Overview
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is a 3D 2-on-2 tag-team fighting game developed and released by Namco Bandai for Japanese arcades in 2011. The eighth main installment of the Tekken franchise, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, is the successor to 1999's Tekken Tag Tournament, which pits most characters from the series' history (at that point in the series) in non-canonical 2-on-2 tag team battles.
The original arcade game received a revision (titled Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Unlimited) on March 27, 2012, featuring the option to choose one character instead of two (in which the character is granted both higher vitality and the "Rage" system from Tekken 6) and a new Pair Play mode (in which four players fight simultaenously in 2-on-2 battle royales, similar to Scramble Mode in Street Fighter X Tekken). This version would later be used in the worldwide console release for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on September 11, 2012. This release features new characters (both inclusive and DLC), character customization, an enhanced Practice Mode (in which players unlock new moves for a customizable training robot), and the option to use custom soundtracks. The Wii U will also receive its own console version sometime in 2012 with additional Nintendo-themed content, including costumes based on popular Nintendo franchises.
Gameplay
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is a combination of Tekken 6's mechanics and the previous Tekken TAG's 2-on-2 system. This section will exclusively cover the game's tag mechanics.
In TTT2, matches still consist of best-of-3 or best-of-5 sets. (Local matches default to best-of-3, while ranked online matches are best-of-5.) A round ends when one character is knocked out, regardless of the health of their partner.
Tagging is accomplished with a fifth "tag" button. Inactive partners slowly recover any "red" health that they may have received from taking damage while active. Unlike most tag-based fighting games, red health is not lost whenever a character is tagged in normally.
Netsu Power is a comeback mechanic state that is enabled for the inactive character once the point character has received a certain amount of damage. When enough damage is taken, the partner's life-bar will flash, and tagging them in will allow them to deal more damage for a short while. The damage required to activate Netsu Power is partially dependent on in-story character relationships: for example, Heihachi will receive Netsu Power faster than normal if Kuma is the active character, but will receive it much later than normal if his partner is Jin or Kazuya. Solo characters do not use Netsu Power, but instead retain the Rage system from Tekken 6.
By pressing the Tag button while performing a launcher, the player will perform a Tag Combo. The player's inactive character runs in, and the resulting combo will eliminate part of the opponent's red health. Pressing Right Punch and Tag together performs a Tag Throw, which switches characters while eating the opponent's red health. Some pairings have special Tag Throws; their method of activation varies per team.
By pressing Tag during a Bound move (or both Punch buttons and Tag to create a generic bound), the player will perform a Tag Assault. The partner will jump in, losing all of their red health in the process, and the player can perform one attack string before control is passed back to the original point character. However, Tag Assault doesn't eliminate red health, and will always give the opponent's partner Netsu Power.
The Tag Crash system gives players a way to tag in safely while under pressure. It requires the active character to be grounded and the inactive character to have Netsu Power available. By pressing both Punch buttons and Tag simultaneously, the partner character will dive in from the air. Performing Tag Crash surrenders both Netsu Power and the exiting partner's red health.
Characters
Like the previous Tag Tournament, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 will feature an extensive roster of characters from the Tekken series fighting in a tournament that exists outside of the series canon storyline.
Returning Tekken 6 characters
Altered Tekken 6 characters
Pre-Tekken 6 characters
The following are exclusive to the console version:
Preorder DLC Characters
Those who preordered TTT2 were given early access to these characters. They will be unlocked for all players on November 13, 2012.
Post-Release DLC Characters
Unlocked on October 8/9, 2012:
- Sebastian (Lili's butler)
- Miharu Haruno (Xiaoyu's friend from Tekken 4)
- Slim Bob (Bob's skinny form from his Tekken 6 ending)
Unlocked on November 13, 2012:
All DLC characters are already present in the Wii U Edition, which was released on November 18, 2012, and do not require a download of any sort. All characters save Unknown are avaialble for play from the start, with Unknown becoming available after clearing Arcade mode once.
Console Version Information
Returning Gameplay Modes
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 features many of the same gameplay modes as its predecessors: Arcade Battle, Time Attack, Ghost Battle, Team Battle, and Survival. Pair Play mode allows up to four players to participate, giving each player control over a single character.
Fight Lab
Fight Lab is a tutorial mode. The player trains a Combot by participating in various minigames; each of these minigames emphasize certain aspects of the main game. Combot's movelist consists of other characters' techniques and can be customized by the player.
Tekken Tunes
Tekken Tunes allows players to replace the normal in-game BGM with his or her personal music. Songs can be assigned to each individual stage.
Preorder Bonuses
Namco Bandai offered a large number of incentives to those who preordered Tekken Tag Tournament 2, including early access to four characters.
Those who preordered at GameStop received:
- Day-one access to four characters: Kunimitsu, Ancient Ogre, Michelle Chang and Angel
- Day-one access to the Snoop Dogg stage and Knocc ‘Em Down song
- Snoop Dogg Knocc ‘Em Down Mash Tracks
- Collectable Girl Power poster
- Exclusive Xbox 360 avatars or PlayStation 3 system themes
- Big Bikini Bundle – over 100 summer styles for the entire cast of characters
- Tekken Takes Tokyo Documentary
- Art gallery with 20 pieces of original art
Those who preordered from other retailers received (items may vary by retailer):
- Day-one access to two characters: Michelle Chang and Angel
- Day-one access to the Snoop Dogg stage and Knocc ‘Em Down song
- Snoop Dogg Knocc ‘Em Down Mash Tracks
- Big Bikini Bundle – over 100 summer styles for the entire cast of characters
World Tekken Federation (WTF)
Launching alongside the game will be a brand new community site called WTF. It will be similar to the Halo Waypoint or Call of Duty Elite services in that it will have complex stat-tracking and allows players to form clans (called Teams in this game) to earn points together.
Patches
According to Harada, on October 9 a patch was released to lower the waiting time in ranked matches along with changing the difficulty of the offline modes.
Demo
A demo version, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue, was included in Tekken Hybrid, a hybrid Blu-Ray that also includes the Tekken: Blood Vengeance CGI film and the previously unreleased Tekken Tag Tournament HD.
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