Tekken 8 Heihachi DLC Preview - Changing My Mind About The Iron Fist King's Return

Summary

I've been very mixed about Heihachi returning to Tekken and thought Reina offered the perfect substitute.
After playing the first five chapters of the free story update, the official reasoning hasn't changed my mind very much.
Heihachi at least plays better than he ever has before, putting those concerns to the back of my mind.

When it was revealed that would be bringing baꦑck H🐲eihachi Mishima following his ‘death’ in the last game, my first reaction was a long sigh. I love Heihachi, but Tekken 8’s story worked so well because it focused on ♛other characters and offered u🍸p Reina as a perfect successor.

Initial disappointment aside, it was hardly a surprise that the fac🌳e of the franchise was retu🐼rning for its biggest game ever, even if it did undermine the point of Tekken 7. Series director Katsuhiro Harada has always made it clear h𝓡ow much he loves the character and has been plenty coy about the matter when asked about it leading up𓆉 to Tekken 8’s launch.

Somehow Palpatine Returned meme but it says Heihachi and Reina is speaking

Heihachi Shouldn't Have Come Back Until Tekken 9

Heihachi is too important to revive in a DLC, aꦦnd Tekken 8 is strong enough without him

Posts 1

Mine and everyone else’s mixed feelings about Heihachi’s return were overshadowed by one big question - how the hell was Tekken ♓8 going to justify reversing the biggest decision the series had ever made? I got the answer to that question and more𝕴 at a recent preview e🍷vent for the substantial free story mode update, The Dark Awakens, which gave me plenty of time to go hands-on with the Iron Fist King.

Tekken's Most Subtantial Update Yet

The first thing you need to know about The Dark Awakens i🐻s how subꦬstantial it is. While players will have to pay for permanent access to Heihachi across all modes, the new story chapters and gameplay improvements (such as online practise) will be available for free to all players.

This update also finally lets players choose wh🅘ich charac🅠ter they want to have on the main menu, meaning you don't have to just stare at the latest DLC character's mug.

These new episodes focus on the DLC characters that have been added to Tekken 8 following its launch, including fan-favourite Eddy Gordo, Poli☂sh Prime Minister Lidia Sobieska (yes, really), and the main man himself, Heihachi. Although the ultimate cause of daddy issues is the star of the show, he doesn’t appear for a few chapters as the mode opens up with Eddy.

Spoilers for the first five chapters of Tekken 8 - The Dark Aw💦aꦕkens to follow.

Eddy’s portion of the story mode focuses on him recruiting rebels and working alongside the Tekken Force after being saved by Lidia and trying to live by the mantra of being able to “rise again”. As a big fan of Eddy who felt his absence in the main story, it’s a treat to see him at his heroic b﷽est again, especially as he calls out Jin for his actions in Tekken 7 and then beats the snot out of him before they make up.

Lidia takes up the role of main character for a few chapters as well, and while I wasn’t as chuffed to see her take up a DLC slot, she has a more substantial part in the story as she meets Reina and learns about the Tekken Monks. My Tekken knowledge can be shaky at times thanks to how complic𒀰ated and connected everything is, so I thought I missed something from the lore, but they’re actually new and play a key role in Heihachi’s return.

My preview of The Dark Awakens was mওy first time p🎶laying Lidia in Tekken 8 and proved once again that every character on the roster feels great. Aside from Kuma and Panda, of course.

Mixed Feelings On Heihachi's Return

After being contacted by the ෴Tekken Monks and fighting her way through them, Lidia comes face to face with Heihachi and the mystery of how he survived is revealed. It turns out that he never fell into the lava and was actually saved by Seiryu, one of the Tekken Monks. Heihachi is now suffering from amnesia (although he does still have an evil voice in his head that’ll surely be how he goes back to his old self) and training with them to learn the ultimate Mishima Style technique.

As I’ve madeℱ clear, I went into my preview of the update with a lot of scepticism about Heihachi’s return, and those feelings weren’t really changed. It’s all a bit too convenient that Heihachi was just saved from his death and his having amnesia doesn’t help it feeling like a cliche rug pull. My preview ended before I could see how any of it plays out and I’m sure th☂ere’s a lot more to it than that, but I’m feeling just as, if not more, mixed on Heihachi’s return.

That negativity was put aside the moment I played as Heihachi, though. I’ve never been the biggest fan of his moveset compared✃ to Jin and Kazuya, but he’s a total beast in Tekken 8 with hard-hitting and fast-paced attacks aplenty. He somehow feels even more powerful and tank-like than he did before, but he also has a bunch of new moves and options during a fight, such as a defensive Wind God stance.

At Least Heihachi Plays Better Than Ever

I’m nowhere near good enough to get into the nitty gritty of it all, but after just a few matches with Heihachi, he quickly became one of my favourites on the whole roster. Call it recency bias, but ꦍhe’s such a blast to play that it has me wanting to jump back into Tekken all over again, something that Lidia and even my beloved Eddy couldn’t do.

Heihachi also has some great pre-match intꦚeractions with some𝐆 of the fighters, including telling Kazuya off for thinking that lava could take him out.

Suddenly it didn’t matter as much to me that his return feels a little contrived, as he’s such a good addition to the already excellent roster that I’m just happy to see him back at all. Considering how I felt before I walked into the preview, that’s quite the change of heart and speaks to how well he’s 𒈔been updated for Tekken 8.

Two hours was nowhere near enough time to learn Heihachi as well as I wanted to, but I can tell that he’s going to dominate online matches and the hearts of Tekken players whenever the update drops. I’ve still gꦫo𒁃t my reservations about how he’s returning and am intrigued to find out more about the new story, but damn is it good to see and feel the return of the King.