Tekken Tag Tournament

Tekken Tag Tournament
Developer(s)	Namco
Publisher(s)	Namco
Released	Arcade Summer, 1999 PlayStation 2 JPN March 30, 2000 NA October 25, 2000 EUR November 24, 2000
Genre	Fighting
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Platform(s)	Arcade, PlayStation 2
Input methods	8-way joystick, 6 buttons; DualShock 2
Arcade cabinet	Upright
Arcade system	Namco System 12

Tekken Tag Tournament is an update to Tekken 3 and is the fourth installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. It, however, is not canonical to the Tekken storyline. The game was originally available as an update kit for Tekken 3. Tekken Tag Tournament was originally for the arcade before a release to the PlayStation 2. The arcade version operated similarly, but ran on a 32 bit graphics engine like Tekken 3. It received upgraded graphics when it was ported to the home system. Tekken Tag Tournament is one of the two games in the series to be released in an alternate cover, which can be seen here (the other being Tekken 4).

Gameplay

Tekken Tag Tournament, being the first Tekken title for the PlayStation 2, featured vastly detailed graphics and improved quality music. It was also notable for having the largest character roster in the series, boasting an extravagant 39 characters, all returning from the previous installments in the series, save for Unknown, the boss character, and Tetsujin, a costume swap for Mokujin. Both Unknown and Tetsujin have only appeared in this game. Finally, its most important feature is its tag system. A player selects two characters and may tag out between them to utilize special combos and throws. When in Team Battle mode, the fights are also tag fights unless there is one person left on a team where they will fight alone. Tekken Tag Tournament included a minigame called "Tekken Bowl", that challenged the player to use a team of characters to play a bowling game. Depending on the player's selected character, different attributes would be placed into effect in the mini-game. For example, Bryan Fury has a powerful roll due to his super strength, and he can use a targeting system to make more accurate shots because of his cybernetic enhancements. A physically weaker character like Julia Chang would have a much less powerful strike, but would be easier to control when placing the spin and amount of force on the ball.

Story

Tekken Tag Tournament, being a non-canon game, features no storyline. It is more of a compilation of the Tekken series giving fans the opportunity to play as almost every character in the series up to that point, including many of those that had apparently been killed off in the main Tekken storyline. Of all the returning characters, Kazuya Mishima was the most heavily promoted, since he featured prominently on the game's cover art and promotional material, despite his absence from the previous entry in the Tekken series (he would return in Tekken 4).

Character roster

Japanese promotional poster for Tekken Tag Tournament, prior to its launch for the PlayStation 2 (February 2000).

Returning characters

• Heihachi Mishima
• Paul Phoenix
• Yoshimitsu
• Nina Williams
• Michelle Chang
• Armor King
• Ganryu
• Anna Williams
• Lei Wulong
• Jun Kazama
• Baek Doo San
• Eddy Gordo
• King II
• Hwoarang
• Ling Xiaoyu
• Jin Kazama
• Bryan Fury
• Forrest Law
• Julia Chang
• Gun Jack
• Kunimitsu (1st unlockable character)
• Bruce Irvin (2nd unlockable character)
• Jack-2 (3rd unlockable character)
• Lee Chaolan (4th unlockable character)
• Wang Jinrei (5th unlockable character)
• Roger (6th unlockable character)
• Kuma (7th unlockable character)
• Kazuya Mishima (8th unlockable character)
• Ogre (9th unlockable character)
• True Ogre (10th unlockable character)
• Prototype Jack (11th unlockable character)
• Mokujin (12th unlockable character)
• Devil (13th unlockable character)
• Tiger Jackson (acts as a costume change for Eddy Gordo)
• Alex (acts as a costume change for Roger)
• Panda (acts as a costume change for Kuma)
• Angel (acts as a costume change for Devil)

New characters

• Tetsujin (acts a costume change for Mokujin)
• Unknown (14th and final unlockable character)

If the player chooses Kazuya and Devil on the same Tag Team, Kazuya will transform into Devil (and vice-versa) instead of them tagging. Marshall Law, the Jack robot from the original Tekken game, the first King, the first Kuma, and Doctor Boskonovitch, as well as Gon, the manga character who appeared in the PlayStation version of Tekken 3, were not included as characters in Tekken Tag Tournament. However, Doctor Boskonovitch makes a cameo in the Tekken Bowling minigame.

Reception

Tekken Tag received positive reviews with critics. GameSpot giving it a 9.6 out of 10. IGN gave it an 8.7 out of 10 praising its graphics and character moves.

Port

Tekken Tag Tournament was later ported as a launch title for the PlayStation 2 with improved graphics and new modes. Tekken Tag Tournament also enabled players to play one on one as well as an all new Tekken Bowl mode. In 2007, IGN listed Tekken Tag Tournament as the 23rd best game on the PlayStation 2.^[1]

References