Bandai Namco
When Heihachi Mishima wasrevealed to beTekken 8 ’s next DLC fictional character , I was both surprised and not surprised . The series antagonist was killed off in the previous entry , Tekken 7 , by being thrown into a volcano , but miraculously survived somehow . The only affair stronger than death is DLC , I suppose .
Heihachi ’s return comes with a novel story mode shout out Unforgotten Echoes , which detail what the other DLC characters — Eddy Gordo and Lidia Sobieska — have been up to during the outcome ofTekken 8 . gratefully , Unforgotten Echoes is a free update , so player can try out the DLC characters without having to pay for them .
Bandai Namco
Digital Trends played the first five chapters of Unforgotten Echoes and pose down with producer Michael Murray to talk over why Heihachi was brought back , how he differs inTekken 8compared to his previous iteration , and how characters are balanced compared to the rest of the roll .
Bringing back bad
It seems like Bandai Namco could n’t let go of Heihachi . Both fan and the developers lose him , so it only made sense for him to come back . At first , director Katsuhiro Harada tell the team to make Heihachi “ look very stagnant , ” and they really give-up the ghost into the process with the intention of killing him off .
“ But then Harada was like , ‘ What ? I did n’t say pop him ! ’ ” Murray tells Digital Trends . “ I guess he have in mind just to make it look realistic without actually kill him . So a slew of the fun ofTekken 8was trying to devise a way to land him back from the dead . So we really did intend it at first . ”
Heihachi comes with a new gameplay grease monkey called Warrior ’s Instinct , which alter the belongings of some of his attack and adds a sinister reddish aura around him . In this powered up state , he can deal more recoverable wellness legal injury and has access to more extension on his motion , making it easier for him to combo and juggle his opponents . This mechanic ties in narratively too , as the team need Heihachi to still feel brawny .
“ InTekken 7 , he was a more technological character , where you had a lot more ok detailed technique , like small moves here and there that you had to utilize to attempt to open up your opponent to damage , ” Murray enunciate . “ Whereas now he has a more dynamic and powerful manner of being able to attack your opponent . ”
In society to balance out Warrior ’s Instinct , one of its disadvantages is how foresightful it take for Heihachi to actuate it . He ca n’t do so on a whimsey ; he has to enter Heat state three time , which can only be done once a bout . So Warrior ’s Instinct wo n’t even be available until later in the compeer . As a character , Heihachi still has infirm low attack , making him susceptible to being blocked and counterattack . This way , Heihachi is n’t terribly overpowered compared to the rest of the roll .
New horizons
The update also brings a raw degree bid the Genmaji Temple , which has a pivotal mise en scene for Unforgotten Echoes as it ’s a secluded training dry land for Tekken monk . The environment features intricately detailed temple buildings filled with bright light and surrounded by lush greenery . To commemorate Heihachi ’s return , the developer wanted to create a Japanese - themed centrepiece stage .
“ They really wish to focalise on that modification from autumn into wintertime . Falling leafage set the coloring material and accents , that variety of browned Orange River going into ashen Charles Percy Snow , ” Murray says . “ We want to concentre on that being a hidden field where masses had apply soldierly humanities while not being too serious and to give it a little bit of a Tekken comedic dash . ”
One of the more renowned novel characters inTekken 8wasReina , who was positioned as a new big menace . But with Heihachi in the spotlight again , where does Reina accommodate in ? Murray mentions that he and Harada wanted to do a female Mishima character for quite some time now , and are well-chosen with the irrefutable reception Reina has take in .
“ Just because Heihachi come up back does n’t mean she ’s going to be sidelined , ” he explains . “ But whether there ’s going to be a cryptical trail about her and Heihachi is something we ca n’t really speak about . You ’ll just have to wait for the future . ”
Tekken 8‘s DLC 3 launch on October 1 for Season Pass proprietor and October 4 for everyone else on PC , PS5 , and Xbox Series X|S.
