(LAST UPDATE: 9/15/09)
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Developer(s): Namco
Publisher(s): Namco
Platform(s): Arcade,
Playstation 2
Release: July 2001 (Arcade), March 28th 2002 (JP PS2), September 13th
2002 (EU PS2), September 23rd 2002 (NA PS2)
Characters:
Kazuya,
Law,
Hwoarang,
King,
Christie,
Steve,
Marduk,
Nina,
Jin,
Xiaoyu,
Bryan,
Lei,
Paul,
Yoshimitsu,
Lee,
Julia,
Combot,
Kuma,
Panda,
Heihachi,
Eddy
(PS2 exclusive)
Related Games:
Tekken,
Tekken
2,
Tekken 3, Tekken
Advance, Tekken Tag Tournament, Tekken
5, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Tekken:
Dark Resurrection, Tekken 5: Dark
Resurrection Online, Tekken 6, Tekken
6: Bloodline Rebellion
Story: Tekken 4 picks up two years after Tekken 3. Heihachi and his scientists have captured samples of Ogre's blood and tissue to splice with Heihachi's genome and make him immortal. The experiment fails, since Heihachi lacks the necessary Devil Gene. Not willing to give up, Heihachi searches for his grandson, Jin Kazama, who does possess the Devil Gene, with Heihachi learning that the body of his son, Kazuya (who also has the Devil Gene and died twenty years ago) is stored in the labs of the Mishima Zaibatsu's main business rival, G Corporation.
Heihachi sends his Tekken Forces to raid G Corporation and retrieve Kazuya's remains, but the mission fails when the Force is wiped out by none other than Kazuya himself, who has been revived by G Corporation and is now stronger than ever before. In a desperate attempt to lure Kazuya and Jin out, Heihachi announces the King of the Iron Fist Tournament 4. The plan works, and at Stage Seven, where Jin and Kazuya are scheduled to fight, Jin is ambushed and captured by the Tekken Forces. Kazuya is declared the default winner of Stage Seven, and he meets Heihachi at the final stage. The father and son clash in battle once again with Heihachi emerging the victor. After the fight, Heihachi leads Kazuya to Hon-Maru (a Mishima Dojo in the woods where Jin is).
There, Devil takes over Kazuya's mind once again, and tells Heihachi that he has come to extract the part of the Devil Gene he lost the night Kazuya was thrown into the volcano. Meanwhile, an unconscious Jin was being stored inside the dojo bounded by chains. As a reward, Devil knocks Heihachi out of the room with his telepathic powers instead of killing him outright, then attempts to steal Jin's Devil Gene. Kazuya overcomes Devil and regains control of his body. Kazuya decides to kill Jin himself and absorb his Devil power. Jin has visions of his father taunting him until he awakens by his voice. In an uncontrollable rage, Jin attacks Kazuya and engages him in combat, emerging the victor.
Heihachi then wakes up and prepares to take
advantage of the exhausted Jin by defeating him in battle, but Jin overpowers
Heihachi and prepares to kill him as the Devil Gene begins to consume his mind.
Jin almost delivers the final blow, but the memory of his mother, Jun, stops
him. Jin hesitates and finally releases Heihachi in honor of his mother, telling
him to: "Thank my Mother--Jun Kazama." Once again, the feathery black
wings sprout from Jin's back, and he flies off, making a huge hole inside Hon-Maru's
roof.
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Review:
Two years after the successful Tekken
Tag Tournament, Namco decided to return to the story of Tekken, and released
the much anticipated King of Iron Fist 4. The classic gameplay
was enhanced with some interesting tweaks to the fan-loved
gameplay engine. New gameplay additions include the position change, side walking,
and more realistic 3D environments now featuring walls, obstacles, and even
multi-tiered floors which was a first for the series. Of course, all characters
move-sets
were updated nicely and a few new faces have joined the roster.
Among
the new characters and fighting styles comes Steve
Fox, an unorthodox and flashy boxer whom adds a much needed touch to the series...
Hey, it's about time "a boxer" made an appearance in Tekken (not counting
kangaroos). 
The other newcomers
include Craig Marduk, an aggressive Vale Tudo fighter takes
the place of Jack as the "powerhouse" and Christie Monteiro whom uses
the same Capoeira style as Eddy
Gordo (with a few new moves). Most Tekken fanatics like myself, would have appreciated a few
more new (or classic) characters for the sequel, although Jin
Kazama could be considered an all new character since he has a completely new
set of moves & animations.
Some players
enjoyed the newly introduced "wall game", and others hated it (because
they couldn't run away anymore... 
Hah)! The wall game definitely needed some work because there were indeed
some devastating wall combos in this game that could be done by seasoned
players. The addition of interactive environments forever changed Tekken's
gameplay, and also required a bit more sidestepping... Alas, the addition of the
"side walk" is a nice addition which makes for smoother (but
slower) sidestepping. Certain stages also featuring slanted and
uneven ground which also had a huge impact on the gameplay, allowing for
much longer combo possibilities when paired with a wall, but also allowed for
hardcore players to pull off infinite combos and some very cheap juggles. 
The home version
of Tekken 4 on the PS2 was a nice package... Along with the staple console modes, it
also included an update to the Tekken
Force mode that was introduced in the home version of Tekken
3, featuring a new over-the-shoulder camera view. Mowing down hordes of bad guys
using your favorite Tekken fighter (and ALL of their moves) is nearly timeless,
and was no doubt a very
entertaining & fun bonus mode in accompaniment to the main arcade game. The graphics also translated
perfectly from arcade to PS2, and the game of course still ran
at a smooth 60 fps with minimal slowdown.
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- Review is for PS2 version of Tekken 4 - |
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8.5 / 10 |
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Closing Comment:
While the series took a nice step forward with the addition of some
new gameplay elements, many fans were still enjoying Tekken Tag Tournament,
and in many cases, enjoying the prequel for it's addicting tag-team gameplay. The gameplay in Tekken 4
an attempt at returning the series to it's roots, and it got the job done at the
end of the day.
On the flipside, Tekken 4 is of course widely considered "broken" in high level play due to the
handful of infinites and glitches. Overlooking the issues only found in high level
play, Tekken 4 was a quality update to the series, and I still enjoyed
playing it casually... Then came the great Tekken 5,
which brought back a handful of classic characters that were sadly missing in
this game. ~F.Yagami,
Webmaster
of TFG