A Tekken fan creates Batman Beyond, Cyclops, and other popular characters from comics and gaming by using the character customization feature in Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Character customization made its return in the Tekken title, and fans hope the feature becomes a mainstay with the upcoming release of Tekken 8.
In 2012, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 reintroduced an extensive character customization suite into the long-running Tekken franchise with vast improvements from Tekken 5 and Tekken 6. Players could fully customize the appearance of playable characters including hair, outfits, accessories, tattoos, decals, and much more. Character customization would return in Tekken 7, but the feature itself was somewhat limited when compared to its predecessor. For example, custom decals were no longer available in Tekken 7.
Tekken fan NovaSeiken reminisces about Tekken Tag Tournament 2’s character customization suite after creating characters such as Nightwing, Batman Beyond, Cyclops, Strider Hiryu, and much more. Since the game allowed players to create custom decals, NovaSeiken was able to create decals such as Nightwing’s signature logo and Cyclops’ X-Men symbol. These custom decals would also allow the user to create intricate patterns for outfits. After creating several custom decals and patterns, NovaSeiken would use these creations to design impressive character outfits for characters such as Jin Kazama and Lars Alexanderrson.
NovaSeiken wishes decal customization would return in Tekken 8, but the user believes it’s unlikely to return with the new game’s customization suite. Additionally, several users in the Tekken community believe Tekken 7’s character customization suite is subpar and may not receive substantial changes in Tekken 8. Others believe that Tekken 6 had the superior customization suite despite some of the improvements made in Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
These custom character designs are impressive for their time in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and the return of custom decals in Tekken 8 would allow players to customize the roster to their liking once more. However, Tekken Tag Tournament 2’s custom decal feature is unlikely to return due to possible restrictions regarding online play. At the very least, Tekken 8 may benefit from having a customization features just like Tekken 7 and Capcom’s Street Fighter 6.
Tekken 8 includes multiple returning characters from Tekken 7 including Asuka Kazama, Leroy Smith, and Lili. Bandai Namco has not revealed any new details regarding the game’s customization, single-player, and multiplayer content, but producer Katsuhiro Harada did confirm Tekken 8 features cross-play and rollback netcode. Combo Breaker attendees will be able to learn more about Tekken 8 through on-site closed alpha tests later this month as well.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is available in Arcades and on PS3, Wii U, and Xbox 360.
