Tekken 8: True Devil Kazuya Hard Mode Guide

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Tekken 8 technically has three different types of 'campaigns' in it, with one being the classic Arcade Mode (including Character Sidestories), one being Arcade Quest, and the last one being Story Mode: The Dark Awakens. The game is already selling quite well, and the gigantic amount of content the game has on launch probably has a lot to do with it. The Story Mode picks up after the events of Tekken 7 with Jin Kazama doing what he always does now that he's done being the mastermind behind a world war, trying to take out his father Kazuya Mishima. And at a certain point in the story, Kazuya Mishima gets a really big power-up (and a whole new Devil design, separate from his Tekken 7 iteration) and it's here that you'll be going up against True Devil Kazuya for the first time.

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Tekken 8: Where The Series Can Go After The Mishima Saga

It's interesting to speculate where the Tekken franchise could go after the conclusion of the long-running Mishima Saga.

This battle can be pretty rough, especially if you're playing through the Dark Awakens on Hard. And if you think it was rough the first time going up against this new version of Kazuya in Tekken 8, unfortunately, it won't be the last time, not by a long shot. So, to help those of you out who are tired of 'retrying' this fight over and over, let's go over exactly what moves are the most dangerous in these fights, what to look out for, and how to get past True Devil Kazuya with as little trouble as possible.

True Devil Kazuya's Moveset

Well, More Like The Moves You'll Need To Know About The Most

Tekken 8 - True Devil Kazuya Right After He Transformed

From what players can tell, True Devil Kazuya is basically a mash-up of enhanced variations of moves from Kazuya's standard Move List, a lot of the moves Azazel uses against Kazuya in Chapter 6, and some completely unique moves as well. When fighting against True Devil Kazuya, if you're struggling, it can really feel like Kazuya's CPU is unfairly using your inputs against you.

True Devil Kazuya is relentless in his offense. For example, he loves to rely on Throws quite a bit, he overuses a variant of what seems to be his Goutsuiken Heat Move where after he punches the ground and summons a bunch of Azazel Spikes, he surprises you on every attempt with an enhanced Roar of the Devil that does absurd chip damage, and will likely frustrate you quite often you with a whole lot of super armor in his attacks.

Again, it's not like True Devil Kazuya is playable in-game (though fans have dug around in the files to see if he's playable) so there's no move list to reference. However, in our many attempts at fighting him with multiple characters across the second half of The Dark Awakens, these are the (self-named) moves we noticed the most:

Name	Explanation
Damnation	Very similar to the standard Damnation throw, again just feels quicker and harder to avoid.
Abyss Damnation	Pretty much just the same as his standard Abyss Damnation in his regular Devil Form.
Azazel Spikes	Doesn't have the same first hit as his standard Goutsuiken, but is instead basically Kazuya attempting to punch the ground directly whether you're in the way or not. Will summon purple spikes from the ground pushing you back on block with multiple hits that all deal decent chip damage.
Devil Blaster	Not necessarily a variant of Inferno, but Kazuya has a couple of different moves where he uses the eye in his chest to shoot full-screen lasers. Sort of like Inferno, but also sort of like his Devil Form Blaster.
Tempest Blaster	Just a quicker and safer version of his standard Tempest Blaster.
Shockwave	A full-screen conical shockwave Kazuya sends out with a swing of his hand.
Azazel God Fist	Just an even more absurd version of the Electric Wind God Fist, but instead of electricity around his arm it's that swirling dark energy of Azazel.
Roar of the 'True' Devil	This is very similar to what Azazel uses at around 75 percent health in the second phase of his fight against Kazuya in Chapter 6. Charges up and unleashes a wave of force that deals a ton of chip damage on block.

Outside of these moves, it's really just a fight against Kazuya as if he was in Devil Mode the entire first, and with some of his attacks enhanced by Azazel's power.

What Works Best Against True Devil Kazuya

Like Most Of Tekken 8, Aggression Is The Key

Tekken 8 - Reina Fighting True Devil Kazuya

Now that we know what moves True Devil Kazuya really likes to rely on, how does this help anyone actually beat him? Well, we're going to go over good responses to each attack, but first, let's go over the general playstyle you might want to keep in mind when fighting TDK (True Devil Kazuya). Tekken 8 is a game where the key idea to keep in mind is 'aggression'. The main NPC of Arcade Quest, Max, even says so early on in your arcade adventure. The more you pressure your opponent, the more they'll typically get overwhelmed and the worse they'll respond.

Of course, this doesn't apply to a CPU that doesn't feel pressure, but overwhelming them with attacks and options until one hits and taking advantage of the window from there will always work well. Keep trying to get at Kazuya as much as possible, only really backing off or reacting when you see him powering through your hits or winding up to summon those absurdly irritating Azazel Spikes.

Mix lows in between your highs, go for counter hits where you feel comfortable, absolutely use a lot of Throws, and don't be hesitant to overly rely on your Heat Rush and Rage Art. The damage for both your Rage Art and Heat Rush is buffed by a lot in the Story Mode, so they can be a very helpful lifeline when the CPU feels like it's adapting to your attacks. With all that in mind, let's go a bit more into what you might want to do as a response to True Devil Kazuya's more infuriating attacks:

Modified Move 'Name'	Original Move	Response
Azazel Spikes	Goutsuiken	For us, these were by far the least enjoyable part of fighting True Devil Kazuya multiple times. Maybe the CPU uses this a lot if you block a lot, but for us it was spamming this attack at least twice every time it could, meaning just blocking it would push us back to the far end of the stage. Memorize the visual telegraph of this attack and always be ready to stop and block. If you get hit by this Kazuya can easily catch you in another one which can honestly deal about half your health in one burst if you're unlucky. It wasn't until after we finally beat the Story Mode that we found out you can actually sidestep the spikes, so keep this in mind as well.
Damnation & Abyss Damnation	N/A	Kazuya really likes to rely on these two Throws, especially when you're fighting him as Jin in space. We couldn't ever seem to break out of them, but that's just us. To avoid these as much as possible, be ready for the start of Kazuya's Hellsweep that'll lead into this, if you block that you basically stop this Throw. For Damnation, just try not to ever be that close to Kazuya while not attacking, and if you are try to be at least crouching.
True Devil Blaster	Inferno	He has a few moves where he uses his Devil Laser, but this is the one he'll use at long range. To avoid it, simply duck if you see Kazuya winding up and attack while he's way out of range for anything to connect, as it'll probably be this laser.
Enhanced Electric Wind God Fist	Wind God Fist	If Kazuya uses this once, he'll likely use it again right after or shortly after. These come out incredibly quickly, so it can be hard to block it at all, but if you do be ready to block another one not long after, and make sure to whiff punish him after it's blocked.

Other than these specific moves just don't get too caught up in blocking mids or highs, as TDK mixes a lot of lows in there too, especially during his Reign of Terror four-hit combo that he'll use. Additionally, don't get too comfortable on the ground waiting to wake up kick or spring kick, as True Devil Kazuya is very punishing when you're on the ground.

How Many Times Do You Even Fight Him?

It's Probably More Than You'd Expect

One of the toughest parts of fighting True Devil Kazuya multiple times is the fact that you only really fight him with Jin Kazama about twice. Other than with Jin, you'll also fight him as Reina and as Lars (the toughest fight, arguably), equaling out to about 4 times total if you don't include his multiple phases per fight, fighting Azazel as Kazuya, or any of the Devil Kazuya and regular Kazuya fights as Jin.

So, if you're only familiar with one of these three characters, being forced to beat a pretty difficult CPU as either of the other two can feel pretty daunting. Again, this is where relying on your Heat Rush and Rage Art will be a huge help. And, for those of you stuck on the very last fight against True Devil Kazuya (you'll know if you're fighting him in outer space), just stay on the offensive, as this version of TDK is a bit less overly reliant on those Azazel Spikes and it feels a lot more like a visually over-the-top online match than any of the other TDK fights.