Tekken 5

Tekken 5 is another worthy successor in the series. It adds the most glorious soundtracks in the series to date, new characters and character customization.

The family drama continues in this game. The G Corporation attacks Heihachi in his building by deploying multiple Jack-4 robots and he, and Kazuya fight them off. One of the Jack’s explodes in front of Heihachi. Kazuya leaves him for dead and the only witness of the event is Raven, a ninja dude that confirms to his superiors that Heihachi is dead (or so everyone thinks). Everyone hears the news and assume the end of the Mishima Zaibatsu family. However, business has resumed again shortly after by someone unknown.

Not that much later, the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5 is announced. Finally, the sponsor and owner of the Mishima Zaibatsu is revealed to be Jinpachi Mishima, the father of Heihachi. He should be resting in peace, but is instead revived and possessed by a vengeful spirit, granting him unspeakable power and rage. In the Tournament, he faces off against Jin, who ultimately defeats him. Grateful for his eternal rest, Jinpachi dissolves into dust and ash. Afterwards, Jin becomes the new head of the Mishima Zaibatsu.

Tekken 5 includes the story mode/arcade mode, Survival mode, Time Attack mode, and a new mode called Devil Within. This is a mini game in which you blast your way through stages and enemies, playing solely as Jin and his alter ego Devil Jin. It is the fourth installment of the “Tekken Force” mini game series.
Each game mode now rewards you with gold when you complete fights. This gold can be used for the new customization feature in which you can buy cosmetic items for your characters.

The roster has, once again, been updated, 32 characters are now playable, with the inclusion of six new ones. Like the previous games, all these new characters are so characteristic that they were included in all the installments that followed.

The new customization aspect of this game is great. You can now put a party hat on Jin’s grumpy face, something that never gets old. Add some wings to Paul Phoenix, put a flower in Yoshimitsu’s helmet and you are all set. The customization is pure cosmetic, keeping the game balanced as it should be, without paid advantages.

Tekken 5 looks great. It is comparable with Tekken 4, but just slightly more polished. Animations and movement is even more fluent, mainly because the uneven terrain and obstacles have been removed from the previous game, allowing for faster and smoother gameplay.

What sets Tekken 5 apart from the rest of the series is the soundtrack. It sounds so epic and beautiful and it came out of the blue. Special credit must be given to the Moonlight Wilderness track, which is just perfection. If one track got me hyped up for the fight, it was this one. Ten points for the audio department.

I have to say that Tekken 5, along with Tekken 6, have the worst boss fights in the series. In Tekken 5, Jinpachi is an ultimate middle finger to every player. He has a freaking mouth in his belly that shoots fireballs that cannot be dodged and almost one hit K.O. you, and his punches hit harder than a freight train. It is one of the most unfair boss stages in the series and this sucked some of the fun out of this installment, at least for me.

The game was followed by Tekken: Dark Resurrection, a PSP game that includes my favorite character in the series: Sergei Dragunov. It is a shame that he was not present on the PS2 release of Tekken 5, but that does not matter that much anymore because of his availability in the later installments of the series.

In the end, Tekken 5 remains, alongside with Tekken Tag Tournament 2, my favorite entry in the series and will always have a special place in my black heart.

Definitely recommend this gem.