Tekken 3D Prime Edition

Tekken on 3DS is a well done conversion, with a steady 60 fps framerate (also in 3D!) and the same gameplay from PS3 and Xbox 360 versions. There are just two single player modes, and controls are some kind of problematic, but for the fans with a 3DS it's a must buy.

Terrific 3D and a massive roster can't make up for the disappointing single-player. [Apr 2012, p.89]

A good-looking and solid take on Tekken 6 that packs in a ton of content. But single-player modes are unsatisfying and the fighting feels dated compared to Street Fighter 3D. [Feb 2012, p.90]

From a purely technical standpoint, Tekken 3D Prime Edition is awesome - the graphics and gameplay are top-notch. But the overall lack of compelling solo experience keeps me from recommending this game more highly. [March 2012, p.88]

Tekken 3D Prime Edition it's perfect to play against your friends with wireless connection but it lacks about single player modes.

Prime Edition is pure Tekken, fast and exciting, with 40 fighters and 765 3D Cards. For the first time there is a Tekken online mode in a portable console.

Tekken 3D Prime Edition definitely gets props for recreating the fast combat and fluidity of the series on a handheld. However, the lack of any real depth in the modes and lack of customization features for your fighters makes it tough to want to spend an extended amount of time with it.

If you are just looking for some tough online fights and like the Tekken characters, you can't go wrong. If you want a motivating singleplayer experience, however, consider a different beat'em up.

Not the best rival of games like Street Fighter IV 3D Edition or Dead Alive: Dimensions, but still a good exponent for the fighting genre in Nintendo 3DS.

Tekken 3D Prime Edition is graphically impressive and provides a lot of fun due to its huge roster. The main problem is its lack of modes and the crazy lag during the online matches. You should buy it if you love this franchise and if you are planning to play it with a friend.

A good installment of the classic saga for Nintendo consoles, resulting in a very interesting experience that allows us to fight everywhere. It includes the 3D movie, which looks great, but has limited content and a control system that fails sometimes.

Tekken 3D had everything to be something awesome, but unfortunately it is only a technical marvel on Nintendo's handheld.

Arika succeeds in translating the Tekken experience to Nintendo's handheld, but the lack of content makes other offerings like Super Street Fighter IV or Dead or Alive: Dimensions much more recommended for most players.

As a full-price package, Tekken 3D is more of a technical accomplishment than a portable innovator. If all you want to do is train while preparing for the next battle, then this is Tekken at its purest. But if you're looking for dynamic game types like the generous spread of Story, Legion and Abyss modes in the 3DS version of BlazBlue: Continuum Shift 2, then you'll be largely disappointed.

Ultimately, this could have been the definitive Tekken. As it stands, Namco Bandai will have to settle with having a good video game, by no means a bad thing, and if all you plan to enjoy is multiplayer, raise the score another half star.

A good if unspectacular Tekken transition. Its 41 characters and 60fps frame rate is unmatched on 3DS, and while it arguably lacks a truly meaty challenge for a single player it's enjoyable enough that you won't really mind. It won't set the world alight, but it's another strong addition to 3DS's array of big name scrappers.

Overall you'll get a solid and entertaining beat-em-up experience, but if you plan to challenge your friends online, look somewhere else.

This game is a bit of a conundrum: the fighting engine has been successfully translated, but then the developers did practically nothing with it. That's a big disappointment, and seriously hampers the value proposition of this roughly $80 [NZ] cartridge - not an insignificant amount of money, that's for sure.

It's a Tekken game, but stripped bare. That's all anyone ever really needs to know.

Tekken 3D Prime Edition is the attempt to bring the series' typical experience on Nintendo 3DS. Flawed by lack of options but with a tradition gameplay, it stands in the middle, quite funny but not completely accomplished.

Technical achievements set Tekken 3D Prime apart from other 3DS games in the genre. Visuals aside, it fails to meet expectations.

There's next to nothing for solo brawlers to do. [Issue#120, p.108]

The bare-bones Training mode does little to help the inexperienced either. [Apr 2012, p.124]

Tekken 3D Prime Edition is a classic example on how a portable game manages to keep the core from the console big brothers, but that fails miserably when it comes to offer that extra something that makes it stick in your memory. The game mechanics are as good as always, but it soon becomes too repetitive and boring to make any lasting impression.

The core fighting system has been ported perfectly to the 3DS and the animation is very well done, but everything else has been stripped down to the bare essentials. Substantial lag makes most online matches unplayable, and just two single player modes doesn't give too many options for replayability.

Tekken 3D Prime Edition has everything needed for a great Tekken game except content. And that ultimately makes it boring to play in the long run.

Tekken 3D nails its formula but doesn't provide much room to show off and flex it. As far as arcade fighters go, there are better, more substantial alternatives now with much cheaper price tags.

Tekken 6 in your pocket, that's the offer of this Tekken 3D Prime Edition. It's pretty, fast, and playable, and quite impressive from a technical standpoint. Too bad the content doesn't follow so much, with few game modes and an online mode that can be really laggy at times.

Of all the issues with online play, the lag during matches is the worst. Even when playing against people in your local region, and even with the stereoscopic 3D effect automatically turned off for online battles, lag manages to stutter into bouts more often than not, typically at the worst possible moments.

An excellent portable fighting game engine in desperate search of a fully-featured game to attach itself to, in what is a shamefully insubstantial release.

Sixty frames per second in 3D is indeed a marvelous technical achievement and Tekken 3D: Prime Edition deserves praise for reaching that goal. It's just too bad the game never bothered with building a deck around its ace.

It's difficult to shake the feeling that Tekken 3D Prime Edition is a lazy, perfunctory product with little to offer longtime fans other than a terrible movie, 3D graphics, and mobility.

Tekken 3D Prime Edition gets its points from its well-done console-to-handheld translation and its absolutely gorgeous visuals. However, with half of the game missing in action, I just can't recommend this in good conscience. If you really need some current-edition Tekken on the go, then at least wait for a price drop.

The competition exceeds this utterly unnecessary game in all aspects. Meatless games are not a main course anymore. [March 2012]

A game that could have been great, as the core Tekken mechanics have been carefully ported to the 3DS. But as pretty much everything else is missing, the longevity just isn't here.

A scaled-down version of Tekken 6 with the addition of the movie Blood Vengeance. Recommended only to fans of the franchise.

It's just a shame that Tekken 3D Prime Edition is so lacking in features, both in terms of single player and multiplayer. For an entry from a heralded fighting series almost unheard of on Nintendo platforms (remember Tekken Advance?), this one seems to be half-hearted at best.

Kudos to Namco Bandai for raising the bar on 3D fighters' frame rates, but beyond that, it's tough to get excited about a game that seems content with the bare minimum.

Every Tekken game has a lot to offer, but Tekken 3D Prime Edition doesn't have a lot of content. This makes for one hollow experience.

If you want to play Tekken against your friends locally on the go, then Tekken 3D Prime Edition is perfect for you. For anyone wanting a decent single-player experience or a consistent online experience, you're better off looking into one of the other fighting games on the system, as Tekken 3D Prime Edition fails both in a single-player experience and online.