Law Hero
There is a head on a pole behind you
"Competitive players" can say whatever they want, but I think Tekken Tag 2 was phenomenal.Almost no one considers Tekken Tag 2 to be one of the best Tekken games. It's universally hated by just about every competitive player.
The game itself had so much depth and so many options, that at the end of its life, the Korean players admitted that they had only figured out about 60% of the game. When playing Tag2, you could go into training mode every single day, and then come out learning something new whether it be a new combo, setup, string, wall-carry, etc. Not only that, nearly every time you watch a tournament, you would see new teams, sandwich combos, and setups. It was always exciting. There was constant experimentation, and people actually had hidden tech they'd bust out because there were so many options, and there was so much personal freedom to be unique.
It wasn't perfect, but it was almost exactly what I look for in a good fighting game. I don't think there will ever be a game like it again, sadly.