As in the original Tekken Tag Tournament, matches involve each player selecting two fighters to fight with. Players are able to switch their fighters out at any time, allowing the inactive character to gradually recover some life they might have lost. At certain points, an inactive character's life bar may flash, giving them a temporary boost in strength if they are tagged in. If the life bar of either of a player's fighters runs out, that player loses the round. If time runs out, the player who has the most cumulative life remaining amongst their fighters wins the round.
The gameplay expands on the tag mechanics featured in the first Tekken Tag, allowing for extended tag combos and combined moves. New techniques include combined tag throws which, if timed properly, can be escaped from. Tag combos (referred to as "Tag Assaults") can now be done simultaneously with both characters participating in the combo at the same time. The game also inherits gameplay features from Tekken 6, such as "Bound" hits (hits that slam an airborne opponent to the ground and stun them so combos can be extended) and walled arenas. Character-customization is also be featured, similar to past Tekken games.
Features suggested by Harada include recording in Practice mode as well as a Tutorial to bring new players into the fold more smoothly than has been possible in the past. The game features a "stage gimmick" system. An example of the system shown in Famitsu has the player slamming his opponent into wall, which breaks and the opponent goes flying, landing in a new area where the fight continues. As the opponent falls, the tag partner is waiting at the bottom to continue the combo.
The game doesn't have the "Rage" system from Tekken 6, but a new tag partner Rage system like the "Netsu Power" in Tekken Tag Tournament. It appear when an on-screen character gets attacked a certain amount of time and the off-screen character's lifebar flashes. If the on-screen character tags out while the off-screen character's lifebar is flashing, the tagged character becomes slightly stronger.
