WTF Happened to Tekken Tag Tournament?
WASDed
26,823 views
Tekken normally takes its timeline pretty seriously.
*Tekken Tag Tournament looked at the timeline and threw it straight out the window.*
Dead characters returned. Different generations fought alongside each other. Jun could team with Jin. Kazuya could return when he wasn't even alive in the main storyline. Rivalries that shouldn't exist suddenly existed.
And naturally, everybody could go bowling.
*None of it made sense—and that was exactly the point.*
In this video, we're diving into the complete history of **Tekken Tag Tournament**, including:
Why Tag Tournament isn't canon
How the original game accidentally emerged from development of Tekken 4
Why it was reportedly conceived almost like a *"Tekken 3.5"*
How Namco created the tag mechanic
Why Tag 1 became Tekken's ultimate family reunion
How tagging, recoverable health and team strategy actually worked
The brilliant *Netsu relationship system*
Why the PlayStation 2 version looked so incredible
The unmistakable Y2K atmosphere and soundtrack of Tag 1
Tekken Bowl... because obviously
How Tag Tournament 2 took everything completely insane
Its gigantic 61-character roster
Tag Assaults, Tag Crash and ridiculous team combinations
Why Tag 2 became perhaps the ultimate Tekken sandbox
How that same complexity became one of its biggest problems
Why Tag 2 underperformed commercially
And the big question: *Why have we STILL never received Tekken Tag Tournament 3?*
The original Tag Tournament wasn't even supposed to become what it became.
After Tekken 3, Namco had already begun looking toward Tekken 4 when management reportedly asked for something closer to an upgraded Tekken 3. Instead of simply adding characters and polishing the existing game, the developers asked:
*What if Tekken had teams?*
The result became something much bigger.
And removing canon gave Namco an incredible advantage.
Suddenly **everybody could come back**.
Kazuya. Jun. Kunimitsu. Bruce. Armor King. Wang. Michelle. Baek. Ganryu.
Tag Tournament became less like another chapter of Tekken and more like a **playable museum of the franchise**, allowing characters from completely different eras to coexist without having to explain any of it.
Then came **Tekken Tag Tournament 2**.
61 playable characters. Tag Assaults. Tag Crash. Netsu. Special throws. Unique interactions. Recoverable health. Solo fighters. Two-character teams.
For casual Tekken fans, it was basically the **greatest Tekken toy box ever created**.
But there was a problem.
Everything that made Tag 2 incredible also made it intimidating.
Tekken already demands enormous matchup knowledge. Tag 2 multiplied that across almost sixty characters—and then asked players to understand how those characters interacted in potentially countless different teams.
*Its greatest strength became one of its greatest weaknesses.*
Despite strong reviews, Tag 2 ultimately fell short of Bandai Namco's sales expectations. And after Tekken Tag Tournament 2...
*the Tag series disappeared.*
So what happened?
Was Tag Tournament simply *too ambitious for its own good?*
And more importantly...
*Could Tekken Tag Tournament 3 actually work today?*
Let us know in the comments—and tell us your dream Tag 3 team while you're there.
Subscribe for more Tekken lore, fighting-game history and deep dives into the stories behind some of gaming's greatest fighters.
#Tekken #Tekken8 #TekkenTagTournament #TekkenTagTournament2 #TekkenTag3 #KazuyaMishima #JinKazama #JunKazama #FightingGames #WASDed
20 Comments
Tekken tag 2 was a baller game, and I still remember playing it a good 5+ years after it came out with friends. I wish more games would make partner based fighters
1. They release a tag after every 3 games
2. They’ve been extending the base games for years on end instead of creating new ones
Tag seems to happen after every 3 entries. If we get a Tekken 9 and it sells well enough, that's when we start asking how a Tag 3 could even work.
Tekken tag isn’t/shouldn’t a be a competitive game for tournaments like T8; it should be the couch game where you and your father can play a couple of rounds with the both of you using your favorite characters from the games you grew up with
Yes, it needs some balancing but with, say 80 characters, balancing to a competitive standard is just not possible, especially if you plan on having DLC’s later down the line
WTF Happened to Tekken Tag Tournament?
WASDed
26,823 views
Tekken normally takes its timeline pretty seriously.
*Tekken Tag Tournament looked at the timeline and threw it straight out the window.*
Dead characters returned. Different generations fought alongside each other. Jun could team with Jin. Kazuya could return when he wasn't even alive in the main storyline. Rivalries that shouldn't exist suddenly existed.
And naturally, everybody could go bowling.
*None of it made sense—and that was exactly the point.*
In this video, we're diving into the complete history of **Tekken Tag Tournament**, including:
Why Tag Tournament isn't canon
How the original game accidentally emerged from development of Tekken 4
Why it was reportedly conceived almost like a *"Tekken 3.5"*
How Namco created the tag mechanic
Why Tag 1 became Tekken's ultimate family reunion
How tagging, recoverable health and team strategy actually worked
The brilliant *Netsu relationship system*
Why the PlayStation 2 version looked so incredible
The unmistakable Y2K atmosphere and soundtrack of Tag 1
Tekken Bowl... because obviously
How Tag Tournament 2 took everything completely insane
Its gigantic 61-character roster
Tag Assaults, Tag Crash and ridiculous team combinations
Why Tag 2 became perhaps the ultimate Tekken sandbox
How that same complexity became one of its biggest problems
Why Tag 2 underperformed commercially
And the big question: *Why have we STILL never received Tekken Tag Tournament 3?*
The original Tag Tournament wasn't even supposed to become what it became.
After Tekken 3, Namco had already begun looking toward Tekken 4 when management reportedly asked for something closer to an upgraded Tekken 3. Instead of simply adding characters and polishing the existing game, the developers asked:
*What if Tekken had teams?*
The result became something much bigger.
And removing canon gave Namco an incredible advantage.
Suddenly **everybody could come back**.
Kazuya. Jun. Kunimitsu. Bruce. Armor King. Wang. Michelle. Baek. Ganryu.
Tag Tournament became less like another chapter of Tekken and more like a **playable museum of the franchise**, allowing characters from completely different eras to coexist without having to explain any of it.
Then came **Tekken Tag Tournament 2**.
61 playable characters. Tag Assaults. Tag Crash. Netsu. Special throws. Unique interactions. Recoverable health. Solo fighters. Two-character teams.
For casual Tekken fans, it was basically the **greatest Tekken toy box ever created**.
But there was a problem.
Everything that made Tag 2 incredible also made it intimidating.
Tekken already demands enormous matchup knowledge. Tag 2 multiplied that across almost sixty characters—and then asked players to understand how those characters interacted in potentially countless different teams.
*Its greatest strength became one of its greatest weaknesses.*
Despite strong reviews, Tag 2 ultimately fell short of Bandai Namco's sales expectations. And after Tekken Tag Tournament 2...
*the Tag series disappeared.*
So what happened?
Was Tag Tournament simply *too ambitious for its own good?*
And more importantly...
*Could Tekken Tag Tournament 3 actually work today?*
Let us know in the comments—and tell us your dream Tag 3 team while you're there.
Subscribe for more Tekken lore, fighting-game history and deep dives into the stories behind some of gaming's greatest fighters.
#Tekken #Tekken8 #TekkenTagTournament #TekkenTagTournament2 #TekkenTag3 #KazuyaMishima #JinKazama #JunKazama #FightingGames #WASDed