Starting in 1994, Tekken became one of the premier 3D fighting games, taking cues from pioneering 3D fighters like Virtua Fighter and Soul Calibur, creating a blend of amazing combo mechanics blended with amazing graphics that have continued to evolve.
To celebrate the upcoming Tekken 8, we are taking a look at the franchise as a whole, ranking the games from absolute trash through to S-Tier heaven.
Death by Degrees Tekken: Nina Williams
Formats: PlayStation 2
Original Release Year: 2005
I will never understand why some companies think that they can take one character from a fighting game and place them into an action-adventure spin-off thinking it would be successful. Mortal Kombat did this twice and failed, so why does Namco think taking Nina Willaims and putting her into a solo game would be a good idea?
History aside, Death by Degrees isn't a bad game. Taking Nina through a spy story complete with a mix of fighting using her moves from the game alongside things like Sniper sections and other things makes for a better experience than Sub Zero Mythologies and Special Forces ever were. It could have something to do with Namco experimenting with Tekken Force modes previously in Tekken 4 & Tekken 5.
There was a lot of time and effort put into Death by Degrees, but the game didn't get much of a chance to be something that was looked at with its own merits rather than an extension of the Tekken franchise. The game is decent even by modern standards and has become one of the higher sort after Tekken games for collectors, but it is still a spin-off that will forever be called less than worthy.
