Being a fan of fighter games, I was delighted to hear that Namco Bandai was bringing Tekken Tag Tournament 2 to Wii U. I’ve never been a Tekken fan until I started looking at this version at E3 2012, and I was pretty surprised with what I found. This game is said to be the best version of Tekken, and while we still have to wait until we play the final version of the game to make our final verdict, we have a lot of confidence it will be. Seriously, Nintendo cameos, in Tekken?!
It’s safe to say that most of the people reading this article are familiar with Nintendo. You know, the company well known for franchises like Mario, Zelda, Star Fox, and Metroid? Yeah, that Nintendo. This is actually the first Tekken game to hit a Nintendo console, and like I always say, we couldn’t be more excited. Since the Tekken team is also currently developing the next Super Smash Bros. game for Wii U and 3DS, expect a ton of Nintendo cameos.
I’m always looking for another opportunity to play with Samus Aran’s Zero Suit, so it is among my favorites, but you can’t beat the exhilarating feeling of punching the hell out of your opponents with Mario or Luigi’s threads on your fighter. Did you know there are over 50 characters in Tekken Tag Tournament 2? Yeah, that’s almost every single Tekken character ever created. From what I’ve seen, I like Ling Xiaoyu for her agility in combat, but Heihachi Mishima looks totally epic in a Mario costume, so I’ll probably end up playing with him more often. I guess I’ll find my favorite when the game launches next month.
Many fans have already expressed some negativity about features like Mushroom Battle, but they obviously are looking some other game, ’cause the Mushroom Battle we’ve seen is totally awesome! In this mode, various mushroom power-ups from Nintendo’s Super Mario franchise will litter the battlefield. If you obtain a Super or Mega Mushroom, you’ll be significantly bigger than your adversaries, with more powerful attacks, but you’ll also find yourself significantly more vulnerable in this gigantic form. On the other hand, Poison Mushrooms cause your fighter your fighter to shrink, making you less powerful, but with this size, it’s easier to evade attacks from your opponent. Other power-ups inched Gold Mushrooms (boosts speed) and Invincibility Stars, which make you, uh… Invincible.
Sounds awesome, right? Mushroom Battle is exclusive to the Wii U version of this game, along with all the epic costumes and more you’ll get. If you still aren’t sold, check out what Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada says about Mushroom Battle:
“I thought that the serious part and the funny part of Tekken would really match the world of this Mushroom Battle. Not only is it crazy and funny, but people wouldn’t be able to keep themselves from fighting seriously once they try it out. It’s a really good mode. It’s something you could only do by collaborating with Nintendo, right?”
This may be the end of our preview, but it’s only the beginning of our insane Tekken Tag Tournament 2 coverage we have planned for viewers. Before the game’s launch on November 18th (the launch of Wii U), expect more news, screens, and videos from us on what is shaping up to be the best available version of Tekken, as well as the start of a new fighting era on Wii U. We believe in you, Namco Bandai, and wish you the best of luck in bringing Tekken to Nintendo fans everywhere!