You could argue that the first Tag Tournament was little more that a graphically improved version of Tekken 3 with a bolstered roster and a functional tag system - but even when played today, it's clear that Namco struck a near perfect balance between visual finesse, button-tapping accessibility and mechanical sophistication.
There wasn't even enough change left over to for a second controller, but when I saw that intro playing for the first time, I was instantly hooked. None of my gaming friends made the leap either, so when I happened upon a used PS2 in a pawn shop just before Christmas 2000, I scraped all my funds together for the console and a copy of Tekken Tag Tournament. When the PlayStation 2 made its emotional debut, I was too young and too jobless to afford one.