Tekken

Tekken (鉄拳 lit. iron fist) is a series of fighter games developed and produced by Namco. Originally an arcade game, it has been ported to some video game consoles, such as the Sony Playstation. Mainly concerned with karate, kung fu and its variations, it also involves elements of boxing, wrestling and Capoeira. The series is one of the earliest 3-dimensional beat 'em up franchises, with the first game released less than two years after Virtua Fighter. There are now five Tekken games.

As with all fighter games, players each choose a character from different, exotic worldwide settings and fight hand-to-hand with each other. It is primarily a competitive two-player series, but a human player can fight an artificial intelligence-controlled character for practise or amusement.

It shares some gameplay mechanics and characters with Namco's other 3D fighter series, Soul Calibur.

Characters

• Nina Williams, An Irish Assassination Martial Artist that borrows concepts from Aikido and Bone Martial Arts. She has a history of being contracted to kill Mishimas and failing due to untimely quarrels with her sister; she was captured by Kazuya Mishima after failing to assassinate him in Tekken 2 and used as a guinea pig in the "cold sleep" project (cryonisation). She has lost her memory as a result and during Tekken 3 was controlled by Ogre and manipulated to try and kill Jin Kazama. In Tekken 4 she was returning to life as an assassin and hired by the mob to kill Steve Fox, who turned out to be her son from being artificially impregnanted while in cold sleep (the identity of the father is unknown, though many assume it to be Kazuya). She still has no memories of her previous life or Anna.

• Anna Williams, Nina's brunette sister also trained in Assassination Martial Arts; Extrovert extraordinaire. Made a point through Tekkens 1-3 of foiling all of Nina's assassination attempts by showing up at exactly the wrong place and the wrong time, and is portrayed as an all-around nicer, more sociable person than her sister. She was hired in Tekken 2 to be Kazuya's bodyguard along with Michelle Chang and Ganryu, and during that time was (allegedly) something along the lines of a girlfriend to Lee ChaoLan until that part of her life was cut short by choosing to be put into "cold sleep" with her sister (the storyline is ambiguous on the cause- she said she didn't want to turn old while her sister remained young, but it's hinted that in actuality would miss her sister who she really just wants to be at peace with). She did not lose her memory or was controlled by Ogre upon waking from Cold Sleep, unlike her sister, and attended Tekken 3 in an attempt to stop Nina from becoming an assassin again. In Tekken 4 she is mysteriously and inexplicably absent.

• Michelle Chang, A dark haired Asian female from Arizona and step mother of Julia Chang. In Tekken 2, she had an amulet which allegedly could control and subdue great powers and spirits and that Kazuya coveted; he was, however, unsuccessful at taking it away from her. At the conclusion of Tekken 2 she threw her amulet to the bottom of a lake, probably never to be found again.

• Julia Chang, Skilled in Chinese Martial Arts based on Shinrokugo-Ken, and is Michelle's step daughter. Julia was adopted in her infancy and never knew her real parents. In Tekken 3, Heihachi Mishima kidnapped Michelle in order to force Julia to give up a family heirloom he coveted, but was unsuccessful. Julia returns in Tekken 4 as an expert environmentalist, seeking ways to save her homeland from deforestation.

• Yoshimitsu, An ancient armored warrior trained in Advanced Manji Ninja Arts who loves to play arcade games in Kyoto, Japan. A benevolent "Robin Hood" type bandit, Yoshimitsu takes from the rich and gives to the poor. He is a close friend of Dr. Boskonovich (who was responsible for his full-scale cyborgisation later on) and was targeted during Tekken 3 by Bryan Fury. His chief rival is Kunimitsu.

• Forrest Law, A Chinese fighter based on Bruce Lee. Forrest is Marshall Law's son and a good friend of Paul Phoenix, much like his father. He dislikes riding on Paul's motorcycle, seeing as it makes him nauseous. He only appeared in Tekken 3, when supposedly Marshall was unavailable and Paul decided to take Forrest along with him to the tournament instead.

• Jack, A gigantic Russian robot. Jack saved a girl named Jane from the horrors of war and she became something between his friend and maintainer. Typically of robots, he was little more than a tool, but the chaos of war acted as a trigger for him to erratically develop human emotion.

• Lei Wulong, A five-form martial artist based on Jackie Chan. During Tekkens 1-3, Lei was a very respected police officer dubbed "super police" who put countless criminals behind bars. He was investigating the illegal hunting and trading of endangered animals done by the Mishima Zaibatsu during Tekken 2 and set out to stop the assassin the mob sent to kill Steve Fox (Nina Williams) during Tekken 4 in order to restore his waning reputation. Lei is fond of naps in general.

• Kazuya Mishima, Son of Heihachi Mishima and father of Jin Kazama. Fights using the Mishima style. He was abused at childhood by his father, being thrown from a cliff to test his "power" as the highlight. Kazuya also felt like his father was favoring his foster brother, Lee, over him when he sent Lee to study in America instead of him, which he deemed ridiculous since he was so incredibly stronger than his brother. Between Tekken 1 and 2, Kazuya made a deal with the Devil to gain power to overthrow his father- literally, making the Devil reside within his body. Having gained leadership of the Zaibatsu he hired Ganryu, Anna and Bruce as his bodyguards and appointed Lee as his secretary (during that period they were on considerably better terms). Kazuya was inexplicably attracted to Jun Kazama upon seeing her and she allegedly brought out his more human side, which was no small feat. During Tekken 3 Heihachi turned out to still be alive after all - surviving the fall from a tall cliff that Kazuya threw him into in a twist of malicious irony - and defeated him, casting him into a volcano and getting rid of him until his body was found by the G corporation and turned into a Cyborg. He visits Tekken 4 in order to take his final revenge from his father.

• Jin Kazama, Also known as the boy who became a protagnist against all odds. He grew up in the forest with his mother, Jun, not knowing anything about his father, until one fateful night the Ogre decided to attack Jun Kazama. Jin ran out of the house before it happened so he did not see it, but to assume his mother anything but dead would have been ludicrous; thus, with nowhere to go, he seeked out his grandfather Heihachi in hopes of Heihachi training him to be a fighter competent enough to avenge his mother. Heihachi, however, intended to merely use him as a pawn in his quest to harness the Ogre. Jin ended up defeating the Ogre but being immediately shot in the forehead by Heihachi, having "served his purpose". It was then that the Devil within Jin- for he had inherited the Devil's blood from his father, Kazuya - awakened and saved him from death while lunging and slamming Heihachi into the concrete ground for good measure. He returns in Tekken 4 with a resolve to disavow his cursed blood; he learns a new fighting style and decides to set about killing both Kazuya and Heihachi and dying without children so that the legacy of the Devil may not prevail.

• Paul Phoenix, Judo expert, Tekken veteran and good friend of the Laws. His fighting skills have achieved the status of legend, yet whenever he makes it to the final battle there is always something along the lines of a traffic jam, a silly mistake or some other thing to that extent that prevents him from actually winning the tournament. He tied with Kazuya Mishima during Tekken 2, which was no small feat considering that Kazuya had the Devil's powers to help him then. Paul's reason for attending the tournament, unlike the norm, is very impersonal and has become quite routine. He wants to win that blasted tournament already. He is running a dojo of his own when he hears about the Tekken 4 Tournament.

• Lee Chaolan, Kazuya's foster brother who was expelled from the Zaibatsu when Heihachi regained control due to siding with Kazuya in Tekken 2. As of Tekken 4 head of a successful robotics company. Built Combot. Supposedly had romantic connections to Anna Williams until she chose to put herself in cold sleep along with her sister. Fixated to some degree on money and power, which he both lacked as a child (he grew up as an orphan). In Tekken 4 he dyed his hair purple and put on dark glasses to hide his identity, especially from Heihachi. His martial arts style is similar to Forest Law's.

• King, A famous wrestler from Mexico. There are actually two Kings in the series, both of whom wore a big jaguar mask in matches. The first was a Catholic priest who participated in both pro-wrestling and martial arts tournaments to win money for his orphanage. He also taught his fighting skills to the children under his care as a means of self-defense. One of them, a young man, took up both the mantle and the mask shortly after the first King was killed by Ogre, and went on to participate in Tekken 3. Now 27, he received further training from Armor King, only to become furious when Craig Marduk killed AK in a bar brawl. Upon Marduk's release, King the Second sent a letter challenging him to the touranament in Tekken 4.

• Armor King, King's mentor and companion.

• Ling XiaoYu, Uses Chinese Martial Arts based on Hakke-Sho and Hika-Ken. Apparently has a crush on Jin.

• Hwoarang, A Tae Kwon Do fighter. Rival of Jin Kazama and former student of Baek Doo-san. When he received word of Baek's death at the hands of Ogre, he entered Tekken 3 to seek revenge.

• Eddy Gordo, Trained in the art of the Brazilian fighting style, Capoeira. His father was very influential but was killed by the mafia, and Eddy decided to willingly go into prison because he would be safe from the mafia there.

• Jun Kazama, Jin's mother, uses Kazama Style Classic Martial Arts. The embodiment of purity and niceness. Also allegedly psychic.

• Baek Doo-San, A Tae Kwon Do Fighter and Hwoarang's mentor. He was killed by the Ogre during Tekken 2.

• Ganryu, A Sumo Wrestler who was a bodyguard to Kazuya during Tekken 2. Has a crush on Michelle Chang.

• Brian Fury, Kickboxer who in life was Lei WuLong's rival. After his death due to a failed attempt at crossing two gangs at once, Brain was reanimated by Dr. Abel as a cyborg with the mission of targeting Yoshimitsu and Dr. Boskonovich, Abel's rival. Brian still has a grudge against Lei.

• Heihachi Mishima, Host of the King of the Iron Fist Tournament, Jin's grandfather, fights with the power of the Mishima Style. Like other Mishimas, simply refuses to die.

• Devil, The essence of evil that has contaminated Kazuya in return for power to overthrow Heihachi.

• Angel, Vies with Devil over Kazuya's soul.

• Mokujin, A wooden combat training doll awakened by the Ogre. Its fighting style is mimicry (it alternates between sets of moves used by the other fighters).

• Alex/Roger, Roger is a kangaroo and Alex is a raptor. Both were genetic creations of Dr. Boskonovich intended to help the various people attempting to thwart Devil-Kazuya.

• Panda, Ling Xiaoyu's loyal pet. Fights using... bear martial arts. Obviously.

• Kuma, Heihachi's pet. Likes watching TV. Considers Paul a rival, though doesn't have much of a record against him.

• Kunimitsu, Female armored ancient warrior. Yoshimitsu's rival that would rather have the ninja clan steal for itself rather than the poor.

• Bruce Irvin, Kickboxer. Was Lei Wulong's partner in the police force and good friend until the Mishima Zaibatsu sabotaged his plane and it crashed. Bruce somehow survived but lost his memory. He was collected by Kazuya and made his bodyguard, then brainwashed that Lei was his enemy and he was responsible for him crashing.

• "Jack-2", Another robot of the Jack series.

• Wang Jin-Rei, Old man who trained with Heihachi's father, Jinpachi.

• Baek Doo-San, Trained in Tae Kwon Do and was Hwoarang's mentor. Was killed by the Ogre during Tekken 2.

• Ogre/True Ogre, Final Boss in Tekken 3. Infused with mythical powers. Absorbs souls of fighters.

• Prototype Jack, Self-explaintory.

• Craig Marduk, Killed Armor King in a barfight. A pychotic wrestler.

• Gon, Tiny little dinosaur based on a Japanese comic series. Will Tekken 5 have Naruto in it instead of Yoshimitsu?... No, I didn't think so, either...

• Dr.Boskonovitch, Companion of Yoshimitsu and uses unique ground fighting techniques (since he suffers from a rare disease that affects the spine, and is constantly drunk). His daughter is also sick and he started the "cold sleep" project for the purpose of freezing her until he can find a cure. Also responsible for the creation of Alex and Roger. Rival of Dr. Abel.

• Steve Fox, A famous boxer who was adopted at childhood. Was threatened to throw a fight by the British mafia and has been hunted ever since for not complying. The latest assassin sent after him is Nina Williams, who is actually, as it turns out, his biological mother.

• Christie Monteiro, Appears in Tekken 4 after Eddy's disappearance in Tekken 3. She also uses Capoeira. Eddy's student.

• Unknown, Tortured soul enslaved by a wolf spirit. Only appears in Tekken Tag Tournament, and fittingly not much is known about her (Tekken Tag Tournament doesn't even have a storyline, which makes her purpose pretty much impossible to discern). The most common speculation is that she's actually a transmogrified Jun Kazama. Unknown appears in the end of the intro in Tekken 3. It made the tattoo on Jin Kazama 's arm.

• The Killer List of Video Game's entry on Tekken
• GameFAQS.com's Tekken 3 FAQ page, including an in-depth storyline guide