Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Review
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The Good
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is a guilty pleasure for all fighting fans especially those who are hardcore Tekken fans.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is the best, deepest, and most exciting Tekken yet. My darkzero review.
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The King of Iron Fist tournament returns in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, a well-executed and punishing fighter.
The Good
- Challenging and deep combat system
- Stable online play with replay support
- Fight Lab does a good job of covering the basics
- Customizable soundtrack is a fun addition.
The Bad
- Tutorials do not prepare you to process individual characters.
Tekken may host the King of Iron Fist Tournament, but finding victory requires more than a heavy hand. Knowledge of your opponent's arsenal, precise execution, and quick reflexes get you further than simply knowing the strongest attacks. Like its predecessor, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 takes the 3D combat mechanics of the Tekken series and doubles the number of combatants, allowing for more complex and dynamic matches. The combat is supported by a robust selection of modes that makes this fighter a treat for future heirs of the Mishima Zaibatsu.
Despite their differences in rosters, mechanics, and number of dimensions, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 share some similarities. Both are fast-paced, brutal games with a rhythm of split-second mind games and long combo strings. The key difference is distance. In Marvel, you may be dodging projectiles at full screen one moment and avoiding a close-range cross-up the next. Tekken is extremely close-quarters, demanding split-second reactions to subtle changes to attack strings. And once an attack gains purchase, it should be maximized for all it's worth. This means busting out an extended combo.
Building an extended combo requires understanding and applying three attack types: launchers, bounds, and tags. Launchers knock your opponent helplessly into the air, but leave you highly vulnerable if they're blocked or dodged. Some fighters can mitigate this risk with one-two combos ending in a launcher. Once the foe is airborne, the attacking player can work in a few midair strikes before following up with the next technique: a bound.
Bound attacks pull your foe out of the air and rebound him off the ground. As the foe bounces back, the attacking player may carry the assault further. Bounds and launchers have their limits and cannot be used repeatedly in the same combo. Learning which moves and combos incorporate these attack types is a key step to learning any fighter in this game. When deciding how to continue the assault, you may choose to incorporate the game's namesake, tagging.
If you hold the tag button immediately after performing a bound, your partner dashes in from offscreen, ready to strike. You can enter the attack manually, or one will be selected automatically if you continue to hold the tag button. In either case, control then switches back to the original attacker, who finishes out the combo. There are other ways to use your tag partner, such as switching between the two or performing a two-person tag throw. But the ability to summon your partner temporarily after a bound helps the pair feel like one cohesive unit working together to achieve victory.
A tag team's symbiotic nature extends to their health as well. Each fighter on a tag team has a health bar. However, if one fighter loses all of his or her health, then that team loses the round, regardless of how much health the other fighter retained. In dire circumstances, you can sacrifice your point character's remaining recoverable health to force the tag character into an offensive dive. This is a great trick for getting out of a bad situation, but it denies your sidelined character the chance to recover any lost health.
If all this talk of bounds and tag combos sounds confusing, you are not alone. Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is a difficult game. It's easy to make mistakes and leave yourself wide open for a counterattack. Then your opponent will bust out some double-digit combo that drags your fighter to the other side of the screen, ending with an ambiguous wake-up game that knocks you right off your feet and starts the whole thing over again. And all of that happens in less than a minute. To play Tekken is to walk one of the most dangerous fighting game tightropes. However, those of you who stick it out will discover a massive ceiling for improvement, thanks to a massive character move list.
With a cast of 44 fighters (not counting the free DLC characters), Tekken Tag Tournament 2's roster is immense. And it is not uncommon for fighters to have more than 100 moves at their disposal. On top of that, the properties or advantages of these moves are not immediately apparent. Jin and Bryan both have low kicks to the shin, but how do these moves differ, and when should you use them? The game may not help you understand the intricacies of each fighter, but it helps you grasp the basics with Fight Lab.
By
Maxwell McGee, Editor
Maxwell McGee earned a degree in Journalism from the University of Arkansas, and has contributed to The Escapist, GamePro, PC Gamer, and more. His introduction to video games was Sonic the Hedgehog 2 on the Sega Genesis, and he has never looked back. He welcomes your feedback through the site, or Twitter.
110 comments
1 Like Just got the game tonight. It's a good balance between 6 and the original Tag and I just love it.
Doppelgängers...that's a reason I think it is a bit unbalanced. Now, I still don't know if the DLC characters are allowed in tournaments (I, myself, enter a local tournament held in my area every month), but the possibility of having two Bob's (fat and slim), two Lili's (Sabastian and Lili), two Eddy's (Tiger and Eddy), and even two Law's (Forrest and Marshall) threaten the overall balance as well as validity of the game. Having two Bob's, arguably the fastest Tekken character, is unfair.
But while they are at it...you mind making it so where I can have two Steve's?
I'm not sure about what people are saying with this one. This game is perfectly balanced to me. It's better than Virtua Fighter 5 and Dead or Alive 5. I own all three of those games and Tekken is clearly the best. I don't know... I use Jin and Law(s) as mains, and their balance is perfect in this version.
1 Like Same reviewer, definitely sucks at Dead or Alive 5. Hey, I still play Tekken and the good thing this title is patched last month. I still love using Lee Chaolan.
www.facebook.com/docker127 , having a problem regarding any game , catch i'll help ya out
Played the game, the online matches really are lag free(considering my internet was running on 50% signal and the few matches i had were up against people from japan) my only complaint is too much loading in menus... kinda distracting.
@rain_ishigawa this was the same problem with Tekken 6. too bad they didn't do anything about it.
Install the game. Cut the loading times. Not talking s***, just something I didn't know myself at first.
I also wasn't a great fan of Tekken 6 - I am ( and to be honest was even before reading the review which hasn't changed my mind one way or the other ) on the fence. It is going as a high priority on my rental list but that's it for now!
3 Like I didn't enjoy Tekken 6 very much so I doubt I'll like this. I really hated how I had to input everything like 3 seconds beforehand in Tekken. It felt like I was locked into my string choices from the start and prevented any kind of reaction/adaptation to your opponent. I hate juggle combos too, they just look/feel silly to perform (although I did like some of the fighting styles of the more stance-based characters).
Can't see this one being any different because if there's one thing Tekken doesn't do, it's change.
1 Like OMFG!!!!!I haven't been this pissed off in a looonge while!!
I really would like to kill someone RIGHT now!!
Just lost I-don't-know-how-many battles against the boss in Arcade.
I want to explode, or implode, or i don't know.. do damage to something, or someone. Maybe the creators of this game!
Great game by the way.. Though I've never been more angry at a game before! (which counts for the previous versions as well.)
@fallout_man lol it is a great game, but i agree, that boss can be reiiculously hard. especially when you have been trying to defeat her over and over again, knowing whats coming everytime she transforms into Unknown. lol
i LOVE the customisations and props for characters tho. love the game lol
omg me too D: boss has one of the cheapest moves in videogame history D: and i consider myself a fighting game enthusiast ...
which is i guess kudos to the makers ... finally a real BOSS battle ...
Haha! Tekken 6 and 5 (Jinpachi and his mouth-gut...) were just as bad for me! Namco must take its boss making cues from SNKs boss designers (try Last Blade or any other of its fighters and you'll see what I mean!)
I can't wait to get into the game and snap a controller or two! Picked it up last week, but I've been on nights... :(
One of the complaints I see in this review is that Fight Lab doesn't tell you why to fight a certain way?
Figure it out yourself? Tutorials and such aren't meant to replace full length guides, not even remotely. This is about a dumb complaint.
5 Like "Bryan doesn't flinch in the face of fear" If that's the face of fear I would love to be scared
@pqwoei I believe there are 48 characters on the disc, with Kunimitsu, Angel, Michelle Chang and Ancient Ogre being DLC-characters, two of which you can get if you buy at certain retaliers.
Also, Miharu Hirano, Slim Bob, Sebastian, Dr. Bosconovitch, Violet and Unknown are DLC-characters, but they aren't available yet and shall be released at a later time.
8.5 is right. I think Tekken is the greatest fighting game ever with faithful styles and versitility. I'm glad that they took it out of the hands of the button smasher. The only drawbacks I see is that they have not brought back Doc B. Also the silly costums are funny, but over done.
1 Like This 8.5 only applies if you grew up with Tekken, because this series hasn't really evolved in over a decade. What have they added? Online and an accessory shop? How about improving the gameplay? It still feels like a PS1 game. I'll stick with DOA.
@istuffedsunny Obviously you don't have any idea about this game. It is in my opinion the best fighter available, and there is a reason why the base mechanics have not significantly changed (actually very arguable anyway). The system is perfect. it's easy to get into imo for new player's and it has depth bar almost anything in gaming. One button for each of your limbs and seasoned players can even see how to perform moves just by watching the character's because of it.
I think alot of the clunky or outdated complaint's come from people who have never learnt how to move around correctly. Movement alone is an extremely important and difficult gameplay system to master in tekken. You need to get a solid grounding in backdash cancelling, dashing, side walk, wave dashing, instant running and instant while standing move's as well as all the defensive option's before that feeling will do away. Yes tekken require's dedication, but once you commit it's one of the most rewarding experiences gaming has to offer, period...
As for innovation, they have added bound, rage, advanced tag gameplay features, environmental combo's and alot more actually. Above all else this game actually has an online system that works. (really hard ot pull of in any fighter let alone a 3d one this comeplex)
DOA is a button masher by comparison and the only thing they have added is a completely broken counter system and stage gimmick's over the year's. Even the top player's admit it's typically be a badly balanced game competitively. Tekken tag 2 with it's roster of near 60 is very very well balanced.
@Diernes @istuffedsunny
I find that DOA5 is incredibly underrated by the FGC because it doesn't play exactly like every other fighter out there. I.e. it's not based around the same frametrapping strings and launch setups, and long-ass neverending juggles. What I mean is hardly anyone gives it a chance and just dimiss it prematurely.
DOA5 is about the metagame. You need to adapt your setups on the fly. You get predictable, or fight stupidly, you die. Did you watch the DOA matches at Final Round 16? How long do you think someone buttonmashing or spamming counters would've lasted in those fights?
I'm guessing you never learned to play DOA properly and thought you could buttonmash your way to victory. If someone abuses counters, throw them for hi-counter damage.
@Diernes
Furthermore,
DOA5 was not at EVO because they are biased towards Capcom's Fighters and 2D fighting games (if I'm not mistaken TTT2 is the only 3D Fighter at EVO out of 7 or 8 games and Tekken 6 was not at EVO last year) and DOA4 was structurely a weak and uncompetitive game so, it's been more challenging to build a following for the legit DOA5 and thus has a smaller community.
Also are VF5:FS, SC5 and Skullgirls, etc. seen as a joke by the competitive community too? They're also not at EVO!
@ForceofNature9 @Diernes @istuffedsunny
You miss the point. Of course you could but it's not a case of people abusing counters, although Thats a big reason why it's shunned for the most part in the FGC. The system is critically flawed in general. There is a reason why DOA5 is not at EVO this year, to the competitive community the game is a joke. It's a fun party game and thats about it.
@istuffedsunny how much can you improve on something that's pretty much perfection? SSF4 didn't really change much from SF2. fighting games tend to be simlilar with a few tweaks.
@LilRoss2k3 @istuffedsunny i agree with ross ... DOA plays the same thruout iterations btw too ... same with street fighter and most other fighting games that werent one hit wonders (Guilty gear, soul calibur, All the VS series)
hadouken is still down forward punch
So it gets points taken away because it doesn't hold your hand and brings a learning curve to those enjoy a challenge? GS complains if a game is too shallow, then complains when it has a lot of content. 100+ moves for certain characters shouldn't deter you from playing, it should keep you interested so you're not spamming the same 2 moves over and over. There's a lot here and this game is worth picking up if you're a fighting game fan. This isn't the first Tekken game ever released so chances are you have already got an idea of what to expect.
It doesn't help that 80% of most characters movesets are essentially useless in heated combat.
1 Like In summation, this game has everything you could ever ask for in a fighting game, basically.Tekken will always be the king.
2 Like Tekken has the deepest and most competative fightinggame system in the world, there is no game like tekken. This game and all the other games in the series truly deserves a 10/10.
What would an individual tutorial even look like? They all move the same; they all jump the same; but the only thing that differentiates them is their moves and size.
Moves and combos can be learned from Practice Mode, but hitboxes and punishable moves and everything a guide book could offer shouldn't be expected. No game handholds someone for every advantage/disadvantage a character has. Not Street Fighter, Marvel, Soul Calibur, Smash Bros, etc. We learn moves and learn not to use them. It seems to be part of playing any game.
1 Like @00LiteYear Where too begin.... A individual tutorial would explain things like particular frame trap's and setup's and how the character's moves work with each other and give some insight to why you use them in different scenario's. Many character's also have unique movement such as Nina's harashida step or Kazuya's wave dashing andto Electricwind god fist mix up's. I think this is the next step for fighting game tutorial's it's all well and good to give a move list or tell someone how to move but it doesnt go far for new player's if they dont understand why the moves are good or when and why you want to use them
You sound like you know the game very well. However, if you were a beginner and I told you things like "use your fastest move; hit low when they are standing; use your strongest move when they miss," would you understand what I meant or would you need to the exact frame rate data only an offical Prima guide can offer?
Fact is each character has at least 100 moves each. Who is to say which move is better than the other? You might go for a high punch, but your opponent does a low kick. You do a low kick, the other guy does a jump kick. So when it comes to individual tutorials, how much would it have to handhold beginners for them to learn a match can be decided in a split second? I believe it's through the hard way; experience.
@00LiteYear Moves and combos can be learned in a practice mode, but hitting a dummy does not prepare you for real fights. And even if you can program certain moves into the practice dummy, that's still hours and hours of practice, learning whether or not your punch is better in this situation than a kick.
And designing individual tutorials for characters isn't hard to imagine. Let me lean my characters move list, and then show me situations in which that move would be advantageous. Show me situations to avoid, show me how I can fake one move for another.
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