Tag battling now allows for battles of up to five-on-five, adjustments to fighting allow for even more counter maneuvers and combo choices, certain super moves feature earth destroying cut scenes and there are even more stages but everything else has virtually remained untouched from the first Tenkaichi. However, that’s definitely not a bad thing because part two gives players everything they had last year and nearly doubles the content.
Tackling the story mode is no laughing matter, as it will take a number of hours to go through all of the scenarios even if you don’t bother with the game’s cut scenes (and there are tons) and extra battles. The duel, ultimate battle and training modes make a return and the split-screen multiplayer is as furious as ever. Tenkaichi 2 throws everything but the kitchen sink at players when it comes to game modes, with the kitchen sink in this case being online play.
Game play allows for characters to fly at will, dash at high speeds, power up, block and attack. While in reality only the attack button is necessary in the game, a huge number of offensive and defensive options become available when buttons are pressed in certain situations. Ki attacks, throws, teleportation attacks and defenses, guard crushes and ludicrously punishing special moves round out a fighter’s arsenal along with the standard Budokai combo strings.
With so many characters, however, many of the special moves and combo strings are repeated and a lot of the secondary characters lose some luster. Special moves involving rushes into automatic combos are still a little on the cheap end but due to more defensive capabilities; there is more leeway to allow players to avoid them.
The story mode can also get extremely repetitive with some scenarios requiring you to fight the same character multiple times in a row before they are defeated. It’s also a shame to see there is no fantasy branching or reworking done to the storylines. Many times you’ll absolutely crush an opponent with a perfect victory and are treated to a cut scene of your character bloodied and bruised and kissing pavement while your opponent laughs unscathed.
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