Players can now side-step into and out of the background in order to avoid an opponent's attacks and potentially set up their own counter-attack. The 3D movement system has been completely revamped for Tekken 3 and plays a much more important role compared to previous Tekken titles.

A character on the receiving end of a grapple can potentially cancel their opponent's grapple by performing a certain timed input accordingly, such as pressing Left Punch or Right Punch at the moment the grapple is initiated. Typically these throw moves must be performed at very close range, though there are a few exceptions. By performing specific sequences of directional and button inputs, players can execute advanced character-specific fighting techniques, or link together successive strikes to form combo attacks.Īll characters can execute grapple throws which cannot be blocked by an opponent and usually deal significant damage. The game uses eight-way directional controls and four buttons (as opposed to the six-button setup commonly used by Street Fighter and its derivatives), with each button roughly corresponding to one of the player character's limbs: Left Punch, Right Punch, Left Kick and Right Kick. Tekken 3 follows the same general control setup and fighting gameplay established by prior Tekken entries.

Tekken 3 was later used as the basis for the 1999 spin-off title Tekken Tag Tournament, which adds a tag team mechanic and restores most of the characters featured in prior Tekken entries. In addition to various audiovisual and gameplay changes, the console version adds two new unlockable characters and game modes, including a beat-'em-up called 'Tekken Force' and the volleyball-inspired 'Tekken Ball'. However, Heihachi plans to use Jin and the other tournament participants as bait to lure out an ancient immortal being known as Ogre, believing he can harness the creature's power to further strengthen his own organization.Ī console port of the arcade version was released exclusively for PlayStation in 1998. Tekken 3's plot centers around new character Jin Kazama, the orphaned son of Kazuya and Jun Kazama who has been trained by Heihachi over the last four years to fight in 'The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3'. The game is set nineteen years after the events of Tekken 2, in which Heihachi Mishima defeated his own son Kazuya in the second 'King of Iron Fist' martial arts tournament in order to reclaim his position as head of the powerful Mishima Zaibatsu. It was originally made for Namco's own proprietary System 12 arcade hardware, an upgrade from their prior PS1-based System 11 boards. Tekken 3 is a 3D fighting game developed and released by Namco on March 20, 1997.

Tekken 3 game