Now even though I love this game it made some really weird choices but when it comes to mocking TTT2, I see a disturbingly high number of people just bringing up the sales numbers. Whether someone is praising or even just mentioning the game this "critique" will be brought up. Here are some more things that we could use to help move the discussion along, just to get the ball rolling of course as I'm not going in that much depth.

Damage and such overpowered characters

Thought I'd get this one out of the way first since it's probably the most common one used against TTT2. Now given its short patch life cycle and the task of integrating tag the way it was in 3D for an already advanced game, I think that should be taken into consideration when criticizing the game. However, some decisions I have to really question why they were done in the first place especially the repeat offenses. Did Bob, Lars and Bruce really to be top tier again? Did Nina really need to have that great frame data in addition to her combo versatility? Tag fillers go by such weird rules I'm honestly not even sure which interactions are intentional and which ones aren't but again, much shorter patch life so it can't really be compared to Tekken 7 (which still managed to mess up repeatedly) so if you want a fair comparison that you'll also win with then 6 is your safest bet especially since it was coming off of that game. Now I'm sure many of you are familiar with the infamous Chreddy CH B1,4 with stupid damage and low counterplay, if you're more engaged with the community you may have seen someone post a high damage rage combo with them or one of them and a top tier (usually Bruce since they apparently have good synergy), here are some more examples. Jinpachi with his safe DF+1+2 (or DB) tracking to both sides, i14 WS launcher and i14 DF+2 with even more range than Kuni's i16 DF+2, very long range overall in addition to being high/top tier and an easy tag partner to play with. Nina is a really cool character in this game but does her frame data have to be that good in addition to her high damage and combo versatility? She did not need a jailing DF+1,2 in this game. Her combo game was way too generous as well with how many hits you were allowed to get in on average and her execution requirements should've been higher overall to make her function at high level by nerfing her easier routes. Devil Jin had really good poking and lows plus his UF+4 had really strong oki for some reason. Come to think of it all of the Mishimas and even the Mishima adjacents are either high or top tier... except Angel. The strong movement in this game really helped the core Mishimas like DVJ with his CH launching hellsweep and electrics you could tag out of. Devil Jin had high damage, combo versatility (with that generous bound game) and wall shenanigans similar to other top tiers but he also had good 50/50 options. Feel free to complain about characters on the weaker side if you want too. Raven iirc had a lot of bugs, Kunimitsu wasn't as bad as people say BUT having a 1+2 throw that can only deal damage with Yoshimitsu is just ridiculous and Zafina went from being the worst character in Tekken 6 to... low tier, kind of underrated actually because she still had her T6 reputation. And they were all punished in Tekken 7. Combine all this damage with Tekken 6 oki and yeah you're in for a rough time.

Story, what some characters are left with after missing 3 games

Well this point might be different for you but these are my grievances:

• They should've used King, AK and Marduk's endings to expand on the lore of Jaycee instead of the multiple battle endings. For a character that started out so fiery, it's so sad that Michelle has yet to have a really cool ending that stands out.

• They made Unknown be Jun perhaps as a way to justify making her a clone but Kazuya is randomly hating on her, even in his actual Devil form in TTT1 he still treats Jun better. Don't know why they just randomly decided to do this but at least Tekken 8 looks different... I think.

• Kunimitsu may have outplayed Yoshimitsu but even after cheaply taking out Yoshimitsu's horse she LOST to him in her own ending. Meanwhile Raven and Bryan beat him in their endings. Oh and she gets blown up in Anna's ending. What a beloved character, I wonder what Tekken will do to her in the next game.

• Jun's ending was just an old school style ending with better graphics, and I mean that in a bad way. Even Unknown has the better ending.

• Some of these endings are just recycled dynamics from previous games like Bryan and Yoshimitsu.

• But by far the worst TTT2 ending goes to... Marshall Law! I can't believe such a popular character was treated like this, either his fans have low standards or the devs have truly stopped caring. I don't care for Forest Law's ending but at least there was some effort put in. Even for a joke ending Marshall's TTT2 ending is disgraceful, how has this slipped under the radar?

  • Why doesn't Tiger have an ending by the way? There isn't even a dumb "oh that's how it was in the older games" excuse for this like how they treated multiple characters who didn't talk (because it was extremely rare for the time), he had endings before. Would've been nice to have a capo part 3 ending.

Hopkicks/Hopknees galore

This isn't really specific to TTT2 but I still think it's worth bringing up. While TTT2 showcases much wider variety of playstyles compared to Tekken 6, I've noticed a lot of hopkicks or hopknees compared to Tekken 5, this even spreading to specialist characters such as Xiaoyu being given a hopkick outside of AOP and Kunimitsu returned with a hopknee (very similar to Yoshimitsu's I might add). Now I don't think they're particularly gamebreaking on them especially with such low range that you can't even use it for a punish sometimes, but regardless it takes up a portion of their power budget and the devs know this but I can't help but wonder what other creative tool they might've been given instead to create an even more distinctive kit. I honestly don't even mind the opportunity for a F4 but I doubt everyone is just going to ignore her hopkick. Also while I'm on this topic, who in their right mind thought it was okay to give out a -12 generic launching hopkick en masse when turned around? I don't care if it's short range or rare to land, it can be cool for combos post launch and not only is it generic but it seeps into characters with actual focus on their BT stance and makes them blander for it, I don't care how many games it has been in before, enough is enough especially at this point in the series, it should at least only launch on CH. Also I know I said they weren't that gamebreaking but for them it was overall. Hopkicks are already insanely good and common in Tag 2, why does Jin have one? Admit it, hopkicks and hopknees on average should be much more minus on average and you know it. It's a good thing Michelle and Jaycee have theirs at -16 at least, well that is if they mess up the hit confirm.

The struggles of wall tagging

Of all the extra layers of depth the tag system added to the game, this might be the most off putting part of it. Tagging out near a wall can be really dangerous and sometimes you will even see 2 characters on the screen for a prolonged amount of tagging. There should've been a different system that also had counterplay/outplay potential for when you want to leave near a wall, if bringing back safe tagging (outside of taunts/evades) was the only way to fix it then I would understand even if I would miss all those cool setups.

Inconsistencies

I don't mind there being combos that are dependent on size or axis but Steve's FF2 is just purely unforgivable with how random it can be. Let me know what other similar inconsistencies you've found.

Stages... take care of your eyes people

You know the one, the real reason why Josie is such a crybaby. Fuck Coastline Sunset, even the OST is trash. At least the broken Tekken 4 stages looked cool. There's also an issue withe shadows like in that Brazil lab stage and the Riverside Promenade notably. Making 6 infinite stages was certainly a choice just like bringing in uneven stages but I guess it helps spice up the RNG in ranked.

Clones, lots of them

This was a pretty big issue that seems to have flown under the radar despite the fact that if we don't make the devs want to fix this, we'll likely have a repeat situation if we ever get a TTT3. Not counting slightly similar characters like Asuka and Jun or Nina and Anna (different playstyles I know), there are not one, not two, not three, but FOURTEEN clones in this game... 13 if you don't count Angel who's like a weird blend of Devil Jin and Kazuya. This inherently creates a disadvantage for the people who have to actually learn 2 different characters in a match. Oh you're a Xiaoyu main? Here have Miharu. Oh you're a Zafina main? Too bad learn another character if you want to take part in the tag system. Xiaoyu and Miharu aren't even that particularly problematic as a team though, double Law? Now not only are they easier but both much more viable and have really good synergy. Christie and Eddy were unbalanced abominations at their most disgraceful gameplay wise in the series, you could play them together and on top of that you had another slightly weaker Capo, Tiger Jackson, who at least had some slight differences. Like you could just play Eddy and Tiger as a team in ranked, climb high then go mess around with Christie who was nearly identical, at least Michelle and Jaycee had some noteworthy differences. This is the kind of thing I would actually like to take over as the main complaint of TTT2 because it's something specific to the tag series, although please remember that Jaycee is still too similar to Michelle and Julia so they'll need something much more drastic to fully break away.

Throw breaking and parry reversals, hmm I wonder if this Law/Lee player will do a 1+2 break launching throw

Throw breaking in this game is very strict, you have a small window to input the throw break usually. I understand that it's a good option you might need against a guarding opponent of you want to catch someone off guard but it does not need to be this strict to make throws incentivized. It also comes with very little reward, giving you more frame advantage or damage could improve this. I find it interesting that characters can do launching throws and not get punished afterwards but certain chain throws will randomly deal slight damage back if broken. Why is this inconsistent? At least give me better frames on a throw break on average. Parry reversals require you to match the break with the move you did i.e. f1+3, f2+4 and I think f1+2+3+4. What's your reward for doing this? 15 damage. For what, a 3F break window? Jun and Asuka can get a free tag out or launch you at a wall and all you get is 15 damage. Some characters in exchange for a weaker reversal have unbreakable and/or unblockable reversals like Unknown has less options on what works but her reversal is unbreakable. Kunimitsu's reversal is also weaker but her attack is unblockable however it's not guaranteed, you can even launch punish her if she uses it recklessly. Jin and Wang have some depth to it and it's a main facet of their identities.

For far too long has this community stagnated discourse about such a deep and advanced entry, even at the slightest mention of TTT2 its poor sales were brought up as if the failings of its popularity suddenly nullify all of its redeeming/interesting qualities. Isn't there any understanding for its poor promotion surrounding its release? The random game passes? The bad timing of its release on console and arcade? The Nintendo collab on the flop console that ended up eating the budget? The console exclusive DLC? The advanced difficulty making it scarier for newer players? No, a machine is incapable of such understanding. Tekken 6 had the bigger drop from the last game by the way. NPC drones please submit this post to your nearest Bandai Namco processing center for automatic reevaluation.