The truth is, Namco, the game's developer & publisher, has made a quick and cowardly retreat from the new and exciting territory it explored in TEKKEN 4. The latest iteration of the Tekken franchise gets back to its 'roots' Namco have proudly and loudly stated. But not to worry you're in for a (weak) 'surprise' as the antagonist and mascot of the famed Sony PlayStation fighting series, rises from the grave (literally) almost as immediately as he's (supposedly) assassinated. 'Heihachi Mishimais dead', Or so the opening scenes of TEKKEN 5 would have you believe. Thankfully though the devil within doesn't over shadow the absolute greatness of Tekken 5- one of the best beat em ups you'll ever play. Hopefully the next games attempt at a value increasing bonus game mode will be lot better. The only problem with the game is its awful 3rd person adventure mode ,'the devil within'- an incredibly tedious mode of play in which jin wonders around drab halls and corridors solving boring puzzles and fighting hordes of uninteresting opponents.

It even has arcade perfect versions of tekken 1,2,3 and starblade as unlocakble games that you can play at your own leisure! Honestly, you'll feel spoiled playing it. Tekken 5 has it all- beautiful graphics, easy to learn/hard to master gameplay, a genuine sense of reward and a collection of well balanced characters -all unique in their own way. Well, making every one happy is exactly what namco did with tekken 5 and it has paid off beautifully-Tekken 5 is one of the greatest fighting games ever made ,its the beat em up equivalent to heaven. After disappointing fans world wide with the gameplay changes in tekken 4, It must have been pretty clear to the development team about what action to take for the next tekken installment : make every one happy again! And by that i mean take the game back to when it was at its very best- when their were juggle combos and a noticeable lack of gravity.

Tekken advance soundtrack: arcade intro