is an
arcadeAn arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
fightingFighting game is a video game genre where the player controls an on-screen character and engages in close combat with an opponent. These characters tend to be of equal power and fight matches consisting of several rounds, which take place in an arena. Players must master techniques such as...
game franchise created and developed by
Namcois a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
. Beginning with the original
TekkenTekken is a fighting game and is the first of the series. It was released at arcades in late 1994 and on the PlayStation in 1995. A simplified "arcade" version of the game was later released in Tekken 5s Arcade History mode. It was developed and published by Namco...
arcade game released in 1994, the series has received several sequels, as well as various home conversions and spin-off titles released for consoles. The story in each game in the main series documents the events of the fictional martial arts tournament,
The King of Iron Fist Tournament, which is hosted by the Mishima Zaibatsu corporation. The prize is typically control of the company, which then allows the winner to host the following tournament.
The arcade versions of the game have traditionally used
PlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
based hardware to run the games, and subsequently each
Tekken installment was eventually made for its respective PlayStation.
Games
The first game,
TekkenTekken is a fighting game and is the first of the series. It was released at arcades in late 1994 and on the PlayStation in 1995. A simplified "arcade" version of the game was later released in Tekken 5s Arcade History mode. It was developed and published by Namco...
, was released in
1994-Events:*Nintendo calls this year "1994: The Year of the Cartridge".*Nintendo Australia Pty. Ltd, the Australian subsidiary of Nintendo Co., Ltd is established and opened by Hiroshi Yamauchi and effectively ends Mattel Australia's distribution of Nintendo's products throughout Australia.*"Project...
first in arcades and then as a port for the
PlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
. Two sequels,
Tekken 2Tekken 2 is the second installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. It was first released in arcades in 1995, and later released for the PlayStation in 1996...
and
Tekken 3Tekken 3 is the third installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. It was released for Arcades in March 1997, and for the PlayStation in mid-1998. The original Arcade version of the game was released in 2005 for the PlayStation 2 as part of Tekken 5s Arcade History mode...
, were released in the same fashion in 1996 and 1998.
Tekken 3 was also released as
Tekken AdvanceTekken Advance is a fighting game released for the Game Boy Advance. It is not canonical to the Tekken storyline, but it follows the events of Tekken 3, and it uses sprites from Tekken Tag Tournament for the characters.-Gameplay:...
, for the
Game Boy AdvanceThe is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
in
2001-Events:* Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences hosts the 4th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards; inducts John Carmack of id Software to the AIAS Hall of Fame...
. During 2000, a spin-off title under the name of
Tekken Tag Tournamentis the fourth installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. It, however, is not canonical to the Tekken storyline. The game was originally available as an update kit for Tekken 3. Tekken Tag Tournament was originally released as an arcade game before it was ported to the PlayStation 2...
was released. In contrast to previous titles, this one would be ported to the
PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
and features tag battles. A remastered version of the game titled
Tekken Tag Tournament HD will be included on the
Tekken Hybrid disc, which also includes the 3D movie
Tekken: Blood Vengeance, set to release in December 2011.
The following two sequels,
Tekken 4Tekken 4 is the fifth installment in the Tekken series. It was developed and published by Namco. It was released as an arcade game in 2001 and on the PlayStation 2 in 2002. It is succeeded by Tekken 5.- Gameplay :...
and
Tekken 5is the sixth installment in the popular Tekken series. It also marks the tenth anniversary of the series. It was updated for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 as Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection and succeeded by Tekken 6.- Story :...
, would also be ported to the PlayStation 2 in 2002 and 2004, respectively, following their release in arcades. A
PlayStation PortableThe is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
and
PlayStation 3The is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
version of
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection retitled
Tekken: Dark Resurrection, was released in Japan and the United States in summer
2006-Events:* January 26, 2006 -- Nintendo announces its newly redesigned handheld, the Nintendo DS Lite. The new model is lighter, smaller, has configurable brightness and features an improved user interface.* January 26, 2006 -- Konami Corp...
. The European version was released on September 15, 2006. An online version of
Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection was also released for the during 2007 for the PlayStation Network.
Tekken 6is a fighting game developed and published by Namco Bandai. It is the eighth game in the Tekken franchise. It was released in Japanese arcades on November 26, 2007 as the first game running on the PlayStation 3-based System 357 arcade board. The game received an update, subtitled Bloodline...
was originally released for arcades in 2007, while an updated version under the name of
Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion followed it in 2008. In the following year, the update was released for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Portable and
Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
as
Tekken 6.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2is a fighting game in the Tekken series and the successor to 1999's Tekken Tag Tournament. The game was released in Japanese arcades on September 14, 2011 and will be released on the PlayStation 3 sometime in 2012...
, the sequel of Tekken Tag Tournament was released on September 14, 2011 in Japanese arcades.
Namco and
Capcomis a Japanese developer and publisher of video games, known for creating multi-million-selling franchises such as Devil May Cry, Chaos Legion, Street Fighter, Mega Man and Resident Evil. Capcom developed and published Bionic Commando, Lost Planet and Dark Void too, but they are less known. Its...
also are working on
Street Fighter X Tekkenis an upcoming crossover fighting game being developed by Capcom. The game was announced at the 2010 San Diego Comic-Con International by Capcom producer Yoshinori Ono. The game is set to release on PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Microsoft Windows and PlayStation Vita sometime in March 2012. The game...
and
Tekken X Street FighterTekken X Street Fighter is an upcoming crossover fighting game being produced by Namco Bandai Games. It crosses the universes of Tekken and Street Fighter into one game creating a roster from both franchises....
, crossover games of the Tekken and
Street Fighter, commonly abbreviated as SF, is a series of Fighting Games developed in Japan in which the players pit the video games' competitive fighters from around the world, each with his or her own unique fighting style, against one another...
franchises. The former game is being developed by Capcom and will include 2D gameplay mechanics as seen in
Street Fighter IVis a fighting game produced by Capcom. It is the first numbered Street Fighter game released by Capcom since . The coin-operated arcade game was released in Japan on July 18, 2008, with North American arcades importing the machines by August...
, whereas the latter game will be developed by Namco and will include the gameplay mechanics from
Tekken 6.
Tekken Card ChallengeTekken Card Challenge is a Tekken video game released for the WonderSwan. It uses the characters from Tekken 3, plus an exclusive character to the game, Crow.- Gameplay :...
was also released on the Japan-only hand held
WonderSwanwas a line of handheld game consoles produced in Japan by Bandai between 1999 and 2003. It was developed by the late Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto and Bandai...
. Nina Williams is the main character of the action adventure spin-off title,
Death by DegreesDeath by Degrees is an action-adventure video game, developed by Namco. It is initially a spin-off from the Tekken series of fighting games...
, released for the PlayStation 2 in 2005. Two new
Tekken games have also been announced for
Nintendo 3DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo. The autostereoscopic device is able to project stereoscopic 3D effects without the use of 3D glasses or any additional accessories. The Nintendo 3DS features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS series software, including Nintendo DSi software...
and Wii U. Pocket Gamer has confirmed that
Tekken Resolute would be released for mobile phones while Tekken Bowl would come to the iOS operating system. The game for the iOS operating system is not a part of the fighting games, but rather the bowling mini-game from
Tekken Tag Tournament.
Appearances in other games
- Yoshimitsu, Eddy Gordo
is an Afro-Brazilian video game character in the Tekken fighting game series by Namco. He made his debut in the arcade version of Tekken 3 in 1997 and his first console appearance was in the 1998 PlayStation port of the title...
and Heihachi Mishimais one of the main characters in the Tekken fighting game series. He is one of only four characters to have appeared in every game in the series and he makes two appearances within the series as the final boss...
appear as guest players in Anna Kournikova's Smash Court Tennis. Heihachi also appears in Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2Smash Court Tennis Pro Tournament 2 is a tennis game created by Namco for the PlayStation 2.-Game modes:The game features many playable modes including Arcade mode and the in depth Pro Tour mode in which you create a player and try to become a tennis champion. Other modes include Exhibition,...
, as well as Ling Xiaoyu.
- Jin Kazama
is a video game player character in the Tekken fighting game series released by Namco Bandai. Trained by his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima in order to enter the King of Iron Fist Tournament, Jin wishes to avenge his mother's apparent death...
, Kazuya Mishima, Kingis the name of two characters in the Tekken fighting game series. The characters were inspired by the pro wrestler Satoru Sayama, as well as Mexican wrestler Fray Tormenta, a Catholic priest who became a masked wrestler in order to support an orphanage...
, Armor King, Ogre, Mokujin and Heihachi feature in the crossover RPG title, Namco × Capcom.
- Heihachi also appears as a guest character in the PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
version of Soulcalibur II while Yoshimitsu is in all of them.
- Heihachi Mishima and Tiger Jackson appear in a Namco party game, Pac-Man Fever
Pac-Man Fever is a party video game released for Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2 in 2002 . Like in many party video games, players move about on a virtual game board, with the object of the game being to reach the end first...
.
- Lars Alexandersson
is a video game character from the Tekken fighting game series developed by Namco Bandai. Introduced in Tekken 6 Bloodline Rebellion, Lars appears as a member from the Tekken Force military unit confronting the Mishima Zaibatsu that started a war...
appears as a bonus playable character in Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2Naruto Shippuden: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, known in Japan as is the sequel to Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm developed by CyberConnect2 and published by Namco Bandai Games...
.
- Heihachi can be used as a guest DJ in Namco's racing game, Ridge Racer 6
Ridge Racer 6 has received generally positive reviews.Pro-G gave the game 8/10, calling it "the closest I've seen to an arcade racer on a home console, in both looks and playability." Gamespy awarded Ridge Racer 6 4.5/5 praising its "killer graphics" and "great presentation", but criticising its...
.
- Lili
, full name , is a fictional character in the Tekken fighting game series. Along with Sergei Dragunov and Armor King II, she is one of the three characters that were first introduced in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection in 2005.-Character design:...
is a playable character in a role-playing video game based on the Queen's Bladeis a series of visual combat books published by Hobby Japan based on the licensed works from Flying Buffalo's Lost Worlds. First published in 2005, it features sexually suggestive depictions of an exclusively female cast of characters. The overall plot of the game revolves around a tournament...
franchise, Queen's Gate: Spiral Chaos.
Elements
As with many fighting games,
playersA player of a game is a participant therein. The term 'player' is used with this same meaning both in game theory and in ordinary recreational games....
choose a
characterA character is the representation of a person in a narrative work of art . Derived from the ancient Greek word kharaktêr , the earliest use in English, in this sense, dates from the Restoration, although it became widely used after its appearance in Tom Jones in 1749. From this, the sense of...
from a lineup, and engage in
hand-to-hand*Close combat is a generic term for both Close Quarters Battle and Hand to hand combat.*Mêlée generally refers to disorganized close combat.*CQB is an acronym for Close Quarters Battle, such as that which occurs in urban warfare....
combat with an opponent.
Tekken differs from other hand-to-hand fighting games in some ways. Traditional fighting games are usually played with buttons which correspond to the strength of the attack, such as strong punch or weak kick.
Tekken, however, dedicates a button to each limb of the fighter.
The
Tekken series uses separate buttons for right and left limbs, resulting in four buttons. Other trademarks include throw escapes, and starting from
Tekken 2Tekken 2 is the second installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. It was first released in arcades in 1995, and later released for the PlayStation in 1996...
, autoblock. Each iteration was improved upon both graphically and technically.
Tekken 3 introduced the ability to move into the foreground or away from the background, commonly referred to as "sidestepping." Also,
Tekken 3 reduced recovery time after being knocked down than previous games and each game afterwards include rolls to recover instantly after hitting the ground, allowing the player to get back into the fight instead of pounding buttons.
Tekken 4 gave characters even greater mobility by adding true 3D movement while simultaneously including geometrically complex arenas with unleveled ground, obstacles, and walls.
Tekken 5 saw the return of both walled and infinite arenas.
Tekken 6 retains much of the design from
Tekken 5 but also includes "Rage" mode (when a character is near the end of their vitality bar, they earn a damage multiplier) and "Bound" hits (hits that, when connected with an airborne opponent, will place them in a grounded state where they cannot escape for a certain period, allowing combo extensions).
Tekken 6 also has destructible floors that allow the fighters to fall through to new fighting areas when broken.
Tekken Tag Tournament, released between
Tekken 3 and
Tekken 4, is not a part of the
Tekken storyline. The game allows each player to control one of two selected fighters, who could be tagged in and out of the fight by the additional fifth button, which can be used for tag team attacks and juggles, amongst other tactics.
Characters
Tekken is notable and praised for depicting its characters with visual flair and style. Players can choose from a diverse cast that hails from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and fighting styles. A few characters have supernatural origin, such as Devil and Ogre, while animal characters like Roger Jr. and Kuma provide
comic reliefComic relief is the inclusion of a humorous character, scene or witty dialogue in an otherwise serious work, often to relieve tension.-Definition:...
. In the story mode of the game, each character generally has their own personal reasons for entering the tournament and competing for the prize While characters like Jin Kazama have movesets similar to previous seen, others like Kunimitsu and Anna Williams are often labelled as "clones" for sharing the same techniques of other character.
Adaptations
Tekken: The Motion Pictureis a Japanese animated adaptation of the Tekken video games by Namco produced in by ASCII Corporation and Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Originally released in Japan as a two-episode OVA, an English adaptation was produced by ADV Films, which edited both episodes into a single hour-long film and...
, a two-part
original video animation, abbreviated as media , are animated films and series made specially for release in home-video formats. The term originated in relation to Japanese animation...
series, was released in Japan in 1998. It was developed by
Studio Deenis a Japanese company that produces anime. Three years after Sunrise was founded in 1972, Studio Deen was established by Sunrise's members in 1975. As a result of this, anime shows such as Cowboy Bebop that were produced by Sunrise may have had assistance from Studio Deen.-Produced anime:* Urusei...
and directed by Kunihisa Sugishima. Its story follows
Kazuya Mishimais a fictional character in the Tekken fighting game series. Although originally appearing as the main protagonist in the original Tekken game, he becomes one of the series' leading villains from Tekken 2 onward, after being overtaken by the Devil Gene, where he is known as Devil Kazuya .-In the...
's revenge against his father
Heihachiis one of the main characters in the Tekken fighting game series. He is one of only four characters to have appeared in every game in the series and he makes two appearances within the series as the final boss...
in the King of Iron Fist Tournament.
Tekken, a live-action film directed by
Dwight H. LittleDwight Hubbard Little is an American film director, known for directing the films Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers, The Phantom of the Opera, Marked for Death, Rapid Fire and Murder at 1600...
and starring
John FooJon Foo is an English actor, martial artist and stuntman of mixed Chinese and Irish descent.-Early life:...
,
Ian Anthony DaleIan Anthony Dale is an American actor.Born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, he attended school in Madison, Wisconsin. He is of Japanese, French and English descent. Dale currently stars as Simon Lee on The Event, and was previously known for playing Davis Lee on Surface and his recurring role on Charmed...
and
Kelly OvertonKelly Overton is an American actress, screenwriter, director, and producer.-Early life:Overton grew up in Wilbraham, Massachusetts, and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City, where she graduated with their highest honor, The Charles Jehlinger Award.-Career:She has...
, was released in Japan on March 20, 2010 through Warner Bros. Pictures. The film focuses on
Jin Kazamais a video game player character in the Tekken fighting game series released by Namco Bandai. Trained by his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima in order to enter the King of Iron Fist Tournament, Jin wishes to avenge his mother's apparent death...
who enters into the King of Iron Fist Tournament after his mother's death. Katsuhiro Harada, director of the
Tekken video game series, has panned the film.
Tekken: Blood Vengeance, a full-length anime film in Digital 3D, was premiered in United States in 2011 and released in Japan in the same year. Digital Frontier developed the film, while the director is Youichi Mouri. Unlike previous films,
Blood Vengeance is set within the official
Tekken story and is set between the events of
Tekken 5 and
Tekken 6. It will be released in Japan in December 2011 as a part of the collection "Tekken Hybrid".
There has also been two printed adaptations of the games.
Tekken Forever, a comic book published by Image Comics in December 2001 features a story that focused on the Kazama family and also the Unknown character from
Tekken Tag Tournament. It was authored by Dave Chi and illustrated by Paco Diaz. is a
mangaManga is the Japanese word for "comics" and consists of comics and print cartoons . In the West, the term "manga" has been appropriated to refer specifically to comics created in Japan, or by Japanese authors, in the Japanese language and conforming to the style developed in Japan in the late 19th...
written by Keiichi Suzuki and published by
Shogakukanis a Japanese publisher of dictionaries, literature, manga, non-fiction, DVDs, and other media in Japan.Shogakukan founded Shueisha which founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but are together called the Hitotsubashi Group, one of the largest publishing groups in Japan...
. It was collected in two
tankobon, with a literal meaning close to "independently appearing book", is the Japanese term for a book that is complete in itself and is not part of a series , though the manga industry uses it for volumes which may be in a series...
volumes with the first one on December 5, 2000 and the second one on April 5, 2001.
Characters and settings from the series appear in the
collectible card gamethumb|Players and their decksA collectible card game , also called a trading card game or customizable card game, is a game played using specially designed sets of playing cards...
Universal Fighting SystemThe Universal Fighting System is a collectible card game originally designed by Sabertooth Games. The themes of the cards are drawn from a multitude of licensed gaming universes, principally Fighting game licenses...
by
Fantasy Flight GamesFantasy Flight Games is a Roseville, Minnesota-based game company that creates and publishes role-playing, board, and card games. Fantasy Flight Publishing was founded in 1995 by its CEO, Christian T. Petersen. Since the release of its first game product in 1997, the company has been doing...
and in
Epic BattlesEpic Battles is a collectible card game by Score Entertainment released in September 2005. Gameplay attempts to emulate a traditional fighting game experience and features characters and attacks from several different franchises....
by
Score EntertainmentScore Entertainment was a trading card design and manufacturing company based in Arlington, Texas. Their first card game was the Dragon Ball Z: Collectible Card Game in 2000. Score Entertainment was a member of the Donruss Playoff LP family of companies...
.
Reception
As of August 2010, the
Tekken franchise has sold 39 million units of games. Developers of non-
Tekken games have commented on the series.
Ed BoonEdward J. Boon is an American video game programmer who had been employed for over 15 years at Midway. He now works for Warner Bros...
, the co-creator of
Mortal Kombat, revealed in one of his interviews with
GameProGamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
that his favorite fighting game out of his competitors is
Tekken. Both
Sega, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
and Namco have shown interest in a possible crossover between
Virtua Fighter and
Tekken. The series often been labelled as a "rival" to
Virtua Fighter as the two became the most famous 3D fighting game series. On the other hand,
Tomonobu Itagakiis a Japanese video game designer who created the Dead or Alive fighting game and beach sport simulation series and also revived the Ninja Gaiden franchise in 2004...
, designer of the
Dead or Alive series expressed dislike for the
Tekken franchise to the point of placing it as one of his most hated games. Critical reception to the games has been positive with
Tekken 3 receiving an average of 96% in Metacritic and GamesRankings.
External links