Tekken 8’s 32-character roster is packed with recognizable faces. It’s one of the largest default rosters for a fighting game, dwarfed only by crossover games like Capcom Vs SNK 2 and Marvel Vs Capcom 2, which had two pools to pull characters from.

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Tekken just had its past games to work with, and they worked with them a lot. 29 out of 32 characters all come from past games, be they old-school classics like Nina and Paul or figures returning from Tekken 7 like Leroy and Shaheen. Even so, the 3 new characters in Tekken 8 have sparked interest with each of their debuts.

Updated on January 30, 2024, by David Heath: Not only is the base roster complete, Tekken 8 is now out for sale! The game hit digital and physical store shelves back on January 26th 2024, and has been keeping fans busy with its different modes and gameplay changes. That's not to mention how its new characters play. This article has been updated with details about how Azucena, Victor, and Reina play, and how beginner-friendly they may be, along with some expanded story details. There won't be any spoilers, but if anyone wants to go into T8's story mode completely blind, they may want to hold up until they've beat it.

Azucena

Coffee Queen

• Nationality: Peruvian.
• Fighting Style: Mixed Martial Arts (Striker).
• Reveal: EVO 2023.

First revealed at EVO 2023 (and via leaks from the July Closed Network tests), Azucena Milagros Ortiz Castillo was the first Tekken 8 newbie to appear. She’s the series’ first Peruvian character and its second MMA fighter after Craig Marduk. But her style relies more on her strikes and footwork than Marduk’s grapples and ground game. It shows a lot of personality, too, as she mixes in dances and dodges for a high-energy playstyle.

For example, in her Libertador pose, she can taunt and automatically dodge her opponent’s high and low attacks to leave them open for counter-attacks. According to T8 director Kohei Ikeda, this was intentional, as she was designed to be a character who has fun while fighting, styling on others while taking them down. Like during her Rage Art, where she finishes her foe off with a single-finger prod.

That isn't her only deadly poke. On top of her auto-dodge, her long limbs are good at stuffing the opponent's attacks with poking strikes. In the right hands, she can stop whatever they're doing with one counter hit, then follow up with her own combos. Throw in her Heat moves and she can really rack up the damage. However, her tactics take some practice to adjust to, as her list of dodges and pokes aren't the easiest moves to master. But not the hardest.

Her big personality also plays a part in her story. She’s the only daughter of the Ortiz family, famous in Peru for their coffee plantation. Despite being looked down upon for her youth, she helped cultivate their best breed of beans for their blends yet. However, being a model and an MMA champion isn’t enough to promote her "Azucena Blend." She’s got to take it international to spread the word, and the best way to do that is to win the King of Iron Fist Tournament 8.

Usually, this would make her a fun side character, which she still largely is. But as one of T8's last trailers revealed, she joined Kazuya and G-Corporation's side against Jin and his heroes! Why? "G-Corp makes for better brand optics for my coffee!". Which is a bitter note for fellow coffee enthusiast Leo, as they and Azucena have their own special pre-fight intro outside the story mode.

Azucena also has a special intro with Lili, where they argue over whether coffee or tea is the superior hot drink. That's not their only contrast, as 'Azucena' is Spanish for 'Lily.' The two just need to cross over with Street Fighter 6's Lily to make their own bouquet.

Victor Chevalier

Refined Violence

• Nationality: French.
• Fighting Style: Super-Spy CQB (Close-Quarters Battle).
• Revealed: Personal Trailer on November 1st, 2023.

Since Tekken 5, there has been an organization working in the shadows observing just what the Mishima family was doing. They were loosely affiliated with the Union of Nations (a la the United Nations), but all fans knew about them was that they were the people Raven and Master Raven answered to. They dealt with the Mishima Zaibatsu-G Corporation war in Tekken 6, but the consequences of T7 proved to be the last straw for the Union.

They officially sanctioned the organization, revealed to be the Raven Unit, to stop the Zaibatsu once and for all. Raven is back on the field, alongside his leader, Victor Chevalier, who's getting personally involved to see things through. It also shows how bad things have gotten in T8, as he only does this when the proverbial hits the fan. His ‘Super Spy CQB’ style sees him mix high-speed strikes with special gadgets like optical camo in combat.

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They help him act as one of the fastest characters on the roster, with jabs as quick as 7 frames. Some of his strikes transition into his stances, like his Perfumer, which come with some beefier strikes and pokes. For example, while he may have trained the regular Raven and Master Raven, he fights more like a samurai with his sword, Takemikazuchi, which can hit hard with unblockable strikes.

Luckily, most of his sword strikes are pretty slow with telegraphed strikes. Unluckily, his optic camo teleports can trick players into a false sense of security, leading to stunning attacks that can leave the opponent open for his sword or his swifter knife strikes, which are better up-close. Despite his tricks, he's fairly beginner-friendly, as his basic combos aren't hard to grasp. However, newbies will still need to practice with him as his best combos require speed and precision.

Longtime series producer/director Katsuhiro Harada said part of Victor’s genesis was his desire to create a French character (Lili's from Monaco), as the series has built up a reputation for authenticity in its international characters. Instead of generalizing East and West characters to Japanese and English voices, Tekken went the extra mile to get French/German/Brazilian Portuguese, etc., VAs to voice the cast.

Plus, while Victor's suave personality shows some James Bond influence, he may have a little John Wick in him too. Harada also said he'd add the cinematic hitman to the games if he had the power to do so. Unless he and Bandai-Namco get lucky in the upcoming DLC seasons, Victor's handgun and knife moves may be the closest fans get to that.

Victor has a celebrity connection too. He’s voiced by famous French actor Vincent Cassel, best known for his roles in La Haine, Irreversible, and Black Swan. After getting Jeffrey Dean Morgan to reprise his role as The Walking Dead's Negan in T7, Cassel is the next big star to be involved with the series.

Reina Mishima

Purple Lightning

• Nationality: Japanese.
• Fighting Style: Mishima-style Karate with Taido.
• Reveal: Personal trailer on November 12th, 2023.

Finally, the last new character on the roster was also revealed in a leak, albeit in less detail. Those who caught it knew they’d be getting another Mishima relative. They just didn’t know they’d be getting a female Mishima with a more acrobatic fighting style. Unlike T7’s Kazumi Mishima, who married into the Mishimas, Reina Mishima comes directly from the family tree.

Created by Bayonetta character designer Mariko Shimazaki, Reina is the illegitimate daughter of the late Heihachi Mishima, making her the half-sister to Kazuya and Lars Alexandersson. Not everyone has been too happy with her reveal, as they feel there are more than enough Mishimas to go around already. However, according to Kohei Ikuda, the team came up with her character way back during T7’s development.

Reina isn't just Heihachi's style attached to a teenage girl. She’s got some of Mishima-style Karate’s strongest moves, like the Wind Godfist and Heaven’s Wrath stance. Yet it’s mixed with Taido, a more gymnastic style that spun off from traditional Okinawan karate and kobujutsu. Combined, they produce a move set that shines best when she's getting up in her opponent's face.

She has a Mishima-style wavedash that helps her close the distance, which can lead into her launchers like the Godfist, where she can deal out nasty damage with her juggles. That's not to mention some firm pokes that can be deadly on counter hits and lead to more combos. However, if players thought her dear-departed daddy Heihachi or her 'brother' Kazuya were tricky, they haven't seen anything yet.

Reina comes with stances now, like the Sentai, Unsoko, and Heaven's Wrath, and each comes with their own moves the player has to get used to. It's not enough to master doing EWGF's and Heat dashes with her. She's a high-level character that shines best with high-level play, making her the hardest newcomer to play as. So, players may want to keep her in the lab or test her out in the single-player modes before taking her online.

Then, despite being smaller and cuter than her elder relatives, she inherited every bit of their cold-blooded attitudes. Bandai-Namco was particularly secretive about her story, leaving the game's story mode to fill in the blanks. What has been revealed is that she’s a student at Mishima Polytechnical School, and she wants to honor her father's legacy.

She doesn't act like an out-and-out villain and was spotted among Jin's gang of goodies. Maybe she was swayed by her half-brother Lars, who she sees a bit of her dear old dad in (mainly in his hair). But if Reina is aiming to fulfill Heihachi's dreams, chances are she's got something up her sleeve, and that she's more than willing to be a thorn in the sides of her relatives.

Tekken 8

Platform(s)

PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S

Released

January 26, 2024

Developer(s)

Bandai Namco Entertainment , Arika

Genre(s)

Fighting