Tekken (video game) in the context of "Kazuya Mishima"

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⭐ Core Definition: Tekken (video game)

Tekken (鉄拳) is a 1994 fighting game developed and published by Namco. It was originally released on arcades, then ported to the PlayStation home console in 1995. One of the earliest 3D polygon-based games of the genre, Tekken was Namco's answer to Virtua Fighter and was designed by Seiichi Ishii, who himself was also Virtua Fighter's designer when he worked at Sega previously. The game was developed on the purpose-built low-cost System 11 board, based on PlayStation hardware.

Tekken was innovative in that it featured multiple game modes for a fighting game, which was not limited to the fighting game genre but also displayed Galaga on the loading screen. Plotwise, the game revolves around a tournament set up by Heihachi Mishima, who attempts to prove his power to his revenge-seeking son and protagonist, Kazuya. Tekken initially divided opinion regarding its presentation, character designs and unusual control system, which consisted of one button per limb. However, following its home console port originally released in March 1995 — only the third 3D console fighter following Virtua Fighter and Battle Arena Toshinden — it quickly rose in popularity and eventually became a PlayStation best seller based on copies sold, even quickly surpassing its two fighting game rivals. It started the Tekken series, with a sequel, Tekken 2, coming later in 1995.

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In this Dossier

Tekken (video game) in the context of Fighting game

The fighting game genre involves combat between characters, often (but not necessarily limited to) one-on-one battles. The mechanics of combat in fighting games often features blocking, grappling, counter-attacking, and the ability to chain attacks together into "combos". Characters generally engage in hand-to-hand combat, often incorporating martial arts, but some may include weaponry. Battles are usually set in a fixed-size arena along a two-dimensional plane, where characters navigate horizontally by walking or dashing, and vertically by jumping. Some games allow limited movement in 3D space, such as Tekken and Soul Edge while some are set in fully three-dimensional environments without restricting characters' movement, such as Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi, Jump Force, Kill la Kill: If, My Hero: One's Justice, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm, One Piece: Burning Blood and Power Stone; these are sometimes referred to as "3D arena" fighting games.

The fighting game genre is distinctly related to the beat 'em up genre, which pits many computer-controlled enemies against one or more player characters. The first video game to feature fist fighting is Heavyweight Champ (1976), but Karate Champ (1984) actually features the one-on-one fighting game genre instead of a sports game in arcades. Yie Ar Kung-Fu was released later that year with various fighting styles and introduced health meters, and The Way of the Exploding Fist (1985) further popularized the genre on home systems. In 1987, Capcom's Street Fighter introduced special attacks, and in 1991, its highly successful sequel Street Fighter II refined and popularized many genre conventions, including combos. Fighting games subsequently became the preeminent genre for video gaming in the early to mid-1990s, particularly in arcades. This period spawned dozens of other popular fighting games, including franchises like Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, Super Smash Bros., and Tekken.

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Tekken (video game) in the context of Soul Edge

Soul Edge is a 1996 fighting game developed and published by Namco for arcades. It is the first installment in the Soulcalibur series. Introduced at the JAMMA trade show in November 1995, the full arcade game was released on February 20, 1996 (Soul Edge) and May 16, 1996 (Soul Edge Ver. II) on System 11 hardware, the same board used by Tekken and Tekken 2. Later in December, an upgraded and expanded version of the game was ported to the PlayStation; this version was renamed Soul Blade outside Japan and released in 1997.

Soul Edge is a 3D fighting game and was the second such game to be based on weapons, following Battle Arena Toshinden (itself preceded by the 2D Samurai Shodown series). The plot centers upon the eponymous sword, rumored to offer unlimited power to anyone who can find and wield it, leading to nine warriors attempting to pursue the tenth who is rumored to have the sword. The game was a commercial and critical success, with praise given to graphics, gameplay and characters. It was followed up with Soulcalibur in July 1998.

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