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Historically, Sony systems have always had a Tekken game. The original Tekken debuted with the PlayStation; the PS2 hosted Tekken Tag Tournament just after launch. In comparison, the PSP's Tekken: Dark Resurrection has taken its own sweet time.

Whether or not it breaks some kind of streak, this game was worth the wait. Based on the arcade update for Tekken 5 (with two new characters, as well as smaller additions), it's an amazingly faithful version of an excellent 3D fighter. Nobody would expect a perfect conversion on a handheld, but very few expected a game that looked this good.

Coming Home

For starters, there's the amount of detail preserved in the characters and backgrounds. Between the textures and the careful 3D modeling, down to fine features like the fur on P3 Jin's sleeves, they look about as good as anyone could have managed. Namco even managed to keep a surprising amount of extra physics in the game -- Asuka's headband still flutters around behind her, and the hood on Jin's jacket falls back when he runs forward.

The framerate never skips during gameplay. It's slower, but still constant, during win poses, and those feature the same smooth animation and dramatic camera direction as the arcade and PS2 games. It still hurts to watch Bryan Fury cutting loose with the mount punches (although that pose owes as much to the soundtrack, converted with fine fidelity as well). Namco's programmers also managed to keep load times fairly reasonable. They're noticeable, and the brief load after every continue may nag in the story mode, but nowhere does the game make you wait too long to fight.

Going Solo

You may wait a while to master the game, if you ever do. More likely, gamers with only a casual level of skill are going to hit the wall at some point. Dark Resurrection (like any other Tekken game) emphasizes mastering very exact chained attack timings, and it's even harder to nail those on the PSP than with a console control pad. Just try keeping hold of both sides of the unit while tapping out a 10-hit string with one thumb, and never mind the havoc a sticky square button might wreak.

This can make single-player fights a little frustrating, because the computer AI has no such disadvantage. It's bad luck within good that this game has the best set of CPU opponents in any Tekken yet. Exclusive to the PSP game is the Tekken Dojo mode, which might seem hauntingly familiar to players of Virtua Fighter 4 Evolution. Like the quest mode featured in Sega's game, it's a collection of locations where you can meet different opponents and fight them to rise up through the ranks.

Despite the frustration brought about by swift kickings from the tougher AI fighters, Tekken Dojo is a long-overdue addition to a series that's always needed deeper, more challenging single-player content. (Tekken bowling is fun, but it's not quite enough.) Available competitions include both elimination and round-robin tournaments, plus special challenges that pop up every so often, and the selection of competitors is impressively varied, even before you download the extra ghost characters that Namco's released online.  As in VF4, the AI doesn't just feature a steady ramping-up towards inhuman reactions and speed. Different ghosts have different sets of recognizable tendencies.

Celebrate Diversity

Serious fighting fans will scoff at the notion of fighting against the computer. After all, there's no ego boost in making fun of beaten AI. For them, Namco's put some extra effort into the multiplayer game as well. While there's no online competition available, the ad hoc wireless mode requires only one copy of the game, and it caches character data over the course of a long session to gradually cut down on load times.

Meanwhile, the diversity of the character lineup compensates for the fact that some players will get only so good and no better. You can argue the fine points of Tekken versus VF4 and the rest for ages, but the variety and individuality of Namco's character designs easily trump any other 3D fighter, which helps make it more fun to play on a casual level. There's a broad selection of styles among the "serious" characters, plus Kuma and the boxing kangaroo if you feel like goofing off.

Odds and Ends

Dark Resurrection's new character accessories have lots of goofery on offer as well. Lili, one of the two new fighters, can have Katamari Damacy's prince perched on her head if you like how that happens to look. Old characters also get more bits and bobs and hidden costumes to buy and unlock.

The total package is almost frighteningly dense. Handheld games aren't supposed to have this much to them, especially handheld fighters. For whatever reason, the genre never quite took root on portable platforms -- until now, the best and deepest offerings in this category were probably for SNK's dead Neo Geo Pocket.

Not so anymore, though. Besides some of the best graphics and sound on the PSP, this Tekken has enough breadth and depth to match its console cousins. If we're lucky, Dark Resurrection sets a standard that every other maker of fighting games will try to equal.

Article by: D. F. Smith
Video produced by: Jonathan Solin