The Tekken 8 roster is lacking in new faces but I could easily main all 3
Bandai Namco invited me to have an early hands-on of Tekken 8 ahead of its launch, and while the game itself is shaping up to be great, the new characters in particular have piqued my interest.
Tekken is well known for having a gigantic and highly diverse lineup of fighters, with part of the charm of each new entry being finding out who’s jumping into the ring next. So you can imagine my disappointment when I found out – as a lifelong fan of the series who’s practically a pro (in spirit) – that the Tekken 8 roster will only have three brand new characters at launch – the lowest of any Tekken game outside of the Tekken Tag Tournament spinoffs.
However, after getting the chance to check out all three of the newcomers in my Tekken 8 preview session – Azucena, Victor, and Reina – I don’t feel nearly as worried about it. Bandai Namco has delivered on all three of these fighters, with each of them feeling like natural additions to the Tekken canon.
New kids on the block
During my time with the story mode, Reina was the only one of the trio to make a major appearance, but based on what I saw in this small segment, I’m very excited to see her arc pan out. Obviously, there's been much speculation around her connection to the departed series antagonist Haihachi Mishima, and while I can’t say anything concrete about that (although I’d say it’s pretty obvious), she's a more than fitting stand-in for the former head of the Mishima Zaibatsu conglomerate.
Reina herself isn’t a Heihachi- clone as some people expected, but the spiky-haired madman’s presence can still be felt in her moveset, which includes the iconic Electric Wind God Fist – and that I still suck at pulling off after all these years As someone who doesn’t typically like playing as Mishimas (the catch-all term for Kazuya / Heihachi / Jin etc) I wasn’t initially too fussed with the news of her addition by her inclusion. However, after the session, I think she might end up being my next main.
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Speaking of mains, my duo of Miguel and Josie didn’t make the cut for Tekken 8 but the second new face, Azucena, more than makes up for it. Azucena hails from Peru and has an extremely relatable obsession with all things coffee. Her moveset isn’t really one-to-one with Miguel or Josie;, rather it's her incredible amount of style that does the job. Much like Miguel, Azucena has multiple stances, including one that sees her dance about with a swagger that is sure to tilt some players online once the game launches. This stance also has an amazing slow-mo dodge that made me feel very cool when I pulled it off.
And finally, there’s Victor, who already has cred in my book and yes, it’s because he’s voiced by Westworld’s Vincent Cassell; the fact that he’s great to play as well is an added bonus. Given his relationship to Raven – who returns after being MIA in Tekken 7 – you can expect a similar type of high-intensity, ninjutsu playstyle. Of the three new fighters, I spent the least amount of time with Victor but I can already tell he’s going to be an absolute menace in the competitive scene – at least at launch. He seems overwhelming in the best way, and will undoubtedly have fans harassing series director, Katsuhiro Harada, on Twitter to send some nerfs his way.
Despite second-guessing Bandai Namco’s baffling decision to abandon some of my favourite faces in Tekken 8 – like Bob, Eddy, and my beloved Miguel – walking out of the preview, my only question was 'who do I main first?’
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