Death by Degrees II aka Tekken 6 Scenario Mode

Let me explain a few things right off the bat:

1) Death by Degrees was one of the worst games ever
2) I really wanted to like DbD and gave it more chances than it deserved
3) Tekken 6 is very good, great even

With that out of the way, we can get to the rest of this post.

Like most folks, I was very confused playing through the arcade mode because it did not unlock the character ending movies like very previous version. It doesn’t even generate much gold for purchasing items. It’s the Scenario Mode that holds all the goodies and that’s a very divisive decision.

At first I hated the mode. It’s clear Namco put a good deal of production value into it, but the play mechanics of Tekken don’t translate well into the world of the side scrolling brawler. I might have stopped playing if not for the fact that you can change what character you play as after the first mission. Of course I chose Nina Williams. All of a sudden, the mode was…tolerable. I was unlocking outfits that cost tons of cash and they had attributes that altered offense and defense. It’s very similar to the Tower mode thingy (can’t recall the exact name right now) in Soul Calibur IV. Because of this loot element this mode became addictive.

I realized that I was playing the game as if this was the Death by Degrees sequel that never would have been made. I took a short break to play some Modern Warfare 2, but I kept getting pulled back to Tekken 6. There are tons of items to unlock and I’ve only used maybe three different characters so far.

Will you enjoy Scenario Mode? I’ll walk through some observations and tips that may help you decide.

The make-up of attributes you want for a fighter often create an eye sore of an overall outfit. This was true in Soul Calibur IV too. Sometimes it’s amusing, others not so much. This is what my current Nina looks like.

The attributes of clothing items you acquire are ranked by letters with S and A rank items being the best. You can sell unwanted items for money and you’ll often get doubles of the same looking item although they have a different power. This works vice versa with different looking items having identical attributes.

Once you clear all the stages, there really is no need to hang on to any outfits you don’t like. I’m not at that point yet. There is one last stage, appropriately called Nightmare Train, that is very tough to clear without some truly premium attributes. That stage also holds the last character I need to unlock, Devil Jin. After that, I plan to sell the ton of extra gear that my 3-4 characters have accumulated and go shopping for other character looks.

What’s nice is that the purchase screen darkens any items you already own for easy comparisons.

Because clothing items are super expensive, this initially selling off will not cover all the outfits I will want to purchase so it’ll be back to farming for gold and item drops in Scenario mode. In between those times I’ll fight to unlock character ending movies in the Arena found in Scenario mode.

At higher difficulties, using an arcade stick is far superior to using the pad. Enemies block and evade throws more so you really need to bust out the fanciest combos and moves possible. For me that means using a stick. You hold down the farthest right button to run/walk around, otherwise your movements are similar to when fighting close quarters. The button immediately left of that changes the enemy you are locked on to. You really need to switch this as often as possible because the automated way its handled in the game sucks. Sticking close to your AI partner is crucial in getting through many missions on hard mode.

Haven’t played much online, but we play at the office which is way more fun. Currently alternating between Jack 6, Heihachi, and Zafina.

Have Tekken 6 already? Whaddya think?