Chapter 1: But why do i like it more than Tekken 3?
I just gotta say first... Tekken 3 is probably one of the most overrated fighting games of all time. I mean, i like Tekken 3! It is a good playing fighting game, and the refinements to mechanics it made, were good, and i like that they had courage to kill some characters, but...
Tekken 2 doesn't get a lot of credit i feel like, and, a lot of it probably is because, most people didn't play Tekken 2, and when they did, they played 3 first, but, i, actually played a LOT of Tekken 1, and 2 first, to then get to 3. Yes, i was really loving Tekken 1 at one point, until, of course, i played Tekken 2. But most things from Tekken 3, like, the moves, are already in 2, it already plays, and feels so much better than 1, where there is barely anything you can pull-off, and like, obvious simple moves that you expect to be there, aren't in 1, but they are already in 2! Tekken 3 feels even snappier tho, and i feel like people will already not give enough attention and hours into Tekken 2 because they already have Tekken 3, and that is better for them, and is what is familiar, again, not trying to dog on Tekken 3, it is a great game, but, i guess, people just don't give Tekken 2 enough of a chance... I didn't grow up with the Tekken games, i, actually haven't played beyond the Playstation trilogy, i really wanted to play Tekken 4, but, my disc drive for my computer is, broken, so i can't burn DVDs. T-T
But... All that i said so far, made it seem like, Tekken 3, replaces Tekken 2 in every way, it was just the foundation to get to Tekken 3, but... Here is the thing, the presentation of Tekken 2, is my favorite, it might be one of my favorites on the Playstation even! There is a, specific, hard to say feel to Tekken 2's atmosphere, music, and all that, but, it is, unique, and i love it all! Tekken 2 feels, grand, it feels majestic, it's classier, it's big, it's larger than life, and i love it... The soundtrack of Tekken 2, people already know how great it is, but, personally, i am such a sucker for mid 90s music, specially made with these MIDI keyboards, and Tekken 2 is no exception, my favorite soundtrack and presentation on Playstation! It used to be Klonoa: Door to Phantomile (also by namco), but, yeah, this is for me, the throne, at least, for now.
The plot of Tekken 2 is not only clever, but i love how people are involved, man...
Like, King's plot in Tekken 2 is that he turned to heavy drinking due to his troubles of financing his orphanage, so he joins the tournament again to fund it again, and, honestly, you can keep laughing at the graphics, for me, that's not what matters, it is what is being communicated through the ending.
Or like, Michelle, Kazuya kidnapped her mother, and she joins the tournament to get her back, but, what else Kazuya wants from Michelle? He wants her necklace thing that, apparently, can show a secret, in the ending, she just throws it away never to be found again in a river, even if it is for a big loss for her self, what matters, is that Kazuya won't ever get the hold of it... Overall, i also like the character roster of T2 much more than T3's.
It's also small things like stages, not just the music, but how they look, and what they represent, compare Yoshimitsu's forest stage from T2 and T3, and, yeah, it is such a dramatic difference, everything in Tekken 2, is more dramatic, and, grand, again! Tekken 3 wouldn't put you in places like these.
Also, even the arcade soundtrack is great for Tekken 2, in Tekken 1, the arranged soundtrack was just better, it was. Tekken 2, i like both about the same, it's great, some i think are actually a bit better in the arcade versions! And Tekken 3... Yeah, just the arcade version i think sounds good, Tekken 3 music, kinda gives me a headache...
Chapter 2: That doesn't say enough, gameplay first, presentation later!
True, that is a fair point, Tekken 3 does play a bit better than 2, but, yeah, that's about it, Tekken 2 plays almost as good as 3 really, for me, it is to the point of not bothering me, they both play great, and about as good, except T3 is just slightly more refined really! Specially since i didn't start with Tekken 3, so for me, a better roster, a cooler story, a better presentation that is one of my favorites of all time, is enough, for me to consider this, actually just ever so slightly better than Tekken 3, the thing about Tekken 3 is, i'm not as appealed to this late 90s super grungy dirty angsty street kids feel, it was the style of the time, and i have some nostalgia for these at times, but, yeah, i'd rather take the other.
Again, just about everything you need, is already here!
Eh, if i'd put Tekken 2 and on a tier list, i'd probably put both on a same tier still, i like to play both with a buddy.
I like to give games other chances, even if i don't like at first, i keep trying, a victim of this was, actually Dead or Alive, and even Tekken 3, Dead or Alive 1 was just a dumb Virtua Fighter 2 rip-off, while i don't think it is that great, at least i found out months later that you can actually block attacks by holding back, that made it far more tolerable, and i appreciate the game's music, for me, like many people treat Tekken 2, Tekken 3 for me at first had no point in keep playing for me, since, it was just, a worse version of Tekken 2 in terms of presentation, but i kept playing and playing, until i liked it too! So please guys and gals, don't let go of games so easily because of just one thing, i've dealt with people like this before... Including the buddy that i play Tekken 2 and 3 with, who thought Tekken 2 was even worse than 1 (like, really?), but then we kept playing it, and he loved it!