Although Capcom can be credited with originating fighting games with Street Fighter and Sega can tout the fact that they took it to 3D with Virtual Fighter, these days there's no denying that Namco reigns the 3D fighting genre supreme with its glorious beat-'em-ups, the Tekken series.

Tekken 1, 2 and 3 all were exclusives to the PSX. That didn't stop many a Nintendophile from casting a wishful eye down Sony's way and hoping, praying that there would be a Tekken game for N64… Our hopes were clearly in vain, even when N64.com (now IGN64) reported the lame-o rumor that there might be a "Tekken 64." Of course, many of us would have even settled something that was just halfway as decent since almost all fighting games for N64 turned out to be complete crap.

Word that Namco would be bringing Ridge Racer 5, possibly as a launch title for GameCube, seemed like a very good sign indeed. Then, in the January 2001 issue of Nintendo Power Magazine, Tekken Advance was listed in a section titled "Future". Characters, modes of gameplay, and what the game will look like are all still unknown.

After hearing us report on it, Gamers.com contacted Namco themselves to ask about the title, though the people they spoke to denied the reports of any Tekken game for Game Boy Advance. However, since we got the info from Nintendo Power, we think it's pretty safe to say it's legit.

Mass Media (creators of Starcraft 64, among other titles) seems to be handling development duties. How much involvement Namco will have is unknown. Imagine, they could be making a version for GameCube that will link up! Regardless, it sure sounds like Namco are definitely on a lot better terms with Nintendo than during the N64-era. Thank goodness!

In the meantime, kick back and smile; Tekken is coming to GBA! I wonder, would saying "it should kick ass" be too much of a pun?