This week marks the release of the long awaited fighting hybrid game, Street Fighter X Tekken Mobile. We published our review earlier today, praising the game's single-player game along with a fair few regrets about the online performance. If you're struggling to get to grips with the basics, here's our guide to landing a few solid blows.

What moves can my character make?

The list is far too extensive to put here, but if you want to see what each character is capable of, hit the pause menu at any time and select Command List.

A little knowledge only goes so far though, so it's well worth putting a character through its paces in the Training section of the single-player game.

Which characters should I choose?

Much will come down to personal preferences (not to mention mastery over so many years), but when picking your tag-team it's important to choose characters that compliment each other so that you're ready to handle any match-up.

A good fast brawler is useful for close-up encounters, but you might want someone a little zippier to go up against equally agile opponents.

To read more, please visit Modojo.

Namco Bandai has released a new update for its flagship fighter Tekken Tag Tournament 2.

The update includes three new brawlers, namely Slim Bob, Miharu Hirano and Sebastian, plus four new stages in the shape of Chile, Poland, Saudi Arabia and Russia.

Tekken series boss Katsuhiro Harada previously commented on his dislike for offering new characters and related bonus content as paid DLC, and pleasingly he has kept his promise by offering the update completely free of charge.

This is in strike contrast to Capcom’s Street Fighter franchise, which has been supported by a wealth of paid DLC over the past couple of years.

Tekken Tag 2 features the most extensive fighter roster in the beat-‘em-up’s lengthy history, with over 50 characters up for grabs in the console version. In addition, the scrapper also includes new Tag-based techniques, such as the ability to attack an opponent simultaneously with your partner. .

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is filled with more. More characters. More in-match participants. More button smashing.

More lunacy.

The sequel to 1999’s Tekken Tag Tournament is a noncanonical sidestep in the constant battle that is Namco Bandai’s bare-knuckle 3D fighting franchise. So this 55-combatant (not including downloadable entrants), storyline-cracking free-for-all is technically nothing but an illusive blip on an already convoluted Tekken timeline — and a figment of chief producer Katsuhiro Harada’s already insane imagination.

But after stuffing myself with repeated trips to this buffet of brawls, I’m left wondering if Namco’s more friendly approach is the best direction for the series.

WHAT YOU’LL LIKE

Become the ultimate Don Armor King

In TT2’s fantasy world, you can put on the dream fights you’ve always wanted to see. You have a ridiculously dense (and in some cases, just plain ridiculous) roster of ruffians to rumble with, either solo or in tag teams. The franchise’s warring Mishima and Kazama clans are at your disposal, along with pretty much every other mainstay from Tekkens No. 1 through 6.

Gameplay is as tight as Nina Williams’ outfit

Tekken’s responsive and fast-paced controls are in full effect here. Fights are as frantic and fun as you would expect. The core mechanics introduced in the last Tekken release are back with a tag-team focused twist. Destructible, multitiered environments return, as well, making combat especially dynamic and dangerous.

Fight Lab is a useful, albeit bizarre new addition

Series newcomers and veterans alike can benefit from the Fight Lab. The all-new mode is a glorified tutorial, complete with a wacky storyline featuring Violet, the millionaire philanderer alter ego of playable pugilist Lee Chaolan. As you progress through the Lab’s brief campaign, you’ll help Violet program his prototype Combot. Each chapter highlights a specific gameplay mechanic, culminating with a boss battle.

By the end of the experience, you’ll have worked on offensive and defensive basics while learning essential tag-team techniques. And you’ll probably have scratched your head a few times at the completely random narrative interludes. As a bonus, you’ll be able to program the Combot for customized training sessions.

Flying sumo wrestlers are surprisingly charming
The King of Iron Fist Tournament has always had its quirky undertones, and the latest edition is no exception. After all, you can pair a boxing-glove wearing velociraptor with a living, breathing block of wood. And the goofiness doesn’t stop there. The aforementioned Fight Lab mode includes challenges that involve avoiding scud-missile-like flying clones of sumo wrestler Ganryu and defeating a giant, loincloth-wearing version of kung-fu fighter Feng Wei.

You’ll even see a few silly and not-so-subtle tributes to a certain 2D fighting series that I’ll refrain from naming. All of these lighthearted touches are quintessentially Tekken, and I’m glad to see the developers having so much fun with their work.

And who doesn’t love getting to fight in Santa’s Village?



WHAT YOU WON’T LIKE



New challengers might have trouble getting ready for their next battle
TTT 2 is for the hardcore Tekken fan. I’m talking about a person who’s debated the superiority of Japanese-style arcade sticks and scoured message boards for animation frame data to gain an edge. If you don’t have an opinion on such matters, then you might never end up playing Tekken Tag 2 at a high level because it requires that much dedication to master.

In traditional Tekken releases, you fight in a straightforward, 1-on-1 matchup. For most players, that’s hard enough. TTT 2 throws in the tagging mechanic, which adds an additional layer of complexity to the proceedings. Each fighter has specific launcher moves and bound hits that help extend combos and initiate tag-team focused salvos, which means a whole new set of timing-based maneuvers to memorize.

While most fighting-game fans love this type of depth, it leads to a somewhat steep learning curve for less experienced contenders.


You’ve probably played through most of this before
The sheer number of online and offline fighting modes — along with the brand new World Tekken Federation community-centered website — might seem intimidating at first, but after some hands-on experience, most of the options prove to be pedestrian and somewhat shallow endeavors. And many of them are familiar to fighting-game fanatics like the typical arcade and ghost battles, ranked and non-ranked online fights, time trials, and so forth.

Surprisingly enjoyable pursuits like the beat-em-up inspired Tekken Force are absent here, replaced with the less developed Fight Lab. And, unlike in previous years, you won’t find offbeat time killers like Tekken Bowling.

CONCLUSION

While Namco Bandai went out of its way to pack Tekken Tag Tournament 2 with an impressive number of characters and features, I came away from the game with a somewhat indifferent feeling. This is the Tekken I fell in love with, the Tekken that conditioned my thumbs as a teenager, and the Tekken that continues to put a smile on my face. But this is also the same Tekken I’ve played over and over again, even with the tag wrinkle taken into consideration.

I just feel the experience needs reinvention. And I’m not talking about more exclusive Snoop Dogg (or Snoop Lion) tracks and swimsuit costume packs.

Tekken doesn’t need more stuff. It needs more focus. Like the archetypical weathered warrior, the franchise needs to look within to find inspiration.

Score: 78/100 C
Good

It's been 10 years since the original Tekken Tag Tournament first saw the light of day, but the game has retained a cult following amongst fighting game fans. Namco Bandai now had a follow-up ready, with Tekken Tag Tournament 2 bringing the tag mechanics of the first game to the current generation of consoles. They also have some new tricks to roll out, namely in the form of some new online features.

Tekken Tag Tournament was mostly known for throwing the Tekken storyline out the window and the sequel is no different. This allows for the game to use the full roster of Tekken fighters. Players can welcome back characters like Prototype Jack (Tekken 2), Michelle Chang (Tekken 3), and Alex (everyone's favorite dinosaur with boxing gloves from Tekken 2) to join series favorites Heihachi, Kazuya, and Jin. Overall, the roster will launch with over 50 fighters.


Tekken Tag Tournament 2
The tag mechanics in TTT2 work the same way as their predecessor. Players select two fighters or two friends can play co-op with each selecting one fighter. Rounds end when one character is defeated with games typically played in a best-of-five format. While tagging out can be done at any time, skilled players will be able to use tags to perform double-team maneuvers and combos. I went into this preview as a Tekken novice, so I wasn't sure I'd see everything I was looking to see. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on your perspective), I was playing against former tournament fighter Rich "Filthy Rich" Bantegui (sitting in via teleconference), who was more than happy to take me through a tour of the hard-hitting combos TTT2 had to offer.

Bantegui's team of King and Armor King started things off against my pitiful duo of Kazuya and Yoshimitsu. Bantegui tossed me around with Tekken's normal array of throws, juggles, and breaks. The show really began when he showed off combos that included Armor King tossing me over into a King powerbomb and a double DDT from the Kings. I also found myself getting juggled repeatedly between the two partners, as Bantegui demonstrated the ways that Tekken fighters can use the tag system to complete multi-hit combos.

TTT2 will contain unprecedented online features. Online play itself utilizes the net code from Soul Calibur 5. The preview build I tried out was connected through a Verizon MiFi hotspot and still proved to be a lag-free experience. In terms of supplemental content, every single online match will be recorded with players able to watch replays of their matches at any time through the Tekken Channel. Replays will prove informative, as well as entertaining. These replays will display details of how much damage certain combos dealt out and when certain counters were used. Players can either choose to study these replays for future reference or save particularly entertaining ones to re-watch later.

So did I learn anything else from my crushing defeat at the hands of Filthy Rich? With the new World Tekken Federation service, I can say that I did. Almost immediately after my humiliating loss, I was taken on a tour of the website that would house the WTF. The stats from my previous battle were already uploaded in full detail. I could then study Filthy Rich's profile to see his favorite teams, his number of throws used versus throws broken, moves and counters used, and other details that would help me better prepare for a rematch. Data from both the Xbox 360 and PS3 versions will be saved to the WTF and players can view the stats from each console version at any time. Players can also customize their WTF profiles to include dual-layered team emblems that will show up in the game. The WTF will launch alongside TTT2 as a free service.

Tekken Tag Tournament 2 looks to retain everything that made the original so much fun while also including new online components that promise to innovate for both casual and tournament play. The battle begins September 11 on Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Namco Bandai Games have revealed the first images for the upcoming Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition S+ from Mad Catz.

Not to be confused with Hori’s Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Arcade Stick, the Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition S+ is made by Mad Catz. The product will feature a "Femme Fatale" Art Panel, featuring the various female characters in the fighting game.

The Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Arcade FightStick Tournament Edition S+ will be released for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 systems in North America later this year. Namco Bandai Games will be launching Tekken Tag Tournament 2 for the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 platforms on September 11th as well as the Nintendo Wii U sometime after.

Excellent news for that one guy making a Street Fighter X Tekken stop-motion animation film based on the one fanfic he wrote, as well as regular people with cubicles that need decorating: Namco Bandai will be releasing two new series of SFxT Minimates figures, with the first wave arriving in November.

Regardless of which wave they're in, characters come in fixed packs of two: Ken vs. Steve, Cammy vs. Nina, Poison vs. Lili and Sagat vs. King (above) make up November's offering. Wave two, said to release sometime in February, pits Chun-Li vs. Hwoarang, Abel vs. Kazuya, Ryu vs. Yoshimitsu and Rufus vs. Julia, all of whom can be seen after the break. No word on pricing, but we do know that some pairs will be more rare than others.

A new Street Fighter X Tekken developer blog has been posted on Capcom-Unity today. Ayano mainly focuses on the PS Vita version packaging, giving detailed descriptions and showing images of the proofs.

Ayano also gives a small update about the iPhone version of Street Fighter X Tekken, telling everyone to expect big tings.

"I got word from the mobile development team that the iPhone version of SFXTK is “almost ready to go” -and come to think of it, the mobile team was cheering about something; they must have finished their master submission! Definitely expect big things from SFXTK mobile!"

Well, this is an interesting turn of events. Over on the Shoryuken forums, a well established community site for fighting games, it was revealed that Street Fighter X Tekken would not be making an appearance at the Evolution fighting game tournament in 2013.

Evolution, otherwise known as EVO, is quite possibly the largest fighting game tournament in the world, spanning many games over the course of three days in Las Vegas. A user by the name of “Mr. Wizard”, who is one of the organizers for EVO, announced with very little fanfare in a forum post that the game wouldn’t be making a return appearance, saying only that “SFxT will not be back in 2013.”

No explanation has been provided, only the message that Street Fighter X Tekken will not be back. Mr. Wizard has been very vocal on his negative thoughts pertaining to the game, and considering he has yet to make any other posts since the one in question, many people are waiting on an explanation or more information.

We have reached out to the people behind the Evolution tournament series for an explanation and more formal confirmation of this information, and this story will be updated as we learn more about the situation.

This article is about 3 days old, I know, it's old. I missed this article, so I might as well post it on a slow news day like today.

THE designer of Tekken, one of the world's most popular video game blockbusters, says that console makers can no longer control the way people game


Harada San, game director and chief producer of fighting game franchise, Tekken, told news.com.au that Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo should use their powers for good instead of evil, by joining forces.

“For a long time, the game industry has been able to control the way people play games,” Mr San said, speaking through a translator.

“There was a platform that people used solely for their gaming needs, and the industry had control of the trends and such that occurred.”

However the video game designer said that with the development of mobile hone and internet gaming, games are now just a part of the basic package.

“People are able to not be tied down by consoles,” he said. “And it doesn’t stop with phones, we have browser gaming and all these different platforms.”

Mr San said Sony put itself ahead of the curve compared to its competitors by doing away with region locking on the PS3, making it easier for fans to access foreign games.
But the video game designer said that the opportunities for innovation would be endless if the three competitors joined forces.

“I think it would be interesting if Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo got together just to make one console,” he said. “It makes me very happy to think about all the possibilities that could occur because of that.”

So what about the new instalment of Tekken, Tekken Tag Tournament 2? Mr San said he tried to make it the most comprehensive incarnation of the game to date.

Mr San said he was influenced by many things, including his own martial arts training as well as Hollywood and Hong Kong action cinema, but that his most important inspiration comes from the feedback he receives from his fans.

“The game changes quite a bit depending on what everyone’s saying about the game.”

“Obviously when we made the first Tekken we didn’t have much to go on, but then throughout the series, we continually got different feedback from the fans,” says Mr San, “I analyse that and from there decide on the direction to take the game.”

Tekken is one of the oldest and longest running franchises in video game history. The fighting game series has legions of fans worldwide and its instalments are regularly used for competitive e-sports

The latest game in the series, Tekken Tag Tournament 2, was released in Japanese arcades in late 2011, and is set to land on consoles worldwide later this year. 

Oh goodness. It looks as if Sanrio, purveyor of Hello Kitty merchandise, has gotten a littleStreet Fighter chocolate in their proverbial peanut butter. They have gone and launched a line of clothing — and one tote bag — with Street Fighter x Sanrio branding that is beyond adorable. Beyorable, if you will. If only they’d gone and made a fighting game out of this rather than the crossover with Tekken.

Maybe beating up on Hello Kitty characters was a bit too far for some of the suits further up the ladder. But at least we can enjoy these glorious reminders of what might have been.

My Melody x Cammy looks rough and tumble. And cute.

Badtz-Ryu is ready to take on all challengers, including dryer lint.

Purin x Zangief is afraid of nothing. Like wrinkles.

These and many more are available over at Sanrio’s shop. But seriously, someone needs to set up a petition for Capcom to make this a game like yesterday. It’d be a magical, cutesy, bloody, baffling brawl for the ages.
(Images by Sanrio)