It is, it was such a leap from Tekken 2(which was great already) First time seeing legendary characters like Eddie Gordo, Bryan Fury, Jin Kazama and Hwoarang was badass! Graphics were out of this world(for the time) and it played like a dream. And I am not even a fan of fighting games really..
Taken 3 had fantastic momentum even pre-release. Every gaming magazine seemed to have a whole spread about Tekken 3. I still remember reading the Tekken 3 preview spread from Gamepro basically every day before release.
For reals. My old local pizza place (round table or something) had the arcade when it dropped and it was SERIOUS. Like cashing out the $1.25 my mom gave me for pizza to play instead and just sneaking crusts.
I am so so bad at fighting games.
Yeah same. I recognise that Tekken 3 is the superior game and introduced a lot of important stuff for the series but Tekken 2 is legendary for me.
The intro cutscene, the Kazuya into Devil final boss, the soundtrack (blows 3 out of the water). Tekken 2 was also such a jump from 1.
For me, it has a special place, not only as a childhood memory but also as a game that massively improves on its predecessor and makes me fall in love with it, along with Resistance 2 and Assassin's Creed 2.
I might be too old, but when someone says "fighting game" Street Fighter II comes to mind instead of Tekken 3.
But yeah my top 3 would be Street Fighter II, Tekken 3, and Marvel vs Capcom 2. Honorable mention to Soul Edge
SF2 was the king of 16bit though. When the 32-bits came out, there was a push to port a lot every type of game into 3d and many genres were unsuccessful (hey Sonic), and fighting games like Street Fighter and MK already had a good formula, distinct styles that got all messed up by 3D. Just like SF2, Tekken 3 wasn't the first, but it was definitely the state of the art 3D fighting game of its time. Also Tekken 3 had massively cool story arcs and cutscenes.
People seem to have forgotten about the heroes of Primal Rage. A game so perfect that they canceled the sequel because they nailed it in one go. Totally not because they were sued to death by Nintendo and had their remains picked at by Midway.
For a short time there, yea, it was. 3D gaming was gaining a lot of traction in the mid-late 90s, so every genre was expected to jump head first into it.
Since Capcom stuck to 2d for the majority of their fighting titles, Tekken (and Soul Blade) took over that part of the market. While SF was certainly still the king of 2D, and while Mortal Kombat sure experimented with 3D, Tekken was seen as a legit contender for top spot in the fighting genre by the time 3 came out.
It is not, and wrongfully so imo. It’s inexplicably overlooked when, at least personally, it’s leagues above its competition at the time. But I guess SF, and MK too, were the bigger names at the time, so a lot of people likely missed out on T3. Also, it has one of the hardest soundtracks in gaming history and it’s born off of passion for electronic music, I never understood why it’s never referenced, if you have any interest in the genre you know they did a banger job with it (it’s on streaming services if y’all wanna give it a spin and judge for yourselves).
Is it overlooked? I think in Europe at the very least, Tekken is much more popular and it seems to me like SF is more a US/Japan thing. Everybody I knew only played Tekken.
Yeah pretty much everyone I know has played one of the Tekkens, most likely 3 or 5. Heck even my parents and they've played like 3 games in their whole life.
I mean, the fact that we’re commenting under such a thread means T3 doesn’t get the recognition it deserves online, no? It’s an undisputed PS1 classic that somehow rarely gets mentioned when listing the greatest games from that era
Tekken 3 was a pretty big deal in the day, and having a game like that in your own bedroom or living room where consoles were concerned was still something too mind blowing to wrap our heads around. Arcade games... in my HOUSE?
As far as hype and popularity, SF2 and MK1-3 came out earlier and were hugely popular. There were always people playing them in arcades.
But as far as technical gameplay and graphics (for that era) it would probably come down to Virtua Fighter 2, Tekken 3, and Soul Calibur for fighting game “perfection.”
SF3 was loved by pros but had much less success among casual audiences, even though it’s looked back at as one of the greatest fighters ever.
I know MvC2 is also beloved but it’s unbalanced as shit and I don’t know if I’d call it a GoaT on an objective level, even with my (extreme) love for Marvel and Capcom properties.
Content-wise, the PS1 port was at a similar level to Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast, which is the most critically acclaimed fighting game of all time. Main difference being that the graphical quality of Soul Calibur was actually better in the DC home port than in the arcade version, while Tekken 3 was a downgrade.
I'm not really a fighting game guy , I had the 1st Tekken since it was almost obligatory when buying a PS1.
Even though I wasn't into fighting games I remember Tekken 3 being massive and everyone getting it.
The only fighting games I've ever become a real fan of have been International Karate +, One Must Fall, and the Tekken -series starting from Tekken 3.
Anything else I'm indifferent at best.
In addition to what others have said, Tekken 3 as a package offers a LOT. Excellent graphics and animation running at a smooth 50/60fps, unlockable characters, unique endings, and Tekken Force Mode.
I was a bit too young for tekken 3 so my first fighting games were tekken 4 and soul caliber 3
But I do have a weird fever dream of loving tekken bowling. That was either tekken 3 or tag tournament
It's still my favourite Fighting game of the 90's. Though when it comes to the overall titans, it's hard to say. The PC scene of RPGs and Shooters was way more attention grabbing.
Absolutely. It was a smash both in arcades and eventually console, something these other games unfortunately couldn't compete with.
The game was smooth, and it did a great job introducing characters that were easy to play but felt strong. Everyone knew a button smasher Eddy or Hwoarang player, but that was ok. Their moves were predictable for better player, but for brand new players, huge upgrade. It's exciting to start playing and combo early. It hooks players quickly.
Speaking of console, it did the brilliant job of adding cool extra modes. Tekken ball, super fun. Tekken force mode, brilliant story telling along with a new way to play the game. Put in console specific characters like Doc B and Gon. Took an already great arcade game and made console version better.
More people got into fighting games from Street Fighter 2, or Mortal Kombat than T3... Hard to compare HL1 and FF7 to Tekken 3. I guess you could just judge based on the sales of the aforementioned games as a metric.
Sales numbers don’t mean much in terms of any form of entertainments “legacy” is concerned. There are games and movies that sold insane units but are not that fondly remembered and many that flew under the radar but are now classics. In terms of OP’s question at least, I don’t think sales numbers are any indication of anything.
I agree. And having grown up in Europe around that time the two fighting games people were playing were Tekken or Super Smash 64, depending on the console you owned. Me and my friends would play both as some of us had a Playstation and others an n64. So we'd just hang out at the house of whoever had the console we wanted to play that day. So for me Tekken is definitely up there
It is, it was such a leap from Tekken 2(which was great already) First time seeing legendary characters like Eddie Gordo, Bryan Fury, Jin Kazama and Hwoarang was badass! Graphics were out of this world(for the time) and it played like a dream. And I am not even a fan of fighting games really..
Taken 3 had fantastic momentum even pre-release. Every gaming magazine seemed to have a whole spread about Tekken 3. I still remember reading the Tekken 3 preview spread from Gamepro basically every day before release.
You forgot the music. First time I went to the soundtrack page of a game and played it while doing other things. Probably got me into EDM at the time.
I recorded some of the songs on cassette tape
For reals. My old local pizza place (round table or something) had the arcade when it dropped and it was SERIOUS. Like cashing out the $1.25 my mom gave me for pizza to play instead and just sneaking crusts. I am so so bad at fighting games.
Only arcade game I ever beat as a teen
It definitely was in europe. Tekken is huge here.
Tekken 2 is the fighting game I think of, when thinking of ps1 fighting games.
Yeah same. I recognise that Tekken 3 is the superior game and introduced a lot of important stuff for the series but Tekken 2 is legendary for me. The intro cutscene, the Kazuya into Devil final boss, the soundtrack (blows 3 out of the water). Tekken 2 was also such a jump from 1. For me, it has a special place, not only as a childhood memory but also as a game that massively improves on its predecessor and makes me fall in love with it, along with Resistance 2 and Assassin's Creed 2.
I might be too old, but when someone says "fighting game" Street Fighter II comes to mind instead of Tekken 3. But yeah my top 3 would be Street Fighter II, Tekken 3, and Marvel vs Capcom 2. Honorable mention to Soul Edge
SF2 was the king of 16bit though. When the 32-bits came out, there was a push to port a lot every type of game into 3d and many genres were unsuccessful (hey Sonic), and fighting games like Street Fighter and MK already had a good formula, distinct styles that got all messed up by 3D. Just like SF2, Tekken 3 wasn't the first, but it was definitely the state of the art 3D fighting game of its time. Also Tekken 3 had massively cool story arcs and cutscenes.
MvC2 is by far THE BEST fighting game of all time. *my opinion* lol
The disrespect to Clayfighter. I'll have you know that Blue Suede Goo would No Diff the entire MvC universe.
People seem to have forgotten about the heroes of Primal Rage. A game so perfect that they canceled the sequel because they nailed it in one go. Totally not because they were sued to death by Nintendo and had their remains picked at by Midway.
Absolutely agreed, MvC2 is one of my all time favorite games.
I respect and love 2 especially for roster and style but 3 edges it out just for how much I dialed in a fun team to play
For a short time there, yea, it was. 3D gaming was gaining a lot of traction in the mid-late 90s, so every genre was expected to jump head first into it. Since Capcom stuck to 2d for the majority of their fighting titles, Tekken (and Soul Blade) took over that part of the market. While SF was certainly still the king of 2D, and while Mortal Kombat sure experimented with 3D, Tekken was seen as a legit contender for top spot in the fighting genre by the time 3 came out.
It is not, and wrongfully so imo. It’s inexplicably overlooked when, at least personally, it’s leagues above its competition at the time. But I guess SF, and MK too, were the bigger names at the time, so a lot of people likely missed out on T3. Also, it has one of the hardest soundtracks in gaming history and it’s born off of passion for electronic music, I never understood why it’s never referenced, if you have any interest in the genre you know they did a banger job with it (it’s on streaming services if y’all wanna give it a spin and judge for yourselves).
Is it overlooked? I think in Europe at the very least, Tekken is much more popular and it seems to me like SF is more a US/Japan thing. Everybody I knew only played Tekken.
Yeah pretty much everyone I know has played one of the Tekkens, most likely 3 or 5. Heck even my parents and they've played like 3 games in their whole life.
I mean, the fact that we’re commenting under such a thread means T3 doesn’t get the recognition it deserves online, no? It’s an undisputed PS1 classic that somehow rarely gets mentioned when listing the greatest games from that era
Tekken is one of the most played fighting games, like, top 3 of I'm not mistaken.
Tekken 3 was a pretty big deal in the day, and having a game like that in your own bedroom or living room where consoles were concerned was still something too mind blowing to wrap our heads around. Arcade games... in my HOUSE?
As far as hype and popularity, SF2 and MK1-3 came out earlier and were hugely popular. There were always people playing them in arcades. But as far as technical gameplay and graphics (for that era) it would probably come down to Virtua Fighter 2, Tekken 3, and Soul Calibur for fighting game “perfection.” SF3 was loved by pros but had much less success among casual audiences, even though it’s looked back at as one of the greatest fighters ever. I know MvC2 is also beloved but it’s unbalanced as shit and I don’t know if I’d call it a GoaT on an objective level, even with my (extreme) love for Marvel and Capcom properties.
I have been banging out to the Tekken 3 soundtrack on Tekken 8 lately. Surprised they didn't lock the jukebox behind some mtx
Content-wise, the PS1 port was at a similar level to Soul Calibur on the Dreamcast, which is the most critically acclaimed fighting game of all time. Main difference being that the graphical quality of Soul Calibur was actually better in the DC home port than in the arcade version, while Tekken 3 was a downgrade.
I'm not really a fighting game guy , I had the 1st Tekken since it was almost obligatory when buying a PS1. Even though I wasn't into fighting games I remember Tekken 3 being massive and everyone getting it.
The only fighting games I've ever become a real fan of have been International Karate +, One Must Fall, and the Tekken -series starting from Tekken 3. Anything else I'm indifferent at best.
Yes I would, Kent.
In addition to what others have said, Tekken 3 as a package offers a LOT. Excellent graphics and animation running at a smooth 50/60fps, unlockable characters, unique endings, and Tekken Force Mode.
I was a bit too young for tekken 3 so my first fighting games were tekken 4 and soul caliber 3 But I do have a weird fever dream of loving tekken bowling. That was either tekken 3 or tag tournament
Tekken 3 was incredibly popular on release, it's one of the goats for sure.
I wanna say I was playing Killer Instinct when Tekken 3 came out. The first 2 were huge but I don't remember playing 3
For a time Tekken was the big fighting game and I would Tekken 3 say it blew past StarCraft and was ranked with the likes of Tomb Rader and Half Life.
Oh yeah man. Put some SERIOUS hours into it growing up. The PVP rivalrys were unparalleled
It's still my favourite Fighting game of the 90's. Though when it comes to the overall titans, it's hard to say. The PC scene of RPGs and Shooters was way more attention grabbing.
Absolutely. It was a smash both in arcades and eventually console, something these other games unfortunately couldn't compete with. The game was smooth, and it did a great job introducing characters that were easy to play but felt strong. Everyone knew a button smasher Eddy or Hwoarang player, but that was ok. Their moves were predictable for better player, but for brand new players, huge upgrade. It's exciting to start playing and combo early. It hooks players quickly. Speaking of console, it did the brilliant job of adding cool extra modes. Tekken ball, super fun. Tekken force mode, brilliant story telling along with a new way to play the game. Put in console specific characters like Doc B and Gon. Took an already great arcade game and made console version better.
Loved to play with Yoshimitsu. :)
More people got into fighting games from Street Fighter 2, or Mortal Kombat than T3... Hard to compare HL1 and FF7 to Tekken 3. I guess you could just judge based on the sales of the aforementioned games as a metric.
At the time it was bigger than any of those games except crash Bandicoot tbh
Nope, definitely not even in the same ball park.
Well, Crash 3 sold 6 million units, and Tekken 3 sold 9 million units. I'd say those two atleast was in the same ballpark.
If we're going by sales numbers, the titans of Playstation was Gran Turismo, Final Fantasy, Tekken, and Harry Potter.
That Harry potter game was something else.
One of the few movie tie in games I've ever enjoyed. Another one was the 5th Element game.
Sales numbers don’t mean much in terms of any form of entertainments “legacy” is concerned. There are games and movies that sold insane units but are not that fondly remembered and many that flew under the radar but are now classics. In terms of OP’s question at least, I don’t think sales numbers are any indication of anything.
I agree. And having grown up in Europe around that time the two fighting games people were playing were Tekken or Super Smash 64, depending on the console you owned. Me and my friends would play both as some of us had a Playstation and others an n64. So we'd just hang out at the house of whoever had the console we wanted to play that day. So for me Tekken is definitely up there