Which characters are in Tekken 8? Over the years, many fighters have participated in the King of Iron Fist Tournaments, but the latest installment sees the absence of one key face in particular. Heihatchi Mishima is officially dead, and now the world’s fate is in the hands of those rising to face his demonic son, Kazuya. Some directly oppose him, whereas others fight for their own ambitions.
Most of the characters in the Tekken 8 roster revealed are returning characters, and we’ve had enough time with some of them that we’ve got a Tekken 8 tier list that shows how good they are during the early stages of development. Some fighters have been with the fighting game series since the beginning, whereas others are more recent inclusions, and one character is even making a long-awaited comeback in Tekken 8.
Tekken 8 characters list
Here are the confirmed characters in the Tekken 8 roster:
- Reina
- Victor Chevalier
- Panda
- Zafina
- Lee Chaolan
- Alisa Bosconovitch
- Devil Jin
- Feng Wei
- Dragunov
- Shaheen
- Steve Fox
- Leo
- Yoshimitsu
- Kuma
- Azucena Milagros Ortiz Castillo
- Raven
- Jin Kazama
- Kazuya Mishima
- Paul Phoenix
- Marshall Law
- Nina Williams
- Jack-8
- King
- Lars Alexandersson
- Jun Kazama
- Ling Xiaoyu
- Asuka Kazama
- Leroy Smith
- Lili
- Bryan Fury
- Hwoarang
- Claudio Sefarino
- Sergei Dragunov
- Eddy Gordo
Reina
She is one of the three new fighters in Tekken 8 and is surrounded in mystery. As an exceptional student at the Mishima Polytechnical School, she apparently “exudes a charismatic sense of evil, reflecting her character’s duality in both personality and fighting style”. She seems to know both Jin and Kazuya without either of them knowing who she is in turn.
Reina’s moves are a mix of Taido and the Mishima-style karate. Her techniques are, therefore, surprisingly familiar. During a sequence in her trailer where she fights against Kazuya, she uses the Wind God Fist and Spinning Demon, key moves in Heihachi’s move list.
Victor Chevalier
Bandai Namco describes Victor Chevalier as “a living legend who founded the UN’s independent forces. Descended from a lineage of distinguished knights, with a dream to rescue those in need, he followed in the footsteps of his father and enlisted in the French Navy before joining the UN following his will to save more people”.
He also founded and trained the Raven Force, with the reveal trailer showing him as a sort of trainer or rival to Raven. Victor wields a pistol and cybernetic sword, capable of incredibly swift movements and devastating blows.
Victor is also voiced by famed French actor Vincent Cassel, who has starred in many films over the past 30 years, from French films such as La Haine and Brotherhood of the Wolf to English-language films like Shrek, Black Swan, and the two Ocean’s Eleven sequels. Though he is no stranger to voice acting, providing the voice of Diego in the French language dubs of the Ice Age series, this will be his first videogame voice acting role.
Devil Jin
While we saw a glimpse of Jin’s demonic side in the Tekken 3 ending, it wasn’t until Tekken 5 that Devil Jin was his own playable character. He shares a similar move set to that of Tekken 3’s Jin before he retrained to adopt his mother’s fighting style. Devil Jin lacks a sense of control and is seen as a dangerous force that must be stopped, just like Kazuya.
Alisa Bosconovitch
A fan favorite ever since her introduction in Tekken 6, Alisa Bosconovitch is an android created by Doctor Bosconovitch, modeled after his deceased daughter. After her initial appearance, Alisa was repaired and reformatted by Lee Chaolan to eliminate any Mishima Zaibatsu programming and is now an aide to Lars’s rebellion against G Corporation and the Zaibatsu.
Lee Chaolan
The eldest of Heihachi Mishima’s adopted sons is Lee Chaolan, who sometimes goes by an inventor alter-ego named Violet. As the CEO of Violet Systems, he’s a bit of a millionaire playboy, enjoying the finer things in life. However, he is also a genius in robotics, helping repair Alisa Bosconovitch to help his younger adoptive brother Lars in his rebellion against Heihachi and Kazuya.
Zafina
While her exact origins are unknown, the mysterious Zafina first debuted in Tekken 6. She is a wise seer who knows the histories of all things spiritual, including demonic presences. Having sealed Azazel’s power into her left arm at the end of Tekken 6, she soon realizes that containing the demon while both Jin and Kazuya still live will be temporary at best. To help her rid the world of these demons once and for all, she has contacted Claudio Serafino and the Archers of Sirius to seek a partnership.
Feng Wei
Making his first appearance in Tekken 5, this ruthless Chinese martial artist murdered his former master after being scolded by him for fighting outside of the dojo. He now travels around the globe, seeking power and destroying many dojos in his wake. Despite this power-hungry streak, he seems to have a sense of honor as he accepts defeat against those who best him in combat. After being defeated by Leroy Smith in the last King of Iron Fist Tournament, however, Feng vows to avenge his defeat after he is humiliated by Leroy’s parting shot, saying that Feng is unworthy of even being compared to his master.
Dragunov
First appearing in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, this cold-hearted Spetnaz commando with Marilyn Manson-inspired looks has always served the will of the Russian military. He is known as the “White Angel of Death” due to his fighting prowess and chilly personality. He has a deep-rooted rivalry with Raven.
Shaheen
As one of the newer characters who first appeared in Tekken 7, Shaheen entered the King of Iron Fist Tournament to infiltrate the G Corporation upon suspecting foul play after all the management at his friend’s oil company mysteriously resigned. Upon learning from a close friend that Kazuya Mishima was pulling the strings, he set out to investigate.
Steve Fox
Steve is a British boxing middleweight champion who was adopted at a young age and knew nothing of his past, including the origin of a scar on his arm. As it turns out, he was the result of genetic experiments attempting to replicate the effects of the Devil Gene on humans, and while the experiment was a failure, Leo’s mother helped him escape by faking his death. Steve fights primarily with punches and weaving motions, rarely resorting to kicking.
Leo
Leo’s mother, Emma Kliesen, was killed prior to the events of Tekken 6, and they entered the King of Iron Fist Tournament after discovering that Kazuya was the culprit. After delving further into their mother’s past, they discovered that Emma worked for the Mishima Zaibatsu as a scientist.
Yoshimistu
The leader of the Manji Clan is an extremely skilled swordsman who has a habit of changing his appearance in every Tekken game. This particular outfit is a blue variation styled heavily on his iconic Tekken 3 armor. He has previously had several run-ins with the Mishima Zaibatsu, rescuing his friend Doctor Bosconovitch in the process, as the doctor gave him a mechanical arm when it was cut off during an infiltration mission gone wrong.
Kuma
The second Kuma of his line was Heihachi Mishima’s pet bear, who technically first appeared in Tekken 3. It’s reasonably clear that the death of his former master has affected him somewhat, given his Rambo-inspired gear and a penchant for missiles disguised as tasty salmon. Now, this unruly ursine is fighting for revenge for his former master against Kazuya. His fighting style now uses many of Heihachi’s signature moves.
Panda
Panda is Ling Xiaoyu’s most trusted bodyguard and companion, first appearing in the same character slot as Kuma in Tekken 3. While she uses the same fighting style as Kuma and has traditionally been a palette swap in most Tekken games, in Tekken 8, Panda will occupy her own character slot. She often rejects Kuma’s advances with surprising coldness but is much more supportive of Xiaoyu’s quest to find Jin. Her move set is different from Kuma’s in this game, with a more acrobatic fighting style, perhaps taking inspiration from Ling Xiaoyu in some way.
Azucena
Known by many as the ‘Peruvian Coffee Queen’, Azucena owns Ortiz Farm, a coffee plantation that also grinds and sells its own coffee beans close to the site of an ancient Incan temple, possibly Machu Picchu. Azucena’s fighting style is unique in that she seems to have counter stances she uses to avoid incoming blows, following up with heavy-hitting counter moves.
Raven
Returning after a brief absence in Tekken 7, Raven has undergone some training to hone his Ninjutsu skills. As a result, he now has many new moves to use in combat, such as the ability to create shadow clones. These are an integral part of his fighting style as he can briefly switch with his copies to land otherwise impossible blows.
Jin Kazama
While first introduced in Tekken 3, Jin didn’t really become the character we know him as today until he began mixing Mishima and Kazama fighting styles in Tekken 4. His main goal now is to end the Mishima bloodline and rid the world of the devil gene.
Kazuya Mishima
Having finally killed his father, Heihatchi, Kazuya Mishima is now the main antagonist of the Tekken series. He uses a mixture of the Mishima fighting style and his devil gene to now control the world with his G Corporation, which has now surpassed the power of the Mishima Zaibatsu.
Paul Phoenix
Paul Phoenix is one of the few characters in the Tekken series that’s been in every game in the series. He uses a variety of kicks and punches to dominate the competition and is a previous winner of the King of Iron Fist Tournament.
Marshall Law
Marshall Law has been part of the Tekken series since the beginning, though not always part of the playable roster. He is the original kicking and flipping powerhouse, using his inner chi to power up his moves.
Nina Williams
Formerly a mercenary for hire, Nina Williams is now the commander of the G Corporation forces. She uses a unique assassin-based fighting style to grapple, punch, and kick her targets until they are eliminated.
Jack-8
As the eighth model of the Jack series, this is the fastest and most powerful version. He normally uses rocket-powered punches to blast away enemies, but this model also has a big cannon for finishing blows.
King
As the second man to wear the iconic tiger mask, this version of King has been part of the series since Tekken 3 and was one of the kids brought up in the original King’s orphanage. He uses wrestling moves to lay the smackdown on his foes.
Lars Alexandersson
Lars first appeared in Tekken 6 and is the illegitimate child of Heihachi Mishima and an unknown Swedish mother. He is the leader of a rebel splinter group from Tekken Force and seeks to destroy the entire Mishima dynasty, though he has recently seen eye-to-eye with Jin Kazama.
Jun Kazama
Jun hasn’t been part of the main Tekken roster since Tekken 2 but has made sporadic appearances in the Tag Tournament side games. Jun was attacked by Ogre and disappeared. Her fighting style is very similar to Asuka Kazama’s, but she’s since gained new supernatural powers.
Ling Xiaoyu
Ling Xiaoyu joined the regularly appearing roster in Tekken 3. She initially wanted to build a theme park but has since befriended Jin Kazama. She uses her speed and skill to flip and kick to victory.
Asuka Kazama
Asuka has been part of the Tekken roster since Tekken 5, and while she was originally sharing a familial tie with Jin and Jun Kazama, it’s apparently more complicated than that. She uses the Kazama fighting style, similar to Jun Kazama in Tekken 2, and rivals with Lili.
Leroy Smith
Leroy is a relative newcomer to the series, first appearing as part of the third season pass for Tekken 7, but he has made quite the impact as a fan favorite. He uses Wing Chun martial arts to fight street gangs in New York City, blaming the Mishima Zaibatsu for the city’s troubles.
Lili
As one of the characters introduced during the Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection update, Emilie De Rochefort is a rich aristocrat who first fought to help end her father’s business. She has since developed a rivalry with Asuka Kazama after losing to her in the fifth King of Iron Fist Tournament.
Bryan Fury
First appearing in Tekken 3 as a hidden character, Bryan Fury has always been a little unhinged and destructive. He mostly uses his fists and has brutal punch combos to hit enemies as hard as possible.
Hwoarang
Hwoarang is the long-term rival of Jin Kazama, first appearing in Tekken 3 alongside him. He specializes in explosive kicks and aerial attacks with his Taekwondo training.
Claudio Sefarino
Claudio is one of the more recent inclusions to the growing Tekken roster, first appearing in the seventh game in the series. He is the de facto leader of the Archers of Sirius, who seek to exorcise demons and rid the world of supernatural threats.
Sergei Dragunov
Sergei Dragunov uses the alias The White Angel of Death which he earned though “sheer and overwhelming combat prowess”. He was participating in the King of Iron Fist tournament but partway through, the tournament’s organizer, Heihachi Mishima, went missing, bringing the competition to a premature end.
Eddy Gordo
Debuting in Tekken 3, Eddy has been a fan favorite ever since, with his unique Capoeira fighting style. He now seeks revenge against Kazuya for killing his father. If you’ve had a chance to play the story mode of Tekken 8, it’s pretty clear Eddy isn’t going to get an opportunity to fight against Kazuya, so we’ll have to see what else he does with his time. Eddy Gordo was made available in Tekken 8 on April 2 for players with the battle pass, and April 5 for players that want to pick him up separately.
Tekken 8 DLC Season 1 characters
As part of the Tekken 8 opening movie trailer, we got confirmation of the first of the four Season 1 characters, which is Eddy Gordo. As for the rest of the characters, we’re going to have to wait for Bandai Namco to reveal more throughout the rest of the year.
Here are the Tekken 8 DLC Season 1 characters so far:
- Eddy Gordo
Those are the revealed characters in the Tekken 8 roster. Now that we know the entire main roster, we’ll keep this up to date as soon as we get any info on DLC characters. In the meantime, why not check out some of the best multiplayer games to see if anything takes your fancy?