With Tekken 8 planning to release some time in 2023, Bandai Namco Entertainment has been releasing character gameplay trailers over the past month to generate hype. So far, the trailers have only been showing off new designs and fighting moves for returning characters such as Jin Kazama, Nina Williams, and Marshall Law. Seeing favorites return from the previous games is nice, but Tekken 8 will have to follow its predecessors and introduce new characters as well.
The Tekken series has never been afraid of adding new fighters into its roster, as Tekken 7 introduced a total of 16 new playable characters, with 10 of them included in the base game and the other 6 as part of DLC. One of the new characters introduced in the base game was Akuma from the Street Fighter series, which was a pleasant surprise guest appearance from another fighting game. It's a possibility that Tekken 8 could introduce another guest character prior to release, and they could be one of Nintendo's characters. After all, Nintendo featured Kazuya Mishima in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, so Tekken should return the favor.
Tekken's Willingness for Guest Characters
Adding a Nintendo character into the Tekken series wouldn't be the first time Tekken featured crossover appearances from other franchises. The first guest character appearance was from Tekken 2, which had the dinosaur Gon from the manga of the same name. In Tekken 7, aside from Akuma, there are three other guest characters who joined the roster as DLC characters: Geese Howard (Fatal Fury), Noctis Lucius Caelum (Final Fantasy 15), and Negan Smith (The Walking Dead).
It's understandable for Akuma and Geese Howard to join the Tekken roster, since they're fighting game characters already. However, Noctis and Negan were strange additions to the game, as Noctis comes from an RPG and Negan comes from a TV show/comic book series. But those odd additions to the game help the case that Nintendo deserve a featured character in Tekken 8. A Nintendo character should grab the attention of not only Tekken players, but fighting game fans in general. After all, fighting games gain more popularity whenever they add characters from unexpected franchises, as Smash Bros. and Mortal Kombat have demonstrated.
It would be questionable to add a Nintendo character into the base game though, as the base game characters usually make an appearance in the game's story. Akuma acted as an adversary to Heihachi Mishima and Kazuya, sent to kill them by the late Kazumi Mishima. Akuma's appearance only really worked since he's already a mysterious character in the Street Fighter series, and he's a martial artist and part-demon, fitting the narrative of the Tekken series. It'd be hard to imagine a narrative that would allow a Nintendo character to fit into the story, so it's more likely Nintendo's fighter arrives in DLC.
The Nintendo Candidates for the King of Iron Fist Tournament
Although there's no defined limits or qualifications for getting into the Tekken roster, some Nintendo characters would be more appropriate than others. Most Tekken characters utilize some kind of martial arts in their fighting arsenal, so hand-to-hand combat specialists such as Mario, Captain Falcon, Little Mac, and even Incineroar would make sense to add into Tekken's duels. Some characters among Tekken's roster utilize weaponry, such as Yoshimitsu and Master Raven with their swords, but it's most likely that Tekken wouldn't add Nintendo characters who primarily use weapons, since the game focuses more on hand-to-hand combat.
If Tekken were to add a Nintendo character, it would have to be among Nintendo's more popular characters. Transferring a character from Smash Ultimate to Tekken would be a lot of work, considering developers have to translate the Super Smash Bros. movesets and animations into a whole different type of fighting game. It can be done, as Kazuya's complicated moveset from Tekken was somehow converted into Smash Bros. Ultimate, so the guest Nintendo character would have an even more complex kit in their Tekken appearance. Fans cannot wait to see what new things Tekken 8 brings to the table, and DLC characters are just one of the anticipated features.
Tekken 8 is currently in development for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S.
