope that's not a chainsword or Games workshop will be mad.

 

First off, each of the many characters has an extensive command list with a plethora of moves possible from many positions. This alone is the largest chunk of content this game has to offer, but it’s a virtual ton of material to work with. Especially taking in account multiplayer matches, it’s mind boggling to think of all the possible factors to take into account. Let’s say 40 characters each have 100 moves (and it’s more than that). That means there are thousands of moves and settings to factor in when fighting an opponent at any time or 100 at a time, of course. This alone could save the game and bring it to a glorious forefront. Variety is the spice of life and stringing together these options in Tekken 3D is like a second nature, which creates extremely fluid and fast paced combat. It might even be one of the faster paced Tekkens ever produced.

This again has a negative side to it: Attacking through the command prompts on the touch screen allows a lot of leniency. Yes, it’s accessible to newcomers and there’s even a method to customize these attacks, but doing so makes things extremely easy. After customizing for a bit with a few characters, it was possible to string together multiple perfect matches with commands alone. Especially given the possibility to kick someone when they’re down, it was almost too easy at times. And this was done in minutes, so taking in account that Tekken does an excellent job at chaining attacks and keeping enemies afloat for extra damage, fights might end up fairly one-sided. It will take experience to circumvent this exploit, but wouldn’t this advantage also mean more proficient use of the same command spam? As you can see, it’s too early to tell on which side the story will fall, but it’s a dangerously fine line to teeter on.

 

 

Luckily, there is a redeeming quality, as not all attacks can be put into commands and advanced combos and such will still be used through a player’s skill. As such, Tekken 3D has a good teaching method of showing moves and getting this skill down is easy enough and gratifying at that. The best feeling still stems from launching a devastating attack and keeping it going. Tekken 3D does this well and keeps the pace at an all-time high, perhaps even too high. During waltzing over the opposition, matches changed extremely fast and the same phrase got uttered 10 times in 5 minutes. That might get a bit annoying after a while.

Lastly, Tekken will want to keep its longevity by offering versus battles and ramping up the challenges in Survival from a few opponents to long-lasting trials. In addition, each progression unlocks Card Points or collectible cards. There are 700 to collect, so determined players will have their work cut out for them.

 

 

It’s too early to decide whether Tekken 3D Prime Edition will rise to glory or create its own undoing. Most of the flaws mentioned above can actually be spun in a positive way and that’s a state of mind more than it is an error. Still, it’s a dangerously fine line to be walking its pretty posture over. So let us make a personal hypothetical, not as a definite statement, but more a gut feeling: Personally, I think the game will fall under the category of a beautiful Street Fighter clone that lacks the distance to go all out. But in its defense, Street Fighter is pretty cool, right?

Screenshots

Daav Valentaten, NoobFeed. (@Daavpuke)