Tekken 4 is somewhat going through the same process as 3rd strike in the sense of not being understood or appreciated during its time of release and later being given it’s just due, I’ve always loved tekken 4 and glad it’s getting it’s being seen differently in a better light.
The comparison to 3rd Strike isn't far off. I don't think it will become as loved as that, but it's slowly become a retrospective classic the more time passes.
Yeah its ashame tekken doesn't really have the same culture as other franchises with the entire fan base flocking to the newest entry rather then each title having its own little fan base, i'd love to retreat to some of these better tekkens while 8 figures out its shit
Unlike 3S, Tekken 4 never really got the chance to cultivate a dedicated scene though, pretty much everyone who was serious about competing hated it, and Tekken 5 being such a return to form took away any chances for it to develop its own scene. That, and Jin was arguably a much worse top tier than Chun/Yun, especially with how much playing him relied on the Just Frame Laser Scraper glitch.
I loved how tekken 4 allowed you to move before fight actually started. That and stages having different heights (stairs, ceilings, slopes, the breakable stuff) still make it stand out in the entire series to me
We will never have another installment like Tekken 4. Tekken for was my introduction to the series. I didn’t know what to expect or what was expected of a Tekken game and I love Tekken 4. It was eerie, mystical and impactful. Hearing the shrine music almost made me cry because no other soundtrack in Tekken history has made such a revolutionary impact on me. I’ve always loved music and Tekken 4’s OST ascended me. I do appreciate what Tekken has done for the fighting game genre and the music genre
The music in this game went so incredibly hard. I still bump the crap out of Kitsch Theme all the time. If a drill rapper hopped on that, the result would be crazy.
Fun fact tekken 4 was supposed to have an update like dark resurrection but unfortunately it got canceled. Makes u wonder what changes wouldve been made and what characters could've been added
Namco should've made an upgraded and rebalanced PSP port of the game called 鉄拳TEKKEN 4: Mishima Reunion. Where it has added characters like Anna Williams, Angel Jun, Ganryu, Jack-4, Kunimitsu, Devil, Angel, Tiger Jackson, and Doctor Bosconovitch. Making 32 Tekken Fighters in total.
4 will always be the goat, happy it’s finally getting it’s flowers now after all these years. This game marked a shift in the overall tone and direction of the series, it’s sad the core players didn’t understand what it was going for than, but now I slowly see more core tekken players finally embracing 4, they’re realizing it deserves respect.
I think people got too hung up on the gameplay changes back then. Which I guess was understandable at the time, but there was so much more to this game that people slept on.
Tekken 4 to me will always be the GOAT of the Tekken franchise and im NGL it is also the only Tekken game that I found immersive especially in stages like the Airport, Mall, Shinjuku Street and Undergound that there are people watching and when you get close to them they runaway afraid to get caught up in your fight with your opponent this is the only time I get to see it in a Tekken franchise they dont do this anymore and the fact different maps has different layouts not just a big square like they have in modern Tekken and also they have one thing that no other installment can do moving or positioning your character before the match starts it really feel your in a streetfight than Street Fighter LOL!
The ability to move around before a fight was such a small detail that felt really intense for some reason. Especially if you were playing with friends because you knew someone was starting the round with something wild.
T4 is honestly just one patch away from being the best Tekken. That being said, I spent at least a couple thousand hours playing T4. Even with the infinite combos and nerfed backstep, I still loved playing it both competitively and recreationally.
This was my first tekken I ever played at the movie theater the style in this game was fire everything felt more serious some of the best designs too great vid
Tekken 4 was a very brief period in time I thought we could start taking the story actually serious, the intro was super bad ass, it was dark, had this cool lingering sinister tone...forget the fighting animals and dinosaurs man, no! this is some serious shit from now on! Then the clown shoes (and the whole circus for that matter) came back as fast as you can say "Heihachi Mishima is dead" 😮💨
the movement is actually one of the best things about t4 gameplay. The only thing actually. What people disliked about it were the uneven stages providing easy infinites and the walls.
Tekken 4 was my first Tekken that I actually played consistently with friends. I never understood the hate. Maybe I was just too young to get a lot of the balance issues. But as someone said here, the atmosphere and general vibes of this game were top tier.
I grew up on Tekken 2 and 3 played it a lot as a kid I remember being like 11 or 12 and stumbling into Tekken 4 at the arcade I was blown away I had to go home and tell my whole family about it because we never even knew it was in development we were still playing Tekken 3 on PS1 we were poor af 😂
@shadosassins on god the 90s baby's were the last to grow up in the arcade era. I was born in 91 when I stumbled on Tekken 4 at a arcade school field trip in the early 2000s I was like wtf is this cuz like you said it was so different than Tekken 3 in every way.
@@shadosassins my local barcade still has Tekken Tag 1 at it it's a huge sports ball / retro arcade I'm blessed to still have a arcade by my house and there's a bunch of fine girls that be there 😂
I like how grounded it is from the other games like the black sheep of tekken, yeah it’s still a robot and bear in there but the atmosphere and music made it different and the stages was more intricate and detailed it’s in my top 3 tbh
I wholeheartedly agree with your take for this video. Tekken 4 was ahead of its time and misunderstood by a lot of people only now 20 plus years later people are starting to appreciate it more. It’s my favorite entry in the series.
@@shadosassins mine too bro it was the first game in the series I got as kid. My stepmom and father bought it for me when they bought me a PS2 for doing good in school. So it definitely holds a special place in my heart I actually have the soundtrack on my phone I found it on Apple Music the song for the rooftop stage “Authentic Sky” is my favorite song from the game. I play it regularly.
That intro with Kazuya just destroying the soldiers!! Along with the music it was just perfection! The whole atmosphere, style, fighting even the narrators voice. So damn good!
Dude, I fucking LOVE Tekken 4. It's still my favorite out of the 8 in the series. The atmosphere, sinister tone and martial arts drama/exorcist storyline they had going on makes it stand out to this day! Great vid! 💯
I played so much tekken 5 and I thought that game was really aesthetic and great with combat, I forgot how awesome tekken 4 looked, been so long since I’ve seen it
It's amazing how much the PS2 Tekken games looked and they hold up somewhat well given how much time has passed. Even Tag 1 doesn't look bad considering it's just about a Tekken 3.
T4 was style and substance most of the games went for style over substance and I gotta say the shit doesn't and hasn't hit like T4 has and I started on T6 like damn I missed some goated ass time in gaming.
I remember playing T4 for the first time and being an Armor King player back from TTT1 I was excited to see hi min the game. He wasn't but I figured that you'd probably have to beat Story Mode with King, And the first line pretty much floored me.
T4 needs a few balance patches and it'd be sick. Get rid of the busted Laser Scraper with Jin, the death loop with Steve etc. Couple tweaks here and there. Maybe if it gets ported to PC one day, either by Namco or some reverse engineering madmen so it can be modded. Fuck I miss 2002.
Finally, a video dedicated to the glory of Tekken 4, I'm one of the few people who really welcomed the changes they made in that game, I love the blocked stages and the uneven terrain on some, like the forest and the rooftops, and the Story mode and the updated Tekken Force mode, uhmm chef's kiss. I'm a Jin main, and I just love the character arc they did with him on 4. Unlearning the Mishima Style and learning Karate due to what he suffered from the previous game, his range of moveset was really a breath of fresh air and innovative for me. 😊
I was a creature of habit, so I didn't initially like the changes to Jin at first. Once I played with him I realized how fun he was. Tekken 5 gave us both which was a bonus.
That inner shine instrumental is very underrated. As a jin main it's definitely my #1 song for him and it's my permanent background music on 7 & 8 main menu and many dojo stage 😅
I still love the atmosphere and tone of T4, now if we compare T4 vs T8 in terms of personality and visual design, there's no doubt it went into more fantasy anime. After hearing VF is back and devs said about their direction is all about both "innovation and realism" is what really excites me the most, just pure martial arts with no over the top anime/fantasy visual design judging from the initial look of the game.
I've never been the biggest VF fan (I loved Fighting Vipers more), but I'm definitely looking forward to VF6 if it's focus is on realism. Another DOA is all that's missing.
Quiet as it's kept, owning Tekken 4 and Virtua Fighter 4 when they 1st came out lowkey was one of the best times EVER to be a fighting game player. Was just thinking this when the rumors of Virtua Fighter's revival were springing up. Will also say I've always wondered where the Tekken series would be if the gritty & relatively more grounded realism of Tekken 4 had been more the mold going forward for the series than Tekken 5.
Honestly, I get why Tekken 5 felt more alive and flashy. I personally wanted Tekken 6 to have some of the fun of 5 and the dark feel of 4. I'm not sure if it did either. Also VF, DOA, MK, Soul, and Tekken were all releasing around this time I believe. A Street Fighter was the only thing missing.
Lets discuss gameplay.. was it really that bad? Or it was just different? Other than the balancing issues (Steve and Jin), i say it was a great fighting game. If you studied martial arts like i did back when this was released, you can certainly appreciate this game’s focus on grounded combat and the moves added to the characters especially Jin and Marduk. In retrospect, i think people just jumped on the hate bandwagon and never gave this game a chance. It had a great combat. The problem was it had the Tekken title and so people expected juggles and spacing dictated combat
I agree. People were taken aback by how different Tekken 4 was compared to 3 and TTT, but bad isn't the best word to use to describe it. I was fine. But yeah Jin was ridiculous.
As someone who has replayed this game very recently, yes, the gameplay is that bad. I actually like the game, but I'm not gonna lie and say it was underrated.
I played a ton of Tekken 4! Tekken 3 is my favorite game on PS1, and Tekken Tag was a fun but different game. I think Tekken 4 showcased what the PS2 was capable of, and it had it's own rhythm. I loved the music and stage design. On my college campus, I would win so often and had streaks amongst friends or people in my building that I would hand the controller over to someone else.
I been saying it for years tekken 4 was is underrated and it's my favorite tekken the character design are fire 🔥 the graphics are beautiful the stages were creative and made sense and most important for me tekken 4 martial art was in full effect and was the star of the show now its just a after thought
Tekken 3 and 4 were one of the first fighting games I played on the old consoles (never tried Tekken5) didn't know its name back then but after many years have passed I bought 6 in 2011 and only recognized Jin. First impression was (Hey is this the guy from T4?)
wow, where did you find the concept art for Tekken 4? I always liked the art style of the concept art, but I've had a hard time finding one, of any of them in good quality great video btw
Oh boy. 😆 I got these from a bunch of different places over the years just from google searching. I've been looking for fighting game concept art for over a decade now. Tekken Warehouse doesn't have complete concept art, but they are a pretty good single source.
This was my introduction to the franchise immediately after soul cailbur 2 i love this game this and 7 might be my favorite hearing good things about 8 just haven't gotten the chance to play it yet i put a lot of time into this one and soul Calibur 2 and 3 back in the day had a ton of content to play around with ❤❤
It's jank in places, but not outright bad. A far departure on what people liked about 3 and Tag for sure especially in the gameplay changes (walls, elevation, juggle and combo changes). However, its aesthetic, music, and very grounded vibe sets it apart from the rest of the series and it's left a strong impression on me too. Also I love the character story endings in spite of the funky voice acting in some lol. Edit 2: hey now, Soul Calibur 2 is the GOAT too, you honestly couldn't go wrong with either for the PS2 tbh!
There was an overseas online shop that had anime clothing, but they also had various Tekken hoodies. I grabbed the Tekken 4 Jin and a hoodie of Hwoarang's Tekken 5 tank top. They also had Steve's T7 hood and an Eddy T3 hoodie.
That we truly needed was a second Arcade History menu in 鉄拳TEKKEN 7, the sales for that game would go up! Where it contains HD arcade versions of TK1, TK2, TK3, TKTT1, TK4, TK5, TK6, TKTT2 and Time Crisis 5 (as an unlockable).
Tekken 4 and 5 are my favourite Tekken games of the Franchise. ☯️ By the way Tekken 4 had the best story and atmosphere no doubt. Also my favourite Tekken Intros of the series are 4 and 5. Especially Tekken 4, developers did a lot of things incredibly right, most storylines were incredibly cool and the atmosphere and seriousness was just on a another level. I don't think most would disagree that Tekken 4 had a great"everything-except-the-fighting" to it. Great and Epic soundtracks, unique character designs, good individual stories, and an interesting main Mishima arc revival. The thing is that it's still a fighting game and no matter how great everything else is, if the fighting bit is flawed it'll overshadow the positives. Tekken 4 is sourly the most unique and underrated (mostly because of the choices that hindered the competitive scene) but it is my favorite Tekken to date, because of the very seriousness Vibes of the Story aspects perspective. The seriousness atmosphere of Tekken 4 it's on another level in my opinion.The soundtrack is what gets me the most next to the game's atmosphere. With soundtracks like: Fetus(Prologue), Authentic Sky, Unihabited(Mall Area) Didgerhythm(Jungle Area) Touch and Go(Airport Area) and Kitsch(Beach Area) and The Inner Shrine(Hon-Maru Temple) and others soundtracks, For me Tekken 4 remains even in these days the most Unique Tekken game of the series. ☯️ 🤷🏻♂️
Time can heal everything even questionable gameplay. It is flawed but it wasn't bad enough to permanently overshadow everything good about the game in hindsight. Granted over 20 years hindsight.
I seriously enjoy playing tekken 3&4 in single player more than 5. 4 is unplayable in two player mode though because it's way too Janky and sluggish. But after u play 4 u wish T5 had some of the elements that really worked in 4!...I personally think 'most' of the character models look better in 4. And the all around movement worked so well!
I honestly wonder if Tekken 4's gameplay would have felt a little better if the stages had more space. Fighting, specifically at the airport, doesn't feel as odd as other stages to me.
@shadosassins ,I think most of the stages had alot of space on t4!...and the movement beats fighting in a straight line most if not all of the fight. Worked very well and helped for strategy and maneuver
In T4, none of the characters were jokes. They all had legitimate stories, failures and ambitions. Even the bears and combot were treated seriously. From T5 on, characters we loved like Paul & Law became jokes, others like Bryan, Yoshimitsu and Xiao became one dimensional. Tekken sacrificed everyone having a great character for good gameplay and hyper focus on Mishimas. (And nice use of Carolina Pride lol)
Tekken 4 was definitely more simplistic compared to the other games, but personally, I loved it. T4 seemed to focus on " realistic " Martial arts, which is why i liked it. (Realistic- ish for a video game i mean) I feel like the new games have too many lights and flash in my opinion. 🎮
The lack of a rage art or heat meter definitely helps in keeping it less flashy as well. Super attack were something I wouldn't have expected in a Tekken game back then.
What set's it apart ? No Ult get out of jail free cards.Every move doesn't have tracking.No rage quit & Pluggers.You can unlock everything & the game has the best pick of characters instead of Microtransaction's.
Agreed. The microtransactions and pluggers are annoying as hell in 8 and 7 for me. The Heat feature also bothers me a little more than the Rage. I'd rather have one or the other personally, not both.
Tekken 4 was really stripped back and could have been way bigger than it was. The character designs were very grounded, you could see they were trying to go for a more realistic feel. Tekken 5 brought back the excess pomp with come to associate with Tekken now
I agree with you, I just don't feel how extra the game was felt bad in Tekken 5. T6 was a different story. Tekken started feeling different to me personally from that point on.
honestly , when i first played it , it felt soo much different , i didnot like the character screen , and as casual player from a country that didnot have a competitive scene back then , it felt a little bit dark and enraging with these walls XD
Just laughing at the thought considering how much people are upset at his current 2,1,4 properties they have no idea how strong this was back then. But, I loved T4 and the arcade vibe I grew up on. Thanks for taking me back and bringing forth fond and hilarious memories!
5 is a weird one for me, I may touch on it in another video. I love the game and am bothered by it. But Tekken 6 is still hands down the most soulless and lifeless game in the series. So many bad decisions in that one. 7 was also weird. 8 has it's problems, but like MK1 for me, the microtransitions are out of control.
Tekken 4 might have been different in tone & everything for sure, everything you just outlaid. It’s also the Last pure Tekken after this the franchise started feeling very different more fantastical & we went from more grounded gameplay to what we have now with supers, heat mode juggling like crazy lol 😂. It’s a very different game now & this was the last to have that proper Tekken feel imo.
@@shadosassins definitely with 3 goated for sure. I actually liked 8 got me back into Tekken first time in almost two decades I didn’t like 6 or 7. In saying that there’s no doubting 8 feels nothing like the classics u mentioned lost its purity now. You can say same for MK too nothing like classics & most recent one sucked!!
@@shadosassins SF6 is a good game no doubt great bounce back to form. I do think though everyone is overrating in the sense it’s not better than the 90’s games or SF4, which had an immense impact revitalizing the genre. Still very enjoyable though it does have the trappings I hate in modern fighters. Very small starting roster forcing u to pay non stop. Micro transactions supreme. The world tour mode was just an overblown training mode if more importance with story like Konquest in MK deception n forwarded our fave fighters stories would have been better imo.
Sorry but I have to point out something regarding the "songs" because they aren't actually songs but instead "music" But bear with me if you still think it's a song, name the singers in each track =) But overall it's a very good video, keep it up
Tekken 4 was the definition of “less is more”. After that, everything became extra: - Gameplay is too busy - Particle Effects are over the top - Lots of Comeback mechanics (50/50s, Rage, Rage Arts, Chip, Powercrush, Rage drives and Heat) - Character Designs will never be simple again - Newer moves animations are moves you’ll never see in real life - Serious/Grounded characters with real martial arts are now using weapons. - the story is silly, repetitive and only revolves around Mishimas. - new characters are either gonna be super edgy, goofy, bland or school girl. - female characters are now all fan service characters. Non of them stand out anymore. - don’t get me started with the music. There was always a balance between reality and fantasy. Now it’s no longer there…
I feel like things didn't start getting put of hand until around Tekken 6 and Tag 2. The designs for 7 were out of control. Tekken 8 tried to tone it down a little but I still feel like the Heat and Rage mechanics can't exist in the same game.
lets be honest, the real reason tk4 wasnt a fan favorite is because the game wasnt finished, there was supposed to be more OST/characters/maps IT WAS RUSHED
I'm just learning that they canceled the PSP update. I know the two biggest knocks for me on the game is the roster size was small and the gameplay. I never knew HOW it was junky at the time it just felt off and cheap depending on who I fought against (cough Jin cough). I learned to accept the wall addition after playing it a while, but that's just me.
I agree. I personally rank Tag 1 over Tekken 3, too. It had its time, but I think because of nostalgia, a lot of people hold 3 higher than is honestly is today.
I hate Tekken 4. I finished it, unlocked EVERYTHING! I still don't like it. For me this game just feel weak compare to 3. 3 feel fast and every hit just feel good while this game it has been toned down. The hit effect is smaller, character's costume just not in my alley. In conclusion, Tekken 4 have different vibe than any other Tekken in the series.
I've played all Tekken games except Tekken 4 and I hate that 😔 The game never came across my childhood days somehow. Even without playing it, I can totally see through gameplays on youtube that it is the most different Tekken ever made and oh boy it does it looks fun. As someone who jumps for Tekken 3 to Tekken 5, I can tell that Tekken 4 is the last Tekken game that still has that distinct Tekken eerie atmosphere bcs tbh Tekken 5 is just a "very cool" game but loses the "vibe". (I can only imagine the pure satisfaction if I had played Tekken 4 right after Tekken 3, the physics.. the 60fps... the music..🥲)
Tekken 4 was really stripped back and could have been way bigger than it was. The character designs were very grounded, you could see they were trying to go for a more realistic feel. Tekken 5 brought back the excess pomp with come to associate with Tekken now
The atmosphere and authenticity of T4 is unmatched. I'm so glad people are appreciating it now.
Tekken 4 is somewhat going through the same process as 3rd strike in the sense of not being understood or appreciated during its time of release and later being given it’s just due, I’ve always loved tekken 4 and glad it’s getting it’s being seen differently in a better light.
The comparison to 3rd Strike isn't far off. I don't think it will become as loved as that, but it's slowly become a retrospective classic the more time passes.
Tekken 8 has so much mashy ADHD Bullshit, that Tekken 4 seems like a breath of fresh air....
Yeah its ashame tekken doesn't really have the same culture as other franchises with the entire fan base flocking to the newest entry rather then each title having its own little fan base, i'd love to retreat to some of these better tekkens while 8 figures out its shit
Unlike 3S, Tekken 4 never really got the chance to cultivate a dedicated scene though, pretty much everyone who was serious about competing hated it, and Tekken 5 being such a return to form took away any chances for it to develop its own scene. That, and Jin was arguably a much worse top tier than Chun/Yun, especially with how much playing him relied on the Just Frame Laser Scraper glitch.
3S has good gameplay.
I loved how tekken 4 allowed you to move before fight actually started. That and stages having different heights (stairs, ceilings, slopes, the breakable stuff) still make it stand out in the entire series to me
Yea said it all for me. Best environments in the series. Not to mention the music.
I remember being disappointed as a kid when Tekken 5 didn't have the dynamic stages of tekken 4. I would always explore the stages with my brother.
Serious and thoughtful approach to story telling, atmosphere, mystery and music of VARIOUS tones. Not just peppy electric shit
Agreed. Some of that electric shit is awesome. We don't need an entire game of it though. This approach was much better.
I need tekken 4 remake with 8 physics. I miss the uneven ground
We will never have another installment like Tekken 4. Tekken for was my introduction to the series. I didn’t know what to expect or what was expected of a Tekken game and I love Tekken 4. It was eerie, mystical and impactful. Hearing the shrine music almost made me cry because no other soundtrack in Tekken history has made such a revolutionary impact on me. I’ve always loved music and Tekken 4’s OST ascended me. I do appreciate what Tekken has done for the fighting game genre and the music genre
I'm with you. The Shrine (Honmaru Stage) music is one of the best in fighting game history to me.
There is no Tekken that I played more of. Steve was absolutely insane in that game and Jin became his own character.
Agreed. As much as I miss OG Jin, the upgrade was cool. Plus the story of Jin "unlearning" the Mishima style is insane.
T4 has the best, most musically rich OST in the franchise.
Definitely. Every single song was amazing.
T2
The music in this game went so incredibly hard. I still bump the crap out of Kitsch Theme all the time. If a drill rapper hopped on that, the result would be crazy.
Not gonna lie. I still bump that and the Gym song to this day. Hip hop producers could sample the whole soundtrack.
Producer Blacmass made a beat sampling Kitsch Theme. It goes
Fun fact tekken 4 was supposed to have an update like dark resurrection but unfortunately it got canceled. Makes u wonder what changes wouldve been made and what characters could've been added
I never knew Tekken 4 was supposed to actually get an update. I just thought it was people wishfully thinking.
Definitely my favorite fighting game, period. Played it so much as a kid.
Tekken 2 was my intro to the series but Tekken 4 is by far my favorite one. that King design w the hair is so fly lol
Both of King's Tekken 4 attires were sick.
Facts. King should've kept that hair.
I'm in the same boat. T2 hooked me, T3 made me fall in love, T4 made me put a ring on it lol.
Best narrator in the series by far. Sounds like the original AI voice 💀
😆 He really does sound like the AI voice.
Namco should've made an upgraded and rebalanced PSP port of the game called 鉄拳TEKKEN 4: Mishima Reunion.
Where it has added characters like
Anna Williams, Angel Jun, Ganryu, Jack-4, Kunimitsu, Devil, Angel, Tiger Jackson, and Doctor Bosconovitch.
Making 32 Tekken Fighters in total.
A few new stages added would have been good if they did a PSP port too.
4 will always be the goat, happy it’s finally getting it’s flowers now after all these years. This game marked a shift in the overall tone and direction of the series, it’s sad the core players didn’t understand what it was going for than, but now I slowly see more core tekken players finally embracing 4, they’re realizing it deserves respect.
I think people got too hung up on the gameplay changes back then. Which I guess was understandable at the time, but there was so much more to this game that people slept on.
@ yes indeed and people are seeing that now.
@@shadosassins yes because 8 is trash in my opinion.
Tekken 4 Is Awesome! I Was Always Disgusted It Never Made Its Way To The PSN Store.
So many Tekken's are missing from PSN it's disgusting. At least Tekken Tag 1 can go up there.
It's got that raw Y2K aura
Tekken 4 to me will always be the GOAT of the Tekken franchise and im NGL it is also the only Tekken game that I found immersive especially in stages like the Airport, Mall, Shinjuku Street and Undergound that there are people watching and when you get close to them they runaway afraid to get caught up in your fight with your opponent this is the only time I get to see it in a Tekken franchise they dont do this anymore and the fact different maps has different layouts not just a big square like they have in modern Tekken and also they have one thing that no other installment can do moving or positioning your character before the match starts it really feel your in a streetfight than Street Fighter LOL!
The ability to move around before a fight was such a small detail that felt really intense for some reason. Especially if you were playing with friends because you knew someone was starting the round with something wild.
Tekken 4 was great the video was amazing love to hear people talk about this game🔥🔥🔥
T4 is honestly just one patch away from being the best Tekken. That being said, I spent at least a couple thousand hours playing T4. Even with the infinite combos and nerfed backstep, I still loved playing it both competitively and recreationally.
Can't stop loving the music for the story, cool voice and EDGY drawing of character with cool pose.
This was my first tekken I ever played at the movie theater the style in this game was fire everything felt more serious some of the best designs too great vid
Ah, the days when almost all movie theaters had the best arcades before you go in.
Tekken 4 was a very brief period in time I thought we could start taking the story actually serious, the intro was super bad ass, it was dark, had this cool lingering sinister tone...forget the fighting animals and dinosaurs man, no! this is some serious shit from now on!
Then the clown shoes (and the whole circus for that matter) came back as fast as you can say "Heihachi Mishima is dead" 😮💨
I would've never guessed we would go through the whole "Heihachi Mishima is dead" thing a 2nd time. 😞
@@shadosassins Its actually the third time now since Kazuya threw him off the cliff in the first game 😂😂
the movement is actually one of the best things about t4 gameplay. The only thing actually. What people disliked about it were the uneven stages providing easy infinites and the walls.
Atmosphere ,music, and announcer voice was on point.
This game as a whole and that Airport stage music is a vibe. This will always be my favorite Tekken game! Had to sub, thanks for this video!🤌🏾🔥
Every stage in this game just about had a banger. Thanks for the sub and welcome.
Brisbane, Australia...
Best place to learn Karate!
"A city crowded with buildings, new and old..."
@@ShadowDancer_ Nestle among them was a small dojo...
Before I even clicked on this video I knew Authentic Sky was gonna play, songs been played to death. lol
😆 😆 😆
Tekken 4 was my first Tekken that I actually played consistently with friends. I never understood the hate. Maybe I was just too young to get a lot of the balance issues. But as someone said here, the atmosphere and general vibes of this game were top tier.
Alot of people when they were younger didn't know about or really care about any gameplay issues. A nicer time.
@@shadosassins Even adults who just play casually didnt care about it. Only the loudmouth *competitive* ones were
I grew up on Tekken 2 and 3 played it a lot as a kid I remember being like 11 or 12 and stumbling into Tekken 4 at the arcade I was blown away I had to go home and tell my whole family about it because we never even knew it was in development we were still playing Tekken 3 on PS1 we were poor af 😂
Tekken arcades were so much fun. Blockbuster was my entry into Tekken 4. These kids nowadays don't know what they were missing.
@shadosassins on god the 90s baby's were the last to grow up in the arcade era. I was born in 91 when I stumbled on Tekken 4 at a arcade school field trip in the early 2000s I was like wtf is this cuz like you said it was so different than Tekken 3 in every way.
@@shadosassins my local barcade still has Tekken Tag 1 at it it's a huge sports ball / retro arcade I'm blessed to still have a arcade by my house and there's a bunch of fine girls that be there 😂
I like how grounded it is from the other games like the black sheep of tekken, yeah it’s still a robot and bear in there but the atmosphere and music made it different and the stages was more intricate and detailed it’s in my top 3 tbh
You're absolutely correct, but it's crazy just casually reading "yeah, there's a robot and a bear". 😆
@@shadosassins 🤣🤣🤣tekken lore is ridiculous
I remember as a kid I was so happy to unlock Jin. Simpler time 😂
Me too. I was so confused as a kid when I didn't see him on the base roster.
I wholeheartedly agree with your take for this video. Tekken 4 was ahead of its time and misunderstood by a lot of people only now 20 plus years later people are starting to appreciate it more. It’s my favorite entry in the series.
Thanks. Tekken 4 is one of my favorites too. Even more in recent years.
@@shadosassins mine too bro it was the first game in the series I got as kid. My stepmom and father bought it for me when they bought me a PS2 for doing good in school. So it definitely holds a special place in my heart I actually have the soundtrack on my phone I found it on Apple Music the song for the rooftop stage “Authentic Sky” is my favorite song from the game. I play it regularly.
Facts, still to this day I think tekken 4 felt so unique like a new era compared to the others
That intro with Kazuya just destroying the soldiers!! Along with the music it was just perfection!
The whole atmosphere, style, fighting even the narrators voice. So damn good!
That opening intro was perfect for Kazuya's return.
Dude, I fucking LOVE Tekken 4. It's still my favorite out of the 8 in the series. The atmosphere, sinister tone and martial arts drama/exorcist storyline they had going on makes it stand out to this day! Great vid! 💯
The Jin exorcism scene as you put it is still one of my favorite moments of the franchise.
I played so much tekken 5 and I thought that game was really aesthetic and great with combat, I forgot how awesome tekken 4 looked, been so long since I’ve seen it
It's amazing how much the PS2 Tekken games looked and they hold up somewhat well given how much time has passed. Even Tag 1 doesn't look bad considering it's just about a Tekken 3.
@ PlayStation had the vibes and graphics right in the early mid 00s, it keeps me coming back
It was ahead of its time
I fucking LOVED Tekken 4! I appreciate the more grounded less juggle focused gameplay.
Respect. You don't find many people admit they liked the lack of juggles in Tekken 4.
3 changed the genre but 4 is the outlier.
I feel the same way. 4 sticks out even more when you compare how much Tag Tournament was like 3.
T4 was style and substance most of the games went for style over substance and I gotta say the shit doesn't and hasn't hit like T4 has and I started on T6 like damn I missed some goated ass time in gaming.
The 3 PS2 Tekken's were a vibe man. Tekken Tag was a Tekken 2-3 update, Tekken 4 was a unique darker game, and Tekken 5 was loud, upbeat, and fun.
@@shadosassins 6 kinda tried capturing 4s vibe but never quite hit it and I'm bothered T8 didn't try pulling a T4 and tighten up the game
I remember playing T4 for the first time and being an Armor King player back from TTT1 I was excited to see hi min the game. He wasn't but I figured that you'd probably have to beat Story Mode with King,
And the first line pretty much floored me.
T4 needs a few balance patches and it'd be sick. Get rid of the busted Laser Scraper with Jin, the death loop with Steve etc. Couple tweaks here and there. Maybe if it gets ported to PC one day, either by Namco or some reverse engineering madmen so it can be modded. Fuck I miss 2002.
I'm with you. The fall of 2002 had some crazy game releases.
TL;DR : Tekken 4 is the 3rd strike of it's series
Jokes aside fire video 🔥🔥🔥
Finally, a video dedicated to the glory of Tekken 4, I'm one of the few people who really welcomed the changes they made in that game, I love the blocked stages and the uneven terrain on some, like the forest and the rooftops, and the Story mode and the updated Tekken Force mode, uhmm chef's kiss. I'm a Jin main, and I just love the character arc they did with him on 4. Unlearning the Mishima Style and learning Karate due to what he suffered from the previous game, his range of moveset was really a breath of fresh air and innovative for me. 😊
I was a creature of habit, so I didn't initially like the changes to Jin at first. Once I played with him I realized how fun he was. Tekken 5 gave us both which was a bonus.
Hey i love that outro song! Whats it called?
The Staff Roll from Tag 1.
I haven't played much of the series but Tekken 4 was my intro to the series.
Quick Post Edit: Tekken Force is all time favorite mode
Nice. I love Tekken Force as well. The T5 and T6 single player mode just didn't hit the same way for me.
That inner shine instrumental is very underrated. As a jin main it's definitely my #1 song for him and it's my permanent background music on 7 & 8 main menu and many dojo stage 😅
I like to think Tekken 4 is basically a more technically advance and reboot of Tekken 1
I still love the atmosphere and tone of T4, now if we compare T4 vs T8 in terms of personality and visual design, there's no doubt it went into more fantasy anime. After hearing VF is back and devs said about their direction is all about both "innovation and realism" is what really excites me the most, just pure martial arts with no over the top anime/fantasy visual design judging from the initial look of the game.
I've never been the biggest VF fan (I loved Fighting Vipers more), but I'm definitely looking forward to VF6 if it's focus is on realism. Another DOA is all that's missing.
Quiet as it's kept, owning Tekken 4 and Virtua Fighter 4 when they 1st came out lowkey was one of the best times EVER to be a fighting game player. Was just thinking this when the rumors of Virtua Fighter's revival were springing up. Will also say I've always wondered where the Tekken series would be if the gritty & relatively more grounded realism of Tekken 4 had been more the mold going forward for the series than Tekken 5.
Honestly, I get why Tekken 5 felt more alive and flashy. I personally wanted Tekken 6 to have some of the fun of 5 and the dark feel of 4. I'm not sure if it did either.
Also VF, DOA, MK, Soul, and Tekken were all releasing around this time I believe. A Street Fighter was the only thing missing.
Lets discuss gameplay.. was it really that bad? Or it was just different? Other than the balancing issues (Steve and Jin), i say it was a great fighting game. If you studied martial arts like i did back when this was released, you can certainly appreciate this game’s focus on grounded combat and the moves added to the characters especially Jin and Marduk. In retrospect, i think people just jumped on the hate bandwagon and never gave this game a chance. It had a great combat. The problem was it had the Tekken title and so people expected juggles and spacing dictated combat
I agree. People were taken aback by how different Tekken 4 was compared to 3 and TTT, but bad isn't the best word to use to describe it. I was fine. But yeah Jin was ridiculous.
As someone who has replayed this game very recently, yes, the gameplay is that bad. I actually like the game, but I'm not gonna lie and say it was underrated.
I played a ton of Tekken 4! Tekken 3 is my favorite game on PS1, and Tekken Tag was a fun but different game. I think Tekken 4 showcased what the PS2 was capable of, and it had it's own rhythm. I loved the music and stage design. On my college campus, I would win so often and had streaks amongst friends or people in my building that I would hand the controller over to someone else.
The disrespect to go off on a win streak and then just go "Ah, I've won enough" and hand the controller over. 😂
love that outro song from tekken tag
I clicked the first video that's title wasn't something negative. Took a while to find in today's youtube, so thanks. :)
Understand the feeling. Glad I could give you something positive.
I been saying it for years tekken 4 was is underrated and it's my favorite tekken the character design are fire 🔥 the graphics are beautiful the stages were creative and made sense and most important for me tekken 4 martial art was in full effect and was the star of the show now its just a after thought
Yes. It definitely had a crazy martial arts feel on top of all the dark Mishima stuff.
Tekken 3 and 4 were one of the first fighting games I played on the old consoles (never tried Tekken5) didn't know its name back then but after many years have passed I bought 6 in 2011 and only recognized Jin. First impression was (Hey is this the guy from T4?)
I wish you could've played 5. It's a classic in It's own right.
wow, where did you find the concept art for Tekken 4? I always liked the art style of the concept art, but I've had a hard time finding one, of any of them in good quality
great video btw
Oh boy. 😆 I got these from a bunch of different places over the years just from google searching. I've been looking for fighting game concept art for over a decade now. Tekken Warehouse doesn't have complete concept art, but they are a pretty good single source.
This was my introduction to the franchise immediately after soul cailbur 2 i love this game this and 7 might be my favorite hearing good things about 8 just haven't gotten the chance to play it yet i put a lot of time into this one and soul Calibur 2 and 3 back in the day had a ton of content to play around with ❤❤
I absolutely loved Soul Calibur 2 and 3. Those were the last Soul games I really played.
It's jank in places, but not outright bad. A far departure on what people liked about 3 and Tag for sure especially in the gameplay changes (walls, elevation, juggle and combo changes). However, its aesthetic, music, and very grounded vibe sets it apart from the rest of the series and it's left a strong impression on me too.
Also I love the character story endings in spite of the funky voice acting in some lol.
Edit 2: hey now, Soul Calibur 2 is the GOAT too, you honestly couldn't go wrong with either for the PS2 tbh!
😆 Lei and Hwoarang's voice acting in T4 is so bad.
Where did you get the jin kazama jacket
There was an overseas online shop that had anime clothing, but they also had various Tekken hoodies. I grabbed the Tekken 4 Jin and a hoodie of Hwoarang's Tekken 5 tank top. They also had Steve's T7 hood and an Eddy T3 hoodie.
What if they made a tekken 1-3 remastered collection for the ps5?
Honestly I'd take 1-3 or TTT-5. Because of Gon, I don't think 3 will ever get a remaster.
That we truly needed was a second Arcade History menu in 鉄拳TEKKEN 7,
the sales for that game would go up!
Where it contains HD arcade versions of TK1, TK2, TK3, TKTT1, TK4, TK5, TK6, TKTT2 and Time Crisis 5 (as an unlockable).
In hindsight it's my favorite Tekken next to Tag 1
It's up there for me as well. Tag 1, T4, and T5 are the best to me.
Tekken 4 and 5 are my favourite Tekken games of the Franchise. ☯️ By the way Tekken 4 had the best story and atmosphere no doubt. Also my favourite Tekken Intros of the series are 4 and 5. Especially Tekken 4, developers did a lot of things incredibly right, most storylines were incredibly cool and the atmosphere and seriousness was just on a another level. I don't think most would disagree that Tekken 4 had a great"everything-except-the-fighting" to it. Great and Epic soundtracks, unique character designs, good individual stories, and an interesting main Mishima arc revival. The thing is that it's still a fighting game and no matter how great everything else is, if the fighting bit is flawed it'll overshadow the positives. Tekken 4 is sourly the most unique and underrated (mostly because of the choices that hindered the competitive scene) but it is my favorite Tekken to date, because of the very seriousness Vibes of the Story aspects perspective. The seriousness atmosphere of Tekken 4 it's on another level in my opinion.The soundtrack is what gets me the most next to the game's atmosphere. With soundtracks like: Fetus(Prologue), Authentic Sky, Unihabited(Mall Area) Didgerhythm(Jungle Area) Touch and Go(Airport Area) and Kitsch(Beach Area) and The Inner Shrine(Hon-Maru Temple) and others soundtracks, For me Tekken 4 remains even in these days the most Unique Tekken game of the series. ☯️ 🤷🏻♂️
Time can heal everything even questionable gameplay. It is flawed but it wasn't bad enough to permanently overshadow everything good about the game in hindsight. Granted over 20 years hindsight.
The Vibe
I seriously enjoy playing tekken 3&4 in single player more than 5. 4 is unplayable in two player mode though because it's way too Janky and sluggish. But after u play 4 u wish T5 had some of the elements that really worked in 4!...I personally think 'most' of the character models look better in 4. And the all around movement worked so well!
I honestly wonder if Tekken 4's gameplay would have felt a little better if the stages had more space. Fighting, specifically at the airport, doesn't feel as odd as other stages to me.
@shadosassins ,I think most of the stages had alot of space on t4!...and the movement beats fighting in a straight line most if not all of the fight. Worked very well and helped for strategy and maneuver
In T4, none of the characters were jokes. They all had legitimate stories, failures and ambitions. Even the bears and combot were treated seriously.
From T5 on, characters we loved like Paul & Law became jokes, others like Bryan, Yoshimitsu and Xiao became one dimensional.
Tekken sacrificed everyone having a great character for good gameplay and hyper focus on Mishimas.
(And nice use of Carolina Pride lol)
Honestly, the only joke in Tekken 4 might have been Combot.
Tekken 4 was definitely more simplistic compared to the other games, but personally, I loved it. T4 seemed to focus on " realistic " Martial arts, which is why i liked it. (Realistic- ish for a video game i mean) I feel like the new games have too many lights and flash in my opinion. 🎮
The lack of a rage art or heat meter definitely helps in keeping it less flashy as well. Super attack were something I wouldn't have expected in a Tekken game back then.
What set's it apart ? No Ult get out of jail free cards.Every move doesn't have tracking.No rage quit & Pluggers.You can unlock everything & the game has the best pick of characters instead of Microtransaction's.
Agreed. The microtransactions and pluggers are annoying as hell in 8 and 7 for me. The Heat feature also bothers me a little more than the Rage. I'd rather have one or the other personally, not both.
Bring back destructible objects and uneven floor!
I didn't realize so many people loved the uneven floors this much. I didn't mind it, but I never gave that much thought. People really missed it.
Tekken 4 has some of the best music in the entire series! Though 8 absolutely slaps
Tekken 4's soundtrack is amazing. But I can't lie, the songs from the Reina and Lidia trailers are fire.
@ Yeaahhhh man!! They so are
Tekken 4 was really stripped back and could have been way bigger than it was. The character designs were very grounded, you could see they were trying to go for a more realistic feel. Tekken 5 brought back the excess pomp with come to associate with Tekken now
I agree with you, I just don't feel how extra the game was felt bad in Tekken 5. T6 was a different story. Tekken started feeling different to me personally from that point on.
honestly , when i first played it , it felt soo much different , i didnot like the character screen , and as casual player from a country that didnot have a competitive scene back then , it felt a little bit dark and enraging with these walls XD
Yeah, the walls and lack of space in the stages were some of the biggest issues most players had when the game came out.
Yes, let's bring back jins +1 on a blocked 2,1 string. Hahaha.
You're not a fan of unbalanced, overpowered Jin? 😂
Just laughing at the thought considering how much people are upset at his current 2,1,4 properties they have no idea how strong this was back then.
But, I loved T4 and the arcade vibe I grew up on.
Thanks for taking me back and bringing forth fond and hilarious memories!
4 is the best tekken game, it all went downhill from that. 5 is still ok, but 6,7 and 8 are so cringe aesthetically and story wise.
5 is a weird one for me, I may touch on it in another video. I love the game and am bothered by it. But Tekken 6 is still hands down the most soulless and lifeless game in the series. So many bad decisions in that one. 7 was also weird. 8 has it's problems, but like MK1 for me, the microtransitions are out of control.
Tekken 4 might have been different in tone & everything for sure, everything you just outlaid. It’s also the Last pure Tekken after this the franchise started feeling very different more fantastical & we went from more grounded gameplay to what we have now with supers, heat mode juggling like crazy lol 😂. It’s a very different game now & this was the last to have that proper Tekken feel imo.
I honestly think Tag, 4, and 5 were a golden period for Tekken.
@@shadosassins definitely with 3 goated for sure. I actually liked 8 got me back into Tekken first time in almost two decades I didn’t like 6 or 7. In saying that there’s no doubting 8 feels nothing like the classics u mentioned lost its purity now. You can say same for MK too nothing like classics & most recent one sucked!!
I will say SF6 is the most fun I've had in a Street Fighter game since EX3. Probably an unpopular take.
@@shadosassins SF6 is a good game no doubt great bounce back to form. I do think though everyone is overrating in the sense it’s not better than the 90’s games or SF4, which had an immense impact revitalizing the genre. Still very enjoyable though it does have the trappings I hate in modern fighters. Very small starting roster forcing u to pay non stop. Micro transactions supreme. The world tour mode was just an overblown training mode if more importance with story like Konquest in MK deception n forwarded our fave fighters stories would have been better imo.
Honmaru was the one best ost
Sorry but I have to point out something regarding the "songs" because they aren't actually songs but instead "music"
But bear with me if you still think it's a song, name the singers in each track =)
But overall it's a very good video, keep it up
😆 Good looking out.
@@shadosassins 🥳 You're welcome
Tekken 4 was the definition of “less is more”. After that, everything became extra:
- Gameplay is too busy
- Particle Effects are over the top
- Lots of Comeback mechanics (50/50s, Rage, Rage Arts, Chip, Powercrush, Rage drives and Heat)
- Character Designs will never be simple again
- Newer moves animations are moves you’ll never see in real life
- Serious/Grounded characters with real martial arts are now using weapons.
- the story is silly, repetitive and only revolves around Mishimas.
- new characters are either gonna be super edgy, goofy, bland or school girl.
- female characters are now all fan service characters. Non of them stand out anymore.
- don’t get me started with the music.
There was always a balance between reality and fantasy. Now it’s no longer there…
I feel like things didn't start getting put of hand until around Tekken 6 and Tag 2. The designs for 7 were out of control. Tekken 8 tried to tone it down a little but I still feel like the Heat and Rage mechanics can't exist in the same game.
@@shadosassins I agree. Also every character having stances is ruining it even more.
I thought kazuya is the main character in tekken 4 since he want vengeance to heihachi
Possibly. I've just always viewed Jin as the main character because out of the three, his story is the only completely canon one.
lets be honest, the real reason tk4 wasnt a fan favorite is because the game wasnt finished, there was supposed to be more OST/characters/maps
IT WAS RUSHED
I'm just learning that they canceled the PSP update. I know the two biggest knocks for me on the game is the roster size was small and the gameplay. I never knew HOW it was junky at the time it just felt off and cheap depending on who I fought against (cough Jin cough). I learned to accept the wall addition after playing it a while, but that's just me.
It was the fucking competitive community freaks and frame robots that ruined T4 reputation. This game was the best along with t2 and tag1
Not gonna lie, I will still occasionally fire up Tekken Tag 1.
It was OK To Play.
Tekken 4 started it all. For Tekken
4 was better than 3 to me… way better game 🤷🏾♂️
I agree. I personally rank Tag 1 over Tekken 3, too. It had its time, but I think because of nostalgia, a lot of people hold 3 higher than is honestly is today.
It looks like ps3 to me
It holds up very well for ps2 graphics.
I hate Tekken 4. I finished it, unlocked EVERYTHING! I still don't like it.
For me this game just feel weak compare to 3. 3 feel fast and every hit just feel good while this game it has been toned down.
The hit effect is smaller, character's costume just not in my alley.
In conclusion, Tekken 4 have different vibe than any other Tekken in the series.
I've played all Tekken games except Tekken 4 and I hate that 😔 The game never came across my childhood days somehow. Even without playing it, I can totally see through gameplays on youtube that it is the most different Tekken ever made and oh boy it does it looks fun. As someone who jumps for Tekken 3 to Tekken 5, I can tell that Tekken 4 is the last Tekken game that still has that distinct Tekken eerie atmosphere bcs tbh Tekken 5 is just a "very cool" game but loses the "vibe".
(I can only imagine the pure satisfaction if I had played Tekken 4 right after Tekken 3, the physics.. the 60fps... the music..🥲)
You summed it up perfectly. Tekken 5 is so much fun but it doesn't have it's own feel.
Tekken 4 was really stripped back and could have been way bigger than it was. The character designs were very grounded, you could see they were trying to go for a more realistic feel. Tekken 5 brought back the excess pomp with come to associate with Tekken now
I'm with you. I didn't mind the fanfare added in Tekken 5, I just wished going forward they tried to aim for something like both T4 and T5.