Tekken is a 3D fighting game series that originated on the first PlayStation, so it’s been around for a while. The reason it has become one of the mainstays of the genre is its incredibly simple, yet ridiculously deep control scheme. Each button on the controller corresponds to a body part on your character, and pressing them quickly with different characters do different things. As much as I love fighting games, that’s not why we’re here.
When it comes to fighting games in specific, music tends to take a backseat. To be fair, it’s not the focus. But that is exactly why Tekken 4 stands out to me, because its obvious music had much more of a role than usual. There are a few tracks in this game that really stand out to me because of how dynamic and rhythmically intricate they are: namely “Kitsch,” “Authentic Sky” and “Touch and Go.”
If you’ve ever heard a song from this game before, it would be “Kitsch,” and for good reason too. It encompasses a lot of what makes the sound track in this game so good. Right off the bat, it has one of the most “ear-catching” hooks for a song I’ve ever heard. You hear it, and you’re listening immediately. The hook gets replaced with a bitcrushed piano to introduce you to the main part of the song. The synth bass and the electronic drum kit persist throughout the song, while introducing some vox in the middle. My favorite part is how the song develops over time. It very rarely stays the same. It’s extremely melodic and catchy, and is a standout track here. Believe it or not, this song plays when you fight on a beach.
“Authentic Sky” is my personal favorite of the songs I’ll talk about. The stage that this song plays on is the top of a large tower at night. This song perfectly encapsulates the feeling of a battle for everything you’ve got at the top of a tower. I know I’ve talked about how this soundtrack is kind of a landmark case in terms of fighting game sound tracks because of how dynamic the music is, and on first listen it may seem like I’m lying straight to your face with this song. Now, this is mostly because of the repeated (yet super groovy) piano riff. However, if you listen closely, you can hear a bunch of subtle changes and additions including drum patterns, a second piano and a ton of little sound effects bouncing between the left and right. It’s one of the most subtly chaotic songs I’ve ever heard.
Last and certainly not least, is “Touch and Go.” Before I even get into where in the game this song occurs, this track in particular is special because it still upholds the dynamic and interesting sound design, while most definitely being the simplest of the three songs I’ve brought up. The different parts of this song are simple, yet effective in what they are trying to do with them. They’re catchy, and something just so unique when it comes to the genre of game it’s from. It’s just lacking the typical aggressiveness that you hear on not only some of the other songs from this game, but mostly the other songs in the fighting game genre. It’s a breath of fresh air, which is ironic considering the stage the song comes from is an airport at night time.
All in all, Tekken 4’s soundtrack is an incredible piece of instrumental music, let alone video game music. I firmly believe this soundtrack could stand alone, regardless of it being created for a video game. Extremely funky bitcrushed pianos, interesting and intricate percussion, and creatively used synths really make this one of my personal favorite soundtracks.
