Worth Waiting For [Tekken 6 Impressions]

Tekken 6 was released in JPN game centers in November 2007. Its update, Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, dropped in JPN game centers in December 2008. And after an unecessarily complicated delivery process, it is now in Jcasa ensuring the PS3 gets as little downtime as possible. So, really, this has been 23 months coming. Worth it?

Oh, fuck yeah it is.

This edition is 40 characters strong, with six new challengers: Bob, Zafina, Miguel, and Leo added in T6, and Lars and Alisa added in T6:BR. That's pretty damn impressive. BlazBlue brings only 12 fighters to the table, Street Fighter IV only boasts 25, and probably around 33 for the SuperSFIV update. KoFXII and MKvDCU both sport rosters of 22, the upcoming Tatsunoko Vs. Capcom console edition rocks 26, while Smash Brawl's impressive 35 characters was the biggest selection around until Tekken 6 (with the exception of MvC2). Namco's other offering, Soul Caliber, is pretty damn close, but that lineup's exact number is somewhat nebulous given all of the minor, modified clones.

Looks like there may only be 17 stages, which Lego finds a little disappointing, but I feel the interactivity of the environments goes a long way to liven things up. Oh, and the first person to get smashed through a floor was Rah Digga, so beer's on her.

Bob and Alisa are the real standouts of the new recruits, though Zafina is intriguing. On a more personal note, Dragunov gets a really robust makeover, with some handy new tricks and an overall faster and safer arsenal. A little bit of speed goes a long way with Drag, as being able to pressure a character makes all of his feints and grab setups more difficult to avoid.

Graphically, I expected a bit more over what T5:DR exhibited, but I think some news specs and a 1080p display may fix that.

Haven't gotten in any of the Scenario Campaign yet, and I've played but one match online. Stay tuned for more impressions or a Killa review a little down the road, or hit me up and come check it out for yourself.