I was just as excited as the next fan when I saw the announcement trailer at the September 2022 State Play announcement about Jin and Tekken 8.
The nostalgia, however, didn’t truly set in until today, the fifth of March, in the year of our Lord, when a trailer of the bad boy in action popped up on my Twitter feed.
Tekken 3’s legacy
Fellow gamer, watch the trailer below and tell me you’re not buzzing with excitement. I dare you.
Watch: Jin Kazama: Fist Meets Fate
If not, you aren’t worthy of PlayStation’s fifth best-selling game; which, by the way, has officially been cited as one of the greatest video games of all time.
Of all times, bruh. Along with other marvels such as Space Invaders, Pac-Man, Donkey Kong, Mario, Zelda, Prince of Persia, Final Fantasy, and more.
As a child of the ’90s (yes I’m aware I’m giving away my age here), nothing brought me more joy than coming home from school, grabbing a snack, and playing Tekken 3.
Being a gamer kid in the nineties was wild. Video games were not as widely available and gaming itself was still considered a fringe hobby.
Most kids didn’t even have access to a console or PC powerful to run a game (ah, the day of Commander Keen and MS-DOS…)
My cousin was the only kid in our family with a console, but thank goodness he lived next door. We would spend hours playing Street Fighter or Need for Speed 2.
And of course, Tekken 3.
A cast worth remembering
I loved Jin and Nina Williams and Eddy Gordo the most, and I spent countless hours mastering their moves and perfecting my gameplay.
Remember those wild combinations!
It’s the 90s definition of remembering a password in 2023 with 13 characters including capital letters, numbers, and punctuation.
Julia, Law, and Lei made for a strong supporting case, and I’d be lying if I say I didn’t dabble with Gon, Mokujin and Bosconovitch too.
The graphics may seem dated by today’s standards. Trust me, I know, I still play Tekken 3 on PS1 every once in a while…
Jin, the legend
But pixels and 32-bit arcade graphics aside, it’s still a true classic and Tekken has withstood the test of time.
And yes, Jin is still my favourite character today.
Heihachi’s head-strong grandson hellbent on revenge added a level of depth not known in the world of gaming at the time.
Even teenage Cheryl could realise that.
It was refreshing to see a realistic character with everyday struggles and hardships.
As I look back on Tekken 3, it’s hard not to feel a sense of nostalgia.
The age of Tekken 8 is here
Tekken 8 is breaking into a new era and trust me when I say I’m all for a more mature Jin ushering us into the new age.
Jokes and reminiscing aside, Tekken 8 promises to bring us state-of-the-art graphics and powerful new rivalries.
But please, for the love of all that is good and pixelated, let’s remember where it all started and how Tekken morphed into the beloved franchise we know today.
Its legacy will always hold a special place in the hearts of gamers everywhere.
