Tekken Tag Tournament

"I have a confession to make: I truly am King!"

As much as I dug into Tekken 3, valiantly spending countless hours trying to master King's Rolling Cradle alone, I was never truly a fan of the series. It never dawned upon me to eat,drink and sleep Tekken, nor did it ever cross my mind to put a Tekken title among my top 10 favorite games whenever the occasion aroused. All this was to be shattered the day I played Tekken Tag Tournament though. Tekken Tag Tournament is, simply put, the finest 3D fighter to have ever been released. Alone, it is more than enough to destroy any other series in the same genre and it has never deceived me once.

Yes, Tekken 4 may now be out with all its more innovative concepts including its limited arenas but Tag is superior to its brother thanks to its astounding gameplay and practically flawless game engine. Despite being a mere special title that withholds no storyline, Tekken Tag has a particularity though. True to its title, it is a game where you control 2 characters in a team and where you can switch between both whenever you feel like it. Capcom may have been the first to come up with this idea but they never quite managed to make something good out of it. On the other hand, Namco unsurprisingly went ahead and used this idea to craft this gem. Because, a gem, Tekken Tag Tournament is. Without doubt.

Being a special installment, no storyline is required in Tekken Tag Tournament. Of course, everybody will argue that plots are not important in fighters but the Tekken series nevertheless had a good one, although plagued by some serious loopholes. But it was fine and the Mishima saga alone was excellent. Having no plot, TTT was hence the perfect opportunity to have all the characters in a title, as most fighting companies have done in the past. Needless to say, the cast is thus one of the finest ones you'll ever see and without doubt the biggest -and craziest- in Tekken history. More importantly, King and Armor King are now in the same title and yes, I am aware how cool that is ! The usual Jin, Paul, Kazuya, Eddy and all the rest are also here although it is a pity to see that the loony Dr. Boskonovitch has been left out.

As previously stated, Tag's particularity is its tag feature. While any team is possible, you can just go ahead and pick any two characters you want.. Of course, one can try and use what would appear as edit teams such as a King/Armor King wrasslin' bonanza or a more balanced set-up consisting of Jin and Paul -first relies on speed while second is brute strength-. The new boss, Unknown, is a Mokujin wanna-be in that she basically steals anybody's move but adds her own stamina to it. As a matter of fact, Unknown is not really that tough nor is her exceedingly cheap like Dio, Rugal or the frustrating Igniz. She is however unique in that her life replenishes faster than anyone, which makes her somewhat tedious, and she also takes a large chunk of yourself away with a single move…

…King still owns her though ! But then, Kings owns everybody else too !

What is even more amazing than the great gameplay itself are the visuals. If you thought Tekken 3 was beautiful with its lush backgrounds and smooth character animations, be ready to cut your tongue, roll it in flour and put it in fire. The characters now look more realistic that ever. Jack is a fresh pile of muscles, Eddy looks plain swift while the almighty Jin looks like a real punk, only to be shoved back in the blazes of Hell by the true godfather of the Tekken series -if you don't know who I'm talking about, stop reading here ! The attention to detail too is truly amazing and never a disappointment.

As your second character runs in, he or she will not just do so like a stupid automat. If your opponent is soaring through the blue crisp sky as a result of the previous blow, his or her eyes will be fixed on him as he or she gets ready to strike again. Your character looks up, your character looks down and your character is as lively as you could ever be. Each and every blow comes out with devilish precision and the fact that all the fighting styles present in the game were inspired from real ones really adds to the realistic atmosphere of TTT.

Backgrounds carry even more details that you would ever think of. Your characters leave footsteps in the snow as they wander around trying to break the adversary's guard. These don't disappear quickly though, they take some time to do so. Halfway through the round, snow also starts falling and any left footsteps disappear more quickly. Talk about details, huh ? Walking near green leaves or on the grass causes them to be swayed upon contact. Similarly, a character's ample outfit appears to be stretched and to be drawn downwards as you shamelessly juggle him to no end.

The sound consists essentially of techno themes. While all of them do their job just fine and perfectly add the atmosphere of the game, there's nothing really memorable here. You may also blame the fact that I can't hear anything most of the time due to the cheering going on around me -because I'm damn good-. Moreover, the music has the bad tendency to trail off midway through any match which kinda hurts it. However, the sound effects more than make up for this little problem with well-timed effects.

Tag's gameplay is utterly overwhelming. Stunning gameplay, equally stunning replay value.

Matches versus human opponents can drag all your time and it is no secret now how totally addictive this game can be. The fact that the Tag button is separate too instead of being a combination of other buttons makes for an easier gameplay. But let us get one thing straight, TTT is no easy game. Past the first two matches, prepare to sweat and curse because the opponents will throw anything at you to have you inserting more coins until your hands get blisters. Of course, you may then strike back once you have mastered your characters and start whipping out ten-strings one after the other. And you will never get tired of inserting coins over and over again because whether you lose or not, this game is just pure fun…

Tekken Tag Tournament is a work of art ! 'Nuff said !

~ Score : 10 ~
---------------------------------------------
Perfection! Nothing less!

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 06/26/02, Updated 11/09/02