Heihachi Mishima, Free Story Expansion — Tekken 8's Autumn Release Plan
July 21, 2024
Heihachi Mishima is not dead! Sorry, Raven, you probably should have confirmed the kill. Then again, the Tekken team was also quite insistent that the man was long gone...
In a cinematic reveal shown today at EVO, Heihachi Mishima has been confirmed as the next DLC fighter in the Year 1 Pass, releasing this Autumn. Being one of the most popular characters in the franchise, it probably wasn't that tough of a decision to bring back Heihachi. He's coming back as more than just fan-service, though. All signs point to Heihachi being the lead antagonist in the upcoming story expansion. The old man has a little bit more to give.
The King of Iron Fist Resurrection
With Heihachi's reveal, it's a lot more apparent why the previously announced DLC story is releasing in Autumn. We knew that the new story content would focus on the DLC characters, but most people were expecting closed-off narratives for each of the new fighters, not a whole new saga in the Tekken story.
While the Tekken team has been fairly quiet about the details surrounding this new narrative, the EVO trailer offers some key insights. First, we're introduced to the Tekken Monks, a group of followers who seem to be inseparable from Heihachi's legacy. That's important to distinguish because they've been actively taking out the remnants of the Mishima Zaibatsu, according to Victor Chevalier. A natural question arises: "Why?" Heihachi has always sought to reclaim his old company before. What's so different now? We'll have to wait to get some answers there.
Another notable point in the trailer is the surprising lack of screen time for both Jin and Kazuya, who you'd expect to be the main opposing force to Heihachi. Based off of the shots presented to us, the assumption you'd make is that Lidia is actually the lead protagonist with Eddy serving in a supporting role. It might just be smoke and mirrors, though. Regardless if Lidia is the main character or not, the Polish prime minister has an important role to play in this story. That's for sure. They're not showing us family pictures of her for no reason.
Let's just all be thankful that we didn't get a Marduk reveal today. No offense to the Australian menace, but I don't think he could carry a narrative on his back. It's a lot more interesting to have Heihachi back. And speaking of having characters back, you should probably start preparing for Lidia...She'll be available as soon as tomorrow for some players.
