Eight Fighters I Want to See in Tekken 8

The next entry in the Tekken series has been a long time coming and I’ve been excited ever since we had our first tease back at EVO earlier this year. A surprise announcement trailer at a Sony State of Play and a ridiculous hype trailer at The Game Awards have only made me more interested. As with every fighting game sequel though, nearly the entire period until launch will be filled with wonder and theories about which familiar characters will make an appearance.

Tekken 8 feels especially ripe with possibilities when a lot of characters are seeing big updates in design. Even the long-requested Jun Kazama is back in a mainline entry since her debut in 1995’s Tekken 2. I won’t be going over the big mainstays that haven’t been revealed so far (besides one) or any guest characters. Some of these could be seen as shoe-ins, but we don’t know how big the roster will be or if any new characters could take some spots. This is merely a personal list of who I’d like to see return in the latest game.

Alex/Roger/Roger Jr.

As dramatic as the main story can be when it surrounds a family who repeatedly throws one another down cliffs/volcanoes and some of which can turn into powerful demons, there’s no denying how wacky it sounds. That wackiness is fully realized with the colorful cast and it’s why you can pit an assassin against a panda named Panda. One of the most interesting palette swap fighters was introduced in the second game with Roger and Alex, a genetically engineered kangaroo and dinosaur respectively. Their fighting style would return in the fifth and sixth games with Roger Jr., the former’s son who fights alongside his mother.

Do I need to explain how fun a kangaroo and/or a dinosaur with boxing gloves look? With both bear characters (Kuma and Panda) having design updates in the previous title, it would be great to see any of these animal fighters return with more personality. On top of their visual appeal, they also stand out due to how unique their movesets are.

Kunimitsu

This series isn’t lacking a variety of ninjas with mainstay Yoshimitsu as well as both Raven and his master. Another ninja who has been a part of the series since the beginning is the fox-mask-wearing thief Kunimitsu. Although she only appeared in the first two entries and then both Tekken Tag Tournament titles, one of the final DLC characters for Tekken 7 was revealed to be her daughter taking up the mantle.

Given how much she was used and that the character was modernized to fit into the timeline/story, it would make sense to see her return. Still, there’s no telling if Tekken 8 will continue with its incredibly large rosters or scale down a tiny bit as they make such a large graphical leap. My fingers are crossed she can make it to the base game at least. Her two recent inclusions were both relegated to DLC after all.

Wang

I’ll admit this might be a hot take for some. Introduced in the first Tekken, Wang is a practitioner of the Chinese Martial Art Xin Yi Liu He Quan. He’s only been in four mainline entries, the last of which was Tekken 6.

While he’s never been the most popular, something his ending in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 humorously addresses, he’s always felt like one of the most underutilized. His moveset is filled with strong strikes and distinctive parries that can make him a menace when used by more seasoned players. No one else can fill the 100+-year-old wise martial artist stereotype the way Wang can either, which is why I’d love to see him return.

Zafina

Possibly the most interesting newcomer in Tekken 6, (chainsaw robot girl aside) Zafina is a fun stance character who practices “Ancient Assassination Arts.” Her fighting style isn’t based on real-life martial arts like most others are, making her one of the more unique fighters.

Her role in Tekken 7 was relegated to a DLC character in the third season pass, but it also began to develop her story in an interesting new way. The large demon boss from the previous entry is now residing in her arm. Since her new goal is to end the main conflict of Jin vs Kazuya, one would hope that means she’ll be a pivotal character again and not just a DLC release that doesn’t even have a proper character ending.

Mokujin

Going off that same logic, I imagine the same could be applied to bring Mokujin back. Lore-wise, the living wooden training dummy is a force of good that awakens whenever a great evil is threatening the world. In-game it essentially acts as a random select and copies the fighting style of a random character each round.

Functionally it doesn’t serve much more purpose than a challenging fun way to play casually. Still, Mokujin has always had a lot of charm and he perfectly exemplifies how goofy and fun the game can be for casual players. Jin and Kazuya clashing against each other with their devil powers as the world goes to hell would be a great excuse to bring everyone’s favorite training dummy back again.

Heihachi Mishima

Heihachi is the one mainstay character that I hope remains. He’s easily one of the most popular characters and he has been in every single title in the series. However, the story events in Tekken 7 do make it seem like he wouldn’t be present for any of the events taking place in Tekken 8.

That doesn’t mean much though. Heihachi himself was canonically knocked out for Tekken 5, Jin was in a coma throughout Tekken 7, and the final boss in the latter isn’t even alive or present for modern-day events in the story. I’ve seen some wild takes that say they wouldn’t mind if he persisted as a clone or a robot in some sense, but that doesn’t seem right for the old man who’s always been too angry to die. I suppose this is more of a case that I fully expect his moveset will be in Tekken 8 and I just want it to be used by him.

Eliza

After her concept was voted number one in a community pool, Eliza was added as a new character to the F2P Tekken Revolution. As much as she stands out as a narcoleptic vampire with a gothic lolita design, what truly separates her from other characters is her fighting style which utilizes projectiles and some life-draining properties. Tekken 7 would also give her a super meter like Akuma that allows her to perform EX moves.

If you’re likely going to have a large roster of characters, I want them to all feel as diverse as possible. Eliza has one-of-a-kind properties amongst original characters and could potentially be the only one with a super meter if they keep that element for her. Even if they don’t, she’d still be a standout from a visual and gameplay perspective.

Angel

One of the strangest characters in the whole series is Angel. Starting off as a palette swap of Devil in Tekken 2, their other appearances have only been in the non-canonical Tekken Tag Tournament games. While Devil Jin would fill in for the Devil/Angel moveset, Angel would gain some exclusive animations and moves in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 along with some changes to their personality that show a more vicious side. All we actually know about them is that they fought against Devil in a failed attempt to save Kazuya.

Given the ending of Tekken 7 and that Jin is seen channeling more of his devil power in the few snippets of Tekken 8 gameplay we’ve seen, it could be inferred that he has a better handle on it. If this is the case and the out-of-control Devil Jin has less of a presence, that moveset could be utilized by Angel. Jun’s return and implied connection could in turn signal their return as well. On a personal note, as cool as I thought Devil Jin was when I was a kid, he just comes across as way too edgy for me now. The barbaric and destructive presentation of Angel contrasting with their elegant design makes for a far more interesting character.