Devil Kazuya, originally a bonus palette swap of Kazuya reserved for the home console version of the first game, is also made as a full playable character and serves as this game's final boss.

Characters previously appearing as sub-bosses (such as Anna being Nina's sub-boss for example) are made into playable characters and given more distinct move sets, although they still share many moves with the originals. The game features 16 characters from the previous game: Anna Williams, Armor King I, Ganryu, Heihachi Mishima, Kazuya Mishima, King I, Kuma I, Kunimitsu, Lee Chaolan, Marshall Law, Michelle Chang, Nina Williams, Paul Phoenix, Prototype Jack, Wang Jinrei, and Yoshimitsu while removing Jack. Time Attack mode is similar to Arcade mode, except it is played to see how fast the player can go through it and beat records. Like Survival mode, any health lost during a match will carry over to the next match, but the player will regain a small amount. Team Battle mode is a two-player mode which up to eight characters can be selected by each player. In addition, any health lost during a match will carry over to the next match, but the player would regain a little bit more health. Survival mode takes the player through an endless number of matches to see how many opponent they can defeat without being defeated themselves. These include Survival mode, Team Battle mode, and Time Attack mode. Tekken 2 also introduced various modes that would become staples to the series. Each time the game is beaten with one of the default available characters in arcade mode, the associated sub-boss character becomes selectable.

Tackles were also modified to inflict damage when running from a greater distance. However, Yoshimitsu has a spinning sidestep move that lowers his health.

Distinct additions included attack reversals for some characters, back throws, chain-throws, and a sidestep unique to two characters, Kazuya Mishima and Heihachi Mishima. It continues to use 2D backgrounds in its stages, an infinite playing field, and a fighting system that utilizes four buttons: left punch, right punch, left kick, and right kick. The gameplay in Tekken 2 is much like its predecessor with a few additions.

Download tekken 2 arcade version