Summary
Tekken 8has been out for a little while now, and so far, fans have enjoyed their time with it. Its offline content includes both an impressive cinematic story mode and the more freeform Arcade Quest, as well as the return of pre-rendered character endings and plenty of cosmetics. Meanwhile,Tekken 8’s online, while not as good as its leading competitors, is a big step up fromTekken 7, and even allows players to compete in Tekken Ball. So far,Tekken 8seems to be moving in the right direction.
Its first season of DLC intends to keepTekken 8going strong. Only the first additional character, Eddy Gordo, has been revealed, but the remaining three have release windows and confirmation that no crossovers are among their ranks. DelayingTekken 8’s guest inclusions came as a surprise afterStreet Fighter’s Akuma,Fatal Fury’s Geese Howard,Final Fantasy 15’s Noctis Lucis Caelum, andThe Walking Dead’s Negan contributed toTekken 7’s success. Fans are already discussing who could joinTekken 8, and it feels like the sky’s the limit.
Tifa Lockhart – Final Fantasy 7
A common consensus is thatTekken 7’s Noctis should be played off with anotherFinal Fantasycharacter, this time beingFF7’s Tifa Lockhart. Serving as the party’s martial artist, Tifa fights with punches, kicks, magic, and several high-flying physicalLimit Breaks that would translate well toTekken. Demand for Tifa is probably higher than any other character, asTekken 8’s executive producer Katsuhiro Harada directly addressed Tifa requests on social media. Nothing is confirmed yet, but Tifa may have a chance.
Kazuma Kiryu, Goro Majima, or Ichiban Kasuga – Like A Dragon
The runner-up fan-requested Tekken guest fighter is probablyLike A Dragon/Yakuza’s old protagonist, Kazuma Kiryu. He has practiced several fighting styles across Sega’sYakuzaseries, and his massive variety of Heat Moves alone would make him thrilling in aTekkengame. The idea of Kiryu fightingTekken’s female combatants has prompted some pushback fromLike A Dragon’s developers, so Kiryu may already be barred fromTekken 8. Luckily,Kiryu’s successor Ichiban Kasugaand rival Goro Majima are both great choices in their own right, each possessing a wide variety of hand-to-hand and weapon-based fighting styles.
Akira Yuki – Virtua Fighter
Like A Dragon: Infinite Wealthintroduced an Action Star job that gave its users attacks and combos from Sega’s own 3D fighting game franchise,Virtua Fighter. IfLike A Dragonisn’t chosen to represent Sega, thenVirtua Fighter’s main character Akira Yuki could do it instead. Includingiconic fighting game moves like the Tetsuzanko, Akira has developed a massive move list that has already been translated into Koei Tecmo’s 3D fighting seriesDead or Alive. FellowVirtua Fightercast member Jacky Bryant would be a flashier pick, but it would be nice to seeVirtua Fighterbe represented by its protagonist inTekken.
Solid Snake – Metal Gear
Less common, but still present, are requests forMetal Gear’s protagonist, Solid Snake. Spurred on by an EVO tournament video mistakenly portraying Snake as coming toTekken 7, the desire for this classic Konami hero inTekkenis understandable thanks to how well he would fit. Following his fellowPlayStation representative Kazuya Mishima out ofSuper Smash Bros. Ultimate, Snake’s CQC and occasional firearms or explosives would work wonders in the weapon-friendlyTekken 8.
Shenlong the Tiger – Bloody Roar
With Konami games still in mind,Tekken 8would be the perfect place tokickstart aBloody Roarrevival. The old fighting game series by Eighting still has a dedicated fan base, and adding Shenlong, the stylish clone and rival of series protagonist Long, would be a dream come true for them. Shenlong’s bouncer uniform and cocky attitude suitsTekkennicely, and his silver tiger form works perfectly inTekken 8as a Heat transformation. It’s a long shot, but Shenlong could find a new home inTekken 8.
Tekken 8
WHERE TO PLAY
Tekken 8 brings the fight to the latest generation of consoles, powered by Unreal Engine 5. Feel the power of every hit in Tekken 8, the latest entry in the legendary fighting game franchise from Bandai Namco. Utilising the power and realism of Unreal Engine 5, Tekken 8 pushes the envelope for fighting games by taking full advantage of the power of the latest generation of consoles. Ground-breaking new features, breathtakingly detailed character models and dramatic environments make this one of the most visually stunning and immersive titles in the genre yet. Tekken 8 picks up after the gruesome battle that ended in Heihachi Mishima’s defeat in Tekken 7, focusing on a new rivalry, pitting father against son as Jin Kazama stands in defiance against Kazuya Mishima in a city-shattering face-to-face showdown.
