Story:
Tekken it to the streets. Finally, the biggest, baddest bruiser of them all goes portable! And It's all here… the vicious combos, the killer graphics, and the greatest fighters. Practice your technique, remember to sidestep, and pray your skills are up to the challenge. Nothing compares to the massive bone crunching moves and brutal face-poundings of the King of Iron Fist Tournament.
Features:
Ten of your favourite Tekken fighters
Seven awesome game modes
All of the electrifying fighting action
Signature moves and combos
Head to head combat with the Game Boy Advance Game Link cable, a second Game Boy Advance system and a second Game Pak.
Tekken has arrived on Game Boy Advance, the impossible has happened - and as a result, gamers can now beat off (their enemies that is) whilst on buses, not just in their bedrooms.
Tekken on the Game Boy Advance? You're Tekken the mick! Surely a game of such polygon-intense magnitude and high precision could never be replicated to a successful and competent standard on the powerful-for-a-hand-held-but-still-diddily-resourced Game Boy Advance? Well, you’d think so and to a certain extent you’re right. It isn’t exactly the same - the GBA’s PlayStation-inferior 3D capabilities mean that the little wizards at Namco have basically created some kind of mock-Tekken effect that can trick gamers into believing this is the same game built from the same foundations; and this they have done admirably.
Rather than go the same route as the console versions by constructing polygon fighters and placing them in a 3D arena, the developers have simply made 2D animated sprites that look almost exactly the same as the polygon characters from PlayStation’s Tekken 3 on the tiny screen - it really is that convincing. The floor and background look just as similar. Some sort of SNES F-Zero style "Mode 7" japery is on hand to make the floor move and rotate, just like in PlayStation Tekken and the flat background just slides about in the same way. To put it simply, even though Tekken Advance has been built up by different methods, it’s still startlingly close to PlayStation Tekken 3 graphically.
After the initial graphical wonder and surprise has passed you’ll be interested in how much like Tekken it is to play. Obvious hardware limitations and the fact that the characters are sprites (rather than polygon renders) that require frames of animation that take up valuable memory space. This means that there are some minor - if slightly niggling - features not present. Tekken games are usually famous for a huge wealth of options and tons of characters. In Tekken Advance there are only nine initially selectable characters and one secret chap to unlock - a lot less than other games, but due to memory restrictions it’s simply impossible for any more character animations to be squeezed into the tiny little cartridge.
Whilst there are no Tekken Ball or Tekken Force modes to indulge in between bouts of one-on-one fisticuffs, the developers have ingeniously added a three-man-on-a-team Tag Battle mode, which works pretty much the same as the tag mode in Tekken Tag on PS2. You choose three combatants to take into battle and whilst in combat switch between all three as you fight. The way that the game manages to effortlessly switch between all three of your fighters is truly impressive.
So Tekken Advance is a technical marvel, but how does it play? Well, not bad considering the ever so much choppier nature of these sprite-based animations compared to polygon renders. The GBA unit obviously has less buttons than a PlayStation joypad - which means the button-for-a-limb gameplay has had to be scaled down, leaving one button for punch moves and one for kick-based merriment. In addition to this the top right button will pull off a throw and the top left is used to tag when in tag mode. This slight change will be initially confusing but Tekken fans will pick it up pretty quickly, especially if they have a browse through the moves lists, which the game thoughtfully provides.
Tekken on GBA works reasonably well, obviously playing with yourself in the comfort of your own bedroom is always going to be better than doing it on public transport - but when the need arises, this is an eminently suitable substitute. It’s scaled down, but it’s still Tekken, the best moves and the best characters are still in there and whilst this won’t take gaming preference over any full-console slap ‘em up, when you want to fight on the move, this is for you.
Adding to the lifespan is the multiplayer element included. Here two players link up and furiously beat each another, instead of an emotionless computer drone. Two players have the choice of either one-on-one action, or can opt for tag related fist fights. Either way if you have someone else (who has a GBA) to play with - like a work mate you get the train with or a flat mate who you really want to beat the crap out of - then this option will definitely extend the game’s lifespan. They’ll need a copy of the game too, though.
Despite shortcomings and obvious limitations Tekken on the GBA is a worthwhile experience - for any Tekken fanatic, person who travels a lot or someone who doesn’t own a PS2, this is definitely a game that should be checked out with serious intention of purchase.
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