Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Arrives: Should Barefoot Fans Care?

At least we can still rely on the Kazamas in Hakamas for TTT2.

 It's been quite a wait, but early this week, Tekken Tag Tournament 2 has finally arrived for consoles (PS3 and Xbox360). Now, I've been monitoring this game ever since it was first teased by the producer in late 2010. I watched it online, in arcades and all that time I've been studying its prospects for our enjoyment. I've had great hopes for it, given that the previous game in the Tekken franchise, Tekken 6, is one of the best games with barefoot babes to enjoy (thanks to the cool and sexy Character Customization). But sadly, all signs pointed to TTT2 falling short of equalling T6's soleful content.

Based on the arcade version, we knew that the Character Customization System had been altered, made a bit simpler. Sadly, separate Hand and Foot customization was omitted, with tops and bottoms coming with included hand and footwear. Along the way, someone at the dev team forgot to include barefoot options or costumes. No, scratch that... someone forgot to include barefoot options or costumes FOR THE FEMALES. Yes, to add insult to injury many of the male characters can be barefoot, but not the ladies. That didn't change in the months that followed- there was no way to change the existing system. All we could hope for was that additional costumes with bare feet built in were to be added to the console version. Well, how did that pan out? If you love barefoot babes, would you be satisfied with what TTT2 has to offer?




Sadly, Lili's bare soles are lost to us... for now. Perhaps future DLC will give her barefoot outfits again...?

For starters, Christie Monteiro still has her default classic P1 Outfits (The Capoeira Costume) with her barefoot. Aside from that single costume though, she has no other outfit or even a bottom that has her baring her soles- everything else comes with included footwear. Then there's Asuka Kazama- her classic Aikido/Martial Arts outfit from Tekken 5 and 6 (with the headband) is GONE. You can, however, buy a Hakama and Footguards set in the in-game store. But again, aside from the Hakama/Footguard combo (Asuka has 2 different Hakama), Asuka has no other barefoot costume or option; same goes for Jun Kazama.


Unfortunately there's no uniform or basic Barefoot Customization in TTT2. We have to rely on individual outfit pieces... of which there are painfully few out of the box.

Everyone else, all the girls who were from Tekken 6, also have no Barefoot Customization or costume. As of right now, Lili, whose soles we bared and enjoyed in Tekken 6, cannot remove her boots now. Neither can Nina, Xiaoyu and Alisa. But wait- there's the Extra DLC Characters and the Big Bikini Bundle, which comes with content not seen in the arcade versions. So, what is the footie content after DL-ing the new stuff?

 

Awaiting at the end of Arcade Mode is Unknown- Final Boss and one of the few barefoot babes in the game (Don't worry, she'll be playable eventually as DLC).




Well, we get ONE fully-barefoot babe in the returning Angel, and well, all I can say is that her bare feet look... heavenly. Unfortunately, Angel has no other barefoot costume aside from her default P1 Costume. She actually has Hakama and Footguards, but who needs them when she's already fully barefoot (well, there are those here who actually prefer the footguards, I know)? Then there's Kunimitsu, the sexy ninja renegade who also has Hakama and Footguards in her purchasable costume pieces. I'll post vids of these babes as soon as I can.

And finally, the BIKINI BUNDLE DLC. Unfortunately, while there are certainly lots of skin being shown off,  the feet remain in footwear, as pretty much all of the bikinis come paired with shoes or sandals- which cannot be toggled. To be fair, some of the sandals show off a lot of the girls' feet in any case, but if you're like me, to whom full-barefoot, with contact to the ground with the soles is paramount, it's very disappointing.

BUT WAIT! I had almost lost all hope... and there then was a pretty awesome surprise waiting for me as I checked each characters' swimwear... I found that ONE babe actually got a fully-barefoot costume in the Swimsuit DLC. That girl- whom I now declare as Tekken Tag 2's Barefoot Muse- is none other than- get this- Leo Kliesen. Yes, THAT Leo. LEO is now the Barefoot Babe of the Moment... who'd have ever thought that could happen? I'll be taking her on in-depth in another article. For now though, check out the new vids with the Hakama Kazama team of Asuka and Jun Kazama.

So, should Foot Fans rush out to get Tekken Tag Tournament 2? Well, if you're a real fighting game fan, you probably already have it anyway. In any case, it's an awesome fighter- perhaps the most chock-full of content I've seen in years. The barefoot babe content by default is kinda low- but this game DOES have potential, particularly in KOs (even if the sexy win animations in Tekken 6 are gone) and probably added content in the future. I'll show you the goods soon enough. Don't write off TTT2 just yet!

HD Upgrade Complete!

My new weapon of choice: The Hauppage HD-PVR.

At long last, I finally got my much-awaited new tool for video capture, the Hauppage HD Personal Video Recorder. The successor to my old Archos AV700 PVP is, while bigger than it's predecessor, surprisingly light and apparently made mostly of plastic, making it seem toy-like and fragile. However the proof is in the pudding- the Hauppage does what it's supposed to do- capture HD video- easily, quickly and smoothly. Setting up the device in my room was pretty easy, mostly plug-and-play, though it was good foresight on my part to have in advance acquired an extended USB 2.0 cable to connect the PVR to my Mac, on the other side of the room from the TV and game consoles. Really, who would have their TV right next to their computer?

Anyway, once everything is connected, opening up a third-party app (EyeTV) and turning on the Hauppage and the video source (PS3) immediately opened up a lovely view of streaming 720p footage on my desktop, ready for recording. The slight wrinkle is about a couple of seconds delay between what's showing on your TV and what's recording on your computer monitor, but that's no biggie. Recording is easy as pushing the record button on the virtual remote control on your desktop, and that's that! Recording is almost instant, and once you stop it's there ready to be exported to your desktop or anywhere else in a flash. The files I got were H.264 video (mp4), which can be easily viewed in Quicktime.

After a couple of hours of initial testing and recording of vids from Tekken 6, the PVR did so admirably with crisp, clear video that captures the awesome detail of the game's graphics. It totally delivers on its promises, for which I am truly overjoyed. All I can do now is keep the device well-maintained and dust-free, safe on its new place in my headquarters.

Anyway, I've posted some test vids and more stuff from Tekken 6, so check out the awesome loveliness of hot, buttkicking barefoot game babe action in luscious 720p.


Asuka (looking cool and fresh in her tank top and bandage shorts) battles the walking tank, Ganryu.


Lili battles Anna (maybe she can strip off those stockings and heels afterwards..?).


Lili and a pretty creepy Yoshimitsu battle it out in the Graveyard stage.


Asuka takes on TKD Maestro Baek in Rustic Asia.


Lili's turn to give old man Baek a beating...

These match vids are pretty much raw footage, with just a bit of trimming. I can't wait to start doing edited barefoot babe features- Tekken 6 KO ryona, Soulcalibur IV FMN Knockouts, CASplay matches- in HD! Man, this is gonna be fun. Anyway, that's that for the technical side of things. Now the real work (or fun, actually) begins. Later then!

Kazuya Dangles the Girls (Tekken 6)

I've been raving about my fervent desire for Super Streetfighter IV so much recently, it's easy to overlook that footfans already have games with the best-looking barefoot babes you can find these days on a console, foremost among them being the awesome Tekken 6! Well, here's a new KO ryona video featuring all of the game's barefoot babes, presented to us by series' bad boy Kazuya Mishima. Kaz has a bad rep, what with his tendency to betray and backstab his own family members... but hey! Here he takes a break from his busy schedule to give us nice views of the Tekken babes' sexy, unconscious bare feet in his bad-ass 'dangling' win animation. What a nice guy! Enjoy the vid!


Kazuya's manliness knocks them out everytime.

Tekken 6 Asuka Scenario Campaign

Once again I haven't been able to post as much lately, one of the reason being that my most long-awaited dream game, Tekken 6 has finally arrived. What can I say? The game is pretty much everything I want it to be; not only are the graphics gorgeous, the animations sexy-smooth and the fighting action second to none, it has easily the sexiest barefoot videogame babes to throw a high kick at your face! The game comes home from the arcade complete with all the customizations, including the all-important barefoot customization so we can remove those unsightly shoes from our lovely lasses' pretty peds.

One of the cool new additions to the game is Scenario Campaign, which is a beat 'em up game within a game. You take your favorite Tekken fighters into various stages all over a huge world map and fight waves of enemies on your way to a stage boss. It's kinda like classic brawlers like Final Fight, Streets of Rage or even The Bouncer. While some reviewers have dissed the mode, I love it- it's cool to see the fighters out of the usual one-on-one arena for a change.

But of course the best part is having my favorite barefoot babes running around fighting armies of enemies as they pad around shoeless and sexy. Here are several vids showing off my main girl, Asuka Kazama, all martial-artsy and unshod, along with new robo-babe Alisa Bosconovitch (also barefoot, of course), exploring various environments, meeting various peoples and basically aiming their feet at every enemy jaw. Enjoy!


Mercenary armies are no match for barefoot heroines on the rampage!


More barefoot adventuring in the Tekken world...


Asuka and Alisa meet their match on the demon-filled Nightmare Train.

I can't recommend this game enough for barefoot fans. This is fighting game and barefoot babe Nirvana, surely! Plus I thoroughly recommend the PS3 version, as it has an awesome screencapping function. Enjoy the vids!

Asuka Kazama, Feudal Era Outfit (Tekken 6)

Here's some more barefoot and KO action with my favorite barefoot videogame babe, Asuka Kazama. The arcade upgrade to the original arcade version of Tekken 6 gave us tons of cool new customizations and outfits for the characters, and certainly one of the coolest sets for any of the fighters is Asuka's Feudal Era warrior costume. The complete set is pretty elaborate and is composed of a kosode (sexy kimono-like top with one sleeve cut off at the shoulder), miko hakamas (baggy pants that stop below the knees) and several pieces of armor. Thankfully I was able to amass quite a bit of fight money for the kosode and hakamas, so now I have my Barefoot Warrior Archer Asuka! I totally love how the Miko Hakamas gives us a lovely length of sexy calf to go with Asuka's kissable, adorable bare feet. You can just imagine her running in the fields, a barefoot warrior goddess, sniping bad guys with her deadly arrows with her Sacred Bow, her new Item Move in Bloodline Rebellion. You can use it to make a ranged attack, which is however flashier than it is deadly. However, it looks pretty cool!


A barefoot babe's revenge is sweet...

Nicely enough, all these customizations will be included in the home console versions of Tekken 6, out later this Fall 2009. Till we have our barefoot warrior babe on our HDTV's, enjoy her in these vids. Later then!

Asuka Kazama (Tekken)

Asuka Kazama. Heroine of Destiny, Barefoot Babe Par Excellence.

In Tekken 6, a game with international supermodel assassins, kung fu geniuses and killer androids, it's quite amazing to see what appears to be an ordinary Japanese teenager, someone you could probably see walking around a street in Tokyo on any given day, mixing it up with all these fantastic femme fatales. But then, Asuka Kazama isn't really 'just' an ordinary girl. Of course, we all know that, as a member of the Kazama bloodline, she's got a great destiny in store for her. She's a holy maiden of great power, a guardian against evil forces that seek to wipe out all humanity. But of course, she's not aware of all that stuff... all she knows is that she's very good at kicking butt, and she loves doing it regularly.

Asuka is, of course, an example of a cool female archetype in games and anime- the Beautiful Martial Arts Tomboy. Like Hitomi (Dead or Alive) and Akane Tendo (Ranma 1/2), Asuka was born a girl in a man's role, being the only child and heir to a dojo with a long-standing history or tradition. Asuka fought all her life to live up to being her father's child, becoming the strongest fighter in the Kazama dojo. But her lust for combat extends beyond the school- even in her free time, Asuka is a bit of a vigilante, using her skills to 'solve other people's problems, usually by knockout'. And of course, in Tekken 6, she's out to solve the whole world's biggest problem, by knocking out her cousin and current CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu, Jin Kazama.

Asuka is, needless to say, obviously amazingly HOT. She's hot for her cool and sometimes comical personality. She's hot because of her tough attitude, seen in her tomboyish intro stances. She's hot because of her zeal for combat and her confidence in her powerful skills. She benefited the most in the graphical transition to Tekken 6. While she was already pretty in Tekken 5, in Tekken 6 she became so much more realistic and life-like, almost like a real person. Perhaps it's best that it is only now, in Tekken 6, where graphics can finally render Asuka's body to do justice to her beauty, that we can now enjoy her sexy bare legs and feet. Probably more than any other girl in Tekken, going barefoot just fits Asuka perfectly. Whether in her traditional martial arts gi and hakamas (and if you like her instep guards on or off), her school uniforms, her new Feudal Era costumes, casual wear or her sexy Matsuri vest and sarashi shorts. Whatever the look, it just gets hotter when Asuka goes shoeless, showing off her strong thighs, calves, ankles and feet off to the admiring world... and of course we fans can't get enough of this beautiful barefoot heroine kicking butt and looking awesome doing it.

I have to say I'm quite biased to Asuka- she's my main fighter in Tekken, and I'm certainly looking forward to playing with her and customizing her with the coolest and hottest outfits in Tekken 6 on consoles. I just love everything about her, from head to toe- her voice, her heavy Kansai accent, her sexy intros and win poses, her powerful and effective fighting style... I even like her cute KO screams. But really, any barefoot fan should love this adorable, fighting tomboy, for the simple reason that she has the most realistic-looking feet of all the girls in Tekken 6.
Perhaps venturing to offer her a foot massage or a rub may result in comical punches and screams of "Hentai! Hentai!" but perhaps after a hard fight... probably one where she ends lying out cold on the ground- even this spunky heroine may welcome a fan's pampering of her sexy soles and toes.

And with images of Asuka's lovely, unconscious bare feet snug in your hands as she naps before the next fight, check out these vids of our lovely Kazama babe in action!

Here's a video showing off all of Asuka's Win Animations, each of which demonstrates her cool confidence.

Here's Asuka in action in Bloodline Rebellion, in her sexy Matsuri vest and cloth shorts... an outfit which just is so much hotter when you leave her legs and feet bare.

Here's one of my fave BR match vids with Asuka fighting barefoot in the snow, which I find so hot. Also, check out the nice slow-mo KO replay at the end. Just don't mind the weird pink hair...

Here's Asuka in a sexy, barefoot Feudal Era-type outfit, in action against Anna Williams. I just love those miko hakamas!

Here's Asuka barefoot in her default P1 outfit, getting knocked out and laid unconscious by Zafina. I just LOVE Asuka barefoot in her hakamas- the pants give such nice focus on her sexy ankles, calves and feet.

Asuka shows she can be just as hard on herself as she is on other opponents...

Here's a lengthy KO ryona vid with Asuka barefoot in her sexy gi top and sarashi (cloth shorts) combo outfit.

Game over... but only for now!


I'll be dreaming of this barefoot beauty as we move closer to Fall 2009...