REVIEW: The thirdinstallment to Namco's exciting martial arts-based 3D fighting game takes place an entire 15 years after the events of TEKKEN 2. Due to the new timeframe, many of TEKKEN's veteran warriors look noticeably older or matured, along with some 'new blood' to spice up the roster. TEKKEN's gameplay hadn't changed a wholelot from the first game to TEKKEN 2... but TEKKEN 3 introduced somekey gameplay elements that enhanced the experience,including a now-staple 3D fighting game mechanic, the 'sidestep'.... Finally, TEKKEN not only looked like a 3D fighting game, it actually played like one.

Along with improved charactercontrol and noticeably smoother animations, TEKKEN 3's sidestepping mechanic evolved the traditional '2D' aspect of fighting games. While using sidesteps properly required a 'learning curve' for casual players... advanced players could now dodge opponents' attacks either by moving left or right, in addition to ducking high attacksby crouching. Tapping 'up' or 'down' on the D-pad allows fighters to freely move aroundthe 3D environments and dodge their opponent's attacks (or projectiles) when timed properly. Of course, all returning characters received great updates to their movesets, including all new punch and kick counters (which require very strict timing). That means players who simply 'button mash' in TEKKEN could easily be predicted and counteredby practiced players in all new ways!
The sidestep mechanic alone reinventedTEKKEN's tried-and-true, previously combo-oriented gameplay engine - opening up new movement strategies and concepts such as beautifully-animated 'Side Throws'. Side Throws differ in animation depending on whether the opponent is thrown on their left or right side, and are completely unique for each character. No doubt, these new throws were some of the coolest-looking throw animations ever seen in a fighting game. Of course, fighters can also now 'launch' their opponents from the side and performunique aircombos (including some specific combos that only work on the side or from behind). These deeper technical aspects of TEKKEN 3's gameplay made the game stand out to competitive players, as other 3D fighting games weren't even attempting this level of gameplay depth. The innovative sidestep system would be refined and fleshed out further infuture TEKKEN installments.

Now that the core gameplay wasevolving from a 2D plane into a 3D plane, the characterdevelopment was also able to take a noticeable step forward.Several intricately-designed new fighters have joined the cast, each representing theirown unique brand of authentic martial arts... and also highlight the new '3D movement' of the game. Newcomers include a young TaeKwon Do expert Hwoarang, a cool Capoeira martial artist Eddy Gordo,and a fast and agile Chinese female, Ling Xiaoyu. Last but not least, Jin Kazama takes the place of his father, Kazuya, fightingvery similarly to his old man but featuring his fair share of unique attacks and clearly doing this 'his way'. Eventhough several characters from the prequels were sadly missing-in-action, TEKKEN 3's roster was the most diverse and perhaps most balanced to date, with all characters offering very different styles of fighting (especially in the hands of a skilled player).

The console version of TEKKEN 3 wasn't simply an 'arcade port'... which was the expected standard when an arcade fighting game released on console. The PS1 version of TEKKEN 3 actually had several exciting additions over the arcade version, including fully-animated FMV character endings (which rocked), and new modessuch as TEKKEN Ball (a volleyball type game where you can use any of thecharacters) and TEKKEN Force mode (a 2D beat-em-up style game with four levels).These bonus modes were incredibly innovative modes for a fighting game at the time, offering a nice change of pace from the usual 1-vs-1 fighting. Also included in the home package is Team Battle mode - enabling up to 8 fighters on each player's team, and a Music Gallery where you can listen to Arcade and Console version tracks for every character. All in all, TEKKEN 3 innovated console fighting games at the time with its polished gameplay and console-exclusive bonus features.


FUN FACT: The PlayStation 1 version of TEKKEN 3 sold over 8.3 million copies, making it one of thehighest-selling fighting games of all time. TEKKEN 7 actually came close, selling over 7 million so far.

Page Updated: July 12th, 2021 Developer(s): Namco Publisher(s): Namco Designer(s): Masahiro KimotoDirector Katsuhiro HaradaDirector Hijame NakataniProducer Platform(s): Arcade, PlayStation, Dreamcast, PSN Release Date(s): Mar. 20th, 1997Arcade Mar. 26th, 1998 PS1 Apr. 29th 1998 PS1 Sept. 12th, 1998 PS1 Oct. 31st, 2001Dreamcast - via Bleemcast! Dec. 21st, 2001 PS1 Characters: JinKazama,Ling Xiaoyu, EddyGordo,Hwoarang, LeiWulong, King,Nina Williams, Forrest Law, JuliaChang,Paul Phoenix,Yoshimitsu,GunJack, Kuma,Panda,Bryan Fury, Ogre,Anna Williams,Tiger,TrueOgre, Heihachi Mishima, Dr. Boskonovitch, Gon, Mokujin Featured Video: Related Games: Tekken,Tekken 2, TekkenTag Tournament, TekkenAdvance, Tekken 4, Tekken 5, Tekken5: Dark Resurrection,Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection Online, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Tekken 6, Tekken 6:Bloodline Rebellion, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tekken 7, Tekken 7: Fated Retribution, Tekken Revolution, Tekken Hybrid, Tekken 3DS: Prime Edition, Street Fighter X Tekken, Soul Blade, Soul Calibur, Ehrgeiz, Tobal No. 1, Tobal 2 GameplayEngine 9.5 / 10 Story/ Theme 9.5 / 10 OverallGraphics 9.0 / 10 Animation 9.0 / 10 Music/ Sound Effects 9.0 / 10 Innovation 9.0 / 10 Art Direction 9.0 / 10 Customization 8.0 / 10 Options / Extras 10 / 10 Intro / Presentation 10 / 10 Replayability / Fun 9.0 / 10 'Ouch' Factor 9.5 / 10 Characters 9.5 / 10 BOTTOM LINE 9.6/10 Review based on Arcade / PS1 version Final Words: Without a doubt,TEKKEN 3 was one of the most influential 3D fighting games of the era... innovating in terms of presentation, character development, and gameplay. The arcade version was a huge hit among arcade-goers of the late 90's, but the PS1 version of TEKKEN 3 knocked it out of the park with impressive 'arcade quality' graphics,console-exclusive bonus modes, brand new character FMV ending movies, and many extra options (including the best in-game music player to date). Best console fighting game in 1998? Yes. Just yes. TEKKEN 3 was a reason to be 'proud' to be playing fighting games at home in 1998... because if you weren't playing it on you overheating PS1, you were seriously missing out on some fun (and possibly experience that would pay off later down the road). TEKKEN 3 raised the bar for fighting games. Not only did TEKKEN 3 improve its own tried-and-true gameplay elementsintroduced in the first two games, it expanded the environment intro a true '3D-feeling' one with the introduction of the raw sidestep technique. Presentation-wise, TEKKEN 3 made a huge impact even among mainstream reviewers and casual players. Most importantly, TEKKEN 3's gameplay system was fun, easy-to-get into, yet solid (albeit slightly unbalanced), pavingthe way for a plethora of successful sequels. TEKKEN 3's intro cinematic on PS1 is still among my favorite video game intros of all time.It flows brilliantly from beginning to end... the music and cinematics blended seamlessly. TEKKEN 3's modern and incredibly well-done intro defined the forward direction fighting games were headed in at the time. The characters of TEKKEN saw a drastic evolution in terms of appearance and larger movesets, demonstrating their authentic martial arts stylesmore impressively than ever before. The FMV character endings wereequally impressive, fleshing out TEKKEN's amazing roster to new heights. In retrospect: Some nostalgic fans are known for saying things like 'TEKKEN 3 was the pinnacle / best of the series'... and in terms of presentation, it's up there. However, a fighting game is so much more than a good intro. If you think TEKKEN 3 is 'as good as TEKKEN gets,' you'resorely mistaken (and missing out on gameplay depth that the later installments introduce). TEKKEN3 was actually pretty unbalanced in terms of gameplay and had many broken combos. That said, I implore old school (casual) fans to take off their 'nostalgia glasses' and actually learn how to play modern TEKKEN, like TEKKEN 7. The improved balance, animations, deeper movesets,and heavily refined gameplay mechanics should not be missed. In fact, old school TEKKEN players will be able to appreciate the evolutions of the series even more than others! Two years after TEKKEN 3 hit arcades, a sequel based on TEKKEN 3's engine, TEKKEN Tag Tournament (and future smash hit on PS2) was released. TEKKEN Tag Tournament used an upgraded gameplay system based on TEKKEN 3's, innovating with 2-vs-2 tag team gameplay, and added many fan-favorite characters who went missing in TEKKEN 3. ~TFGWebmaster | @Fighters_Gen