I’ve studied fighting game balance since the 16-bit era, so I know when a 3D fighting game is actually balanced and when it simply looks like it is. Tekken 3 is actually balanced. There are eight characters and eight completely different fighting styles. Every single character has some type of competitive viability. The physics of the game are correct, the frame data is correct and move list for each character teaches you their fighting philosophy.
Diversity
The key to balance in fighting games is diversity. Kazuya plays totally different than Paul who plays totally different from Nina. The variety in style to fight makes every matchup interesting, and it is not just learning a bunch of moves with different animations — it is learning completely new ways to fight.
What Tekken 3 Does
There are eight fighters in a 3 arena. You are not just competing against another fighter, you are competing against fighters with completely different move lists and fighting philosophies. Each fighter has a completely unique way to approach combat. You will learn frame data and timing for your attacks and defense. You will also learn the character matchups (who has the advantage).
From learning the basics in the arcade mode to competing in an online tournament with perfect timing required to execute your frames, there is a difficulty learning curve.
Each fighter has tons of moves to learn and choose from. The base moves are simple — square & triangle controls your arm attacks and cross & circle controls your leg attacks. The more advanced moves are executed by doing combination attacks relating to the animation of each move. You can literally teach yourself by watching what moves work and what doesn’t your opponent use.
In arcade mode, the difficulty each opponent presents teaches you the skills you will need to know. Early on you can win fights just by button mashing the simple attacks. As the difficulty ramps up, you will begin to use the knowledge you learned from previous opponents to make more advanced strategies.
Why 3-D Fighting Games Are Harder to Balance Than 2-D
Adding 3 dimensions to movement in a fighting game increases the amount of space you have to move around in. Fighters don’t just move back and forth, they can sidestep and jump! All of these options open up the strategic possibilities available to you when fighting in 3 dimensions vs. 2. With eight completely unique fighters, the possibility becomes almost endless as to why playing online is much harder.
Tekken 3 keeps things fair by realising that you can’t perfectly balance a fighting game. It’s possible to have a controlled imbalance. For instance some fighters have a closer range while others have long range attacks. Some fighters require you to be in a good position to deal damage while others require you to mix up your timing. Some fighters have insane strength while others rely on speed. All of these differences mean that every time you play you feel like you are playing a different game rather than playing minor variations of the same game.
The Juggle System
Tekken allows you to continue doing combos on an opponent even after they’ve been launched into the air! However, each fighter has a different ability to be juggled. Some fighters are easy to keep in the air while others require some set up. The amount of damage a fighter takes while being juggled also differs from fighter to fighter. These elements allow for a risk vs. reward situation. If your opponent gets juggled you can punish them with huge damage but if your opponent is good at defending against launches than you’ll have to be smart when attacking them.
A Real Life Example of Game Balance
What impressed me most about Tekken 3’s balance was how it used mechanical diversity to create balance instead of using damage values to do so. If Tekken 3 decided to create a game with all eight fighters play the same but deal different amounts of damage then balancing the game would be near impossible. Tekken 3 preaches “each fighter has a completely different play style.”
Kazuya has no absurd strengths or weaknesses. He’s good at everything and average at nothing. Paul has an aggressive play style but his reach is shorter than most of the other characters. Jack has a grappler play style but he sucks at dealing damage from a distance. Nina uses complex hit confirming to punish her opponents but she’s very hard to execute correctly. King is a grappler but his greatest strength is his ability to mix up his throws. Lei has an unpredictable play style and his ability to position himself makes him unpredictable. Eddy has tons of mobility and uses flashy kicks to rush in on his opponents but he has technical intricacies to his moves as well. Yoshimitsu uses his sword to open up unorthodox mix-ups.
Eight completely different fighters = eight completely different competitive strategies. Sound like luck to you? No, that is called game design.
Will Tekken 3 Still Hold Up?
Tekken 3 graphics aren’t going to blow you away. Character models are simple and textures aren’t the best but unlike some other titles from the time, the character designs are distinct and easy to read during fast gameplay. This is important because you’ll be playing fast to adapt to your opponents.
Does the game still play well today? Absolutely. Modern fighters have flashier graphics and bigger character pools but the fundamentals of fighting in Tekken 3 are still great.
Frame data still works. Combos are still satisfying to learn and pull off. The games difficulty curve is still fair. Matchups are still fun to play. Competing against someone with even a little bit of fighting game knowledge feels like a legitimate competition.
How Tekken 3 Changed 3-D Fighting Games Forever
Tekken 3 showed players that 3-D fighting games can be fun when done right. It showed players that 3-D fighting games could offer real strategic depth instead of just being flashy. Most importantly, Tekken 3 showed other developers that you don’t have to make your fighters play the same to balance your game — diversity was the balancing mechanic.
Every major 3-D fighting game series since Tekken 3 has implemented the lessons Tekken showed them. Modern Tekken games have expanded on the number of playable characters in the game but they still keep the diversity between fighters that Tekken 3 started. Soul Calibur learned these lessons as well. Virtua Fighter learned these lessons. The 3-D fighting game genre learned that in order to make a well-balanced fighting game you need to create diverse fighters.
Conclusion
Tekken 3 showed the world that 3-D fighting games can be perfectly balanced. There are eight entirely different fighters that all play completely different. Each character has a viable competitive advantage. Frame data matters, the game teaches you how to play without ripping you apart, and there’s always something new to learn.
Every design decision these games make serve the player and the competitiveness of the game. You’re not picking up Tekken 3 for the story or for an spectacle video game — you pick it up because the fighting game itself is fantastic. Whether you’re a hardcore frame data nerd or a button mashing enthusiast, Tekken 3 has something to offer you at the correct skill level.
If you’ve never played Tekken 3 before, treat it like a pure fighting game experience. If you’re trying to figure out how to balance a 3-D fighting game, study Tekken 3 because it is the foundation every fighting game since has based their games off of.
Rating: 9/10 – The 3-D fighter that taught us diversity equals balance.
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Samuel’s been gaming since the Atari 2600 and still thinks 16-bit was the golden age. Between accounting gigs and parenting teens, he keeps the CRTs humming in his Minneapolis basement, writing about cartridge quirks, console wars, and why pixel art never stopped being beautiful.
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