Tekken 2 Is Quite Simply One Of The Finest Fighting Games Ever

Released in 1996, Tekken 2 was a breath of fresh air for Playstation fans waiting for a truly killer fighting game (especially after the release of Sega's excellent Virtua Fighter 2). The game's then-state of the art graphics and all around addictive fighting engine captivated players for a long time (until Tekken 3 was released almost two years later!). Even today, Tekken 2 has not only withstood the test of time, but still stands as one of the finest fighting games I have ever played not only the Playstation, but on any game console.

The first thing you will notice when you first pop in Tekken 2 is the excellent CGI rendered intro sequence. While not quite Final Fantasy quality, the rendering is of a very high quality (especially for 1996) and the video clip itself does a nice job introducing the game's main fighters.

Once the title screen hits, you are presented with a strong selection of gameplay modes including Arcade (where you fight a total of ten fighters in an effort to not only become king of the iron fist tournament, but to also obtain one of the game's hidden characters), Versus (where you can play against a friend), Time Trial (where you can try to beat your best times in fighting whoever), Survival (fight a series of fighters until your life bar goes to zero), Tournament, and Practice (the name says it all).

After you have selected your mode of play you must choose your fighter. The game has an initial total of ten fighters, however fifteen can be unlocked through the game's Arcade mode (or in some cases cheat codes). The fifteen additional fighters are mostly just revamped versions of the ten main fighters, but they do a nice job of adding a bit more depth to the game, as well as more incentive to play the game's arcade mode.

And if the hidden fighters don't turn you on to the arcade mode, then the ending FMV clips certainly will. Even though they often make little to no sense, the CGI rendered endings for each fighter are very entertaining. You'll probably blast through the arcade mode with every single fighter just to see them.

Tekken 2 uses a combo system similar to that of fighters like Killer Instinct and Virtua Fighter. A series of button taps unleashes a devastating combo on your opponent, sometimes draining his/her entire life bar! Unfortunately, many of these combos are VERY difficult to pull off. To make matters worse, the practice mode doesn't do a very good job assisting the player with these combos, so you are basically going to have to keep mashing those buttons until you finally get Combo-X right. A minor quibble, but an annoyance nonetheless. Otherwise, the game's controls (while a little on the stiff side) are spot on with responsive punches and kicks as well as fast paced and addictive gameplay to go with it.

This is probably a given, but the two player mode is just as much fun as the single player mode. Tekken 2's depth as well as excellent gameplay make it a great party game, and if you have a friend who has learned how to execute all those devestating combos, then you probably won't even need the practice mode (assuming he/she actually teaches you how to execute them!).

While dated by today's standards, Tekken 2's graphics are fairly impressive nonetheless. The blocky polygons composing each fighter actually help add to the game's character, and the prerendered 2D backgrounds are litterally stunning (be warned though, one of them is a shot of New York City complete with the Twin Towers). While the overall graphics are a bit more blocky than Virtua Fighter 2's, they're also better rendered and more three-dimensional.

Tekken 2's music is actually quite catchy. The player is offered two soundtracks: Original (which is basically the arcade version's soundtrack) and Remixed (which is an all new soundtrack for the PSX version). I strongly suggest playing the game with the Remixed soundtrack, which features a wide selection of tracks ranging from modern jazz to ambient chanting (as opposed to the full-blown techno of the "Original" soundtrack). My favorite track would probably be Michelle's theme. As for the sound effects, they're your standard punches, kicks, and grunts. Not bad but nothing special (some spoken taunts a la Virtua Fighter 2 would've been nice).

Overall, Tekken 2 is an excellent fighting game, even beating out the later Tekken 3 as the best fighting game on the PSX IMO (more on that in my upcoming Tekken 3 review). The game's excellent fighting system, graphics, sounds, and not to mention CGI movies are bound to please both fighting game fans and Playstation fans in general. Not to mention those who are tired of the shallow Mortal Kombat or stagnant Street Fighter franchises.