It’s not a deal breaker, but it is a tad disappointing. My only main critique would be that the move sets for the majority of the unlockable sub-boss characters are mostly just made up of moves from the existing main cast, which almost has them bordering on being palette swaps sometimes. All in all, there’s a decent variety of fighters on offer, and there’s a good chance at least a couple of them will tickle your violent fancies. There’s a good mix of fighting styles amongst the main characters as well, with pro wrestler King providing punishing piledrivers and lethal lariats, whilst wacky ninja Yoshimitsu will teleport and go straight up route one sometimes by trying to slice you up like salami with his ruddy big sword. Fighters on the roster have copious amounts of combos and throws, and diligent timing from your fingers will be able to see you inflict all kinds of misery on your opponents. Patience and defensive fighting is still often a better technique than in the slicker and more polished Tekken 3, but the fights themselves have a bit more spring in their step in Tekken 2 when compared to the first game in the series. The first time I ever really sat down and put some time into Tekken 2 was for the purposes of this very article, and that was after having to buy two copies of it due to the first disc being so scratched that it wouldn’t play the music or any of the FMVs.ĭespite the lack of nostalgic pull I have for it, I’d still happily say that Tekken 2 plays better than it’s more cumbersome elder sibling, Tekken, which is a pretty slow and overly laborious fight experience, especially to a modern eye. Because Tekken 2 hardly factored into my video gaming history, I have no real connection or nostalgia towards it as a game like I do for the other two PSX era games. Nostalgia may pay a part in that, owing to the fact that I did get to play Tekken quite a bit in the arcade and then played Tekken 3 a lot at home due to it being one of the two games that came with my PlayStation when I first got it. All in all, it’s an impressive overall package, and yet despite all that, I just don’t find myself taking to Tekken 2 like I do for the other PSX Tekken releases.

The fights themselves look a bit blocky at times, and the lack of movement in their faces can be a tad unnerving, but for a game released in the latter-mid 90s, Tekken 2 looks pretty darn good. I might even go as far to say that it has the best music of any game on the original PlayStation (although it does cheat slightly by pinching a large portion of its tracks from the original Tekken when it comes to the sub-boss characters). Tekken 2 is a supremely well-made game with nicely designed fight stages and a thumping soundtrack.

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