Review: Tekken Advance (GBA)

It seems strange that Tekken has appeared on the Game Boy Advance as its strides towards 3D for the first time with Tekken 4. Yet when you consider the style of the game and with Soul Calibur, Virtua Fighter and Dead or Alive already being fully 3D perhaps it is logical.

The rotating floor and backgrounds have always been a part of the series and lend themselves well to the handheld. Therefore it is good to see that a game such as Tekken can work no matter what graphical touches are used for at its core there is a solid game with great depth. Tekken Advance contains characters (nine default) and levels taken from Tekken 3 including Jin Kazama, Paul Phoenix, Forest Law, Hwoarang, Gun Jack, King, Ling Xiaoyu, Nina Williams, and Yoshimitsu. Namco have also hidden several fighters in the game, continuing the trend set by the series including Heiachi and costumes. It is a shame that more characters could have not been included in this version.

The game itself is faithful reproduction of the series and you immediately feel at home as the menus are presented in typical Tekken fashion. The modes are very comprehensive and are as follows: Arcade, Versus Battle, Time Attack, Survival, 3 on 3 Arcade, 3 on 3 Battle and Practice. Most will be very familiar to any Tekken fan and I cannot stress how impressive each one is. Just by glancing at the Practice mode, you soon realise that the moves from the series are here on this tiny handheld. You also have the option to set your opponents acts and moves, thereby improving your Tekken skills on the move.

The Versus mode requires two carts in order to function so as of yet we have been unable to rate this aspect. Similarly the 3 player Tag Modes require three machines and three carts but given the depth and brilliance of the single player modes I cannot see any of these being a disappointment. Recent Tekken games have included a variety of mini games and unfortunately these do not make an appearance here even though they would be ideally suited to the GBA. As with any fighting game the control system is vitally important and here Namco have achieved what many thought impossible. I must admit when first announced I had misgivings that a handheld version of Tekken would be a pale imitation of its console brothers. Yet here I am playing this miniature marvel and I can't stop doing so. The game as reported uses a two button system with A = Kick, B = Punch and the shoulder buttons having their own functions Left = Change, Right = Throw. By double tapping up or down on the D-pad your character will sidestep around the screen, this gives the game a semi 3D quality and puts it in a class of its own for fighters on the GBA. Your fighter immediately responds to your commands and the whole system is perfectly crafted, if only the D-pad was a slightly larger! Inputting the more complicated combos is very hit and miss because of this and again, your hands feel crushed whilst holding the GBA.

Graphically the characters use 2D image captures of the original 3D texture models and therefore are not as detailed as one would expect however the animation and speed of the game is very impressive because of this. The game is no Tekken 3 slouch in the frame rate stakes and Tekken Advance is quite a technical achievement. The backgrounds are based on those from Tekken 3 and again impress. Special mention going to the sound effects and music which are superb, every blow and block is recreated whilst a thumping tune plays in the background. Most Tekken games do have a storyline and this is continued with Tekken 4 but not with Tekken Advance. T

he game is merely a stripped down version of Tekken 3 without any cut or end scenes but this should not stop you from buying what is a marvellous game. Gamestyle rarely gives out scores of 8, 9 or even 10 but here I have no hesitation in giving Tekken Advance its score for along with Mario Kart and Advance Wars (reviewed shortly) this is a must have title.

Rating: 9 / 10

Words by Jason Julier