Summary
So,Heihachi is back. We kinda always knew he would be. I mean, the dude is MrTekken, and nobody really stays dead in fighting games for very long. But does he have to be back now, like this? I’msure there are people excited- as I already said, he’s Mr Tekken - and I’m not writing this to be a downer. I’d be excited too… if only it wasn’t like this.
The problem is not that Heihachi is back, as like I said, no one is surprised by this fact. To be honest, a lot of us assumed that it was a fakeout when we were told he wouldn’t be in Tekken 8 at launch. A little like when theAvengersgame told us Captain America was dead, while having us pre-order to get bonus suits for the definitely-not-dead Captain America. But Heihachi really was dead. He was nowhere to be seen inTekken 8, and the story moved on just fine without him.
Tekken 8’s Story Was One Of Tekken’s Best Ever
Jin and Kazuya had more screen time and as a result offered one of the strongest stories Tekken has ever seen, with the Heihachi-free climactic showdown perhaps the most epic yet. Added to this, Heihachi Style combat was still present in the game thanks to the arrival of his successor Reina, who herself is one of the most interesting new characters Tekken has introduced since Asuka Kazama, Jin’s cousin, in Tekken 5.
The stage was set for Tekken 9 to be the place for the fake out of Heihachi’s death to finally be resolved. I can see it now - a trailer splashed with electricity and blood, showing Reina’s Devil Gene rising, a cured Kazuya and redeemed Jin working together to stop her, when suddenly out of the shadows behind her, laughter echoes. A gnarled hand on her shoulder, comforting, encouraging. A silhouette of a moustache. Heihachi is back, baby! But that’s not how it went down.
Instead, EVO saw the arrival of a DLC trailer wherein a masked man is training at a dojo, revealed to be Heihachi risen from the volcano he was tossed into by Kazuya. Almost certainly Reina and her Devil Gene will be responsible, as even Tekken’s loose grasp of morality can’t handwave awayTekken 7’sending as just a scratch, but it still feels a little deflating.
Heihachi’s Return Is Divisive As A DLC
Some Tekken fans could never bring themselves to call the return of Heihachi deflating. And I get that. Really guys, I do. The comments section is there if you need to let off some steam. But this event feels too dramatic to be shunted into DLC. You could - and probably should - make a whole game about the return of Heihachi and how that links to Reina’s ascension to power, plus the way it forces Kazuya and Jin to work together. The whole story feels too large and pivotal for a DLC pack.
There’s also a question of how far reaching this story can be. A DLC will always have fewer players than a base game, even if it’s a free expansion for the first time in Tekken’s history. I’ll be there, as will most people reading this article, but a lot of people will have bought Tekken at launch, played it with their friends for a while, beat the story, then moved on. Some will argue Tekken shouldn’t cater to fans so casual they don’t even watch EVO, but it takes a village to sustain a fighting game these days. Tekken’s story has always grown, and what might be its biggest twist ever should not happen in DLC.
Tekken has always had the ability to surprise us. That’s why it’s my favourite fighting game, and one of the most popular in the industry. Ultimately, I trust it, and I’m eagerly awaiting the arrival of the DLC to see how Heihachi is brought back, and what that means for the evolving story. But looking ahead to Tekken 9, it’s hard to imagine it having a more hype reveal than the return of Heihachi, and it may be that all the excitement we’re feeling now would have been even stronger if it could have been held back just a little bit longer.
Tekken 8
WHERE TO PLAY
Tekken 8 is the next-gen evolution of the long-running fighting game series from Bandai Namco. It brings back several popular characters and adds new, while it also introduces the new ‘Heat’ mechanic.
