HOT DAMN!!! Tekken 4 pix!!!

Re: Tekken trash 4

You know, the newest photos of Tekken 4 look pretty good; and it actually looks much better than those awful photos from the top of this page. I don't understand...are those earlier photos taken from an earlier build of T4, does the final arcade look like that, or are those pictures of the Playstation 2 version?

Clearly, the new Tekken doesn't hold a candle to the new Virtua Fighter. I'm surprised, considering how people have been complaining that VF4 won't be the graphical leap beyond its contemporaries like VF3 was. I still don't know about the PS2 version (and won't until I actually SEE something), but it looks like coin-op VF4 won't have much trouble.

Daniel Thomas
check out my artwork at Art-Agent.com

 

My prediction is still that PS2 is gonna handle vf4 with ease, texture memory, lighting and all. Namco's style has always been different from Sega's style of rendering. I'd have to say I like tecmo's the best, Namco's the second (because of Soul Calibur) and sega third.

I think the backgrounds in T4 look pretty good, if you compare the beach background to the foliage in the background of the T4 shot, the T4 shot looks really good.

Character wise the VF characters look better than T4 now, but when the games come out, I think they will be of comparable quality.

PS2 will be able to do VF4 with ease, I really think PS2 has a shot of rendering a better looking VF4 than N2. OF course I still think there is a business initiative behind this as well. I think they are creating something that they know they can translate to the PS2, limiting N2's potential in certain areas, or maybe what we see is N2's max, either way, I think ps2 will do VF4 quite well.

CrewNYC

 

quick thoughts

- Wow, side by side there is a big difference between the T4 and VF4 shots. The lighting is just crazy for VF4...perhaps a little too crazy.

- Checked out the pics at ruliweb...is it just me or does T4 look like Killer Instinct??

- T4's style has changed drastically...the in game graphics seem a lot more cartoonish (i.e. less edgier) than previous incarnations. Or maybe that's just cuz of past hardware limitations.

- Love the character portraits in T4, they look great.

 

I totally agree with you. For example look at Akiras' Dogi and compare it with Kazuyas, Paul clothes....It almost looks like flat shading to me

 

I think it's interesting how T4 SEEMS to have such a short development cycle. Maybe they've been working on it a long time privately, but it's strange this is the fisrt time it's been shown, it seems pretty early in it's development, and it's being released in a few weeks? Grnated, I'm basing my assumptions about it's growth on these screenshots, but it seems like TTT PS2 had a LOT more going on on screen than this... does this kind of stuff onlt take a few weeks to add?

Vf4 has had such a relatively public, slow, seemingly thoughtful evolution. It'll be interesting to see if it's reflected in the quality of the final products.

I think someone else already said this, but if it reminds me of another game, it's definately Last Bronx in terms of mood/setting. It feels more urban to me than TTT, and the parking garage, rooftop, and airport are all in LB. I feel the character designs have a Tetsuya Nomura (sp?)/FF8,FF10, The Bouncer stlye to them. Steve Fox reminds me of Zell from FF8. Seems like a lot of people are wearing tennis shoes and stylish, new school clothes. But this fashion doesn't seem to reflect any real life trend...

Spotlite

 

Names, pronounciation, character designs

No offence to VF or anything, but I do think Namco is best in creating characters. Names are classier and more chic in Namco's games but VF aims for simplicity. Now for a thesis on names.

E.g.

1. Xianghua sounds much better than Pai. (BTW Xianghua is in Mandarin but Pai is in Cantonese. And if Sega stops following the Western world in names, you would see surnames [last names] first, like Chan Lau, Chan Pai, Yuki Akira and Umenokouji Aoi... which brings us to the next pt.) I mean, 'Jacky' is so last Tuesday, compared to 'Paul' [ooh, bad example], or better still, Vanessa Lewis to Christie Monteiro. Both sound cool, but CM reflects Brazil more. Whereas Lei-Fei is just yucks.

2. Unpronounceable names. Umenokoji or Umenokouji. The second one is correct. If you translate everything back to basic Jap then you will find that there is another 'u' (oo) sound between 'ko' and 'ji'. And Aoi... is ah-oy. Not that Xianghua is free of this (the announcer goes Zsanghooah, with Zsa as in Zsa Zsa Gabor). The proper way is Seeanghoowa, but it is said quickly with the ee and oo mouther quickly as well. So it would be Sianghwa.

3. Cool names. Notice I'm using SC as an example? Cervantes. Siegfried. Voldo. My, they even have accents for their names. Like Siegfried is said 'Ziegfried' (it's German accent really - my friend who knows German told me) and Voldo is 'Valudo'. VF's names are really boring. Easy to remember, yes, but easily forgotten as well.

Now for character designs.

1. My No.1 peeve. All right... in other games, female characters are usually protrayed as sex figures, right? They range from the downright dirty to the suggestive (hidden) type. For example, Tina Armstrong is one who exposes, but VF2 C2 Sarah Bryant is subtle [personally I think the latter is sexier]... BUT in VF3, their attempt to reveal more skin has backfired, especially for Sarah C2. I think you may have heard this before, but have you seen the difference in skin colour from her face and body. Yes... it looks like she's using facial whitener. And she's too bulky, with her arms like balloons... Next section would be on bulkiness. OK, to fight, you must have some requisite muscle. No Seung Mina crap or LOOK I am Yuri! Or I am [we are] Chichi-Nene... but the VF gals are too bulky. Their hands are as big as their faces. [VF3, that is.]

2. Costumes are on the borderline. There are very good ones but there are those that are complete wipeouts. All those below are just opinions, feel free to slam me.

Akira
Best [VF4 Cos 2] - I don't know... it just looks better than all so far. And it's always been black, grey and white for him.
Worst [VF4 Cos 1] - Baggy... yes... but it makes him look like a Ninja Turtle. Fat but muscular.

Pai
Best [VF3 Cos 1] - It's just the best. Much better than those puffy Manchurian costumes of old. But the blue and red ones come close... as well as the pink ensemble in VF2.
Worst [VF3 Cos 2] - Another attempt to expose but a major failure. Yellow and blue don't really go together [except on Ikea], but at least they didn't use the pink ballerina one. See early shots and you'll see.

Lau
Best [VF3 Cos 1] - Though VF4 Cos 1 comes close, I think red looks better on him.
Worst [VF4 Cos 2] - Orange shoes? Yuck. He looks like a Turkish trader. But the textures are nice though, especially the blue cuffs, they look really good.

Wolf
Best [VF4 Cos 1] - It's just the best so far. The crumpling cloth is just wow.
Worst [VF3 Cos 2] - Cowboy 'do just doesn't suit him. Red Indian [VF4 C2] doesn't really click, but I think it's eons better than the cowboy garb.

Jeffry
Best [VF3 Cos 2] - Electric purple, cargo and bandanna. It wins hands down.
Worst [VF1 Cos 2] - The colour isn't that oomph. Olive is just so bleagh.

Kage
Best [VF4 Cos 2] - The traditional Kage outfit looks swell AGAIN! I don't mind VF4 C1 but it's just too new and the sandals just...fails it. VF3 C2 comes close, as well as VF2 C2.
Worst [VF3 Cos 1] - The traditional Kage outfit, without handguards. The colours are too neon bright. I don't know, I just hate it.

Sarah
Best [VF2 Cos 2] - Wow. Sexy = suggestive but not revealing.
Worst [VF3 Cos 2] - It's new, and there's a new hairstyle which I adore, but she's such a cow in that one. Here comes a challenger... for Christina Aguilera.

Jacky
Best [VF3 Cos 1] -It's just the best, over his spandex outfits. VF4 Cos 2, a more Indy 500 image, comes close.
Worst [VF4 Cos 1] - Don't know... just doesn't seem him. It's like he wants to dress like Sarah. But nice spandex texture.

Shun
Best [VF2 Cos 1] - It's the traditional Shun ensemble but I think it looks best here. VF3's was too patterny while VF4 sees a change in pants... looks faintly like Wolf's track pants.
Worst [VF3 Cos 2] - I'm the dumpling from China... that's the implication. Or I'm a pseudo-Samurai-circus act freak. At least they didn't have that horrendous 'I want to be young again so I'm borrowin Lion's wardrobe' yodeller dress.

Lion
Best [VF3 Cos 1] - Just looks the best for him. The life jacket comes close.
Worst [VF4 Cos 1] - Shun borrowed my wardrobe so I'm wearing latex spandex whatever. Saving grace? It's in the life jacket colour scheme.

Aoi
Best [VF4 Cos 2] - It's the pink kimono! But with sleeves 100%! [BTW I still think I saw Aoi VF3 C2 cand Pai VF3 C1 in the test version movies)
Worst [VF4 Cos 1] - It's OK, really, but I have to make a choice. The red is too glaring. Think deep purple would be better, or addition of sleeves.

Taka
Best [VF3 Cos 2] - It's either this or that. Blue is his colour
Worst [VF3 Cos 1] - It's either this or that. Don't like him this way.

Lei-Fei
Best [VF4 Cos 1] - The way he dresses shows he is a senior member of Shaolin. That's an abbot garb he is wearing!!! And the sleeves make it a sure winner.
Worst [VF4 Cos 2] - It's OK, this Shaolin-monk in training suit. Just that one has to lose, really.

Vanessa
Best and Worst [VF4 Cos 1] - She's hot and looks good. But I'm not really into fusion of characters.

Dural
Best [VF2 Cos 1] - I've never seen Dural in the arcade VF2, I always lose at Akira becos he does a cheapo d/b+P+G and as I turn around with an attack he reverses it. Or if I don't attack, he does some other combo or hard-to-escape-from move. Anyway I liked her in the CG movie ending for VF2, and I still am angry at how VF3 failed to deliver Dural's reflection and all the other wonderful effects just to rush it.
Worst [VF1 Cos 2] - Gold is gaudy. And when VF1 is the least beautiful in graphics, then the answer is clear. I still think they should have a Crystal Dural. When she loses she shatters. And there's one shot where she looks like she's made of crystal somewhere.

I wanted to comment on music but I'm out of time. Bye!

P/S: Can you pronounce Zhang Ziyi [of Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon fame]
Do you go Jarng Zee Yee? Hahahahahahahahahahaha!




<font color=orange>Imagine losing to this bozo...</font color=orange>

 

T4 details - pricey

In case anyone was wondering about some T4 details - here's a quote from a post on RGVA...

<blockquote><font size=1>In reply to:</font><hr>

We just received the latest screen shots from Japan & Namco USA for Tekken 4 - also the demo film clip of the opening sequence. Details are at;

http://www.highwaygames.com/body.php3action=mach_view&pg=0&machine_id=2214

The latest news is for dedicated machines for release end of July, kits end
of August and price, over $3000 for the PCB.

<hr></blockquote>

Pretty pricey. Looks like it will hit arcades well before VF4 too.

cheers,

<font color=white>Llanfair</font color=white>
<font color=orange>Booyah daddy mac! I'm stylin!</font color=orange>

 

Re: Names, pronounciation, character designs

Well, I think the major concern I've had with VF character designs is that more than half of them look like corpses. Sarah HAS to of been dead for at least a good year she is sooo friggen white.

I pretty much agree with what you said, except for wolf. That VF4 costume makes him look like a friggen Johhny Appleseed without the stick and bag!

"Victory can be anticipated, but not assured" Sun-Tzu

 

Re: Names, pronounciation, character designs

what's so hard abt pronoucing zhang ziyi?

<font color=red>~~~ 'enemy not SPODED, enemy not DOWN/versus/images/icons/mad.gif~~~'

 

Re: Names, pronounciation, character designs

"... Vanessa Lewis to Christie Monteiro. Both sound cool, but CM reflects Brazil more"

How does it "reflect" Brazil more? Actually, none of them reflects Brazil well at all. "Monteiro" is an uncommon Brazilian surname, but it's still valid. Christie, however, is not. Brazilian variations for "Christine" exist (it's usually spelled without the H - as in Cristine or Cristina), but I haven't so far seen a single instance of a "Christie" nickname. It's mostly Chris, or Cris.

Vanessa Lewis - Vanessa is not that common a name in Brazil, but I've met quite a few Vanessas here. Lewis is completely off the mark, though... there's "Luís", a kind of Lewis in portuguese, but it's mostly a male name (or surname).

"I do think Namco is best in creating characters" - from what perspective do you say this? Under the "functionality" aspect, I'd rate Namco characters down to the pit. They're in a game, after all, and subject to systems - why shouldn't they behave uniquely? Compare Taka to Ganryu and you'll get the point. They might rank some "coolness" or "chic" points to some, as you put it - however, I really love most of VF's character designs because there's so much care spent into them, in terms of variety of application, and it shows. Whereas in Tekken you have clones of clones of clones (Kazuya, Heihachi, Jin - Jack, Jack-2, Gun Jack, yadda yadda), in VF you have completely different uses for even superficially similar moves; it's a common mistake for the untrained eye to believe Wolf's knee works in just the same way as Jacky's, for instance. However, that's far from being true. Conversely, the lp,lp,rp combo works the exact same way for all mishimas. So does the so-called (electric) wind godfist - stock moves. I don't think there is even a frame difference.

There are interesting characters in Tekken, at least conceptually - Lei, Hwoarang and Xiaoyu, for example. However, those are the exception and not the norm. For every unique character in a Namco game you have two or three clones.

On the subject of "costumes", I tend to prefer VF's more sober approach (not simpler mind you, just more sober) - they just make more sense. And plus, fabrics that are supposed to move actually do so, in a fantastic way. On the Namco side of the coin - why bother with Lei's traditional Wushu outfit? It looks like he's wearing a stiff bell around his thighs.

Soul Edge's (why does no one ever mention that game when talking about SC?) and Soul Calibur's ORIGINAL characters fare a little better, in my opinion (though there's resquices of Tekken in Lizardman) - but SC still suffers largely from Namco character clone syndrome. And clothes/hair are still terrible.

I don't have much faith at all in Tekken 4's attention to detail - I still think hairs will be mostly stiff and clothing won't behave properly. Take a look at those early Kazuya shots and compare his belt to Akira's. Still too early too tell for sure, though - I might be pleasantly surprised, and I hope the game turns out good.

 

Re: T4 details - pricey

Hey Llanfair...

That link doesn't work. The page is unavailable, if I remember correctly.

Pretty pricey. Looks like it will hit arcades well before VF4 too.

Honestly, I doubt if VF4 hits any of the local arcades at all, given the history of this city's "support" of VF. I guess I'll have to wait until the PS2 release.
But there'll be plenty of T4 to go around.
*sigh* Maybe I should move.


-<font color=white>Ghost</font color=white><font color=blue>DOG</font color=blue>

 

Re: Names, pronounciation, character designs

I agree with a lot of your points. Especially about the Mishimas, the Williamses, and the Jacks. Tekken does have interesting character design to a certain extent, but it's not as original as VF. For the most part the characters might as well be pallette swaps.
Tekken is a lot like MK with the character clones. Kano had a clone, Goro had a few, and then there's Scorpion/Sub Zero/Ermac/Smoke/etc.......


-<font color=white>Ghost</font color=white><font color=blue>DOG</font color=blue>

 

Re: Names, pronounciation, character designs

I'm not going to defend myself much, or anything like that.

On 'coolness' and 'chic', well... what I really mean is that the Namco characters seem more lifelike, as in they have more personality. Although quite a number of characters have unrealistic selves (no names now... but I hear one member of the Tekken series has plutonium as blood), I still believe that their stories and characters are much more interesting than VF's. I mean, everyone is a good guy in VF! There's no conflict! Heck to J6 or any storyline... the game doesn't reflect it at all. But I still like VF for the gameplay. I can't adapt really well to others. And I like its realism... can't stand colourful trails from attacks or explosions and other crappy whatnots.

As for Zhang Ziyi.... OK, perhaps some of you can pronounce it. It's just that I was reading the papers on how Westerners can't pronounce her name, hence 'Zhang Zee Yee' and I was like trying to find out more about this. OK, you're all my guinea pigs! Hahahahahahaha!

Seriously now, Westerners have a much more heavy tongue [as in their expression of words] compared to Asians. As such, Asians can pronounce more words, but European languages avoid them. On the other hand, I believe Westerners can accomplish the latter above but find it harder to adapt downwards to a lighter tongue, especially languages like Japanese and Mandarin where pronounciation must be really accurate or the meaning changes.

If you closely at voices from VF, you'll notice that some of the Western characters have this 'light-tongue' syndrome. In VF2, Jacky's voice was... like that, and VF3's voices were all provided by the anime seiyuu [who ought to be shot]. Anyone knows if VF4's voices will carry on these voice actors [like DOA]? Or will it be like VF3 where VF2 voices were first used before VF3's. Or are they going to be a new generation of crappy voices and music! I want VF2's back!!!!

<font color=orange>Imagine losing to this bozo...</font color=orange>

 

Re: Names, pronounciation, character designs

"I still believe that their stories and characters are much more interesting than VF's"

I don't really care for storylines in fighting games at all - though I understand it's important to some people, I'm only concerned with the gameplay system and character implementation (i.e. how interesting the characters are to play); therefore, I don't think good character designs are a direct product/consequence of a good "storyline".

On the subject of seyuu/voices/music; I'm pretty much sure that the voices will change in the final version, as happened to 3. I really like the voices on 3, excluding the english-speaking characters (Jeffry may be an exception) - I also really enjoy the soundtrack. I didn't like most of it much initially - as opposed to Akira's VF2 song, which just blew me right away the first time I heard it - but it grew on me exponentially over the years. The little I could hear of the (probably provisory) character selection screen song on 4 on those bad-quality movies was very good too - I hope they keep that style. The presentation as a whole, in fact, is just about perfect to me.

 

Re: Names, pronounciation, character designs

I for one love the music in VF3....but u're right abt VF2 Akira's bgm. Blew me away when I first heard it as well.

<font color=red>~~~ 'enemy not SPODED, enemy not DOWN/versus/images/icons/mad.gif~~~'

 

Marketingdecission!?

The main reason why Tekken 4 comes 2-3 weeks before Vf4, is a pure Marketingdecission. Namco knows if some arcades buy Tekken 4, their demand for a second fighter will be much more little (Mainly liitle arcades with a low budget). Smart decission, i wounder if the game will have some bugs or major weaknesses. I will put a close eye on Tekken 4 when it comes out......

P.S there was a similar gamecolission on PS2 between Tekken 4 and DA2 (jap).

This namco behaviour reduces drastically , the probability that we will see VF4 here in Zurich (Switzerland). Tekken is well known here , VF not.......and now this hasty(?) release.

 

Re: Marketingdecission!?













They look great!!!!!!! I'm definitely interested in playing T4...wow, Xiao Yu looks really, really good. Can't wait to play her. Where's Heihachi and Bryan??

 

?

Are you serious, Jeff? Those shots look like complete, utter rubbish to me - I really mean it.

 

Re: Marketingdecission!?

Jeff, are you joking?

I mean, I have a total bias against Tekken, but I have to say, honestly, these screens look like hammered dogshit to me.

Tobal 2 looks better
Soul Caibur looks better

No play elements here look interesting to me. I probably spend more time playing Tekken against humans than I do VF, but Never before have I felt more disinterested. This game looks like junk to me.

I just got the Arcadia magazine from japan with a bunch of new VF4 screens and it just looks so much more alive. I always had a sneaking suspiction that the reason Tekken games were so low res/low poly was because if they were high res/poly, the Tekken programmers wouldn't know how to make it look nice. Now, I feel it's confirmed.

I'm really not trying to disagree/lash out a Ice in any way, but I guess I want to go on the record as saying, no matter how it looks:

TEKKEN 4 CAN KISS MY FUCKING ASS!

TEKKEN SUCKS COMPARED TO VF!!!!

I"M DRUNK!

MOTHER FUCK TEKKEN!!!

Spotlite