Best Tag Mechanics In Traditional Fighting Games

Summary

• The most important element in a tag-team fighting game is the tag mechanics, opening up options for diverse gameplay styles.
• Customizable assists and ensemble attacks enhance team synergy, providing a unique experience in tag-team fighters.
• Active switch and cross techniques offer strategic advantages for offense, defense, and combat creativity in tag-team fighting games.

Tag-team fighting games are the harder types of fighting games for a broader audience to invest in. It’s challenging enough to learn one character, but learning multiple fighters simultaneously is stress-inducing. This doesn’t include the opponent having different fighters, relying on the player to remain cautious around the active fighter and support assists.

Tag mechanics are the most obviously essential requirement to make a tag-team fighting game unique. The more complicated fighting games not only include tagging in neutral, but also during offense and defense. Some fighting games even allow fighter customization for different assists and abilities. Opening more options gives better player diversity and combat creativity during gameplay.

8 Takeover (Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid)

Limitless Morphing

Takeover is very straightforward to use in Power Rangers: Battle For The Grid. The simpler tactic for players is calling assists or switching between partners at no cost. It’s heavily inspired by Marvel vs. Capcom: Clash of Super Heroes, with each character having only one type of assist.

The game improves its simple assist design by allowing players to switch control during assist attacks. It costs no resources for the player to switch to the partner during their support attack, raising more options for combo extensions and offensive pressure. It is mainly a tool for aggression and neutrality, rather than for defensive measures.

7 Ensemble Attacks (Skullgirls 2nd Encore)

Limitless Customs

Ensemble attacks are simple actions with in-depth complexity in Skullgirls. They’re the most essential mechanic for any team at applying mix-up pressure and combo strings, except a solo-man team with superboss health and damage. Each character has at least two premade assists for ideal support.

The most unique feature is the custom assist. This allows players to create their own desired assist move for a character, increasing team synergy for any group. The assist can range from a simple standing attack to special move strings, covering either offensive or defensive needs under player desires.

6 Tag Gauge (Street Fighter EX)

Parade Of Martial Arts

• Developer: Akira
• Publisher: Capcom
• Platform: PlayStation 2
• Release: October 26, 2000

Tag gauge is an introductory mechanic for the early 3D Street Fighter EX series. After the gauge is filled, a partner can tag in when the player is on the ground or during certain attacks. It even rewards some invincibility during the animation, allowing the partner to attack for a short time without interruptions.

Critical Parade is an expensive, powerful tool that greatly turns the tide of the match for the user. Activating the option brings the partners out to fight the lone opponent for the cost of both characters’ super meters and tag gauge. During the state, both characters have unlimited super meter for a short time to flood the field with super moves and other attacks.

5 Tag Techniques (Tekken Tag Tournament 2)

Tag For Rage

Tag moves are a unique inclusion within the Tekken universe, allowing the aggressive fighters to work in pairs. Tag assault and tag crash were new additions to Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Tag assault allows the partner to extend the user’s combo on a launched opponent for a limited time. If the player happens to fall into an opponent’s strings, the partner can save the user with a tag crash.

The most unique feature that returns in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is the Natsu ratings. This engaging feature calculates the relationship between the paired fighters. When the teammates care for each other, they gain rage buffs much earlier, unlike partners who dislike each other.

4 Cross Techniques (Street Fighter X Tekken)

Crossing Streets Enraged

Cross moves are necessary for the characters of Street Fighter and Tekken to fight together in paired duos. Players can switch to partners during their combo through cross-rush, allowing partners to catch launched opponents for a combo extension. Players who need greater damage and recoverable health elimination can use the team super arts with cross-arts.

They are not only good during pressure strategies, but defensively as well. Cross-cancel can save players trapped during blockstrings by knocking the opponent away. As the match continues, both teams will wear out their health. If all else fails, the player can use their teammate’s remaining life to activate Pandora mode for greater power. It is extremely risky due to the consequence of automatic loss if the opponent team lives after its deactivation. It is the last resort that should only be used when the player is confident enough.

3 Z-Change (Dragon Ball FighterZ)

Tag Dash

Z-Change is a special tag unique to Dragon Ball FighterZ. Rather than throwing out a dive kick attack like in Marvel vs Capcom, the partner superdashes at the opponent. When superdash hits, the player can start a combo. For defensive situations, players can guard cancel during block to switch to another character.

Z-change is very predictable like in the other tag games, making its use situational in the earlier versions of Dragon Ball Fighterz. In the 1.28 update, this was buffed to allow the players to z-change during special moves. This inclusion raises its offensive use and viability across the roster, giving even the low tiers more synergy with other characters.

Marvelous Teamwork

Marvel vs Capcom Infinite relies on its most essential mechanic: active switch. This feature lets the partner dash onto the field for the player’s control. Its free cost in neutral and combat widens the game’s combo potential, team synergy, and character viability.

This mechanic is usable defensively, but at a cost. The partner can save the player stuck in the opponent’s combo for two bars of the hyper-combo gauge. The option is powerful, but risky when facing cautious opponents. If predicted, the opponent can safely active switch their teammate for free to stop the partner’s heroic attempt.

1 Cross Gauge (BlazBlue: Cross Tag Battle)

Crossing Fate Together

Partners help make each simplified fighter feel whole within Blazblue Crosstag Battle. Each character has three assists to use any time that costs a cross gauge bar when the player interacts with the opponent. During the partner’s attack, the player can active switch to transition to the attacking teammate. This is best used to follow up for combos or mix up the opponent during pressure. A much stronger option is the cross combo, which keeps the pair on the field under the player’s control. It is best used with both fighters sandwiching the opponent to force them to guess the ultimate high-low side-to-side mixups.

For defensive maneuvers, players can use cross burst to halt the opponent’s attacks. It functions similarly to a Guilty Gear burst, which costs the whole cross gauge meter. It is best to use it wisely, since opponents can easily bait it out with jump-cancellable normals or a partner’s assist.