Original art created by hahulac
Tekken has always been a pretty solid franchise and the battle style is fun. Kicks are a big part of a battle since they do so much damage and you may find yourself completely ignoring the punch combos. Tekken 4 and 5 also had fun arcade mode stories for the most part and they’re just fun overall. Could the final game in the main series end the series on a high note? (Until Tekken 7 comes out someday)
Unlike the previous games, Tekken 6 has an actual story mode aside from the Arcade Mode intros/endings. We follow a guy named Lars who has lost his memory and meets up with the android known as Alisa. Lars seems to be a good guy deep down and he’s ready to stop Kazuya and Jin from destroying the world through their fighting. He seems to be pretty outmatched as he’s just a human right? Well, a plot twist helps the fights make more sense as we realize that Lars actually has a lot of latent power. While teaming up with Alisa, he also seeks to restore his lost memories and find out who he really is. Looks like he has a busy day ahead of him!
The story mode is pretty fun and it has a cinematic feeling to it. There are several cutscenes that are full blown cutscenes while others are just retro text boxes. In the story mode, we get to see Jin take on nearly all of the main characters and Lars proves that he’s one of the cooler Tekken characters. He takes everything in stride and he’s definitely a powerful fighter.
Alisa is a decent character, but unfortunately..the fact that she is an android holds her back as it does for most androids. Androids usually have that moment where they lost their free will and must obey their creator. This happens to Alisa and she isn’t really able to fight it so that hurts her character development. I wasn’t a huge fan of her in the movie either. She has a lot of potential and she’s a powerful fighter, but she needs to strengthen her mind.
Jin Kazama is a very changed man and you can’t really call him the main character anymore. He now rules the Mishima Zaibatsu and he has been completely corrupted. Was it the Devil Gene or did he just turn to the dark side so that he could get enough power to destroy Kazuya? Either way, Jin is now completely evil and it doesn’t look like he will be turning back to the side of light. Just look at the cinematic trailer for Street Fighter X Tekken! (Jin is still trying to protect his friends, but while being the head of the Tekken Force and destroying all who oppose him)
Remember the whole, “I’m your FATHER!” line from Star Wars? Well, that basically comes into play with Kazuya, who happens to be Jin’s father. In this game you could say that he’s the character to root for, but he’s really the mastermind of another organization named G Corporation. He seems to think that he’s the only one left who can really oppose Jin and he gets ready to take him down in the tournament! He’s a pretty solid character and he can definitely give Jin a solid fight.
Azazel is the true final boss of the game and he’s one of the stronger opponents that the Tekken fighters have ever come across. He is the ultimate evil and once the negative energies of the world start to come out, he revives! This may have been Jin’s excuse for acting evil, but I’m afraid that it’s not a very good one. Azazel is definitely a pretty awesome opponent and he’s ready to judge humanity. He’s also a pretty tough boss so you’ll definitely want to block as much as you can.
This is a fighting game so I’m not really going to go into depth about all of the characters since there are so many of them. NANCY is a really cool kaiju/robot creature and is a pretty nifty secret boss. I can’t really say that I care for Eddy or the old man, but other characters like Nina, Asuka, Leo, Yoshimitsu, and Bryan are still solid characters. Tekken has a pretty interesting array of characters and I find them all to be pretty interesting for the most part. They are much better than the average fighting game cast like Street Fighter, Dead Or Alive, Virtua Fighter, etc. They’re no Smash Bros or J Stars Victory Vs, but those really shouldn’t count.
The animation is pretty solid and the music helps to make the whole game feel very modern and techno. It’s one of the main reasons why I really like the PS3. Everything feels so high tech on the console and aside from the Gamecube, it’s easily the greatest console of all time. Tekken 6 plays very smoothly and the gameplay is as good as ever. There is a lot to do in the game since you have arcade mode for all characters and a story mode as well. We’ve also got Survival Mode, Time Attack Mode, and the wonders of Wifi! You’ll likely be spending a lot of time online since it’s always fun to challenge other people and see how you stack up. It’s another reason why I love the fact that the PS3 can support online wifi so that you can play to your heart’s content.
You can also customize your character for Story Mode and it can be a gamechanger. I forgot to upgrade until the final levels and it definitely makes a world of difference. Of course, you can try doing the levels without upgrading, but I can guarantee that it’ll be very difficult. It would be a great feat for your gaming skills though so it is worth a shot.
Overall, this is an excellent fighting game. They made sure to increase the character count and added a lot of modes for replay value. The fighting style alone will keep you entertained for a very long time. The music is solid and I can’t really think of any bad things that hurt the game. This one basically got everything right and had a pretty cool opening cutscene as well. The trophies aren’t very unreasonable in this game and I’m happy to say that I got the Platinum! Lars is also a very solid addition to the franchise and I look forward to seeing him in future installments. I highly recommend this game to all fighting fans or people who are looking for a solid plot.
Overall 8/10
The Star Wars legacy continues as we see the origin of the franchise….or of the films anyway. This film takes place before Episode IV and we get to see what the older villains were like. Without Luke Skywalker and Darth Vader, could this film keep pace with the other three? It’s time to find out!
The film’s plot revolves around Qui Gon and Obi Wan as they must protect the Queen and restore order to the planet. The planet is currently being run by the Federation and things aren’t looking good for our heroes. Meanwhile, Anakin must prove that he is a skilled warrior and he enters the Pod Race. The stakes are very high and winning could he his chance for freedom. The Sith are also around and Darth Maul is sent to take the Jedi down once and for all.
Well, the film has a solid intro with the Jedi taking on a large number of droids and easily winning the battle. The droids definitely do not seem as skilled as the Storm Troopers and they go down pretty easily. There is one sad scene for the Jedi as they are forced to run away from the Droids who possess barriers. They may have the Force, but they aren’t immensely skilled in its usage, or maybe they just lack the confidence. Either way, a tactical retreat was in order!
Unfortunately, this film starts to drag on a bit during the middle. This is one of those films where they could have cut out 30-60 minutes and it may have helped the overall pacing. There just wasn’t a lot of action in the film and while the lightsaber fights were really good, you may miss the classic space fights. There is a quick one that is forced into the movie at the very end, but it’s pretty short anyway.
Obi Wan is a decent character, but he doesn’t really stand out. He has his big “Rage” moment where he quickly unleashes his full powers, but that was his only notable scene. It was a good one since he looked a lot better than Luke did in his rage moment so I do have some hopes for him in the next film. I always liked his fight scene in film IV since he mentioned how it’s not wise to strike him down…right before he’s struck down. It’s one of those scenes that forces you to smile and wave…just smile and wave.
Qui Gon is the wise character of the film and he’s always got his lightsaber at the ready. He’s a decent character as well I suppose, but he is pretty dishonest since he tries to cheat a store owner with the Jedi mind trick. Luckily he is unsuccessful although he also ends up cheating at dice. Qui Gon is a powerful fighter and he can hold his own against the Sith, but he still wasn’t a great character. Average sounds about right as with Obi Wan.
Jar Jar Binks is a pretty infamous character and this is where he makes his debut. I wouldn’t underestimate Jar Jar Binks since he definitely means business and won’t go down without a fight. Unfortunately, like the Ewoks, this leads to a lot of plot hax during the fight scenes. He takes out several drones by accident which is humiliating in itself and it doesn’t stop there as he takes on a whole tank. He’s not quite as annoying as Chewy although his voice isn’t as iconic as Chewy’s roar. Jar Jar is definitely not a likable character and he was unnecessary, but he’s still better than C-3PO and R2D2.
Yoda is back along with the Jedi Council in this film, but he still doesn’t do anything. They all fear Anakin’s power since it far surpasses theirs, but it’s not like they can do anything about it. They were not even aware that the Sith had returned which is a little sad for them. Why couldn’t they feel “A disturbance in The Force!?” Maybe they just weren’t skilled enough as the time which is to be expected in the long run. C-3PO and R2D2 are in the film and luckily they aren’t as bad as in the original trilogy thanks to their limited roles.
Anakin is only a kid in this film so its understandable that he’s not a great character just yet. He did start to fall from film V to VI, but this is before those events so he should be just fine. I expect that he’ll improve in the next film when he’s older. He’s not a bad character in this film, but he can’t really be taken seriously just yet.
Queen Padme is a decent character and she is more likable than Princess Leia. That being said, she does fall for Emperor Palpatine’s tricks and her final plan resembled Luke’s from Episode VI! It was thought out more than Luke’s, but still an overly risky plan. If only they all could use The Force!
Finally, Darth Maul is a pretty solid villain and he definitely gives the heroes a solid fight. One on one he seemed to be stronger than the Jedi thanks to his duel blade skills. He was the best character of the film and I dare say that he approaches Darth Vader in epicness. The EU gives Darth Vader the edge, but if we’re purely talking about the films, I dare say that he’s a better villain.
The fight scenes in this Star Wars film were vastly superior to the previous films. You could really feel the blows when the Lightsabers clashed and the special effects have also received a level up. I can only imagine how the Lightsaber battles would look in the current days and it would likely be about as epic as Kingdom Hearts II!
The film does fall into its share of holes which keeps it from a higher rating. In the first place, the characters weren’t terribly interesting. The original trilogy definitely had a better cast to go along with the better plot and better soundtrack. This film also dragged on for quite a while when they were on the desert planet. The invasion was fun, but not the Jar Jar Binks part of it. They should have been incinerated instantly, but instead they lasted with gimicks. Also, Anakin shouldn’t have been able to break inside the enemy ship so easily. Animals also end up eating other animals for no real reason since it doesn’t serve to advance the plot and is just unnecessary.
Overall, this was a decent start to the next Star Wars trilogy. The fight scenes were fun and we had a great villain, but the film was just too long and featured too many unlikable characters. If the film can reduce on the negatives and make things a little more fun, then the next one has a chance for success. This is a decent film to check out, but I’d sooner recommend IV since the intro is a lot more intense. The Storm Troopers are definitely hardcore!
Overall 5/10
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