Tekken 3 is one of the best, if not the best fighting game of all time.

User Rating: 10 | Tekken 3 (PlayStation the Best) PS

Graphics: 86/100

Gameplay: 95/100

Sounds: 98/100

Longevity: 90/100

Tilt: 95/100

IRON FIST RULES

Tekken 3 is often regarded as one of the best fighting games ever and definitely as the best Tekken game. Critics love it, players love it, Tekken fans love it, I love it. So what makes Tekken 3 so special? Let's find out.

MISHIMA BLOODLINE

The storyline is pretty basic Tekken stuff, but it works. The evil god of fighting, Ogre has apparently killed Heihachi Mishima's grandson's Jin Kazama's mother (Jun Kazama). Jin went to his grandfather so that he will train him to become stronger and he will be able to defeat Ogre. Heihachi's world domination instinct once again comes alive and Heihachi accepts only to use Jin and the other tournament's fighters to lure Ogre out. If Ogre is defeated, Heihachi will take and use Ogre's blood sample to make a gene that will make the old mastermind the greatest of all, unbeatable.

KICKING ASS WITH STYLE

The graphics were actually pretty impressive in their time. The characters look a bit blocky, but still pretty good and the backgrounds are pure 2D, but they look decent. It has aged, but Tekken 3's graphics still look pretty good.

BEACH VOLLEY WITH FIGHTERS?

What hasn't aged is Tekken 3's gameplay. The fighting system still works perfectly and beating opponents is genuinely fun. The movesets have expanded and even though compared to fifth Tekken, Tekken 3's gameplay may seem slow, but it's still really enjoyable. The game modes include normal arcade where you unlock classic endings, time attack where you beat opponents against the clock, survival mode where you fights until the health bar runs out, team battle where you fight a set of up to eight characters with your team and the versus mode which needs no explanation. The two more special modes are Tekken Force and Tekken Ball. In Tekken Force, you play a classic side-scrolling beat 'em up adventure defeating Heihachi's soldiers. It is really simple, but it's also fun. Tekken Ball is a real surprise and one of my favorite fighting game modes of all time. You pick a fighter and then you play volleyball with a soft, medium or hard iron ball. When you perform heavy strikes or special attacks, the ball becomes electric or flaming or whatever the character's trademark is, and it makes small damage. The other way to reduce opponent's health bar is to simply hit the ball into the opponent's side. It's simple, but damn, it's addicting! The old favorite characters are almost all back including Heihachi, Paul, Law (even though it's Marshall's son), Nina, Yoshimitsu and more. Shame that Kazuya isn't in! The new characters are young school girl Ling Xiaoyu, original King's follower King II, the main character Jin Kazama, tae kwon do master Hwoarang and the energetic capoeira master Eddy Gordo. Playing as Eddy is huge fun and all the new characters introduced here will become iconic in the series. Other new characters that are unlockable and will also become iconic characters are Bryan Fury, Gun Jack, Julia Chang, Mokujin, Panda and... Ogre.

AWESOME THEME SONGS

I gave the sounds a perfect score and for a reason. Tekken 3 has a ton of one of the most memorable tunes ever and even the sound effects get stuck in your head. There are no voice actors, since the fighters only have losing screams and winning taunts, but who needs them?

COMPLETELY HOOKED

Tekken 3 has a total of 21 characters and it will surely keep you hooked with it's numerous game modes and you really wanna see the funny endings the player can unlock.

OVERALL: Tekken 3 is the best Tekken game and that is a big feat. Good graphics, great gameplay, big collection of game modes and unique characters form an amazing fighting game experience. Pure greatness.

+ Pros: Gameplay, great fighters and lots of game modes, good graphics, Tekken Ball, amazing sounds

- Cons: True Ogre is weak, no Kazuya

REAL SCORE: 9.5