Probably the best in the series. Also probably one of the best fighting games ever. Please read on.
First of all, the greasy, bulky combat of Tekken 4 has improved greatly; beating up your opponent by randomly tapping the attack buttons has never been so easy! (lol jk I'm not n00b anymoar). The charcters list has also increased by almost 2 times of Tekken 4 but the moves list for each character surprisingly stayed the same large useless amount.
The game modes in the game are fascinating. The Arcade mode is simple, easy, and fun to use to pass the time because there's no limit and you sorta have the freedom to choose your next opponent's character and skill level. As you play more with each character, the enemies get stronger, which is really cool.
The stories for not only the main three japanese demons, but all the characters have become more interesting. The only thing annoying about story mode is that you MUST defeat that son of a ***** demon boss Jinpachi that's nearly impossible to kill but you have to if you want to unlock the specific character's ending and unlock another character.
Another interesting thing worth noting is the adventure mode where you use Jin to infiltrate the Tekken facilities, temples and whatnot (I forgot the name of the mode because I haven't played in a long time, so I'll just call it adventure mode). It's a combination of fighting, adventure, puzzle, and platforming which is really unique in a fighting game. It's almost like the Konquest mode from Mortal Kombat except without the Open World and role playing elements.
Here are some Pros and Cons of this spectacular game:
Pros:
1. One of the best fighting games ever and arguably the best in the series.
2. Nice graphics for a PS2 game.
3. Great fighting styles make the characters look dynamic and cool.
4. Fighting controls improved greatly and are much easier to control.
5. A huge selection of characters.
6. Each character still have a large list of moves.
7. Pretty neat arenas.
8. A great variety of game modes.
9. The 'adventure' mode is fun to play and beats the Tekken Force adventure mode from Tekken 4.
10. Story is way better.
Cons:
1.You have to beat the insanely hard boss everytime if you want to unlock another character!!!!
2.'Adventure' mode eventually gets hard and boring, like Tekken Force from Tekken 4 but it's still better.
3. Large list of moves are still consisted of useless flashy moves just for eyecandy.
4. Arenas are not as huge as the ones from Tekken 4.
5. Some characters are pointless (such as Anna, the kangaroo dude).
6. Arcade mode eventually gets wayy too hard if you play too much with one character.
Conclusion: a very good fighting game that's a must get if you still have a PS2 and don't like Mortal Kombat (which is also very good).
My final review:
Gameplay: 9.2/10
Graphics: 9/10 (for its time)
Story: 7/10
Multiplayer: 8/10 (vs. mode)
Fun: 9/10 (depends who you are)
Time total: about 5-12 hours for a regular guy to get bored
Learing curve: Ehh, easy I guess. I just beat the game through randomly tapping the attack buttons.
Control: 8.5/10
Interaction: 6.3/10
Violence: 6.8/10
Funniness: 6/10 (a boxing kangaroo in a fighting tournament?).
'Cool'ness: 8/10
Unique: 8.4/10 (the game modes)
Worth your money: YES (definitely one of the best fighting games ever).
Final rating: 4 stars