Tekken Tag Tournament
01 Jul 1999
All releases
01 Jul 1999 - Arcade
Tags
Tekken Tag Tournament is an update of Tekken 3 and is the fourth installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. It is not canonical to the Tekken storyline however.
Tekken Tag Tournament is not a part of the Tekken canonical storyline. This allowed Namco to bring back the characters that did not appear in Tekken 3 (such as Baek Doo San, Bruce Irvin, Jun Kazama, Kunimitsu, and Michelle Chang). The ages of the characters in this game are the same as the ages that they had in the last game that they were in. Because Tekken Tag Tournament is a non-canonical game, it has no story. It is more of a compilation of Tekken, Tekken 2, and Tekken 3, allowing players to use almost every character in the Tekken series. The only characters that did not return from previous games are the first King, Marshall Law, the first Jack robot, the first Kuma, Gon, and Doctor Boskonovitch (although Dr. Boskonovitch does make a cameo appearance in Tekken Bowl). Tekken Tag Tournament also introduced two new characters, Tetsujin and Unknown. Tetsujin is a "pallette swap" for Mokujin. Unknown is the final boss of Tekken Tag Tournament. Both of these new characters are "mimic" characters. Tetsujin never returned to any game in the Tekken series, but Unknown returned - once again, non-canonical - Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
Tekken Tag Tournament was a game-changer when it first hit the PlayStation 2. It introduced the tag-team mechanic, which completely revolutionized the fighting game genre.
The ability to switch between two fighters on the fly added a new layer of strategy and depth to the gameplay.
Even today, I believe Tekken Tag Tournament remains the best game in the series. The gameplay is perfectly balanced, with a great mix of offense and defense. The characters are all unique and fun to play, and the roster is one of the largest in the series.
One of the things I love about Tekken Tag Tournament is that it never feels boring to go through the story mode with each character to unlock their unique movie. It's a great way to learn more about the characters and their backstories.
Additionally, the addition of Tekken Bowl mode gave me hours of fun playing with my brother and trying to top each other's high scores. It's a simple but addictive mini-game that's perfect for a quick break from the main fighting action.
Overall, Tekken Tag Tournament is a timeless classic that continues to hold up well today. It's a must-play for any fan of the Tekken series or fighting games in general.