Heihachi returns to Tekken 8 in gloriously brutal fashion

If there's one thing fighting game series Tekken teaches us, it’s that being thrown off cliffs and into volcanoes ain’t no thing. Now I don’t suggest you try that at home – or wherever your local active volcano is – but for one such example, may I point you to the upcoming DLC for Tekken 8. That’s because it sees the return of the iconic Heihachi Mishima. 

For the uninitiated, Heihachi was the final boss of the original Tekken, the main character of Tekken 2, and somewhat of a hero-villain character of the series, who seemingly met his end by being thrown into a volcano by his son,  

Kazuya Mishima, who was also thrown into a volcano by Heihachi at the end of Tekken 2 yet survived. There’s a heck of a lot more to this, as the story of the Tekken series goes places. 

But rest assured Heihachi Mishima, and his Mishima Style Fighting Karate, is back and better than ever, thanks to Tekken 8’s Unreal 5 Engine-powered graphics and refined movesets. 

Like the addition of Eddy Gordo and Lidia Sobieska in previous Tekken 8 DLCs this year, access to Heihachi will come as part of the paid DLC. But Bandai Namco is pushing out a 1.08 update that among optimizations and new features, like being able to use an online practice mode with friends, adding your favorite character to the main menu screen, and getting access to new in-game customization items, also brings in a new story in the form of the Unforgotten Echoes campaign. 

As part of a hands-on event, I got to play the first five chapters of the new story, which put me in control of Eddy as he looked to regain command over a beleaguered Tekken Force.

The story then jumps to Lidia as she pursues the enigmatic Tekken Monks and comes face to face with the once-thought-to-be-dead Heihachi. From there I was given control over the legendary fighter himself, who, without giving much away, appears to be a more sympathetic fellow this time around rather than a power-hungry warrior.

I’m sure there’ll be some twists and turns as the story progresses, and plenty for fans of Tekken lore to chew over. But just being able to control a Tekken icon rendered in next-gen graphics with all the feature set of Tekken 8 was sheer joy and immense fun.

A temple for trading blows 

Heihachi is a known powerhouse in the series with devastating moves that can delete health bars in an instant and punish whiffed attacks. Bandai Namco has refined his moveset with two new stances and extensions to his techniques, all of which make Heihachi even more deadly when his combos connect. 

After taking control of him in the new story, I put Heihachi to the test in a whole series of battles against various opponents in the new Genmaji Temple – a beautifully rendered temple lit in autumn evening light complete with falling leaves dancing through the air, which then transitions into the night after two rounds and takes on a more ‘final showdown’ vibe with a ramped up soundtrack. 

Not only is the arena great, with plenty of space to maneuver and lots to look at – there are monkeys skittering around in the background – if you get a moment's respite, but it was a great setting to throw Heihachi around in.

Mishima for the win 

In there, I found Heihachi has a barrage of powerful moves to pull that can overwhelm opponents, and with Tekken 8’s Special Style making pulling off devastating moves so easy and smooth, even in my relatively inexperienced hands, Heihachi was a brute. 

I’d use a series of high and mid attacks to smash down the likes of Kazuya, building up the Heat gauge to then follow with more powerful blows cutting a health bar to shreds in a matter of seconds.

I also enjoyed that despite trading speed for more damage output, Heihachi still has some tricks to disrupt attacks; I found a quick punch that countered a collection of attacks giving Heihachi the advantage to follow up with a mix of crushing blows. This all left me with a grin on my face, and chuckling away at times when a counterattack or whiff punish led me to utterly destroy an opponent in a fashion that felt completely over the top.

I do feel that Heihachi lacks a little when it comes to extensive options for low attacks. This was the case in previous Tekken games, so it’s in character and leaves Heihachi with low-attack moves that I found either weren't fast enough to be particularly effective and were open to punishment.

Still, I think long-standing Tekken fans will be happy with this rendition of Heihachi; though I suspect his return could spark up debates about the strength of Mishima Style.

As you’ll see in our Tekken 8 review, it feels like one of the most complete and evolved entries in the series, and the addition of Heihachi is like a triumphant flourish, despite one further DLC character still to come after him. But Heijachi’s return also feels like a fresh catalyst to inspire both beginners and veterans to jump into Tekken 8 as it nears its first birthday.

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