Skip to main content
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The Games, Movies, TV & Comics You Love
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • Games
  • TV
  • Movies
  • Hardware
  • Video
  • News
  • Reviews
  • Guides
  • Deals
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Total Film
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Prime Day Deals
  • Superman
  • Donkey Kong Bananza
  • Switch 2 stock
Recommended reading
Tekken 8
Tekken Tekken 8 game director owns up to Season 2 screwups: "We will continue to make steady, meaningful improvements one by one, and do our utmost to regain your trust"
Bandai Namco Games
Tekken As Tekken 8 emergency patch runs back controversial Season 2 changes, series producer Katsuhiro Harada says "I personally do not think this backlash is at all unjustified"
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls
Fighting Games Marvel Tokon devs want to push the whole tag-team fighting game genre forward with 4v4, and insist it's not that overwhelming: "Wait, do I have to practice four characters just to win?"
Tenet of the Spark appearing in Future Games Show
Fighting Games This fighting game lets you give your opponents a time-bending beat-down across three timelines at once
Tekken 8
Tekken Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada has been dumping lore about the series over the weekend, including why Heihachi has around 25 kids
Street Fighter 6 screenshot on Switch 2 showing Mai going up against a truck on normal difficulty
Fighting Games I've played 200 hours of Street Fighter 6, and the Switch 2 version is a perfectly fine companion piece – even if it could never be the ideal platform
Hideo Kojima in a screenshot from the Xbox and Bethesda 2022 showcase.
Action Games Hideo Kojima spends Death Stranding 2's early access release at a pro wrestling event watching a "Fluorescent Lighttubes Glass Board Barbed Wire Death Match"
  1. Games
  2. Fighting
  3. Tekken
  4. Tekken Tag Tournament 2

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 hands-on preview - Joining an online Federation free of charge

Features
By Lucas Sullivan published 4 September 2012

Obsessive stat-tracking mixed with classic brawling goodness

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Page 1 of 45
Page 1 of 45

Page 2 of 45
Page 2 of 45

Page 3 of 45
Page 3 of 45

Page 4 of 45
Page 4 of 45

Page 5 of 45
Page 5 of 45

Page 6 of 45
Page 6 of 45

Page 7 of 45
Page 7 of 45

Page 8 of 45
Page 8 of 45

Page 9 of 45
Page 9 of 45

Page 10 of 45
Page 10 of 45

Page 11 of 45
Page 11 of 45

Page 12 of 45
Page 12 of 45

Page 13 of 45
Page 13 of 45

Page 14 of 45
Page 14 of 45

Page 15 of 45
Page 15 of 45

Page 16 of 45
Page 16 of 45

Page 17 of 45
Page 17 of 45

Page 18 of 45
Page 18 of 45

Page 19 of 45
Page 19 of 45

Page 20 of 45
Page 20 of 45

Page 21 of 45
Page 21 of 45

Page 22 of 45
Page 22 of 45

Page 23 of 45
Page 23 of 45

Page 24 of 45
Page 24 of 45

Page 25 of 45
Page 25 of 45

Page 26 of 45
Page 26 of 45

Page 27 of 45
Page 27 of 45

Page 28 of 45
Page 28 of 45

Page 29 of 45
Page 29 of 45

Page 30 of 45
Page 30 of 45

Page 31 of 45
Page 31 of 45

Page 32 of 45
Page 32 of 45

Page 33 of 45
Page 33 of 45

Page 34 of 45
Page 34 of 45

Page 35 of 45
Page 35 of 45

Page 36 of 45
Page 36 of 45

Page 37 of 45
Page 37 of 45

Page 38 of 45
Page 38 of 45

Page 39 of 45
Page 39 of 45

Page 40 of 45
Page 40 of 45

Page 41 of 45
Page 41 of 45

Page 42 of 45
Page 42 of 45

Page 43 of 45
Page 43 of 45

Page 44 of 45
Page 44 of 45

Page 45 of 45
Page 45 of 45
CATEGORIES
PlayStation Xbox Platforms
Lucas Sullivan
Lucas Sullivan
Social Links Navigation

Lucas Sullivan is the former US Managing Editor of GamesRadar+. Lucas spent seven years working for GR, starting as an Associate Editor in 2012 before climbing the ranks. He left us in 2019 to pursue a career path on the other side of the fence, joining 2K Games as a Global Content Manager. Lucas doesn't get to write about games like Borderlands and Mafia anymore, but he does get to help make and market them. 

Double the fighters, double the fun. That’s the most basic premise to Tekken Tag Tournament 2, the flashy follow-up to the 1999 arcade classic fighter. With a colossal roster, gleaming graphics, and plenty of supplementary modes, it seems like there’s never been a better time to be a Tekken fanatic.

We already liked what we saw during our last hands-on Tekken Tag Tournament 2 preview, but for those that want a refresher, this is tag-team fighting structured around the engine and mechanics of Tekken 6. Having a partner to tag in or out of the fight at any time gives bouts an electrifying tempo, where tagging out a near-KO-ed teammate can easily turn the tides in your favor. Though the gameplay will feel instantly familiar to those who’ve dabbled in Tekken and its 3D fighting ilk, there are still plenty of fresh mechanics to tackle.

Check out our Tekken Tag Tournament 2 QuickPlay with none other than tournament-level pro Filthierich!

You may like
  • Tekken 8 Tekken 8 game director owns up to Season 2 screwups: "We will continue to make steady, meaningful improvements one by one, and do our utmost to regain your trust"
  • Bandai Namco Games As Tekken 8 emergency patch runs back controversial Season 2 changes, series producer Katsuhiro Harada says "I personally do not think this backlash is at all unjustified"
  • Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls Marvel Tokon devs want to push the whole tag-team fighting game genre forward with 4v4, and insist it's not that overwhelming: "Wait, do I have to practice four characters just to win?"

Tag combos let you gang up on the opponent for some sickeningly damaging juggles; tag throws up the ante on grapples by doling out extra helpings of hurt with some slick animations. There are also destructible walls in some (but not all) of the stages, where slamming an opponent through a balcony or weakened wall will catapult them into a new chunk of stage, where the battle resumes immediately.

Outside of the fights themselves, the new Fight Lab lets you train up the robotic dummy Combot with the guidance of Lee “Violet” Chaolan, through some hilariously absurd cutscenes and boss battles. There’s also plenty of character customization (perhaps on the same level as Virtua Fighter 5) for those who want it, while the new Tekken Tunes feature lets you swap out or switch stage songs at will, including the importation of your own tracks. We’re not sure who would want to, though--simply because TTT2’s pulse-pounding beats are awesome enough already.

Our recent hands-on time let us delve into the online side of things, and we undoubtedly liked what we saw. After a bit of a rough patch with Tekken 6’s online play, Namco’s ported over the superior netcode of Soulcalibur V, which promises smoother fights with wired or Wi-Fi play. But chief among the online improvements is the introduction of the World Tekken Federation, a premium-grade, HTML5 web service that Namco Bandai is commendably endowing to players for free. Much like the impressive Halo Waypoint seen packaged with Microsoft’s flagship shooter, the World Tekken Federation (or WTF, if you will) tracks players’ every last statistic straight from matches as they happen, then syncs them to the online database for the whole world to see.

It’s a system that opens up tons of opportunities for the community, through things like social collaboration, improved livestream commentary, a general bragging rights. With no subscription fee to worry about, players can sync both a PSN and XBLA account’s records to their profile and watch their personal statistics unfold. It seems dang near everything gets tracked: Character usage, win/loss ratios down to the character-specific level, counter attacks, mid-air damage done, juggle-versus-non-juggle damage done, even something called “Chicken Points”--it’s all logged and available for the world to see in WTF, which instantly updates after every online match.

Namco Bandai hopes that, much like baseball commentators, Tekken commentators will use the WTF as a stats encyclopedia, so they can predict and parse out what the next contender’s style and specialties are. Instead of dull lulls between matches while the players do button checks and test their sticks, commentators can be delving into the character choices, match-up strengths, and potential mind games for each competitor. This will also let players study their own habits, with saved replays after every match, and they can do research on upcoming opponents in the hopes of better preparing themselves to take the tournament.

Other bonuses in the WTF are Teams, emblems, and the return of Dan rankings. Teams are groups of up to 100 players, all acting as a unified clan much like an MMO guild. Teams get their own leaderboards and emblem designs, emblems being customizable insignia that are proudly displayed on your WTF profile. We’d like to think our panda-on-pink-heart emblem struck grave fear into the hearts of our online opponents. Dan rankings offer character-specific progression to show off your skills at a glance, with ranks that range from “Beginner” to “True Tekken God.”

With the WTF available for free at launch in all regions, TTT2 might set the precedent for future fighters when it comes to online modes. We’d certainly like to see it spread to Namco Bandai’s other fighting franchises, even given our short time with the feature, and we wouldn’t be surprised if others in the industry took to crafting their own online, stat-tracking facsimiles. Look for us to sign up on the WTF (and perhaps start our very own Team) when TTT2 launches for the PS3 and Xbox 360 on September 11th.

See more Playstation Features
Read more
Tekken 8
Tekken 8 game director owns up to Season 2 screwups: "We will continue to make steady, meaningful improvements one by one, and do our utmost to regain your trust"
Bandai Namco Games
As Tekken 8 emergency patch runs back controversial Season 2 changes, series producer Katsuhiro Harada says "I personally do not think this backlash is at all unjustified"
Marvel Tokon: Fighting Souls
Marvel Tokon devs want to push the whole tag-team fighting game genre forward with 4v4, and insist it's not that overwhelming: "Wait, do I have to practice four characters just to win?"
Tenet of the Spark appearing in Future Games Show
This fighting game lets you give your opponents a time-bending beat-down across three timelines at once
Tekken 8
Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada has been dumping lore about the series over the weekend, including why Heihachi has around 25 kids
Street Fighter 6 screenshot on Switch 2 showing Mai going up against a truck on normal difficulty
I've played 200 hours of Street Fighter 6, and the Switch 2 version is a perfectly fine companion piece – even if it could never be the ideal platform
Latest in Tekken
Tekken 8
Tekken series producer Katsuhiro Harada has been dumping lore about the series over the weekend, including why Heihachi has around 25 kids
Tekken 8
Tekken 8 game director owns up to Season 2 screwups: "We will continue to make steady, meaningful improvements one by one, and do our utmost to regain your trust"
Bandai Namco Games
As Tekken 8 emergency patch runs back controversial Season 2 changes, series producer Katsuhiro Harada says "I personally do not think this backlash is at all unjustified"
Tekken 8 fighters
After preserving the AI ghost of a fan's late brother, Tekken 8 boss says it might be a glimpse of the future where you don't "need an opponent who is human that has the exact same skill level"
Final Fantasy 16 protagonist Clive uses magic in closeup screenshot
Despite fans begging for Tifa, Final Fantasy 16's Clive is "significantly more popular" than any other Tekken guest fighter
"I didn’t have a single ally": Tekken 4's negative reception put series boss Katsuhiro Harada under so much stress that he left Namco for a year
Latest in Features
The Sims 4 Enchanted by Nature
After 16 years of The Sims 3, The Sims 4 Enchanted by Nature might just be the whimsical expansion pack that pulls me away from EA's iconic 2009 life sim for good
Red Dead Redemption 2 screenshot of Arthur Morgan who has shoulder length hair and a beard and wears a cowboy hat
After 4 years I returned to Red Dead Redemption 2 and fell into a chaotic rodeo of mishaps as I tried to remember how to be Arthur Morgan
Superman kisses Lois Lane in James Gunn's Superman
After years of loveless Marvel and DC movies, I hope Superman and Fantastic Four prove romantic relationships are just as important as world-saving spectacle when it comes to superhero flicks
The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom gameplay running with the Switch 2 upgrade
I wanted to make a beeline for Tears of the Kingdom's ending, but Zelda's Switch 2 upgrade has forced me to slow down
Death Stranding 2 Sam touching Lou and Fragile
Death Stranding 2's final fight is Hideo Kojima's way of saying goodbye to Metal Gear Solid
Heroes 3 screenshot
The greatest strategy RPG ever is making a comeback with the publisher behind Manor Lords, and I'm ready to relive my Behemoth-collecting 2000s
  1. A Gundam style mech in Mecha Break
    1
    Mecha Break review: "This mech battler makes up for lacking customization with a varied roster that lets me live out my Evangelion fantasy"
  2. 2
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  3. 3
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  4. 4
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  5. 5
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  1. David Corenswet as Superman inside the Fortress of Solitude in James Gunn's Superman.
    1
    Superman review: "A triumphant reinvention and a promising start for the DCU"
  2. 2
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  3. 3
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  4. 4
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  5. 5
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...