Tekken 4 Retrospective - The Innovative Black Sheep of the Family [4K]

[@FinesseJohnson187]

Music in this game is special. The Airport and the Beach theme are irreplaceable to me. Kudos to the guy who did the story intros. This whole game was a vibe.

[@alantaylorfc]

Airport is probably the chillest, sweetest Tekken tune ever. Top tier material, man.

[@tcbbctagain572]

Oh pls DR soundtrack was not really that great. It only had few great ost but it's nowhere near the level of tekken 4. Tekken 5 can compete with tekken 4, but it's soundtrack is nowhere near as atmospheric.

[@FinesseJohnson187]

@@Leadblast I like your enthusiasm. I respectfully disagree but it's all good nonetheless. To each his own 💯👍

[@flipkiller8521]

@@Leadblast T5 and DR had great tracks but if feels animeish compared to Tekken 4's mood based music.

[@jonnymaldonado5974]

And Hon-Maru's theme was also a masterpiece.

[@tcbbctagain572]

This game was also pretty revolutionary in terms of phisics. Xiaoyu and Julia's hair and Steve's shirt going with the wind. Kazuya's sunglasses reflecting the stage's lights. Jin's hoodie falling after his grounded.

[@JunKazamaFan]

Even Tekken 7 doesn't handle these features as well.

[@tcbbctagain572]

@@JunKazamaFan yeah it's a shame how lazy they got with tekken 7

[@mychaeljones7526]

@@JunKazamaFan did u watch rumble 2021?

[@JohnnyBurnes]

It's one reason I hated Tekken 5. It felt so lifeless.

[@tcbbctagain572]

@@JohnnyBurnes how? tekken 5 also had killer phisics. The phisics in tekken 5 are light years above tekken 7

[@Eon_Kain]

Intro for Jin's story was GODLIKE.

[@joshuacole6543]

BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA. A CITY CROWDED WITH BUILDINGS, NEW AND OLD i could recite it from memory, so good

[@irvinmorales1409]

Dude, everyone's intro was epic. It felt like everyone had an important role.

[@KawaiiJackHonne]

"Thank my mother. Kazama jun!"

[@bluscout6440]

I feel like t4 was the turning point into the franchise. The game started to get really serious. Also was it underrated as hell.

[@megabuster3940]

Yup It was the beginning of a new era in Tekken after the previous one ended with TTT1 Although T5 is the one that streamlined this era for the forseeable future

[@LiquidOcelotMGS]

@@megabuster3940 Nah, Tekken 4 was the start of the third Tekken era. 1) Tekken-Tekken 2 2) Tekken 3-Tekken Tag Tournament

[@Jetanium]

@@megabuster3940 T5 was “we’re sorry for trying to innovate, here’s more Tekken 3!”

[@bluefilmsltd]

@@Jetanium Tekken 3 was very innovative though?

[@tabkg5802]

Yeah started to get serious....until T5 just turned everyone except Mishima's into a bunch of clowns

[@novriltataki]

I remember that towards the very end of the game's life, Julia was considered top tier by some. Jin pretty much dictated which characters are allowed to play, and Julia with her 8f jabs and counter hit rewards was really good against the Jin army.

[@candasturan4559]

That's really interesting to hear because Julia's wiki states that she was praised by many top players but then again a lot of other sources say that she was trash in this game. I would really like to know more about this...

[@pawepioro2998]

Julia was really top, in T4. But on therms of gameplay, after the years, good players realized, some characters ware better, then use to thought a lot of players majority. Jin was not only ss tier. But he was extremely easy to master. That's why ppl used him a lot in tournaments. But with some other characters, not only you need to learn how to play. You need to also posses a game knowledge and get some experience. More o less ;) Ps. Hayshida, wasn't 1rst with his "hayshida" I started using sway cancel in T3 times, also you can do it in very various ways. Becouse in T3 and Tekken tag, you can do it in both ways. Not like in classic"hayshida" from left side screen - you can literally cancel, just in your left. On the right you can do I just to your right.

[@galaxybounce1002]

@@pawepioro2998 He didn't say it was first done by Hayashida; just that it was named after that player

[@pawepioro2998]

@@galaxybounce1002 Well correct, but in that times, everyone looks after Japan and Korea, and that was reality. Obviously I'm not criticizing, I'm huge fan of them, and that's a part of my teenage life in the past :3

[@pawepioro2998]

@Tcb bct again I don't want to provoke in any way. But let's check facts tho. His "jf" laser scraper - wasn't true just frame. Was really easy to do it, just after few moments of practice. 2,1 2,1 2,4 Wasn't that really hard to press, but in the same moment, was hard to deal with... Trust me. ;) His wavu, wavu game, wasn't that crucial in Tekken 4... So that argument doesn't work. And it's not that hard, like ppl use to say. Anyways. His juggle potential looks pretty much like this - louncher: 2 , 1,2,3, d+4... no execution, high dmg like for T4 standards, and that's it!!! Easy. Literally was really strong, and at the same moment, easy to do, with greeeaat consistency!! Not like other characters, struggling with options to do in juggle, with some exeptions like Jin, Lee, Hwo, Nina and Law. Conclusion is Jin was really high OP lvl. And really easy to play.. I know, I know it's unbelievable. But that's, how he "works" in T4. (Jin T4) is probably one of the easiest and best character in series history. Ofc story it's different in next parts.. Ps. I forgot to mention, Jin's "skillfull" parry... In T4 times technically you could parry even lows XD I'm thinking about Bryan combo 3,2,1,4... I think was possible... But I can be wrong xD Jin's parry was godlike, really enormously easy! with great and godly potential!

[@unciervoenciervado]

Best looking and best sounding Tekken game to this day. The colour palette defined the ps2 generation. It also has the best story by far. And I mean: BY FAR.

[@abdoabdalla1745]

I believe the writer for T4 moved on to be a legit film writer, although someone can correct me on that.

[@since2133]

@@abdoabdalla1745 I don’t know. But he needs to come back and save the story.

[@theone1608]

Somebody gets it

[@Cr1ms0nRav3n]

Yes, this games art direction outclasses everything else, especially T7. There was also a more central focus on martial arts and designs that reflected that and not cutesy anime matrix flips and cartwheels. There was still a grittyness to T4 that it took further from T3. I wish we could go back to that tone.

[@sygyzy0933]

Yes! Dude thank you, I thought I was the only one who enjoyed the look and feel this game had

[@saltyg1320]

Another thing is the awesome story it had. While it did focus on the Mishimas like every previous & future game, it gave the rest of the cast a more convincing reason to join the tournament. - Steve avoiding the mafia joins the tournament to find out awnsers about his scar, who is then pursued by Nina who was hired by said Mafia, who is chased by Lei after he botched an operation and wants to redeem himself. - King pursues Marduk who killed his mentor in a bar brawl. - Julia seeking reforestation data which was lost when Heihachi raided G Corp in the intro. - Yoshimitsu seeking the prize money to help the poor but ends up saving Brian whose android body started decaying. - Xiaoyu and Christie are in search of Jin and Eddy respectively (and that's really all they do the next games. Meh) - Law after his restaurant goes bankrupt and becomes an alcoholic joins the tournament to start over again while Paul seeks to restore his glory after leaving the prior tournament before beating true ogre. - Lee/Violet go into the tournament to promote Combot. - Hwoarang rivals Jin in the worse dub of the century.

[@redblack8766]

So much this. The cast overall had the most depth in T4. It's sad that T5 dialed back on that immensely, possibly due to the backlash. "Steve avoiding the mafia joins the tournament to find out awnsers about his scar, who is then pursued by Nina who was hired by said Mafia, who is chased by Lei after he botched an operation and wants to redeem himself" Nina suddenly has absolutely no feelings regarding Steve, despite her showing emotions in the last game. I mean, given her... dysfunctional relationship with Anna, this isn't far fetched. But don't just go back on what you yourself set up! "King pursues Marduk who killed his mentor in a bar brawl" Marduk shows no remorse nor reflects on his actions. Instead, he doubles by disrespecting the man he murdered and challenges King again. It would have been MUCH more understandable if they simply made it so Marduk's pride as a champion couldn't take a loss, so he challenges King again, loses, and sees his worth. They do try it in T5, but one line saying "I changed my ways. I'll beat you fair and square" doesn't cut it considering everything. "Xiaoyu and Christie are in search of Jin and Eddy respectively (and that's really all they do the next games. Meh)" Xiaoyu's infatuation with Jin becomes her defining characteristic to comical levels. A stark contrast from when PANDA had to urge her to be honest with her self and search for Jin who disappeared after Heihachi's betrayal. "Law after his restaurant goes bankrupt and becomes an alcoholic joins the tournament to start over again while Paul seeks to restore his glory after leaving the prior tournament before beating true ogre" "Ain't my style" Paul is best Paul, FIGHT ME! While the games did poke fun at him by stating his rivalry with Kazuya (after they tied once in the past) is one sided and having him flop backflips, he was still a globally renowned martial artist capable of taking down a well trained bear in canon. Later games dropped the competent part and exaggerated the "haha funny" part. Smh. "Hwoarang rivals Jin in the worse dub of the century" Pffft. Man, that was so bad it looped around to being good. "Zere's... no rezon ta figh", followed by "You ain't got one?.... I do!" with a funny close up. Amusingly, they brought a different actor for Hwoarang JUST for his English lines in the ending. That's why he doesn't speak awkward English like Jin.

[@decadentgamer3108]

@@redblack8766 The Nina one pisses me off so much because she was my favorite character up to about Tekken 5 before she went all monotone robot on us. I loved her ending in Tekken 4, we get to see that beneath her icy heart, she actually can have emotion and mercy and then 5 comes out and we get no continuation until Tekken 7 of how she feels about Steve and even then, it feels off. Also, King and Marduk's new friendship. Maybe it's because I just think Marduk was portrayed as such an unlikable asshole (and possible rapist after seeing what he did with Anna in his Tekken 5 interlude with her, totally disturbing), I just could not picture King ever being friends with someone like Marduk who's an unlikable douchebag who murdered his best friend and mentor. I think what you came up with with how they could've handled it would've been a lot better, I could've accept their truce if they went with what you suggested but nope, we just get a complete 180 turn and it's just not satisfying at all. And don't get me started on Paul, what happened to him post Tekken 4 is beyond depressing lol. I will say though that for Jin's awkard English, I actually thought it worked for Jin lol. I mean the way I always thought about it even back when I first played Tekken 4 as a wee 11 year old was that maybe Jin just didn't speak very good English because Japanese is his primary language and that he may have still been learning to speak English. I dunno, that's how I head cannon that haha.

[@redblack8766]

@@decadentgamer3108 "Also, King and Marduk's new friendship. Maybe it's because I just think Marduk was portrayed as such an unlikable asshole" Exactly. It feels like they did intend to have Marduk show growth, but at the same time they didn't know how to justify him clashing again with King without him (Marduk) being scummy. The two presentations clash within the same game! "And don't get me started on Paul, what happened to him post Tekken 4 is beyond depressing lol." To be fair, the thing about being the "toughest in the universe" was an offhand line in his character profile (T1 or T2, not sure) . And his own ending does show him being competent by winning the tournament while giving a message of "Wow. It's silly to challenge aliens. But this guy IS serious business". But that's all I'm giving them on the matter. T6's portrayal was disgraceful. Paul, the guy we were told is an honest martial artist who believes he'll find his worth in heated battles, cheats at a tournament because he's in desperate need of money. Smh. And don't get me started on the atrocity that is T7's "character episode". "I will say though that for Jin's awkard English, I actually thought it worked for Jin lol." Yeah, that IS the thing. English and Japanese differ greatly, so the majority of Japanese people have trouble with English pronunciations. It actually makes sense for a Japanese and a Korean to use the widespread language that is English to communicate since neither of their languages is that common in the other's country. Though, this CAN be very limiting in story telling, which is why so many works has characters from different countries (or worlds, even) speaking one language. We can either run with it as artistic license, or assume they change language when necessary and that it's all translated for our convenience. When I say it's "so bad it's good", I mean Jin's pronunciation and the (probably unintentionally) funny close up of Hwoarang. I'm not throwing shade at Isshin Chiba (Jin's voice) having trouble with a foreign language. That's just natural. But it's still amusing.

[@decadentgamer3108]

@@redblack8766 Right. Marduk just had way too many things counting against him and King just doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would befriend someone like Marduk without some serious character development on Marduk's end, especially when King spared him. It's just tough though because story is not the main focus of a fighting game and corners have to be cut I suppose. I just hate that the corner was so deep that the story is an absolute shitshow now.. And I don't necessarily think Paul ;is terrible for wanting to be the strongest fighter in the universe (even if it sounds ridiculous), my issue more so lies with how he's been portrayed. They over exaggerated his ditziness and removed whatever serious personality he had. He was always a bit on the goofy side, a character who could be serious but had a lighthearted side to him and I liked that dynamic. But the way he was portrayed post Tekken 4 was just so painful to watch. Tekken 7's was especially agonizing because his newer design in that game looked awesome but to see what his character episode was was horrid. And I understand. It was an awkwardly humorous scene between Jin and Hwoarang. It's just a shame that we didn't get to hear them canonically speak english again. And personally I prefer when characters speak one or two languages (In Tekken's case, Japanese and English). At first I thought it was cool to have Eddy and Christie speaking Portuguese, Lili speaking French, and so on but when you really think about it, the characters wouldn't be able to communicate with each other and it kinda breaks the immersion a bit lol

[@redblack8766]

@Tcb bct again Did you actually read what we wrote? Cause it literally explains everything you discuss.

[@afterpasthours7504]

This game has some fantastic art with its character splashes, still amazing to this day.

[@TheGetout04]

For someone who wasn't old enough to experience Tekken 4 in action, this was an amazing video for me

[@videogamerlexis]

Its a shame tekken won't be nearly as innovative as they were here with the stages and the serious nature of the story and overall theme.

[@CephlonMayngrum]

Tekken 7 is very successful. They usually try to be innovative after a successful title. We'll see

[@Mentis-de]

Yeah i like this Tekken. It was very dark and serious and more grounded

[@CephlonMayngrum]

@Tcb bct again systematic combos and rage.

[@JoeJoe-nb3lt]

Blame the ReAL FAn ( cough whinner cough ) for that

[@thechugg4372]

@@Mentis-de I'd even say tekken 4's story was depressingly dark, I almost cried for Paul.

[@MuzzYADam]

I often forget that Steve was only introduced in T4. Steve felt like he could easily been there since Tekken 1. Feels really at home.

[@MaxxSeemov]

Tekken 4 came out 2001. 20 years have passed since then he's been around for quite a while. Twenty years is a lot even by most gaming nostalgia standard.

[@TheSummoner]

@@MaxxSeemov • It’s crazy to think that the Tekken series is coming close to being 30 years old.

[@YiddishDancingClown]

I feel you. I can't imagine a Tekken game without him now.

[@YiddishDancingClown]

@@Leadblast I have too, hence why I said the word "now"

[@eatandrew2]

Yeah cause you're new and suck at the game.

[@trcsonic]

Tekken 4 is my favorite Tekken. The dark tone, the characters arc and stages. Everything is awesome.

[@philithegamer8265]

Explain why

[@lengmoua22]

This is actually my favorite out of the franchise...the emphasis on realism is the biggest thing, new move sets, story, tone, costume, stage design, characters, etc. The later installments have gotten a little too cartoony for my taste.

[@andrewnathan2903]

AND unrealistic

[@eldenlean5221]

tekken 2 and 3 were pretty cartoony aswell tho its not just the newer games

[@suiken3149]

@@eldenlean5221 Not really. Easter eggs such as Gon and Roger/Alex are what they are: easter eggs.

[@eldenlean5221]

@@suiken3149 gon and alex are not the only cartoony things in tekken 1 and 2 lol. *Cough cough* tekken 2 ending *cough cough*

[@kennyg.6608]

I still love this game. It's the greatest of the franchise along with 3 imo. It's so grounded but built and played beautifully. I don't see how anyone has a problem with the gameplay with the exception of a few glipses here or there

[@djangowild-mango2423]

man the soundtrack was so good in this game I still listen to it till this day .

[@Mentis-de]

Cool avatar pic where did you got it?

[@justdoutha806]

What i loved about the game was how they really made each character unique and gave them stuff that really stood out from the rest of the cast, all you see these days is generic df1's and uppercuts which good for balance but imo dulls the characters. Great video man and i can't wait for the next one!

[@alexcole9]

@@Leadblast Michelle isn't a clone julia is

[@alexcole9]

@Tcb bct again Exactly, idk what they are talking about. Also devil isn't even a clone but angel is. All the jacks are different in each game. Anna is not a clone either but she was almost in Tekken 1 with a few different moves. Who wasn't in Tekken 1 since it's there first game. Forgot to mention that since I was to focused on the Michelle part. That part really got me

[@justdoutha806]

@@Leadblast am not talking about clones or the roster as a whole, am talking about how they added many unique things to each character in terms of moves and shit, ling's taunt or yoshi's soul stealer for an example, it's something unique only to t4, there are alot more than what i mentioned but those came in the top of my head. T4 chose characterisation and making every charter standout in completely unique ways, even in intro and win poses, over balance which was very risky and bold move that's why it will remain the best non balanced tekken game imo.

[@CereDulce37]

@@Leadblast bruh wtf

[@decadentgamer3108]

@@Leadblast Even though I like Michelle (I could accept she retired and let Julia carry the torch), Anna and Kuni, I agree with you. Tekken 4's cast did stand out more when you removed the characters who fought close enough to others.

[@flipkiller8521]

This game felt different compared to it's predecessors and the later games. The matches actually felt like you were genuinely engaging in a real brawl thanks to it's focus on hand to hand neutral game unlike the juggle and combo heavy nature of most Tekken games.

[@JunKazamaFan]

Therapist: "Bryan Xiaoyu isn't real, she can't hurt you." Bryan Xiaoyu: (9:12).

[@megabuster3940]

MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

[@temjin0014]

Namco needs to release a Tekken History collection with online play.

[@Sbzmike]

Worth it if Tekken 4 has tekken force.

[@thefin4lb0ss]

Yes! The video i've been waiting for. Tekken 4 was the Tekken I spent the majority of my childhood on.

[@fazon1997]

Telken 4 is the best “game” in the series. Competitive fighter? Nah too unbalanced. But the most fun, innovative, atmospheric, and creative? Yes.

[@liteoreo]

Nope tekken 3 was better

[@GodsTruthishere777]

If they bring back all the innovative, atmospheric, and creative elements from this game with 7s overall gameplay and 5s fast movement and bring all these powerful elements that they’ve learned from each game over the decades together in Tekken 8; Tekken 8 could be the greatest Tekken yet! It’s okay to dream sometimes.

[@CyrusCageSCWS]

I said that when it came out and no game since has changed my mind.

[@kurosan0079]

@@GodsTruthishere777 Innovation, atmosphere and creativity are what's sorely missing in T7. So while T7 is technically great and it is fun to play, it's lacking in the artistic department. Also, add T5-6's map design philosophy in T8. T7's maps are just kinda... meh?

[@soulindenial5001]

You could also add Tekken 6's customizations, was able to make Marduk look like Goldberg and Vader. Not to mention I went crazy in King. But yeah T4 is my fave cause of atmosphere and just the vibe of it being grounded but still out there lol

[@BLACKM00NECLIPSE]

Despite it's flaws Tekken 4 will always hold a special place in my heart.

[@philithegamer8265]

Explain why...

[@arbsan8366]

I’m not even a big Tekken player but I have to admit Tekken 4 is one of the best Tekken games I have ever played! I love the graphics, the stages, the music, the storyline, etc. It was such a great game!

[@Kylioken94]

Paul with his hair down look like Ken if he went bankrupt

[@yeetkunedo]

hoboken

[@scourge8143]

And that’s what happened to Ken in 6.

[@David-nk7pv]

This game's character design, story mode, outfits, music and overall tone were absolutely awesome. Tekken 4 blew me away when I was a kid, the coolest thing I had ever seen.

[@nixuniverse5240]

I miss the old days of Tekken where 1 move didn't do 4 different things

[@ConstantUNTILisnt]

4 properties is an understatement when each move has different properties on: Normal hit, from left side, right side, behind, whiff, counterhit, block, clean hit, non clean hit, trade, on crouching oppenent, on downed opponent, on standing opponent, airborne opponent, on breakable floors, on breakable walls, etc

[@NotJavi3r]

@@Leadblast it was a great game to play casually in my opinion, got nothing but good memories with that game lol

[@NotJavi3r]

@@Leadblast seems like a personal problem man. Like I said, I have great memories of playing this game with my family hence the word casual. Just cause you take things too seriously doesn’t mean everyone else has to

[@jonathanalarcon1997]

TEKKEN 4 is bad ass

[@PoloFlo..]

@@Leadblast bro you need to chill lmao

[@sushiboots]

I remember the weeks and months after Tekken 4 was released in arcades. It was so wildly popular. I remember one of the local arcades where i live in South Houston (almeda mall) was PACKED. Everyone was participating. Quarters were lined up across the entire control panel. There must have been at least 60 players waiting to going at it. To this day, it has been the most populated and engaging arcade experience I've ever had.

[@patrickdoherty4527]

I really enjoyed this game. I liked the interesting little touches like the terrain, interactive elements (namely the spectators you could beat up) even little things like Jin's hood falling down. It felt like they were trying something new. When I played Tekken 5 it seemed a lot safer and formulaic.

[@cosmicspider2]

Still has the best writing, best artstyle, best tone, and the best roster.

[@lordgannor4814]

The roster is a little lacking in my opinion, but I agree.

[@seraphiim444]

roster is a bit sparse but everything else is big facts

[@raphaelsorel6907]

In OP’s defense, the game’s roster was quality over quantity.

[@lordgannor4814]

Still missing baek tho

[@kaiserrino8774]

What? The roster is one the worst actually.

[@afterpasthours7504]

Of course the next entry being the golden child of the franchise.

[@alexcole9]

@@Leadblast I think they are talking about tekken 5

[@alexcole9]

@@Leadblast All I'm saying is that they are saying that tekken 5 is the golden child of the franchise in there opinion. A lot of people will say tekken 3 or 5 is the best tekken and his opinion is 5 while yours is 3.

[@UltimateBallaPOM]

@@Leadblast basically T3 with some extra things... Oh, you mean a sequel that worked off of a working formula? Wow, man...

[@ThrashMetalWolf666]

@@Leadblast Tekken 3 is overrated. TK 5 is a way better TK 3 with the classic roster and a few new mechanics like the crush system, and wall splat. The only thing TK 3 does better is the soundtrack, and having Tekken Ball, and Force. But in terms of gameplay and roster TK 5 is way better.

[@ThrashMetalWolf666]

@@Leadblast Not exactly my point as I'm not talking about sales when it comes to TK3. When it comes to me saying that TK3 is overrated is the same as other games that get constant praise, not saying TK3 is a bad game, but people claiming that its the best PS1 fighting game or even the best of all time is very debatable when there are so many other games that I feel are way better than TK3 like TK4, and TK5. TK3 is a great game, but it seems to get blind praise by a lot of people, who treat it like no other game can compete it.

[@Chrizzly-]

This was the first Tekken game I owned myself. By far the best atmosphere, music and artworks of all entries. Love the seriousness and the actual story arcs for all the characters. If the roster had been bigger and the gameplay a bit faster and better balanced, it would have probably been one of the most beloved Tekkens ever.

[@NorieagaHDR]

My favorite Tekken, I love it! Looking forward to the next episode.

[@tibo997]

This game was great, the characters were very well designed and the stages were awesome. I miss this creativity in T7.

[@stanfordc5125]

Incredible video.. love this in-depth crash course of Tekken history. I feel so blessed to have gotten into this game and community , while it has the best content creator in fighting games. Ever since I discovered Tekken 7, I’ve spent significantly less time with any game I used to like. Tekken has stolen my heart and I wish I committed to playing when it was introduced earlier in my life . I envy all the people who’ve played since Tekken 1 or Tekken 3 and who can truly admire the growth the series has developed over the years, and how movelists/fight systems/soundtracks evolved( or devolved?) Great video TBS!

[@DynoDunes]

You outdo yourself each time. One thing I appreciate about your historically-based videos is that you don't just parrot what people said back in the day, you actually dispel any misconceptions about the past meta with a modern lens. Anyone can just read a bunch of forum posts and wikipedia articles and repeat what they've read to present an air of credibility, but you really break things down. I don't know how much is just Dinosaur's insight versus things you have actually labbed, but the effort shows and it makes your videos stand out. Even if Tekken had 10x the number of high-quality content creators, you would still be on top because of that reason.

[@philithegamer8265]

The best Tekken KZbinr hands down.

[@VenomousBAndre]

Tekken 4 was really ahead of it's time. I'd like to See Tekken 8 go the same route but With Tekken 7's core gameplay and Mechanics tweaked considerably.

[@UltimateBallaPOM]

Might be a King Of Fighters 14 situation where the niche group wouldn't be too please of the direction they took

[@Aurelius_911]

Music + visuals = almost perfection Great video as always :)

[@WOLFGANG1125]

Honestly as much as I love Tekken 7, a friend of mine has Tekken 4 and whenever I’m at his house we play. It’s a great game, I just wish it had more characters. Also, putting a pillar between yourself and the opponent or using the terrain to your advantage is REALLY REALLY cool! I wouldn’t mind seeing Tekken 8 incorporating stages like 4, but obviously balanced and made competitively viable. Also give yoshimitsu his move steal back! Idk what input they’d wanna give it nowadays, but imagine having access to regular flash and a move stealing flash. That’s far and away one of the coolest moves they’ve ever given a character in this series.

[@YoshiONE2ONE]

I really wish they kept some of the character designs from this game as customize options in later Tekken games. Jin's costumes in particular were cool af in this game.

[@philithegamer8265]

Again, I’ll ask this question, what’s a Mario fan doing in a Tekken video?

[@fxlja]

Now waiting for Tekken 5 Retrospective, the game which in my opinion embodies the principle: "If everyone is broken, then no one is."

[@patzeram88]

This game to me was great. Why it's called a Black Sheep is beyond me! Sure, it may have had some flaws but every game does. This graphics were great. The stories were great and the characters were great. Steve Fox was invented and Craig had a tackle. To me it's genius.

[@YellowPlagueProductions]

This is my favorite Tekken game. Loved the darker tone and atmosphere. The outfits were better and I loved how juggling wasn't ridiculous like in every Tekken game since T6.

[@Some1Something]

The music in tekken 4 is top tier. While tekken 7 has some great soundtracks, the variety that is in tekken 4 is incredible and I would absoultely love to something similar in the next tekken game.

[@JuliusCaesar103]

Phil Mackenzie wrote this? The legend himself, no wonder the writing is so top tier and succinct.

[@perfectlap9379]

Tekken 4, more than anything needed a "DR" to its "4.0". It's the only game of the series that didn't really get that and it showed (T3 > Tag 1 was basically that games update)

[@the_gratefulgamer]

I always called it Tekken 3.5

[@perfectlap9379]

@@Leadblast graphics aside, what was the main differences?

[@perfectlap9379]

@@Leadblast oh wow. You should join the discord and let blasted Salami know, this would make for a great video

[@hauuah3000]

@@perfectlap9379 jin's omen stonehead and his special 1+3 throws were unbreakable in the arcade version

[@perfectlap9379]

@@Leadblast ah yeah, I'm from LDN. I can tell you now, Dino is an encyclopedia for that stuff.

[@albumreviewsandsuch9994]

introducing steve fox, giving the story a more "serious/edgy" tone to it, the slick ass jin jacket costume, and those awesome tunes made this my favorite tekken for awhile

[@vinceamaro1382]

I always love playing Tekken 4 because of how underrated it is. I also enjoy doing just frame moves even though they are quite hard to pull off, especially Paul's demoman.

[@LucidFlameX]

I will always have a soft spot for this game due to its general presentation.

[@philithegamer8265]

If Bandai Namco/Harada ever wants to make a legitimately serious Tekken game again and have another go with giving the side characters actual importance to the Mishima storyline, T4 would be the best inspiration.

[@nitrop199]

Love how the juggling was so limited, I don't understand how it's considered good game design to have 20 seconds long combos

[@SomniaCE]

Its not good or bad design, its just different. Combos have a lot of flare for spectators and can create really tense situations where a super hard or situational combo wins someone a round. Honestly in Tekken 7 the only issue I have with combos is how long they are in terms of distance, not length. Sure being juggled for 5-6 seconds can be annoying, but thanks to things like corkscrew and bound, combos wall carry across stages constantly, no matter the character. In previous games, having longer combos, damaging combos or combos with good wall carry potential were more character exclusive, which made them more interesting and helped characters feel more unique. Tekken 7 just has everyone being able to do everything. Tekken 7's biggest issue in terms of gameplay is that a whole lot was done to how characters play and how system mechanics work to homogenize the cast. Characters have far less uniqueness than previous games, its a damn shame. But now I'm getting off topic haha

[@Rupix15]

i'm with you. i feel like T4 is where they're trying to make it more like VF's more grounded gameplay.

[@megabuster3940]

@@Rupix15 And look where that got VF Combos are fun to learn, execute and watch. Without them, fighting games wouldn't be as hype.

[@ThrashMetalWolf666]

@@megabuster3940 Dude even VF got out of hand with its combos, and damage as well. Combos in VF are just more difficult to pull off compared to Tekken. The only 3D fighting game that has little to no juggling is the first Tobal but aside from that Juggling is pretty standard.

[@ThrashMetalWolf666]

Juggling is based on rewarding the player with their practice in punishing mistakes. It’s only cheap if every single move can stun you for 2 seconds. Launchers are also punishable which creates a risk and reward factor to using them.

[@kennyg.6608]

Heihachi,Jin,and Paul are vicious in this game, in the right hands. This is the greatest game in the series. I enjoy playing it more than 5&6 still to this day. I admire Jin,kaz, and hei electrics are different colors with different wave patterns. T3&t4 for life

[@codyvalentino53]

My favourite tekken as a kid. Mechanics wasn't even a factor to me, I was so enthralled with the world/atmosphere.

[@MegaBlacksocks]

I love seeing Tekken 4 mentioned on anything so this was awesome! It's my favorite of the PS2 era and I would love to see some professionals play this game nowadays.

[@Mick0Mania]

Although this game is broken in a lot of ways, it focused on a lot of elements that I personally miss; -Character Arcs: Characters stories and designs reflected true progression of their stories, unlike today where most of them haven't been updated nearly enough past Tekken 5. This was the last time characters like Law or Paul were ever taken seriously. -The stages are really cool, and as broken as they are, I wonder if uneven surfaces and breakable pillars could be re-introduced to the series. -Focusing on the neutral game and toning down the juggles. The juggles are one of the main reasons fighting games will always remain niche. Imagine designing a game where the more skilled player gets to stun the other player for 90% of the match, completely removing any chances of learning by playing. -Uniqueness of characters and their interactions. To my knowledge, this game dipped into such things the most. Yoshimitsu's move steal, Marduk's tackle into reversal into reversal, many new stances and moves for characters in general. There seems to be more unique interactions to discover in this game than any other. Ultimately, 3 and 5 are still my favorites, but I will always appreciate 4 for the brave new direction it took.

[@jinjin45]

Tekken 4 has always been the best Tekken since it released imo. Not even a contest.

[@philithegamer8265]

Explain why Ash Ketchum?

[@HighStakesBBall]

The only Tekken game I took seriously was Tekken 4. Before that I played casually @ the arcade, with only Law. Once the PS2 version came out in college I learned about framerates and timing unlocks and allllll that Jazz, and got good enough to go to local tournaments. I was drawn to Brian Fury for some reason, and his play style fit my personality like he was made specifically 4 me. The feeling of excitement of pulling off Brian's most complex combos in a real match v friends, in person, with the "ohhhhhh shittttt" moments will be pressed into my memory till I die. Those were the good ol days.

[@shot1897]

I got to say despite the gameplay not being that good Tekken 4 had the best story - darkest and most serious in the series canon ending - all charachters had amazing default outfits (so many iconic outfits in this game) - other than the stages being uneven ground, the aesthetic is beautiful and amazing - amazing sound track

[@tokyobassist]

"Wack ass sequence" You were so scholarly in your presentation and suddenly the anger towards Nina surfaced lmao. I love your videos. I still suck ass at Tekken 7 but you always remind me to pop in the game in from time to time. Tekken 8 needs more T2/4 vibes in terms of music, story and atmosphere. The new Tekken's feel like self parodies.

[@lionelkashila663]

Tekken 4 still one mostly underrated game in the series for sure I don’t why fighting game community does not show it enough like love with sad to see

[@francois47achan]

Saying this in all honesty…my all time favorite Tekken is 4. And that’s my favorite version of Jin.

[@legend0945]

When the developers are brave enough to make a change they mostly screw up, but that makes an opportunity for them to make a better sequel since they have a better understanding of what works and what doesn't and what people like and what they don't. Tekken 4 and DMC 2 with their sequels are a great example. Wondering if Arya will try something new for *that blasted salami 2*

[@aidanklobuchar1798]

DMC2 isn't really a good example, as the DMC3 team only showed at the end of 2's troubled production to clean things up. They never got to make the game they wanted until 3.

[@legend0945]

@@aidanklobuchar1798 I know but they used the mistakes of that unknown developer to know what to avoid, also there was some ideas for some moves like firework and Quicksilver that came up in DMC 2.

[@NihilisticIdealist]

Except DMC2 was a piece of shit. A piece of shit that brought it some series staples, like Bloody Palace. But a piece of shit none the less.

[@MaverickHunterVile]

Kazuya was such an odd character here. With terrible movement and jabs being stronger than ever, he struggled to make good use of his HS/f+4 mixup (was still +11 on block and +22 standing frames on a crouched opponent). He did had a crazy emphasis on CH, also - suddenly he was Marduk there. Great video as always, Arya. We're coming near the pinnacle of the series, with DR drawing closer!

[@megabuster3940]

Being a Kaz main back then must have been pain I would say on paper he sounds way worse than T6 BR Kaz

[@MaverickHunterVile]

@@megabuster3940 Hard to choose, but I believe BR was worse overall. The T4 cast was overall weaker in spite of Jin, Nina and Steve, and his d/b+4 was still +7 on hit and -9 on block, which is incredibly good even by old Tekken's standards. The aforementioned f+4 was also very strong, and stun links from Demon Fist were absurd. Kazuya had no such impressive qualities in BR, despite stronger movement, punishment and 50/50, things that many characters excelled at.

[@megabuster3940]

I don't like the gameplay balancing of this game but I love it's atmosphere, tone and visuals, those last two components alone make it worth a buy IMO.

[@MiguelAldanotes]

From a casual standpoint it was my favorite tekken. The story got more interesting, my main Steve was introduced, marduk was a fun addition. And frankly the graphics hold really well IMO. the big stages were interesting to me. But I can understand that from a competitive standpoint it'd be the least favorite.

[@trulgn]

Your reviews are movie quality good Love the script and your use of descriptive words is PERFECT!

[@vinloc3854]

This was, hands down, the best of the Tekken Series!

[@foreveruseless1292]

Damn I've been waiting for this. This is epic TBS

[@DirectorHMAN]

Tekken 4 had the best gameplay IMO. Me and my brother had the closest craziest matches.

[@ShaunInce123]

I know it wasn't touched on in this video, but Tekken Force in T4 was pretty fun.

[@someguyparagon5273]

As someone at a young age however I remember seeing Tekken 4 arcade game and in that moment I knew that something about it was different than when I was first introduced in tekken 5. Also A.K.A the game where Paul here was actually a cool character as he was basically Ken Masters! Damn you Flanderization!

[@sygyzy0933]

My favorite tekken, great character design and outfits, great music, great stages, great story. Easily the tekken game with the most style

[@philithegamer8265]

Going to a more grounded direction for a flamboyant and wacky series such as Tekken usually is a hit or miss, and thankfully this game did not miss.

[@bryanreyes7382]

NOTE: True story here. My nephew's name is Jin and his middle name is Ryu (pronounced as Rū). My older brother named him after Jin Kazama and Ryu. I always call my nephew Devil Jin and sometimes Evil Ryu lol. My nephew is currently a Junior Black Belt in MMA.

[@avaneesh.t]

I have to confess, this video was much more hype than the new wandavision episode I just watched today dude. Hats off to you guys.

[@Skracknatt]

Great retrospective! I remember having this and truth be told I was not happy. I had the PS2 (PAL)-version. I couldn't get 60HZ on my monitor, but had to stick with the 50HZ option - that just made the entire flow of the game feel like it went into slow motion. It would be nice to revisit this game someday and just give it another go. I do love the music, graphics and the vibrance of the colors!

[@slightlyloyal1442]

Same situation, lived in The Netherlands in that time and we had the PAL version which offered 50Hz at maximum. Not bad, but never experienced it's maximum potential.

[@dantelossantos7562]

i really loved the music and scenarios from tekken 4, they are supercool.

[@kermillion17]

I was making a video like this because I love tekken 4 unlike most. Like every thing about this game was somewhat monumental to what tekken would later become in some aspects. These retrospectives are always dope to watch

[@weldontucker3435]

I know this gets overlooked because most ppl don't play Lei. But this was the last game that his Down 3+4 was a full layout, and all his ground mixups worked on wakeup

[@Jameslawz]

Tekken 4 was the transition game which changed the way Tekken would be forever. I hated it at first for it not being Tekken 3 but over time as I was playing, I grew to love it. The best thing by far is the soundtrack...the score in this game was probably some of Tekken's best work (outside of character themed stage music). The story felt a bit more tame in this one compared to all the ogres and demons in Tekken 3. Tekken 4 just seemed more grounded in reality, it's like they were trying to mix real martial arts with the fantasy arcade feel and this was the closest they came. After that...lets just say Tekken 5 onwards became a juggling paradise and more cartoony. Tekken 4 was the more serious game, but some people think serious is boring and instead they opted for 7ft Pandas being launched in the air doing backward summersaults in a continuous juggle and floor bounces. While I like juggling in games, Tekken 5+ took it too another level and it became a joke. Tekken is a game that doesn't like to take itself too seriously (outside of the main Mishima storyline) but it would be nice to have some of Tekken 4's charm sprinkled in their future games. Tekken 7 seemed to try and get that balance of seriousness and silliness since it was the finale of the Mishima storyline.

[@joejohnson7227]

I played the hell out of Tekken 5, but I find it too similar to modern Tekken to go back and play it today, where as T4 really stands out and is still fun to go back to once in awhile. I still have my original fat PS2 for when I'm feeling nostalgic. T4 holds up very well.

[@SoloPlayerP1]

Tekken 4 Jin My favourite Jacket

[@tcbbctagain572]

Even with its obvious flaws its still greatest tekken in almost every aspect. I really miss tekken 4's gritty realism. Now we have characters like claudio, zafina, eliza, etc that look like they literally came out of a very flashy shonen anime.

[@philithegamer8265]

ROFL! Truth. Besides, the new characters you’ve listed aren’t even liked by the fandom all that much. Tekken 4 looked like the series was going a good direction with the tone and with even joke characters having emotional weight to the story, but because of fandom backlash at the time, Harada and Bamco decided to the crap the bed with later installments.

[@philithegamer8265]

You forgot to mention that later Tekken games did my boi Paul Pheonix dirty to bad.

[@OddballEddie]

I loved how they wanted to experiment with Tekken 4. Sure you could say the uneven stages were their attempt to do as VF3 had done some years before. But the added benefit of the presentation and more grounded story added some extra charm. I still go back to this one at times. Don't get me wrong I still like Tekken but I still wish they expanded and improved this format.

[@KingJaeTV]

Underrated game but had some fun mechanics. Great video.

[@valentinr4752]

The story mode theme sums up the atmosphere of this tekken : it was mature and badass

[@philithegamer8265]

Hey, the characters actually have some emotional weight this time in Tekken 4 but fns at the time hated that for some reason.

[@yomiknishes6976]

Excellent work as always Arya and Team! Thank you as always for the insightful look backward!

[@darkprince1988fm]

bro I am not the type who comments on videos but this video reminded me of how much I loved this game and I had to say my word. I played shit tons of tekken 4 back in the days where games were made to experiment and made for fun not only for $. music was epic. I miss the color palette , I miss unlocking characters , I miss game being unbalanced because its what games are supposed to be .... FUN. I miss the story rich of each character not some random movie about mishimas bloodline. the cartoony CGI design of graphic made space for your imagination to work and its what makes cartoony games more immersive IMO I appreciate this game for the amount of work Namco put in it because it really shows all tekkens after 5 became juggle and combo fiesta , not fun to watch and cater only to hardcore players. fighting games are made now only to please tourney players and focus on balanced mechanics ... all the more reason to focus on the wrong thing in a game. you want balanced go play chess , but eventually if you aim for balance in a fighting game you will end up with one of 3 things if not all of them : 1- all character plays the same which is not fun 2- game become very complicated with tons of hundreds of moves .... i mean why the hell some characters now have more than 250+ movelist ?? tekken 3 had 25-40 move list and it was fun as shit. 3- devv\ team focus on balance too much and hurt the overall product because you can focus on only few things at a time (time and money limitations) I doubt we will ever have this type of fighting game ever ... RIP tekken .

[@memebump7612]

Great video. Surprised you didn't mention Tekken Force. It's really fun.

[@UltimateBallaPOM]

They seem to be competitive history videos

[@Blibetyblabla]

These videos don’t get the attention they deserve, thank you for making this!

[@xKayges]

Loved this nostalgia trip - well done! Can't wait for the next one!

[@adamnabors3993]

Best Tekken ever made. Introduced some of the best characters, stages, stories , and most of all the best OST in Tekken history.

[@SalveASMR]

This was Main Man's favorite Tekken. And I now see why... What a unique and incredible game.

[@TextbookBoxingGB]

I remember playing Tekken 4 on an old PlayStation at a Spain holiday resort Fast forward 15 odd years and when I came back to the franchise with Tekken 7 it was like coming back to an old friend I liked that grungy Tekken music so much I used it for a vid

[@Nateolison]

I love these retrospectives! I didn't start playing to improve until T6BR, so it's great to get a window into the competitive meta from previous games. (And you uploaded on my birthday??) Come thru! Seriously, great job to you and the rest of team TBS.

[@ThatBlastedSalami]

Happy Birthday!

[@WinterIsWolf]

The top one is when Jin speaks english on this game

[@ShaunInce123]

And never to speak it again.

[@ShaunInce123]

@9192631770 H You don't have one? WELL I DO!!!

[@superbabybao]

I also miss Lei's Engrish voice. Much more fitting to his character than his perfect American voice right now. Same with Law, I loved his Asian American old man voice in Tekken 4 lol

[@WinterIsWolf]

@@superbabybao oh yeah the Lei's voice actor in Tekken 4 was pure gold..... FREIIIZE!

[@Lordex13]

Realism , Atmosphere and the sound behind in stages make this game unique and special.

[@decadentgamer3108]

I remember feeling very weird about Tekken 4 when it first came out. I had already just played a bit through Tekken Tag Tournament 1 after being introduced to Tekken through Tekken 3 and Tekken 2 back in 1999/2000 and I was so excited to get into more Tekken. I was a kid in 2001 when the game came out and little old me thought that Tekken 4 while having a very neat story for the characters, I thought the game was boring in atmosphere. Oh man was I so wrong about that because years later after seeing where the narrative direction of Tekken went, I grew to really love and appreciate Tekken 4. Tekken 4 had so many things going for it when you got past the experimental side of things and even then, the experimental stuff like the way the stages were designed, the movement of the characters from hair physics to the sidestepping, background interaction (Shinjuku's telephone booths, the guys in the fight pit, the water on the Beach and Jungle,) etc. It was actually pretty fun and very immersive. I will admit that I don't think the OST was as great as Tekken 3 & Tekken 2's but it was still a good OST and fit the tone of the game. But especially where the game shined was the story. By far the best and peak of Tekken's storytelling because most of the characters got something to do as well as learn about and it sucks that all this went for nothing when Tekken 5 came around and totally mucked up the story from then on (not saying Tekken 5 is bad, it was fun but the story narrative took a nosedive lol). I have to agree with what some others have said. Tekken 4 was something special. It's very early 2000s. Very much a product of its time and a lovely memory to those of us who had the luck to experience it back when it was new and filled so many of us fans with hope for what would come after. But I also think it symbolizes the awesomeness of the 6th generation of gaming (PS2 Era) where developers were so open to trying new things and taking more risks after the encouragement received from gamers of the 5th Generation (PS1/N64 era) before they started to see what was popular so much so that in the 7th generation (PS3 era), there was an oversaturation of certain kinds of games. I don't think we'll ever have another game like Tekken 4 and I'm just glad that the developers took a risk with it.

[@tikitakafutbol]

jinvsjinvsjinvsjinvsjinvsjinvsjinvsjinvsjinvsjinvsjinvsjinvs + best tekken ost ever + early ps2 years and everything was hype and my "locals" were my friends who still play fighting games + i was young. What a time!

[@ZeroHayabusa]

I started with Tekken 4 and loved it as a kid. I had no idea it was so disliked until recently. I played 4 and 5 so much back in the day on the PS2.

[@VanRukh]

Hello everyone mainmanswe here-

[@charlessmith5891]

Bryan still had a very good taunt game in T4 as well. In this version of the game you could buffer moves before the taunt active frames started so it made taunt, mach punch a very easy combo and really damaging at the wall. This was the original version of the taunt with 100% tracking and good range. Even if you didnt opt for that taunt, 4,3 was easy damage and frames.

[@FORTEtheSECOND]

A fair retrospective. Don't care what others call it, though... My Favorite Tekken title . Period . (dropped this franchise after getting bored with 5. Then bought Tag Tournament 2 just for the massive legacy roster.)

[@dnachistatrax1029]

Was just arguing about this, aside from the grabbing issue...I thought it was, solid edition! It definitely had, the best bgm (in my opinion)