I got my PlayStation out of the cupboard the other day, plugged it into a telly that was never meant to see a PS1 again, and put Tekken 3 in. It blew me away. Twenty-odd years on, the thing still looks, sounds and plays like a proper fighting game.

A big deal in 1998

Tekken 3 is the third game in Namco’s Tekken series. It arrived in arcades in 1997 and came to the PlayStation in 1998, where it became a huge hit and is usually credited with selling more than 8 million copies. It is widely regarded as one of the best games in the series, and plenty of people would say one of the best on the console.

The roster

Every fighter has their own moves, stance and personality. Paul Phoenix and Heihachi Mishima carry over from earlier games, and the new faces include Jin Kazama, Hwoarang, Eddy Gordo, Ling Xiaoyu and Forest Law. One quirk: Kazuya Mishima, who you might expect to be a starter, isn’t playable in Tekken 3 at all. It is the only game in the series without him. Most of the roster is also unlocked the old-fashioned way, by playing.

Fast, deep and surprisingly 3D

The fighting is quick and intense, with a combat system deep enough that you can keep finding new tricks years later. The controls are tight, so juggles and special moves come off when you press the buttons, not when the game feels like it. The big idea in Tekken 3 is the sidestep: a light tap of the stick moves you into or out of the background, so you can dodge a straight attack and hit back. It gave a 2D-feeling genre a real sense of depth.

More than an arcade ladder

The PlayStation version is packed. As well as the arcade run you get Versus, Team Battle, Time Attack, Survival and Practice, plus a Theatre mode for the endings you have unlocked. Then there are two oddities that made the home release feel like a proper present. Tekken Force is a side-scrolling brawler where you fight through soldiers across four stages and finish against Heihachi. Tekken Ball is a beach-volleyball duel where you beat the ball over the net with punches and kicks, and it is more addictive than it has any right to be.

Multiplayer means a sofa

There was no online play on the PlayStation in 1998. Multiplayer meant two pads, one telly and a friend sat next to you, which is half the fun and the reason I’d say don’t get too competitive. It is only a game, even when someone has just landed the combo you have been trying to learn all evening.

Worth playing now

Tekken 3 offers a huge amount to do and plenty of reason to come back. The characters are distinctive, the fighting is fast and deep, and the single-player and local multiplayer modes both hold up. If you like fighting games, or just want a good evening with a friend, it is well worth digging your old PlayStation out for.

Tekken is a trademark of Bandai Namco. There are no game screenshots here, and all the pixel art in this post was drawn for it.