Summary
Tekken 8will soon be concluding the first season of its DLC with the triumphant return of Heihachi Mishima. For the majority of the series' history, Heihachi has played the role of the main villain. EvenTekken 8spent much of its story exploring the legacy that Heihachi left behind. In retrospect, this was an effort to lay the groundwork for Heihachi’s return in the upcoming DLC release.
Tekken 7concluded the decades-long feud between Heihachi and his estranged son, Kazuya Mishima. Kazuya defeated Heihachi in a climactic battle between the two, before proceeding to toss his father directly into an active volcano. While recovering from a situation like that may seem ridiculous on its face,Heihachi’s revival has plenty of precedent inTekken.
Heihachi Mishima Will Revive a Popular Playstyle in Tekken 8
Heihachi’s Tekken 8 Reveal Provides More Questions Than Answers
Heihachi Mishima’s return inTekken 8creates a number of implications that are nearly too complex to dissect. In fact, it seems to directly contradict the main themes ofTekken 7andTekken 8alike. While Heihachi’s place in the story is still a mystery, the future of his fighting style is practically crystal clear.
Just asStreet Fighterinvented the Shoto archetypewith Ken and Ryu,Tekkeninvented the Mishima archetype with characters like Heihachi and Kazuya. This archetype involves solid whiff punishes and explosive combo strings. Heihachi served as a vital blueprint for some ofTekken 8’s most popular characters, but now the original recipe is almost home.
Predicting Heihachi Mishima’s Gameplay in Tekken 8
Heihachi Mishima is one of the most iconic characters in fighting game history. Likewise, manycharacters in the Mishima familyhave since adopted and innovated his fighting style, leading to several shared attributes and special moves. Heihachi’s rich history has cultivated a very loyal base of players, and this means developers are very unlikely to make major changes to his moveset.
Heihachi isinfamous among veteranTekkenfansfor touch-of-death combos, where the victim is taken from full health to no health in a matter of seconds. If an opponent makes a single mistake, they may find themselves losing the match then and there. The most important move to remember is Electric Wind God Fist, which is Heihachi’s primary tool for beginning his most devastating combos.
Heihachi has often been less favored by players compared to other Mishimas, but this doesn’t make his design any less iconic. Developers likely want to avoid a DLC character getting outpaced by his counterparts, but they also don’t want to alienate longtime fans. With this in mind, there may very well be a way forTekken 8to have its cake and eat it too.
Heihachi Mishima Already Has Successors in Tekken 8
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of Heihachi’s return is the legacy he left behind among other characters. Most notably, Reina is among the mostpopular new characters introduced inTekken 8, and much of her story revolves around adopting her father’s mantle. In fact, she seemed to spark a similar feud with Kazuya and even Jin.
Players don’t want to have their character stripped from the roster permanently by something as dramatic as a character’s death, and developers seemed to recognize this by grafting Heihachi’s playstyle onto Reina. Reina played very similarly to her old man, and she’s far from an outlier. Heihachi’s real favorite child isTekken’s resident bear fighter Kuma, who happened to gain some of Heihachi’s old moves inTekken 8. These additions may not have been for nothing, and may even inform some key details about Heihachi’s gameplay.
Reina adopted the Mishima archetype that Heihachi invented, and Kuma is following closely behind. However, Reina and Kuma have unique moves of their own, and loaning them to Heihachi would be a brilliant way to make an old favorite feel fresh. While it would be disappointing for Heihachi to lose any key aspects of his gameplay, teaching an old dog new tricks could bring the best of both worlds.
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.
