Tekken 3

Tekken 3 is the point at which Namco's 3D fighting series stopped looking like an experiment and started looking like the standard. It ran on System 12, essentially a PlayStation with more memory, and it is widely held to be the best-looking arcade fighter of 1997.

The roster was rebuilt rather than extended. Jin Kazama replaced his father as the lead, and the new arrivals - Ling Xiaoyu, Eddy Gordo, Hwoarang, Bryan Fury and the rest - each brought a distinctly different movement style, most famously Eddy's capoeira, which let beginners win by holding one button. Namco also deepened the defensive game with a proper sidestep, better juggle physics and a much clearer wake-up system, so the difference between a good player and a great one became visible instead of theoretical. The arcade release is the version captured here; the PlayStation conversion followed a year later and added the Tekken Force mode and extra characters, which is a common source of confusion when comparing notes.

• ▸System 12 hardware - PlayStation architecture with extra memory
• ▸A rebuilt roster with genuinely distinct movement styles
• ▸Sidestep and expanded juggle physics on defence
• ▸Tekken Force, the beat-'em-up bonus mode (PlayStation conversion only)