TT2 comes with 44 fighters, spanning the series’ entire history. Stick with it, though, and you’ll find a robust, satisfying fighting system. TT2 has perhaps the steepest learning curve in the series, as button-mashing is punished with brutal CPU reactions. Swapping fighters lets the benched fighter recover health, meaning strategy is needed to keep both fighters going.

Tag matches are interesting, as while two health meters are present, you will still lose the round if one partner is knocked out. Plenty of tag moves are present, accessible through Bound moves after juggling your foe into the air: Grabs see both fighters use grapples on the opponent, Dives send your partner into combat in exchange for unrecovered health and you can even – at the press of a button – just let your partner get a few cheap shots in by holding the tag button. However, the tag mechanics make the fighting rather interesting. TT2 still has many wrinkles which define the series, such as throw-breaks, one-two punches and a focus on juggling combos.

Though it will scare off most causal fighter fans, TT2 represents a return to form for the franchise. But Tekken Tag Tournament 2, the sequel to the critically-acclaimed PS2 launch title, hopes to remedy this, coming packed with plenty of fighting-focused modes and an improved online component. Unfortunately, the latest Tekken soured many, as instalment six focused on a dreadful brawling-based campaign mode and lacked functional online play at launch. One of the pioneers of the 3D fighting genre, Namco’s Tekken series has been mostly consistent in delivering high quality fighting, bar a couple of middling instalments which disappointed.

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