A lot of eyebrows were raised when new character, Reina, was revealed. Heiha൲chi died at the end of Tekken 7, following the long tradition of characters being thrown off high places. This time, according to series director and producer Katsuhiro Harada, for good. Suddenly we see a mysterious character using Mishima-style karate, even copying some of the old man’s more iconic moves, and calling Jin Kazama (Heihachi’s grandson) senpai, all while sitting on a throne in a temple that strongly resembled Heihachi’s old training ground.
With Tekken 8's Opening, Video Games Are Back
Tekken 8 embraces the cinematic ridiculousness, and it f♊eels so good to have a game swing for the fences like this.
The expectations were off the charts. Reina showed both great moves and looks, diffeജrent stances and parries, an electric 🍬(a signature powerful move in Tekken), and the coolest jacket I ever have seen. Seriously, Bandai needs to start selling this merch as soon as possible.
I got to play Tekken 8 a few days before its launch and I decideဣd to pick up Reina for my first matches and as my main character in Arcade Quest. P🐠urely based on vibes and the character’s visual appeal, since it’s probably not the best decision for someone who isn’t good at Tekken (although I believe this will change sooner or later). Reina has over 130 unique moves, with multiple stances that change a lot of what you can do and what you need to memorize, and her parry moves are useful, but the timing window is diabolically tight.
She is tough to master, but learning her moves has been extremely rewarding, g꧋etting to practice her uppercut timing just right so you perform an electric, some basic and easy combos, when you need to switch instances, and what are her best launchers. It’s too soon to tell where she will land on the tier list, but she is a complete character that exceeds in some areas and lacks in very few — only slightly slow low attacks act as a mark against her. I can’t wait to keep practicing with her and learning what better players discover over the weeks.
Tekken 8 is visually stunning, with all the sparks and lightning effects during battles. Most of the roster looks better than ever, with fully detailed faces and gestures that represent a huge leap from Tekken 7. And still, Reina is the most striking in motion. How smooth and varied her animations are, with the🌠 awesome purple and white sparks effect, and how her default outfit suits her in every move.
I don’t have strong opinions on the rest of the female roster. The other brand new challenger, Azucena, looks interesting with her baits and I want to see how Jun has returned after all these years since Tekken Tag Tournament in 2000. But overall the men have always been the stars of Tekken, with the women r🍷elegated to side stories. Hopefully, Reina feels refreshing in this way too, with amazing entrances and outros after each fight, and her personality showing a 🐟duality of a gentle killer.
This is something that Tekken 8’s main story mode fleshes out - it’s cliché at first, but shines as the story goes on. Considering the importance of Heihachi as one of the main faces of the franchise f🥃or decades, it was a bold move to leave him out of this one. But if Reina is what we get in exchange, I think many long-time fans and newcomers will b💦e happy with that.
Heihachi will probably make a comeback in future entries. It is a common trope in 𒅌fighting games and one that Tekken has already used a couple of times (with protagonist Kazuya Mi🥃shima and Heihachi himself in T5 and T7) to great results. What I’m sure of, however, is that Reina is here to stay, and she will continue to be one of the most beloved characters in the present and future of Tekken.
There Has Never Been A 🐽Better Time To𝓀 Jump Into Tekken Than With Tekken 8
Tekken has always been a ꦫtough series to learn how to play. Fortunately, the ♎latest entry wants to change this.
