If there's one similarity I can say about the four most popular fighting game series - Street Fighter, King of Fighters, Mortal Kombat, and Tekken, its that their first games are generally pretty rough. Out of the four franchises, Tekken's easily the most smooth and solid out of the four, and while it is still rough in several aspects, it is still a decent game.


Released in late 1994 to capitalize on the popularity of Sega's own 3D fighting game, Virtua Fighter, Tekken was the product of a collaboration between Namco, the developers, and Sony, who wanted a hit fighting game for their upcoming Playstation console, just like what Virtua did for Sega's own console, the Sega Saturn. Thus, with Tekken's arcade system (the Namco System 11) being very similar to a Playstation console, Tekken would receive a port in early 1995 in Japan (and in late 1995 in the rest of the world, after Tekken 2 released for arcades), a relatively quick port with expanded features (though, unfortunately, not to the same extent as most Tekken games do).


Gameplay


Unlike most Tekken games nowadays, it should be said off the bat that Tekken 1 plays much more like a 2D fighter than its future counterparts - there's no sidestepping, jumps are generally higher and theres very few moves that utilzie the Z-Axis in any meaningful way (like Heihachi's unique backwards run). For players who want to transition from 2D fighters like Street Fighter into Tekken, Tekken 1 (and, preferably, 2) may be an easy starting point.

Like most other Tekken games, Tekken 1 is a 4 button fighter, with each button corresponding to a unique limb (left punch, right punch, left kick and right kick). By combining different directional inputs and buttons, players can perform a wide variety of moves, ranging from simple moves like jabs and sweeps, to strong, character-specific moves like Paul (and Heihachi's) infamous Death Fist. Characters could not only perform attacks whilst standing, fully crouched, or jumping, but could also now perform attacks while moving from a crouching position to a standing position (referred to as ws - while standing), and some characters even had moves from a standing position to a crouching position (referred to as wc - while crouching).

Each character had a backdash, and a forward run that could be performed from a long range distance to quickly close in the gap on a turtling, repeatedly backdashing opponent, and each character had at least two throws (either input as LP+LK or RP+RK) that could be used to open up blocking opponents (with some characters, like King and Nina, having mupltiple grabs on hand). Throws in this game were very strong, as this was the only game where all throws were unbreakable, including basic throws, command grabs and Nina/Anna's multi-throw strings (though to compensate for this, there were no back-grabs in the game; trying to grab someone on their back would do nothing to them). Pressure in this game was very strong, as, compared to many other fighting games like Street Fighter, many attacks in this game could only be blocked either standing or crouching, and the damage dealt with attacks, especially in juggle combos and counterhit combos was very high. All of this lead to fast-paced, frantic rounds, with rounds sometimes ending in little more than a few hits, yet still very dynamic.

Unique to Tekken 1 was the ability to, in 1P mode, change the view of the camera for the first few seconds of a match. A relatively funny feature that really mostly just existed to show off, it was disabled in 2P mode, and gone by Tekken 2. I do wish it'd come back in some form or another, even if the use was mostly gimmicky.


Roster


The total roster itself is made up of 17 characters - 8 starter characters that you start the game off with, 8 sub-boss characters, and the final boss himself, Heihachi Mishima. In the arcade version, only the 8 starter characters are available to be selected, whereas in the console version, the 8 sub-bosses and Heihachi are all available to be unlocked. Each of the 8 starter characters have their own distinct movesets, with many different attacks that would be unique to them, whereas the 9 boss characters all have a moveset similar to all of the starter characters, sometimes getting unique moves, other times mixing moves from other characters as well.


Starting with the default roster:


Kazuya Mishima: The sole game he appears as a protagonist in, Kazuya enters the tournament to take revenge on his father, Heihachi, for throwing him off a cliff. Whilst he does bear some similarities to Ryu, he manages to be unique enough to not be called a "Shotoclone". Kazuya functions as an all-rounder, with strong powerful moves such as his Rising Uppercut contrasted with lightning fast moves, such as his (not-yet-electric) Wind God Fist, a fast launcher that can combo into itself for high damage.

Paul Phoenix: Simple and to the point, Paul brings with him the Death Fist, a long-range, lightning fast, high-damaging punch, dealing over 40%. He doesn't have too much else in store, but what else do you really need.

Marshall Law: A Bruce-Lee esque fighter who (naturally) specializes in kicks. Street Fighter players who played Guile may recognize Law's own flash kick. Arguably the least interesting of the 8 starter characters, I think.

Nina Williams: One of three default grappler-type characters the game starts you off with, and the only one of the three who had a multi-chain grapple (in this case, her Backhand Slap chain graple). In contrast to King and Jack, her grappling style was more submission based, with her sporting several arm-wrangler grabs.

Jack-1: The sole game Jack appears in, the robotic Jack-1 is the second of three grapplers. Arguably more similar to someone like Zangief from Street Fighter, Jack-1's normals are genereally slow (in fact, he's the only character out of the 8 that has a very slow left punch), to compensate for his good, easy to input grabs (with his Tombstone Piledriver dealing 50% to an opponent's health). Highlights include his LP+LK throw, a throw where Jack faceplants onto his opponent, and his Megaton Punch, an attack where the announcer counts up to indicate how many levels of fucked you are if this move hits.

King: The last of the three grapplers, King uses a variety of pro wrestling moves. He's intended to be a mixture between Nina (good normals) and Jack (strong grapples)...but he ends up with the best of both worlds, having the best throw in the game (Jack's 50% Tombstone Piledriver) and some of the best, buggiest normals in the game (such as his infamous down+LP overhead punch that comes out quickly and staggers the opponent on block for a long while. Disappointingly, he doesn't have any of his trademark chain combos yet, if you're coming in from other games.

Yoshimitsu: The most bizaare of all the fighters, Yoshimitsu, a robin-hood space ninja, is the only character in the game who wields and uses a weapon, in this case, a sword. His sword can be used as an unblockable attack, either with a fast, low-damaging unblockable overhead swing, or a slow, high-damaging unblockable stab (similar to other characters in the game like Nina who have unblockable attacks). It can't be understated how different his attacks in general are to the rest of the cast, ranging from weapon usage to being able to spin on his opponent.

Michelle Chang: The last of the 8 characters, the Native American, Michelle Chang, is another all rounder like Kazuya. She brings several wrestling moves, with the most notable being a punch that she uses to spin behind the opponent before dropping them with a German Suplex, as well as a few unique, fancy strings (the most annoying being one a gut punch, which would be followed up on by a launcher uppercut that often changed the camera angle for no reason)


Each character also had a rival that would be fought in 1P mode, just before you fight the final boss himself, Heihachi. In order, these were:


Lee Chaolan: The rival to Kazuya, Lee Chaolan was trained by Heihachi in order to beat down Kazuya. His moveset is largely a more expanded version of Law's moveset, with little in the way of Mishima moves. The most notable features of him is he gets a series of kicks he can loop forever and ever, similar to Chun's Lightning Legs.

Kuma: Heihachi Mishima's pet bear, he is the rival of Paul Phoenix. He uses some of Jack's moves, though he loses all but Jack's LP+LK fall over grab (though in exchange he gets the Mishima headbutt, and Michelle's LP+LP+LP launcher). He does, in fact, get the bear hug.

Wang Jinrei: The stereotypical old karate master, and close friend of Heihachi's father (Jinpachi Mishima, the boss of Tekken 5), Wang is the rival of Law. He uses Michelle's moves, adding a few original moves of his own (most nostably, his RP+RK throw, that staggered opponents and set them up perfectly for his own Death Fist for about 75% damage).

Anna Williams: Sister of Nina Williams, she is the rival of her and uses her moves (finally, a rival that uses their rival's moves, what a concept). Her main additions were a few original attacks, such as a slashing attack that knocked her opponent down, alonside Law's own somersaults.

Prototype Jack: The prototype version of Jack, he uses nearly all of Jack's moves (sans grabs) and is Jack's rival. The biggest difference, outside of having Paul's own Hammer Smash -> Deathfist combo (despite not having a standing Deathfist), is the appearance - Prototype Jack is basically Jack stiched with objects; in his default costume, he replaces both of his hands with a claw and a drill (yes, really, though he doesn't get to drill his opponents or anything), and in his alternate costume, his drill is replaced with a mace.

Armor King: The arch-rival of King (both in the ring and out of the ring), Armor King uses all of King's moves. Outside of a few minor changes (such as being able to turn his RP+RK grab from a suplex to a piledriver), his main addition is the addition of Kazuya's own crouch dash, including the Rising Uppercut and the (not electric) Wind God Fist.

Kunimitsu: A former member of Yoshimitsu's clan, kicked out from stealing funds for herself, she uses Yoshimitsu's moves, and is Michelle's rival (why?). She has all of Yoshimitsu's moves, but no swords (she has daggers, but nothing special about them), and no extra moves she takes from other characters. The most notable thing about her is that in Tekken 1, she uses a male voice, with many players believing she was a guy.

Ganryu: A sumo wrestler, he is Yoshimitsu's rival (he doesn't develop an infatuation for Michelle yet), and uses Jack's moves. Arguably the most unique of the bosses, having many sumo-related moves, such as a series of sumo slaps, and a sumo stomp on his opponent for huge damage.


After each character's sub-boss has been fought, the final character to be faced is Heihachi Mishima. The strongest boss in the game, he has all of Kazuya's moves, while also having Paul's own Deathfist (and the Hammer Smash -> Deathfist combo), and a few other unique moves (such as a move where he...uh...runs to the side...). Unlocking him requires you to do a run of arcade mode without any continues. Unique to him as well is his own arcade mode route: instead of facing all the default characters, he faces all the sub boss characters instead, with his final boss being Kazuya in a unique, PS1-exclusive third costume, which makes him resemble his Devil form that appears from Tekken 2 onwards.


Stages


Like all Tekken games pre-Tekken 4, Tekken 1 doesn't have any stage differences, each stage is an endless stage (similar to the Infinite Azure and Arctic Snowfall stages from Tekken 7, the most recent Tekken game as of this time of writing) with zero walls, breakable floors or anything separating them. All that separates them are the background and the music. The stages are generally hit-or-miss, but notable stages include King George Island, a stage set on an island of ice that tilts back and forth, Monument Valley, a desert stage where the sun sets down from sunset to night-time, and, my personal favourite, Marine Stadium, a vibrant baseball stadium surrounded by fictitious advertisements and a small screen that shows a live replay of your match. The stages aren't unique to each character, which has its positives (you're not locked to a specific stage, which is a problem in old Street Fighter games because in character v character battles or playing ST in Fightcade, you often see the same stages played over and over) and negatives (the climatic final battle against Heihachi or Devil Kazuya could be fought with incredibly unfitting party music).


Console Exclusives


Unlike most Tekken games, there's not really much in the way of console-exclusives here. The only console exclusives are:

-All characters are playable, with the 9 boss characters unlockable in the console version.

-All boss characters gain an actual 2P costume. In the arcade version, they did not exist yet (largely because you couldn't play as them so it'd be never seen, largely to cut costs).

-Most of the music in the game, including the stages and character select themes, get an "arranged" version, composed differently than the arcade version. An option to switch between arrange and arcade version is present (as well as an option to turn the music off).

-A 2P mode where both players can change characters after every match (as opposed to the arcade game, and 1P mode, where only the losing player can change their character).

-New FMVs - a new, extended FMV showcasing all the characters is in the intro, along with FMVs added for all of the 8 starter character's endings, after beating them in arcade mode. Why they chose to do FMVs with how those characters looked (even for 1994/1995) I will never know.

-A loading minigame based off Namco's Galaga arcade game, that when beaten, unlocks Kazuya's unique 3rd costume - Devil Kazuya. Unlike in later games, Devil Kazuya does not have any special abilities that Regular Kazuya doesn't have, no laser beams, no flying, no nothing.

The most useful mode this game lacked would be training mode - no training mode for players to learn how to play their characters, and no in-game movelist (which would be useful, especially for learning Nina/Anna's chaingrabs).


Overall


I think Tekken 1 is a fine game. There's no real reason to play it today in 2021 outside for a few minor curiousity looks (for example, Male Kunimitsu), but that's really only because Tekken 2 exists - it has all the characters from Tekken 1, with improved gameplay and more features.

It's a really good sequel (and one of the best PS1 fighting games out there in my opinion) but it does have the effect that there's really no reason to go back to Tekken 1. Whilst in non-Japanese areas the console port of Tekken 1 released after Tekken 2's arcade release, even then there was still good reason to own a free (well, outside the cost of buying a PS1 and Tekken 1), better port of the original Tekken game, especially if you didn't have easy access to an arcade cabinet that had Tekken 2.