Real Talk By: KJ

For the most part Tekken Prime 3D Edition is a version of 6.  Not uncommon with handheld ports, some features are lost in the jump. That’s the main criticism of this title right out of the gate. Hybrid and now Prime joins the list of Tekken titles lacking content. More on that later.

The gameplay remains solid with 60 FPS action. The complete cast of characters from Tekken 6 are at your disposal. The character models are very nicely detailed. Some of the stages look great, while others seem rushed. Some levels have characters frozen in the background similar to Sf4 3D Edition. Far as modes go Prime has no Story, no Tekken themed mini game, and No Character endings. Victory clips from previous games rendered in 3D could have sufficed, but it’s not here either.

The Character Models look great on the small screen, and the audio fits (Minus the yodeling level). Quick battle pits the player in random fights against the CPU. After completion your met with ending credits, and that’s really it. Survival is a little more meaty depending on your skill level. As you progress more enemy challenges open. First a 5 man challenge, then 10, 20 and so on. I understand that limitations must be implemented to keep an experience solid on each system, which leads me to the online. Still, more development time with this title could have really been beneficial.

The network battle mode has 1 on 1 fights. Apparently the system doesn’t mesh with tekken. Certain stages cannot be used online, and the game turns the 3D off  to prevent lag and such. Super Street Fighter 4 3D edition didn’t seem to have that problem, but then again gameplay wasn’t flowing constantly at 60 FPS. This was the weirdest thing to happen on the Wifi mode. All online matches shared the same issue. Lag, no lag, then lag. Non stop. Hopefully namco has a patch in store for its fanbase. Playing with your friends will get you the most mileage from multiplayer, and the game in general.

Far as the movie goes. As mentioned in the Hybrid article, Blood Vengeance is mediocre at best. Spoiler: It’s still worth viewing the Mishima family fight that takes place during the last 30 minutes.

We cannot stand when movies are finally made about our favorite video games, then the flick isn’t even centered around its stars. The 3D effect is pretty good throughout the game. The movie’s 3D power, isn’t even on the same level. It’s still cool that a film came in the same cartridge though, the live action Tekken would have been a better choice for PL.

There’s just enough here for Tekken diehards, but it’s not acceptable at this point. Namco’s franchise carries a great reputation for providing its fans with mountains of content in the past (Tekken Force, Bowl, etc). More recent releases are beginning to contradict the statement. Remember, The movie was lacking before, and nothings changed. Not really a welcomed add-on. Enjoy competing with your friends, and looking at the nice character models. The Nintendo 3DS has a hefty amount of fighting games so there’s plenty of other choices. Namco could have tried harder and they know it.

Tekken Prime 3D Edition Gets

Out of five

What’s Legit?

+Character models and gameplay translate well on the system

+Online is present

What’s Perpetrating?

-Online goes from perfect to poo nonstop. Patch please.

-No frills ( Tekken Checkers, Badminton, anything Namco).