With fighting games being back in vogue, it's surprising that there aren't many 3D ones back in action. Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat, and King of Fighters have 3D graphics but stick to the 2D plane for gameplay. The ones where fighters can move all around the stage, like Dead or Alive, Virtua Fighter, and SoulCalibur, are all currently dormant. However, the biggest of the bunch, Tekken, is still around and is bigger than ever.
Tekken 8's default roster has 32 characters ready to duke it out against each other, which also means there’s going to be some significant gulfs of strength between them. This list compiles the characters who, be it one, twice, or multiple times, turned out to be the weakest ones in the Tekken series.
Updated on February 2nd, 2024 by David Heath: Tekken 8 is finally out and has made a big splash with its broader Story Mode, educational Super Ghost Mode, funky Arcade Quest Mode, and the return of the almighty Ball Mode. However, it also has a bundle of characters who stand above the rest of the roster in strength.
Jun Kazama is back and better than ever, and her son Jin is no slouch either. Azucena is also strong in the right hands, as she's a tricky character to get to grips with. But there are some that require more effort to climb up the Tekken tree. As such, this list has been updated to include a few more infamously underpowered characters, including one who's currently bottom of the list at Tekken 8's launch.
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15 Jack
Bad Luck for Big Lugs
- Lowest Tier: C-D (Tekken 1, 2, Street Fighter X Tekken)
- Highest Tier: S (Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Tekken 8)
Tekken’s sequels improved so immensely on the original that it’s hard to go back to it. It didn’t help that, according to producer Katsuhiro Harada, balancing wasn't as big a priority during the infancy of 3D fighting games. Getting it finished and ported to the PS1 was a more pressing concern.
King can stuff everyone with his elbow, and the Mishimas introduced the world to their Wavedash shenanigans. Jack just had to take them because he was too big and slow to fight back. Even with his reach, he was the most disadvantaged member of the default roster. Still, he'd get better with each of his numbered upgrades, with Jack-8 being particularly strong in T8 at launch.
14 P.Jack
Prototype by Name, Prototype by Nature
- Lowest Tier: D (Tekken 2, Tekken Tag Tournament 1)
- Highest Tier: D+ (Tekken Tag Tournament 2)
Jack’s flaws in T1 also applied to his sub-boss, Prototype Jack. Beyond his junkyard-looking design, there weren’t many fundamental differences between the two. Tekken 2 changed that by giving P.Jack a new, military-inspired look and a few unique moves like his Flying Stomp and Body Smash throw. Story-wise, he was supposed to be Jack without humanity. An all-mechanical menace.
In practice, he’s more like a rough, incomplete version instead. His moves were slow, unsafe, and he lacked the few mix-ups the main Jacks had. In Tekken Tag Tournament 1, Bandai-Namco embraced him as a joke character with his spanking side-throw and twirling attacks. Still, it didn’t help that, in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, he needed a banned customizable crane move to compete against the roster's big hitters.
13 Wang Jinrei
Behold the Ravages of Age
- Lowest Tier: D (Tekken 2)
- Highest Tier: B (Tekken 6)
There wasn't much to Wang Jinrei in his early games. He was the originator of the Waning Moon, a throw that left the opponent vulnerable to attacks from behind. But unlike Ogre in Tekken 3, he didn't have the tool set to make that throw a nightmare to deal with. He was basically Michelle/Julia Chang with a Deathfist and fewer follow-ups.
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TTT1 began to switch up his moves a touch, and then Tekken 5 changed his animations entirely to give him a largely unique move set. They just about kept him out of that game's bottom tier, and he had improved enough to reach B-Tier in Tekken 6. Which is just as well, because this was his last canonical appearance, where he went out with a bang. (Just ignore his C-D Tier appearance in TTT2 afterward.)
12 Roger, Roger Jr., and Alex
When The Joke is On the Player
- Lowest Tier: D (Tekken 2, 6, Tekken Tag Tournament1 & 2)
- Highest Tier: B (Tekken 5)
T2 was such a vast improvement over T1 that it was hard for some to believe it was made with the same arcade tech. It’s easier to believe now, as it’s still more rigid than later games, and it still had the annoying moon jumps. But it was jam-packed with characters and secrets. For example, if players won the last round of Stage 3 in Arcade Mode with 5% or less health, they’d fight either Roger the kangaroo or Alex the dinosaur.
They essentially used the same move list as King, but without the multipart throws and with some unique strikes that left them open if blocked. Roger's wife and son got more nimble in T5, which got them as high as they would get competitively. After that, they went back to joke status. Though if players could get to grips with their odd moves, they could get the last laugh.
11 Kuma & Panda
Grizzly Results
- Lowest Tier: D (Tekken 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, Tekken Tag Tournament 1 & 2)
- Highest Tier: A (Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection)
If there were any Tekken characters comparable to classic gag-meisters like Street Fighter's Dan, they would be the bears Kuma & Panda. Not that this was always the case. Kuma I from T1 and 2 was basically a bigger, slower Jack who held his own better than P.Jack. T5 even saw his son, Kuma II, and his crush Panda reach upper mid-tier status thanks to their long reach and crouching stance.
But from their T3 debut to TTT2, their slow speed made them easy to sidestep, counter, and punish. Even when the bears gained somewhat separate fighting styles in Tekken 7, they joined Lars and Yoshimitsu at the bottom of the list. T8 saw Kuma adopt more of his old master Heihachi's moves, and Panda fight more like her guardian Xiaoyu, and they actually made it to A-Tier! Only time will tell if they'll stay there.
10 Gon
Everyone Kills the Dinosaur
- Lowest Tier: E (Tekken 3)
Taken from Masashi Tanaka’s titular manga, Gon is Tekken’s first guest character, and was the only one until Akuma, Geese, Negan & co turned up in T7. He’s a tiny orange dinosaur that can be unlocked by beating him in T3’s Ball Mode, which wasn’t difficult. Like Yoda in SoulCalibur 4, he was so short he could jab at his opponent’s legs while they were swinging at the empty air above him.
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Or he could if his moves weren’t terrible. Gon's attacks had a pitiful range thanks to his stubby limbs. His charge attacks and fireballs could be easily sidestepped, as could his fart attack. It didn’t stop him from becoming one of the series’ best novelty characters though. However, due to licensing issues, Harada ruled out any possible return for the orange dino, so he’s a one-game wonder.
9 Dr. Boskonovitch
He Can't Stand Up for Falling Down
- Lowest Tier: E (Tekken 3, Tekken Tag Tournament 2)
Gon wasn’t the only (in)famous gag character in T3. If players complete its Force Mode three times to collect enough keys, they can fight Dr Boskonovitch on the 4th run and unlock him. In lore, he’s the scientist who created the Jack robots, Yoshimitsu’s cybernetic, spinning hand, his robo-daughter Alisa in T6, and more. In gameplay, he’s an old man who can’t stand up straight.
He was deliberately complex, requiring multiple directional presses just to avoid falling down constantly. Then his basic throw was a weak multipart, and instead of a ten-hit combo, he had a twenty-hit one that was as hard as it was easy to dodge. Needless to say, he was bottom tier. He didn’t get much better when he got a new move set in TTT2, but at least he learned how to stand up on his own.
8 Lei Wulong
Playing Dead or Just Plain Dead?
- Lowest Tier: D (Tekken 4, 7)
- Highest Tier: S (Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection)
The Hong Kong “Super Police” Lei Wulong is quicker than Jack, and not a gag character like Roger & Alex. But as one of the series’ mainstays since T2, he’s gone up and down in quality like a yo-yo. He largely stuck around the upper-mid tier, with Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection being his peak at S- Tier, while T7 brought him down low.
His nadir was in Tekken 4, where his multiple stances and tricky mix-ups weren’t enough to make up for his lack of strength and harder juggles. Players had to put more time into making Lei viable. Even then, the likes of Jin and Nina could shut him down with considerably less effort. Knowing one stance from another couldn't overcome the power of their Just-Frame Laser Scraper and Ivory Cutter.
7 Bruce Irvin
Kickboxing Chump
- Lowest Tier: D (Tekken 5, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection)
- Highest Tier: S (Tekken Tag Tournament 2)
Bruce Irvin's appearance here may seem odd. For most of his appearances, he's actually been one of the strongest fighters in Tekken. He was quick, nimble, and powerful, with a long reach, strong launchers, and nasty juggles. In TTT2, he was the strongest non-Mishima character in the game, and stood high above regular Jin and former T5 boss Jinpachi.
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But when Bruce was brought back into canon in T5, he was at the bottom of the barrel. He got slower, and his moves got worse at tracking the opponent. Just as Jin was significantly nerfed after his broken run in T4, Namco tried to balance Bruce out more. He would have to wait until T6 to get his groove back.
6 Zafina
An Inauspicious Debut
- Lowest Tier: C+ (Tekken 6)
- Highest Tier: S (Tekken 8)
Debuting in Tekken 6, Zafina was one of the more interesting new characters. She was tied to the story and its big boss, Azazel, and she had a weird fighting style that was good at confusing opponents with their shifts and mix-ups. For some, she was strong enough to hang in the upper tier. But most rank her as the worst character in the game.
The tier differences in Tekken aren’t usually as serious as 2D fighters. However, master players could see through Zafina’s tricks. Many of her moves hit mid or low, making her susceptible to low blocks and parries. Then, like Lei, she required a lot of practice to get her combos and juggles going. T7 and T8 improved on her flaws by building on her pressure tactics, and giving her attacks a damage boost.
5 King
Wrestling With Inadequacy
- Lowest Tier: D (Tekken 4, Street Fighter X Tekken)
- Highest Tier: A (Tekken 1, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Tekken 6)
As Tekken's premier grappler, King has put in a good showing for most of his appearances. He's a big guy, yet his wrestling moves gave him that extra agility that the Jacks lacked. That's not to mention his throwing game, which only got more deadly. He could catch opponents if they were crouching, lying down, in midair, or if he was running right towards them.
Capcom had trouble replicating his strength in Street Fighter X Tekken, as they couldn't convert all of his moves into SF's gameplay. He became less mobile, lacked anti-air options, had less range on his throws, and fell to pressure tactics. Aside from Kuma, he was the worst Tekken character in the game, reaching lows he hadn't seen since T4. Only his full move set kept him above Lei and the Bears.
4 Gigas
Long Limbs, Low Reach
- Lowest Tier: D (Tekken 7)
Just when it looked like Tekken might join SoulCalibur on the shelf, T7 went on to become the biggest seller in the series. Its only drawbacks were its lackluster single-player content, and its base roster newbies weren't especially inspired. Among them, Gigas got the most scorn.
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For a few positives, he was a good character for beginners, with his simple, straightforward strikes. He had some good mids and punishes, and some of his strikes could even stop dreaded moves like Akuma's Demon Flip. That didn't stop him being the game's slowest character, with barely any low attacks and the game's worst Rage Art. But he wasn't quite T7's worst, as he still stood above Lars and Yoshimitsu.
3 Lars
A Steep Fall from Grace
- Lowest Tier: D (Tekken 7)
- Highest Tier: A (Tekken 6, 8)
Lars Alexandersson was one of the strongest characters in T6. His pokes and jabs were good at keeping opponents away, and his speed and strength were enough to bring the punishment up close. He was so powerful that some players complained he was broken, echoing the notorious likes of T4 Jin and T5 Steve. So, he was overcorrected in T7.
He kept his pokes and was good at punishing other players’ mistakes. The game just made it easier to punish him back, as players had to take more risks to do his heavy-duty combos. If they paid off, they worked out well. Otherwise, opponents could just sidestep to the right to avoid most of his moves and shut the Swede down. Luckily, Bandai-Namco corrected his overcorrections for T8 as it now takes more to stop him in his tracks.
2 Yoshimitsu
When Bringing a Sword to a Fist Fight is a Disadvantage
- Lowest Tier: E (Tekken 7)
- Highest Tier: B (Tekken 1, 2, 3, 4, Tekken Tag Tournament 1 & 2)
A Tekken game without Yoshimitsu is like a FIFA game without FIFA. The Space Ninja is one of the few characters to appear in every game, albeit with a different appearance each time. People would think his sword is an unfair advantage in hand-to-hand combat, but it’s balanced out by his eclectic fighting style. His kicks, flips, and stances are as unpredictable to his players as they are to his opponents.
Unfortunately, he falls down the tier list when his moves get switched up. T5 changed most of his moves and reduced his attack range, mobility, and tracking in the process. Then T7 gave him a new stance where he could dual-wield two swords, at the cost of his previously reliable poking game and strength. He's since climbed back up from the bottom tier in T8, though he's currently still lagging behind most of the roster.
1 Leroy Smith
Struggling to Keep Up
- Lowest Tier: C (Tekken 8)
- Highest Tier: S (Tekken 7 3rd Season)
With T8 being fairly new as of this writing, it may take a while for its tiers to be set in stone. There are some early heavy-hitters like Bryan Fury and Feng Wei, but there's always a chance players can find some new tactics with currently struggling characters that could knock them and other high-flyers down a few pegs.
However, it's unlikely Leroy Smith will be as notorious as he was on his debut. He broke whole tournaments with his parry game, crushing aggressive and defensive players no matter what they did. But T8 has toned him down by making his moves easier to sidestep, and it's harder for him to make comebacks without taking risks, which is worryingly similar to T7 Lars' pitfalls.
Tekken 8
- Franchise
- Tekken
- Platform(s)
- PC , PS5 , Xbox Series X , Xbox Series S
- Developer(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment , Arika
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
