Tekken 3D Prime Edition

(Namco Bandai for Nintendo 3DS)
By Mike Delano

Sure, the story that ties together all of the games in the Tekken series is bat shit crazy, but that’s why it’s great. Lots of fighting games have gonzo narratives, but Tekken takes the cake with its appealingly ridiculous web of intrigue that makes sense of pandas battling ogres, countless family double-crosses, and a perpetually-ballooning roster that includes dinosaurs and robo-girls. So it’s sad to see Tekken 3D Prime Edition not only fail to add to that illustrious lore, but strip it out of the game completely. With no story modes to complete, players are left to sharpen their skills in bland survival modes or challenge other players to local or online battles. Story isn’t gone completely from this package; it’s just relegated to the full-length CG movie Tekken: Blood Vengeance, included on the card. The movie is assured, breezy fun, but with console-perfect fighting games starting to appear on the PlayStation Vita portable and Dead or Alive: Dimensions raising the expectations for the ones on the 3DS, Tekken picked a bad time to skimp on the half of this collection that you actually play.
(www.namcobandaigames.com)