Here is a question for you: Why? Why is it that every good fighting game franchise seems to want to break into the handheld market? I know I know, it’s all about money, but am I the only person who really thinks that this is a bad idea? Seriously?

Tekken 6 is the latest big fighter franchise to go pocket sized and I really don’t know what to say. It’s come to the PSP, which is the correct choice of handhelds if you are looking to cash in on hardcore gamers. It’s … well it is basically Tekken 6 again on the PSP. Sure enough the graphics are toned down, and the presentation is way more barebones, and they took out the god-awful scenario campaign mode, but other than that, it is just the same old fighting game on a smaller system.

I want to review this game … in fact I really want to review this game. There is tons of fan buzz about it, and I see advertisements for it everywhere, and I have heard PSP owners ranting about how it is just about as good as the PS3 or Xbox version is. However, I already did a Tekken 6 review, and I can’t imagine saying anything that I haven’t said already in that review. The game hasn’t really been watered down in the least. All the important things are still there. You still get the same massive roster of characters, the same compliment of stages, the same hilariously addictive ability to customize characters’ appearances (with a brand new gold rush mode to feed into your compulsive shopping habit), and even all the content from the recently released Bloodline Rebellion update.

I guess I can talk a bit about how Tekken 6 and Tekken 6 on the PSP are different. Well, for one, since there is no scenario campaign mode, all the story is told through a more traditional, arcade-like story mode, in which you beat up characters and unlock illustrations and ending movies. Basically every important fighting game mode is still present, including time trial, survival, and versus, as well as the ghost battle mode, in which the game sets you up with simulated arcade opponents. This is kind of cool, and it seems like it it’s built almost specifically for handheld fighting games, but the real question is “what’s the point?” You already have a single player story mode and an arcade mode, and although ghost battles are supposed to simulate an old style arcade quarter queue, this mode is STILL just a matter of playing a computer controlled opponent. For a fighting game to really be a fighting game, you need to find someone else to play it with you.

This is where I have my biggest issue. Tekken 6 on the PSP is not a bad game because Tekken 6 wasn’t a bad game. It’s enjoyable, it’s fun, and it has a lot of depth, but the very concept of Tekken on a handheld console is flawed from the start. The reason the PSP appeals to the hardcore gamer is because PSP owners also mostly own an Xbox or a PS3. If this is the case, prospective buyers for the handheld version of Tekken probably already own a console version, and like I said in my Soul Calibur PSP review, it is way easier, less expensive, and far less awkward, to invite your friends over to your house and sit them on your couch to play the high definition version of a fighting game, than it is to sit across the room with someone who also has a PSP and the handheld version of the game you want to play, and stare at different tiny screens listening to different de-synched audio from different tiny speakers. I might be able to give the game a pass if there were say, online support, but there isn’t, so tough shit.

I can’t really complain about the graphics or the sound either. The graphics look about Tekken 3 quality, which is insane considering this is a frickin handheld system! The sound is also good, just about as good as it was in Tekken 6 but once again, when you play with your friends, two soundtracks are going to be blaring from two different sets of PSP speakers, and this is disorienting and downright annoying. Also, though the graphics are good for a handheld system, why bother! You can spend 50 bucks to play on your big LCD TV, hell or even an old fashioned CRT TV, and it would look better, and be easier to follow. Why pay another 50 bucks just so you can see this game in (as Yahtzee would say) “teeney weeney eye-strain-o-vision.”

I can go into how the game is played but … really? It’s Tekken for Jin Kazama’s sake! If you like Tekken, you will like this. If you dislike Tekken, you will dislike this. I made a big point in my Tekken 6 review about how Tekken already appeals to anybody who would like it. If you were already a Tekken fan, there was no reason for you not to pick up Tekken 6, and if you weren’t, it was probably better if you avoided it. I find myself wanting to say the same thing here, but I have a hard time figuring out how even the most hardcore Tekken fan can justify this purchase. You can take your Tekken on the road and … uh … actually that is about it.

So I guess if you are an anti-social fighting game nut who can’t get enough of Tekken, so much so that it has to be in your pocket at a moment’s notice, this is the game for you. Alternatively, if you are the one guy in the world who owns a Wii and a PSP, or perhaps just a PSP and no other home console, then this is a great way to experience Tekken, if only for the fact that it is the best you can get with your hardware. Otherwise, get the console version and play with some friends, or at tournaments, or something! Fighting games have always been a social experience, and this shift to portable system seems to do nothing but make them more anti-social.

There you have it. Tekken 6 for the PSP is … in not many words … Tekken 6, except on the PSP. It’s a well designed game series that still ranks as one of the best fighting game franchises of all time, and this PSP version definitely lives up to that name. However, I, personally, cannot see a reason for splurging on this version if you already have a home console version. It feels like I am betraying the gamer gods by saying that any Tekken game isn’t worth your time, but regardless of how good this game may be, the concept of the game itself, a handheld fighting game, is simply flawed. It’s not even as if this version has anything new or exclusive, like Kratos in the handheld version of Soul Calibur. It’s just Tekken 6 again. You already bought it, played it, and loved it. There is no reason to do it again.

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