ArdillaVerde93's Game Reviews #3: Tekken Tag Tournament 2

[ArdillaVerde93]

Game: Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

Platform: PS3, WiiU, XBox 360.

*SPOILER ALERT!!!!!!!!!! THIS IS NOT A TEST!! AN IMPORTANT MESSAGE WILL FOLLOW!! XD*

Ah, Namco. Where would gaming be without you? Sure, you didn't come up with Pokemon, Halo(I'm not implying I play Halo, because I don't. It doesn't appeal to me.), or Guitar Hero, but you brought us such games as Galaga, Pac-Man,... Hell; arcades would've sucked without Namco. Not to mention, the upcoming new Super Smash Bros. game is being partly developed by Namco. So, today, I'm here to talk about their flagship fighting game franchise, Tekken. More specifically, the awesomeness that is Tekken Tag Tournament 2. By the way, I feel I should mention that I have the PS3 version, so your experience may vary.

You may have noticed that I didn't list the price, which I did in my previous reviews. That's because, as a retail game, the price depends on the store. I got my copy(new, for reasons I'll explain soon.) at GameStop for less than $20, so it shouldn't break the bank. If you have a choice, don't buy a used copy. Shell out an extra few bucks for a new copy; otherwise, you may be in for some sticker shock. In order to play the game online, you need an online pass. There's a code on the back of the instruction manual, which can be entered and redeemed for the pass. Without it, you'll have to pay $10 for the pass. Anyway, I'm rambling; on to the game!

As the name implies, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is the sequel to Tekken Tag Tournament. Tekken Tag Tournament was released in 1999 as a launch title for the then-new PS2. You're probably familiar with the term "long-awaited sequel." Well, try 13 years! Apparently, Namco releases Tekken Tag Tournament games after every 3 main series games; the first one came out after Tekken 3, and the second one came out after Tekken 6. Tekken Tag Tournament 2, like it's predecessor, is a non-canonical spin-off, with a simple idea: take all of the Tekken characters, and put them all in 1 game! Simple, but effective.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 includes 16 characters from Tekken 1, 4 characters from Tekken 2, 13 characters from Tekken 3, 6 characters from Tekken 4, 6 characters from Tekken 5, and 7 characters from Tekken 6. There's also Unknown, from the first Tekken Tag Tournament, and newcomers Slim Bob and Sebastian. Here's a breakdown. Remember the spoiler alert? Well,... that. The list is in the format of character/ethnicity/fighting style.

Alex/Unknown/Unique(shares a moveset with Roger Jr.).

Alisa Bosconovitch/Russian(she's an android, made by a Russian.)/Unique.

Ancient Ogre(Ogre in previous games.)/Unknown/Unique.

Angel/Unknown/Kazama Style(plus flight and lasers.).

Anna Williams/Irish/Aikido.

Armor King/Mexican/Wrestling.

Asuka Kazama/Japanese/Kazama Style.

Baek Doo San/Korean/Taekwondo.

Bruce Irvin/African-American/Kickboxing.

Bryan Fury/American/Kickboxing.

Christie Montiero/Brazilian/Capoeira(shares a moveset with Eddy Gordo and Tiger Jackson.).

Combot/NA/Customizable.

Craig Marduk/African-American/Vale Tudo.

Devil Jin/Unknown/Kazama Style(plus flight and lasers.)

Eddy Gordo/Brazilian/Capoeira(shares a moveset with Christie Montiero and Tiger Jackson.).

Eleonor Klissen(Leo.)/German/Bajiquan.

Emile de Rochefort(Lili.)/French/Savate and street fighting.

Feng Wei/Chinese/Kenpo.

Forest Law/American/Jeet Kune Do.

Ganryu/Japanese/Sumo Wrestling.

Gepetto Bosconovitch(Dr. Bosconovitch.)/Russian/Unique.

Heihachi Mishima/Japanese/Mishima Style.

Hwoarang/Korean/Taekwondo.

Jack-6/Unknown/Power fighting and guns.

Jinpachi Mishima/Japanese/Mishima Style(plus otherworldly powers.)

Julia Chang(Jaycee.)/Native American/Lucha Libre.

Jun Kazama/Japanese/Kazama Style.

Kazuya Mishima and Devil Kazuya/Japanese/Mishima Style(plus flight and lasers.)

King/Mexican/Wrestling.

Kuma/Unknown/Unique(shares a moveset with Panda.).

Kunimitsu/Unknown/Ninjitsu.

Lars Alexandersson/Swedish/Karate.

Lee Chaolan/Unknown/Mishima Style.

Lei Wulong/Unknown/Mixed styles, predominately 5 Form Kung Fu and Drunken Fist.

Ling Xiaoyu/Chinese/Mixed Chinese styles, predominately Hakke-Sho and Hikka-Ken.

Marshall Law/American/Jeet Kune Do.

Michelle Chang/Native American/Mixed.

Miharu Hirano/Chinese/Mixed(shares a moveset with Ling Xiaoyu.).

Mokujin/Unknown/Random(copies a random character's moveset each match.)

Nina Williams/Irish/Aikido.

Ogre(True Ogre in previous games.)/Unknown/Mixed(plus otherworldly powers.)

Panda/Chinese/Unique(shares a moveset with Kuma.).

Paul Phoenix/American/Judo.

Prototype Jack/Unknown/Unique.

Robert Richards(Bob and Slim Bob.)/American/Freestyle Karate.

Roger Jr./Australian/Unique(shares a moveset with Alex.).

Sebastian/French/Savate and street fighting(shares a moveset with Emile de Rochefort.).

Sergei Dragunov/Russian/Sambo.

Steve Fox/British/Boxing.

Tiger Jackson/Unknown/Capoeira(shares a moveset with Christie Montiero and Eddy Gordo.)

Unknown/Unknown/Unique(Jun Kazama's moveset plus otherworldly powers.).

All the fighting game stereotypes are here. You have your Bruce Lee knockoffs(Forest and Marshall.), your little girls who don't look like they can fight their way out of a paper bag(Xiaoyu, Miharu, and Lili.), your joke characters(the list goes on.), and your magical beings(Jinpachi, Unknown, Angel, Devil Kazuya, and Devil Jin.). That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. With so many characters(albeit some with matching movesets.), and so many moves(some characters have more moves by themselves than the entire roster of Street Fighter IV combined.), this game provides plenty of variety.

Speaking of moves, Combot is a special character. Combot debuted in Tekken 4, as a Mokujin knockoff. In Tekken Tag Tournament 2, however, through a separate storyline, which I won't spoil, it's possible to customize Combot's moveset with moves from other characters!

Every character in the large roster can be customized(some more than others; you can't do shit with Unknown and Tiger, besides changing their special effects, which are cosmetic, anyway. You can also change the picture that appears before a match if you're using them.), and thoroughly so. Want a ninja with a maid's outfit? You can do that(base character was Kunimitsu.)! Want Fluttershy? You can do that(base character was Michelle Chang.)! I even made Tripp(base character was Steve Fox.)! I love games that have things you can customize, so, naturally, I enjoyed, and still enjoy, this feature. However, character customization is nothing new. Enter Tekken Tunes, a feature that allows you to customize the soundtrack!

With Tekken Tunes, you can replace the soundtrack with songs from your hard drive! The possibilities for this are endless! How would you like to be greeted on the main menu by Welcome To The Jungle by Guns N Roses? What about beating the shit out of some poor soul in a Winter wonderland, to the tune of Christmas Don't Be Late by Alvin And The Chipmunks? You can do those things, and more! As with the character customization, I greatly enjoy this feature. Of course, what most people think of when they think of Tekken is people getting laid out by the fists of fury of one of many possible assailants. Well, don't worry; there's no shortage of that!

The main draw of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is that you can use 2 characters at once. That means you have 2 movesets to work with! Plus, depending on what characters you choose, you may be able to use special Tag Throws! Teams that can use these special Tag Throws usually consist of characters that are somehow related, either by friendship(Xiaoyu and Miharu.), blood(Jin and Jun Kazama.), mentoring(Baek and Hwoarang.), or some other way. The game doesn't tell you how to do these throws, so you have to guess. However, I'll tell you some.

Lili's Rafflesia throw -> tag out to Leo.

Lei's Dragon Falls throw -> tag out to Feng.

Feng's Avalanche throw -> tag out to Lei.

Raven's Undertaker throw -> tag out to Kunimitsu.

Anyone with the Stonehead throw -> tag out to anyone with the Stonehead throw.

Hwoarang/Baek's Human Cannonball throw -> tag out to Hwoarang/Baek.

Kuma/Panda's Bear Hug throw -> tag out to Kuma/Panda.

Christie/Eddy/Tiger's Rodeo Spin throw -> tag out to Christie/Eddy/Tiger.

Armor King's Hades Bomb throw -> tag out to King.

Michelle's Death Valley Bomb throw -> tag out to Jaycee.

Jaycee's Backdrop throw -> tag out to Michelle.

There are plenty more for curious players to discover. By the way, the graphics are beautiful, especially during the cutscenes. The sound is great, and, for the most part, customizable. Now, last but not least, let's talk about DLC.

DLC for this game really only appeals to the Tekken faithful; you can buy music and cutscene packs from the previous Tekken games. I consider this to be a waste of money, since you can see the cutscenes online, and you can download the soundtracks for free online, if you know where to go. Oh, well; for a game this great, I can't hold that against it.

I give Tekken Tag Tournament 2 a 3.85 out of 5. It's a wonderful game, and it'll definitely keep you occupied for hours, but having to use a pass to get online is ridiculous.