Tekken Tag Tournament

"Oh, boy"

2 Quarters.

Just 2 quarters puts you in the hand of an arcade machine that will not only rock your world, but will also show you how Arcade fighting games must be done and theatrically created. And this Arcade machine that I’m talking about that you must play is none other then Tekken Tag Tournament; the returning of the many Tekken characters of the past and of the present—not to mention some new ones who had some small semblance to the story. And the story for this game is a simple well thought-out story; and this story is not a story, but it’s a quest where two fighters team up and take out the world’s greatest teams—something new to add to the resurgence of the Tekken series (one of the best arcade fighting game series ever… well at least next to Soul Blade).

Now the Tekken series, do people like it? Of course they do. People love these games and if Namco knows anything about fighting games they’ll know that if you ever have a successful series, then the only thing you can do is milk it. Come on, people go crazy for spin-off games (hell people go crazy with any type of games) and Tekken Tag Tournament is an excellent spin-off game that has driven me to the arcades like crazy, lately; in fact it has given me some of the best fighting game experiences since the sequel to Soul Blade, Soul Calibur.

Tekken Tag Tournament is basically Tekken 2 and Tekken 3 with a twist. Pick 2 of well over 30+ characters—including Jun from Tekken 2, to Bryan from Tekken 3—and duke it out against other tag teams all around the world. The premise is very simple, you see. Use the buttons on the arcade cabinet—1 button is for punching, another one is for low-punching, and then the next two buttons are for low-kicking and just plain old kicking—to pound your specific opponent senseless. But if your character is almost out of the match—this isn’t a handicap match—press the last button on the arcade cabinet to run off and slap-tag your partner. Now your partner gets involved in your former match, and if your partner is low on health… well, you know what to do. And that is all there is to this game; basic Arcade fighting mixed with some of the best thought-out techniques and characters.

In the basic Arcade Mode game there are well over 10 stages; with the last one being the boss stage, where, in this game, you take on the unidentified fighter that’s called Unknown. But Arcade Mode is not all there is to this game; a 2 Player game is available as well. In a two-player game your friend or some Chinese or Korean kid who entered the store will fight against you. They pick their teams, and you pick yours. And assuming that you were playing Arcade Mode before these pesky kids wanted a piece of you, if you win you will be able to continue that game, but if you lose well… say sayonara to your game progress in Arcade Mode.

All of the characters in Tekken Tag Tournament also have a nice move set; including throws, jabs, and get this, bear hugs—fear them not. Many of the moves are easily learned and if one Tekken junkie has played these fighting games like crazy on the PlayStation, then they should definitely learn how to do them in this arcade cabinet. For example, with Jin in the PlayStation Tekken 3 title I had learned how to do his incredible and astounding 4 way kicks (2 kicks high in the air, while the rest are small kicks that still seem to do some damage), and in this arcade spin-off title I yet again easily learned how to do his 4 way kicks; you simply press the huge analog stick up and then press the kick button four times. Startling, sure is.

My main problem with Tekken Tag Tournament is that just like its console PlayStation 2 version, this game is just a little bit too easy. In my first few stages of play with my two favorite characters—Hwoarang and Jin—I easily stormed my way to Stage 5. And then I passed that and some more stages and finally reached the boss of this game, Unknown. While its length isn’t the problem (all arcade games are short), its difficulty, however, is. I think that this is the only weak point in this game, next to the...

Choppy visuals. The visuals while very detailed are also very blocky. Jags are almost everywhere on your characters—from their hair, down to their arms and/or legs. That’s not to dismay you that this is an ugly game, oh no, I’m just saying that the graphics are pretty well… non-mesmerizing today. However, the rest of the visual aspects in the game (e.g. the environments, et cetera) are excellently done and crafted. And, the environments, especially, are very colorful; though many of the environments still need some more work. Menus are clean, and the computer-generated sequences are all a sight to be seen; a reason I gave this game a twirl was because of its amazing intro. All in all the graphics are great, just don’t expect PlayStation 2 quality great. Audibly, this game still obtains that “great” status. Background tunes are relaxing, vibrant and atmospheric, while grunts and screams (all imminent from your character) are also great; even though “ugh” and the rest of the screams (which I won't mention by the way due to reasons well... unknown) can get very repetitious and well... rather annoying--especially when one of them girls die.

Overall, Tekken Tag Tournament is a great game that’s worth both of your time and of your money. It does have its faults, but those are just taken away by the way that this game plays; like a lamp playing “Rock-A-Bye Baby”, but way, way smoother. SO, if you see this game at your local arcade or huge movie cinema where arcade stands are stationed, do yourselves a favor and check this game out; two quarters says you’ll like it, if you don’t then you didn’t hear anything from me, ok? OK!?


Gameplay: 9
Presentation: 8
Graphics: 8
Audio: 8
1-Player: 8
2-Player: 9
Lasting Appeal: 10

Final Score: 8

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 06/22/02, Updated 09/03/02