Tekken Advance

Nintendo exclusive

Tekken Advance is a fighting game released for the Game Boy Advance. It is non-canonical to the Tekken storyline, but follows the events of Tekken 3. It uses sprites based on Tekken 3's 3D models for its characters and was the first Tekken game to be released on a Nintendo platform.

Released: 21 December 2001
Platforms: Game Boy Advance
Genres: Fighting
Developers: Namco Bandai Namco Entertainment
Publishers: —
Series: Tekken
Modes: Multiplayer Single-player
Perspective: Side view
Themes: Action
Country: Japan
Age ratings: ESRB T
Languages: English
Composers: Hitoshi Sakimoto

About

Tekken Advance is a 2001 fighting game developed by Eighting and published by Namco for the Game Boy Advance. It uses sprites based on Tekken 3's 3D models for its characters but the overall menus, fonts and art-style are all modeled after Tekken Tag Tournament. It was the first Tekken game to be released on a Nintendo platform.

Keywords

martial arts
hand-to-hand combat
tournament
polygonal 3d
unlockables
melee
grapple
difficulty level
button mashing
bots
bad parents
western published japanese games

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

The gameplay in Tekken Advance is similar to other games in the series, but because it is on a portable system, the inputs were simplified or removed altogether. It utilizes a single-input system, with kick mapped to the A button, punch to the B button, and the left and right triggers used for tagging and throws, respectively. The game also included a side-step feature.

Despite the simplification, Tekken Advance introduces new mechanics by implementing a wide range of "stun" variations such as "pop stuns", "crumple stuns" and right/left stuns.

Story

It is non-canonical to the Tekken storyline, but follows the events of Tekken 3.

Reception

Tekken Advance has generally received positive reviews. It received an 8.5 out of 10 from IGN, and an 8 out of 10 from GameSpot saying "It looks and feels close enough to its counterpart to succeed." GameSpy gave it a much more favourable score with 88 out of 100, calling it an impressive game for the Game Boy Advance. Electronic Gaming Monthly gave it a mediocre score with 5.83 out of 10. Nintendo Power gave the game a 3.5 out of 5.

Tekken Advance was a runner-up for GameSpot's annual "Best Graphics on Game Boy Advance" award, which went to Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3.