Every Tekken Game Ranked

The Nintendo 3DS seemed like a strong contender for fighting games thanks to the efforts of “Dead Or Alive: Dimensions” and “Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition”. Unfortunately, “Tekken 3D: Prime Edition” could not match that level of quality. While it did an excellent job at maintaining a level of technical competence, “Tekken 3D” forgot to be more than a tech demo and launched with very, very little content. On top of that, the online stability was abysmal, and there simply wasn’t enough to do solo. Seems like all we paid for was a tech demo and a movie.

Of the mainline “Tekken” games, just about everyone in the “Tekken” community can agree that the fourth game was rough. Like, REALLY rough. We could forgive the visuals in general. After all, everyone was still finding their footing in the more refined 3D gaming space at the time and wanting to go all out with the technical improvements. So, we can’t fault “Tekken 4” for aging poorly on visuals and hair physics. No, the biggest problem was the level design; various inclines, stairs, and structures made it frustrating as it could fundamentally alter certain hits. Get an inch up, and suddenly, lows are mids. At least the Tekken Force mode was kinda cool.

Now, there isn’t much reason to disrespect the original “Tekken”. Comprised of former “Virtua Fighter” developers, “Tekken” was revolutionary and arguably put SEGA’s fighter to shame with its character design and texture work. So, why is it getting slapped so close to the bottom? Well…time has not been kind. First off, all of the characters look like a bunch of Looney Tunes ready to wallop each other with those outrageously gigantic fists. And of course, the controls simply aren’t as responsive as future titles. It’s great to revisit every now and again, but it’s not one we’ll put above anything else…except for “3D” and “4”.

A “Tekken” game on the Game Boy Advance sounds like an absolutely dreadful idea considering the hardware wasn’t much different than an SNES. The 3D spaces emulated on this handheld were not true 3D. So, how could a “Tekken” game possibly work? Surprisingly, rather well! Controls were simplified perfectly, stun variations were introduced before becoming a staple in future games, and the visuals turned out better than most screenshots would lead you to believe. For what little Namco had to work with, they delivered something that was remarkably impressive.

A few years after “Advance”, PSP owners were given their own version of “Tekken 5” that many would argue was more superior to the original. We could certainly see why someone would make that statement. This was a version that was better balanced, threw in handfuls of new moves for the fighters, and offered more character customization. So, why is it only at number eight? To put it simply, there wasn’t as much content as the PS2 original. If you had the previous version, there just wasn’t much reason to buy in on this slightly expanded iteration unless you really wanted to check out Lili or Dragunov. “Dark Resurrection” is a great game, but better than the original? Mm, not sure about that.

“Tekken 2” was kind of where the franchise found its identity. Gone were the goofy punches and character models, but in their place came some of “Tekken’s” outrageous attitude. Remember seeing Kazuya turn into Devil for the first time? It was freakin’ insane! And then, some of the characters you unlocked consisted of slightly altered versions of the initial roster, brand new characters with their own unique moves, a boxing kangaroo and velociraptor, a freakin’ bear… It felt like Namco just went crazy with the ideas and threw together a wild party! Sure, the movesets are simpler compared to later titles, but there’s a reason why “Tekken 2” was one of the first PS1 games to pop up on PS4 and PS5.

Tag-fighting games are some of the craziest in the FGC, and the first “Tekken Tag Tournament” is one that is still talked about today. Rather than letting the new tag system dictate how the rest of the game functioned, Namco implemented the tag system as more of an additive. It was still fast and fluid “Tekken”, but now you had two characters to switch in and out. You could use one for a majority until they got low on health and switch out OR you could try to find openings between combos to tag characters in and out and potentially extend said combo. You could get freakin’ crazy with it, and “Tag Tournament” actively encouraged you to find more between every combination of characters.

“Tekken 6” is a hell of a game, man. Despite our grievances with Azazel and that dumb robot Nancy, “Tekken 6” was a real achievement in visuals and innovative features for the franchise. In addition to more realistic character models, tighter controls, and expanded movesets, the sixth core game came with new ideas such as the Rage system, bound states, and of course, a handful of new characters with new moves. As for single-player content, the Scenario Campaign was such an awesome way to take our favorite characters through the world in a beat ‘em up style. Our only complaints with “Tekken 6” were the final bosses and the absurdly long load times. The best way to play this game is on Xbox Series XS where load times are almost non-existent.

The absolute nasty and explosive action of “Tag Tournament” returns, and it is even wilder than its predecessor! Not much had changed between the first game and here, but that’s okay because what “Tag Tournament 2” did come with was a massive roster of fighters to choose from. From characters that originated in the first game to boss characters, it felt like almost every single “Tekken” fighter was here and ready to throw down. On top of that, there was a ton of love poured into the character animation. Just watch a compilation of victory and defeat screens, and you’ll see what we mean. It was more “Tag Tournament” with more love and care, more disgusting combos to discover and abuse, and more good ass “Tekken”!

Oh, man, we tried so hard to put “Tekken 7” at the top spot. We tried so hard. Don’t get us wrong - we absolutely LOVE “Tekken 7”! It deserves every ounce of praise it has received for its visual fidelity, incredibly balanced gameplay, vast array of content, and how it expanded upon the Rage system. The reason why it only earned a bronze medal was for what it didn’t accomplish. Most of the cast took a backseat so that the Mishimas could hog the spotlight for the Story mode and wedge Akuma into the lore. There were a couple times where DLC characters nearly destroyed the online scene and broke the game. And the biggest crime of all? Christie Monteiro is nowhere to be found. What gives, Harada? Still, you should definitely go play “Tekken 7” for what it DOES accomplish.

Yeah, of the three original PS1 “Tekken” titles, the third one manage to shoot straight to silver medal! To this day, “Tekken 3” somehow manages to play as well as it did back in 1996. The controls are still immensely satisfying and responsive, every song hits the moment it starts up, and the visuals are some of the best we have ever seen from a PS1 game. The only gripe we’d have is how small the roster was. We were hoping for more, but we’ll just assume there wasn’t enough disk space or not enough time to throw in more fighters. Regardless, “Tekken 3” was the best of the original games.

After the flub that was “Tekken 4”, one would wonder if Namco would make the same mistakes twice with a new entry. On the contrary, “Tekken 5” was a marvelous return to form, keeping floors even while still reusing ideas like wall damage and stun variations from “Tekken 4” and “Advance” respectively. But there was more than just that perfect fighting action. Character models and environments were refined and look significantly better than any of its predecessors. Every character had their own Story mode with an intro, mid-boss, and ending cutscenes. Jin Kazama got his own beat ‘em up adventure game in the Devil Within mode. And “Tekken 5” came with the arcade versions of the first three games! And the soundtrack? Go listen to “Moonlight Wilderness”, “Crimson Sunset”, “Streets”, and “The Finalizer”. All of this combines into the best “Tekken” game ever made. Enough said.