Game Boy Advance: Tekken Advance
December 1, 2008 - 11:59 am - Posted by Sean
The Tekken series once ruled the realm of fighting games, but lately it has fallen on hard times. I wasn’t expecting much from Tekken Advance, but this game earned my respect. It’s a quality fighter that retains the classic Tekken style despite its 2D graphics.
Actually, it’s very similar to Mortal Kombat for the Game Boy Advanced, but its gameplay is less complicated. The ten familiar characters are large and slightly pixilated, but they move well and can execute most of their classic attacks. The matches tend to be short in duration, thanks to devastating combos that will eat up huge chunks of your life meter.
Successful attacks are depicted by red “sparks”, and blocks are rendered in blue. Tapping the directional button down lets you sidestep, and the R button is used to throw. When a throw is executed, you see a pixilated “close-up” of the move, but it’s not the least bit impressive.
Tekken Advance is big on “juggling” attacks (getting in extra hits before your opponent can hit the ground), but personally I think they’re pretty cheesy.
Button mashing will get you through the first few rounds, but once the CPU starts to get serious, you’d better know what you’re doing. A command list is available in the pause menu, and the game tracks statistics on wins, character usage, etc.
The background scenery varies from generic factories to gorgeous snow scenes, and better-than-average techno music helps keep the intensity high.
Tekken Advance for the Nintendo Game Boy Advance is a respectable fighter that’s easy to play but hard to master.