Tekken 2 is the second installment in the popular Tekken fighting game series. It was
first released in arcades in 1995, and later released for the PlayStation in 1996. The
original arcade version of the game was released in Tekken 5 's Arcade History mode for the
PlayStation 2, in 2007 for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable via the PlayStation
Network, and in 2009 for Zeebo via ZeeboNet. It was succeeded by the popular Tekken 3,
which came in 1997.
Gameplay The gameplay in Tekken 2 is much like its
predecessor with a few additions. It continues to use 2D backgrounds in its stages, an infinite
playing field, and a fighting system that utilises four buttons: left punch, right punch,
left kick, and right kick. Distinct additions included attack reversals for some characters,
back throws, chain-throws, and a sidestep unique to two characters, Kazuya Mishima and
Heihachi Mishima; However, Yoshimitsu has a spinning sidestep move that lowers his health.
Tackles were also modified to inflict damage when running from a greater distance. Each
time the game is beaten with one of the default available characters in arcade mode, the associated
sub-boss character becomes selectable. Tekken 2 also introduced various modes that
would become staples to the series. These include Survival mode, Team Battle mode and
Time Attack mode. Survival mode takes the player through an endless number of matches
to see how many opponent they can defeat without being defeated themselves. In addition, any
health lost during a match will carry over to the next match, but the player would regain
a little bit more health. Team Battle mode is a two-player mode which up to eight characters
can be selected by each player. Like Survival mode, any health lost during a match will
carry over to the next match, but the player will regain a little bit. Time Attack mode
is similar to Arcade mode, except it is played to see how fast the player can go through
it and beat records. Plot
Two years after the events of the King of the Iron Fist Tournament, the Mishima Zaibatsu,
under the leadership of Kazuya Mishima, has become even more corrupt and powerful than
ever before and involved in many illegal operations. These include kidnapping, extortion and smuggling
endangered animal species for illegal experiments. Kazuya is backed by the Devil, which inhabits
his body and is trying to take over his mind. Meanwhile, animal rights activist and operative
Jun Kazama is sent to arrest Kazuya for his experiments.
Kazuya's father, Heihachi, whom Kazuya had defeated and thrown off a cliff after the
previous tournament, has climbed back up and is training himself, plotting to overthrow
Kazuya. In an attempt to rid himself of Heihachi and his enemies once and for all, Kazuya announces
the King of the Iron Fist Tournament 2, with a large cash prize of one trillion dollars,
knowing that Heihachi would appear. Jun Kazama eventually comes face to face with
Kazuya, but rather than arresting him, she finds herself drawn to him. She later became
pregnant, with Kazuya having fathered her child. Meanwhile, Heihachi arrives at the
tournament, winning against the opposing fighters and eventually reaching Kazuya.
In the final round, Heihachi confronts Kazuya and they battle once again. Devil takes over
Kazuya's body, resulting in Kazuya becoming a Devil creature. Despite his advantages,
Kazuya is defeated by Heihachi because of the internal conflict within him. Heihachi
then takes Kazuya's body to a volcano, and drops him into it to kill him. Heihachi then
escapes on a helicopter as the volcano erupts behind him, having finally taken his revenge
and regaining the Mishima Zaibatsu back, with Kazuya presumably dead.
Characters
The game features 16 characters from the previous game: Anna Williams, Armor King, Ganryu, Heihachi
Mishima, Kazuya Mishima, King II, Kuma, Kunimitsu, Lee Chaolan, Marshall Law, Michelle Chang,
Nina Williams, P. Jack, Paul Phoenix, Wang Jinrei, and Yoshimitsu. Characters previously
appearing as sub-bosses are made into playable characters and given more distinct move sets,
although they still share many moves with the originals. Devil Kazuya, originally a
bonus palette swap of Kazuya reserved for the home version of the first game, is also
made as a full playable character and serves as this game's final boss.
In addition to returning characters, the game also introduces 8 new characters: Baek Doo
San, a Tae Kwon Do practitioner who participates in the tournament to challenge Marshall Law,
Bruce Irvin, a Muay Thai kickboxer who suffers from amnesia and is now serving as one of
Kazuya's personal bodyguards, Lei Wulong, a Hong Kong cop practicing Five Animals Kung-Fu
who is sent to arrest Kazuya, Jack-2, an updated Jack model who replaces the previous Jack
and is sent to battle P. Jack, Jun Kazama, a mixed martial artist and animal rights activist
also sent to arrest Kazuya, Roger and Alex, a duo of genetically-altered boxing kangaroo
and dromaeosauridae respectively and serve as palette swaps of each other, and Angel,
a mysterious entity connected to Kazuya who serves as Devil Kazuya's palette swap and
is also his final boss. Music
The music in Tekken 2 was composed by Yoshie Arakawa and Yoshie Takayanagi.
Release Tekken 2's port to the PlayStation is considered
to be vastly superior in content to its arcade counterpart. Aside from unique CGI endings
for every character, it featured numerous modes such as Survival, Time Attack, Team
Battle, and a Practice Mode. It also contained remixed music, like the port of the first
game. The PlayStation 2 version of Tekken 5 features
the arcade version of Tekken 2 as a playable bonus. Tekken 2 standalone is available for
PlayStation 3 users to download onto the PSP. However, multiplayer options have been removed.
As of system upgrade 1.70, Tekken 2 can now also be downloaded onto and played on the
PlayStation 3 and on Zeebo. Reception
Tekken 2 was a bestseller in the UK. It was also acclaimed, with a current 92.5% rating
at Game Rankings. GameSpot, which gave the game 9.2 out of 10, praised the game's graphics
and fluid character movement. IGN, which rated the game 9 out of 10, also praised the graphics.
Electronic Gaming Monthly awarded it "Best Arcade Game" of 1995. In 1996, Next Generation
ranked it as the 22nd top game of all time overall. In 1997, PSM named the PlayStation
port of Tekken 2 one of the "Top 25 PlayStation Games of All Time" at number three, describing
it as "better than the arcade version" in many regards due to added features, and "one
of the best fighting games ever". Tekken 2 placed 59th on Game Informer '​s "Top
100 Games of All Time" in 2001. References
External links Official website