Tekken Tag Tournament

Pros • Makes the arcade version look terrible in comparison • Namco gave Tekken Tag a complete visual makeover and added anti-aliasing • It’s looking mighty, mighty fine • The US release is actually better than the Japanese release • All the Tekken characters are here	Cons • The Tekken style can be difficult for beginners to pick up • You can see the seam lines where the different background segments meet • Character balance could be better
Bottom Line It’s the Tekken 3 fighting engine and all of the Tekken characters wrapped up in a nice pretty new coat. If you like the Tekken games you’ll love it. Tekken Tag Tournament has no plot whatsoever. Realize this now before your brain goes into overdrive wondering how all of the characters can be in the game and fighting each other at the same time. The game is nothing more than a fighter pure and simple. Namco has taken the Tekken series, distilled it down to its core elements and the result is Tekken Tag Tournament. If you’ve never liked the Tekken style of fighting then don’t even bother with this one — go get Dead or Alive 2: Hardcore instead. For the Tekken faithful though, this is the game you’ve been wanting.

Running on an upgraded version of the Tekken 3 engine, Tekken Tag Tournament is the same game that you’ve come to know and love. Everyone, and we do mean everyone, from the Tekken series makes an appearance here. Only about half of them are accessible from the outset. You have to unlock the rest in classic Namco fashion. As you play through the game with more and more characters, new fighters will be released and new game modes will appear. All of this pretty much requires a memory card. Losing a save with a completely unlocked game is enough to send even the most passive of players into a real-life frenzy.

The “tag” in the name of the game refers to the new style of play — as if you couldn’t guess. Instead of going through the game solo, you choose a team of fighters. Each of your fighters has a separate life bar and each one can recover energy while they are waiting in the wings. However, a round is won or lost as soon as one character is knocked out. The second player doesn’t just jump in automatically to finish the fight. As a result, players have to keep a careful eye on the vitality meter and tag at opportune times. Advanced players will be able to tag in the middle of an attack for a devastating combo. In case you find yourself a bit nostalgic for the previous games, you can switch to a one on one mode with no tagging. Other game modes available from the outset include team battle, time attack, survival and practice.

Players new to the Tekken series may find the fighting engine a bit difficult to pick up. Once past that initial learning curve though the game controls beautifully. The Tekken engine has always been a bit more methodical than other fighting games and the same is true here. Once you adjust to the slower pace, the depth of the fighting engine becomes apparent. This isn’t as complex as Namco’s own Soul Calibur, but there is plenty here to keep players busy. Nearly every move in the game can be countered effectively, which forces players to watch an opponent carefully. The correct defense will leave an opponent vulnerable to counter attack. Tekken also uses the 3D arena well, allowing fighters to sidestep attacks. Ring outs don’t exist here, which is certain to please some and annoy others.

Namco has done an excellent job with the manual, listing all of the major movements and counters within the game. This isn’t a skimpy little book. What’s here is almost good enough to be called a mini strategy guide to the game; a nice change from games that ship with minimal or no instruction books. In addition to the common moves listed in the manual, each character’s individual moves are listed in a menu within the game. These move lists can be accessed any time the game is paused. If you’re trying to master a new player these lists can be quite helpful, especially when you consider the fact that there are more than 2000 unique moves within the game.

Visually Tekken Tag Tournament is damn impressive. The game has been given a complete makeover since its release in Japan. All of the jagged lines are now gone. Everything is rendered in great detail and stills from the opening movie can almost be mistaken for actual photographs. Seeing the grass on the island stage or fighting in the snow for the first time is a jaw-dropping experience. Yes the screen shots look good but they simply cannot compare to watching the game in motion on a huge television with S-Video or component hook-ups. About the only thing missing here is a 16x9 option for those lucky few with widescreen sets.

Once you’ve beaten the game with at least one character, the theater mode opens up. Here you can watch any ending movies that you’ve unlocked. While short, the movies do look nice. The award for “best film” though has to go to the arcade intro, which is included on the disc. It is short, sweet and to the point. The only flaws in the game’s otherwise amazing visual presentation are the visible seam lines where the background meets the actual level. As the camera turns you can see the different sections moving at different speeds, almost as if you were fighting on a really big lazy susan.

With Tekken Tag Tournament, Namco has once again proven that it can program for a new console and program well. When the Dreamcast first shipped with Soul Calibur many were impressed by the look and feel of the game. Prepare to be impressed again because Namco has repeated that feat. Tekken Tag Tournament is currently the high water mark for the PS2.

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