Rack your brain for all of the words you can use to describe a great game. I'd say all of them when describing Tekken 3.
In my Tekken 2 review, I talked about how Tekken 2 improved the controls of its predecessor. Well, what was already a fast, fluid and fun game, Tekken 3 managed to improve even more. Pulling off combos is as easy and fun as ever, and the whole game feels like martial arts porn. Hardcore. That's how good it is. I'm not saying Tekken 2 wasn't great. It was fantastic as well, but I contend that Tekken 3 improved on the gameplay even more. Maybe this is a personal preference thing, but play them back to back, you can tell a difference.
The few minor complaints I had about Tekken 2 were in the fact that some moves and characters were too powerful, and the AI was too punishing. One of the reasons I love Tekken 3 is, it fixed both of these problems. The game feels much more balanced. Sure, some characters are easier to play as, but all in all it feels more fair. Also, the AI isn't nearly as punishing. I love that.
I've played the Playstation version of Tekken 3 for upwards of, about 5000 hours in my life so far, so maybe I'm kinda biased. But one area you definitely can't dispute that Tekken 3 improves more than Tekken 2 did, is in the characters. In Tekken 2, 17 of its characters returned from the previous game, and 8 were new. But in Tekken 3, it's a complete reversal of that, as only 8 of its characters were returning from previous games, and 15 were new.
Among these new characters introduced for the first time in Tekken 3, are many of my favorites in the series. Including in many ways the face of the series, Jin Kazama. As well as my personal favorite characters to play as, which are Eddy Gordo, Hwoarang and Bryan Fury. The new characters introduced in Tekken 3 were simply awesome, and that's part of what rendered Tekken 2 obsolete by comparison in my opinion. I admit, however, I was kinda bummed by the loss of Baek Doo San and Bruce Irving. But I suppose life is full of trade-offs.
I played Tekken 3 in the arcade, but the version I played the most was the Playstation version. The Playstation version was superior in every way. Not only were the graphics pretty much identical, but included two additional characters and several additional game modes. Including Tekken Force mode. Tekken Force wasn't the greatest, but it was a nice distraction. It's basically an old-school side-scrolling beat-em-up, with Tekken controls. Not fantastic, but as a minor mode, it's a nice addition. The main reason you play Tekken 3, though, is for the standard 2 on 2 fighting.
As with all the Tekken series, it's hard to say things that haven't already been said. All I can say is, find a way to play this game. Rack your brain for all of the words you can use to describe a great game. I'd say all of them when describing Tekken 3.