Review: Tekken: Dark Resurrection (2006, Sony. PSP)

So, Tekken makes its long awaited debut on PSP but is it any good? Well, first things first: a few facts. Tekken: Dark Resurrection is a direct port of the arcade original, which is in itself an update of Tekken 5 but with a few added extras. Two new characters have been added to the already very extensive roster of eccentric brawlers. Lili: a rich kid fighting for her father and Sergei Dragunov, a soldier who fights like a cross between Baek and Bryan Fury. Armor King makes a comeback due to popular demand and controversially every character is now available from the outset, meaning that there's no longer any need to unlock them. This is a weird move since the main impetus for playing through the story mode was to gain extra scrappers. This doesn't really matter though as the story mode is identical to Tekken 5's, which you'll have no desire to go through again if you've already played through it once already. Instead, Tekken: DR boasts a raft of character customisation options as well as loads of new unlockable extras, including new modes such as the dojo, attack mode and the return of Tekken Bowl. The best new addition is the dojo mode which allows you to fight against AI ghosts of Tekken fighters from all over the world. This gives you the opportunity to work your way through the world ranks and gain a clear overall picture of how good a Tekken fighter you really are. Us? We'd rather not say.
The bottom line is that this is Tekken in all its excessive glory, in the palm of your hands for-crying-out-loud!! It plays flawlessly and button-bashers needn't worry as the PSP's face buttons are actually surprisingly robust and able to withstand a good hammering. Despite ever so slightly simplified textures and character models that close-up appear a tad more angular than usual the graphics remain sumptuous as ever. Wireless ad-hoc game sharing and AI ghost downloads join all the usual stuff that you'd expect from a Tekken title squeezed onto a little UMD disc: it's nothing short of miraculous. Our only qualm? It doesn't really innovate or move the series forward in any way, but when you're talking Tekken in handheld form, frankly, we couldn't care less when it's this good. An indispensable title that's an essential purchase for any self-respecting PSP owner.
Verdict: 9/10