3DS

Published on February 28th, 2012 | by Davis Fan

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[Game Review] Tekken 3D: Prime Edition (3DS)

When gamers think of Nintendo’s portable systems, they hardly think of them as hardcore gaming devices anymore. They’re even less likely to associate it with fighting games, which are probably the epitome of hardcore gaming with its focus on both dexterity and strategy. Even with Capcom’s Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition, which recreated the console’s gameplay almost perfectly, players still had to deal with the system’s inadequate d-pad. Namco Bandai takes its own shot with Tekken 3D Prime Edition and succeeds just as beautifully as Capcom in offering on-the-go fighters a genuine fighting game experience, if not better.

Tekken, unlike the blister creating, circular motion-centric monster that Street Fighter is, feels right at home with the 3DS and its D-pad. Though the bottom touch screen offers shortcuts for commands, players are unlikely to ever need these with the exception of some more difficult maneuvers like the Mishima’s EWGF. In fact, I even found myself pulling off the same combos I would usually do using an arcade stick. If any fighter could have retained its glory despite a lackluster D-pad, it would be Tekken and Prime Edition proves it.

The most important aspect of any fighting game, the multiplayer and competitive component, is adequately presented. If players are lucky, they’ll find some good matches within their area and experience relatively lag free matches. However, the lobbies give little notification in regards to the connection quality, often throwing players off guard and into unplayable matches.

Visually, the game demands attention with its consistently smooth frame rate even with the 3D slider on its max setting. However, players will notice obvious differences between this and the console version of Tekken 6; not only are textures more bland, but background animations are nowhere to be found. This is a trivial matter, however, when considering the pace and intensity at which the game moves. The game’s lack of character customization is disappointing for when players take their battles online, which is a definite downgrade from Tekken 6.

Sadly, the other main draw of Tekken, its story mode, is nowhere to be found. Instead, players are only presented with a special survival mode that challenges players to increasingly difficult opponents and long string of battles, keeping most novices at around ten survival mode levels at best. Without any challenge mode or things of the sort, it makes the game’s single player experience somewhat lacking. Despite the lack of a story mode, Prime Edition includes the full length Tekken: Blood Vengeance movie in stereoscopic 3D. It’s certainly delightful to view, however, the 3DS’s low resolution and restriction to one audio track means that gamers will ultimately be relegated to an inferior version of the movie.

Not without its own setbacks, Tekken 3D: Prime Edition is still one of the best fighters available for Nintendo’s portable. Hardcore fighting gamers who have been suffering a drought since Aksys Games’s release of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift II for the 3DS will be satisfied with this gameplay perfect port of Tekken 6. However, the lonely fighters out there may want to skip out on this one because there won’t be much for them to do here.

Available on: 3DS; Publisher: Namco Bandai Games; Developer: Tekken Project/Namco Bandai Games; Players: 1 – 2; Released: February 14, 2012; ESRB: Teen; MSRP: $39.99; Official Site

Note: A retail copy was provided to Denkiphile for review purposes by the publisher.