History continues to vindicate Tekken 4. It was risky, it was bold, it was big-time mechanically borked.
It didn't matter how unbalanced everything was; everybody looked great. No fighting character before or since has had a fit as rad as King's 2P outfit.
Fights moved out from abstract arcade arenas and into recognizable places, with walls and uneven floors and destructible obstacles. Everything was more tangible; no more giant robots or ancient gods of fighting--the final showdown was us in a cage match, beating the stock options out of an evil megacorp's old-ass CEO.
Can generational trauma be unlearned, like forgetting a cursed family karate style? Is it worth avenging a fallen mentor, if you have to abandon your principals to do it? Is it possible for pepper beef to be too spicy?
Like its aesthetics and soundtrack and gameplay, Tekken 4's story tried stuff, man. And even though most of it didn't stick and was immediately walked back by Tekken 5, it still pushed the entire series into interesting new directions.
It didn't matter how unbalanced everything was; everybody looked great. No fighting character before or since has had a fit as rad as King's 2P outfit.
Fights moved out from abstract arcade arenas and into recognizable places, with walls and uneven floors and destructible obstacles. Everything was more tangible; no more giant robots or ancient gods of fighting--the final showdown was us in a cage match, beating the stock options out of an evil megacorp's old-ass CEO.
Can generational trauma be unlearned, like forgetting a cursed family karate style? Is it worth avenging a fallen mentor, if you have to abandon your principals to do it? Is it possible for pepper beef to be too spicy?
Like its aesthetics and soundtrack and gameplay, Tekken 4's story tried stuff, man. And even though most of it didn't stick and was immediately walked back by Tekken 5, it still pushed the entire series into interesting new directions.