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- Tekken 7’s story concluded with Kazuya Mishima killing Heihachi Mishima.
- However, defying logic, the character is back in Tekken 8 as DLC.
- While his return will be popular with the fans, it will break the continuity of Tekken’s story.
The Tekken series has one of the most interesting stories in gaming history. Fans typically enjoy entertaining stories in games, and this series is no different. The story up until Tekken 7 has been pretty solid, but it seems like the developer is running out of ideas.
While Tekken 8 was a well-received game besides the microtransactions, its story was lacking. Sure, Reina is a good character and instantly became a fan favorite, but she couldn’t make the story compelling all by herself.
Now, the story has become even more confusing with the return of Heihachi Mishima.
Why it matters: When a character from any game or series keeps coming back, it gets old since you never know if the writers will commit to certain events later on.
Heihachi Mishima Died For Sure
In Tekken 7, the epic brawl between Heihachi and Kazuya culminated in a crushing defeat for the old man. To his credit, the old man gave Devil Kazuya a hard time, but in the end, Kazuya punched him in the heart.
His heart stopped, and he was thrown into the lava. This was deemed a great conclusion to the fight, and fans were happy. Of course, some fans were upset, but as per the story, it seemed like the natural direction for the narrative.
“A fight is about who’s left standing. Nothing else.”
-Kazuya Mishima
Katsuhiro Harada, the creator of Tekken, mentioned last year at the Evo Tekken 8 showcase that Heihachi Mishima was completely dead. This, in technical and literal terms, meant that he was 100% dead and would not come back.
I can’t seem to make something else out of this claim other than the fact that the old man would not return in Tekken 8. Now, one can argue that Kazuya died, but G-corp revived him. Similarly, Jinpachi was dead before his revival.
However, Harada didn’t go out of his way to say that they had completely died, as he said in this case. So, I can’t seem to understand how the character is back in Tekken 8 with a massive army. It seems like he is back for revenge, but the logic is just not there.
The Resurrection
Following Tekken 7’s release, Unsho Ishizuka, the legendary voice actor who portrayed the character, also passed away. While he voiced Heihachi Mishima in just one game, his portrayal was perfect.
It was so good, in fact, that I struggled to see how Tekken 8’s iteration would keep up. Perhaps it would have been better to have the old man skip a game or two before bringing him back if a revival was inevitable.
Fan reactions to his return have also been mixed. While those who played him as their main are elated, others feel that Bandai Namco can’t commit to character deaths. This also kills the impact of Tekken’s storytelling.
What happens when the next character dies in the story? I don’t think we can trust Bandai Namco to stick with major events in the story anymore. Fans believe the same.
Nah, he’s definitely dead. he died from a heart attack, and then he has just became nothing in a volcano.
-KjLynx
It Doesn’t Make Sense To Me
I really like Heihachi Mishima, but honestly, his return doesn’t make sense to me. He died at the end of Tekken 7, and that should have been it. Kazuya was thrown into the volcano, but he had the devil gene, so he came back.
Jin can also be revived, thanks to his devil gene. However, his grandfather never had the devil gene, so his return doesn’t make sense at all. However, there could be one explanation.
Do you remember how Jinpachi was brought back? It was revealed that some demonic entity passed through Jinpachi’s body. They could make up a similar explanation for Tekken 8, possibly giving Heihachi the devil gene since his daughter also had it.
Reina is not Kazumi’s daughter, so perhaps Heihachi was hiding some form of devil gene all this time.
While this is far from great storytelling and revolves around convenient plot devices, fans are still ecstatic about Heihachi Mishima’s return. It seems everyone is fine with accepting whatever logic Tekken 8 throws at them as long as they get to play their favorite characters.
The latest announcement has been met with plenty of fanfare, creating a wave of excitement within the community. Bandai Namco certainly needed this after upsetting fans with poorly priced microtransactions.
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[News Editor]
Obaid is pursuing a Law degree while working as a content writer. He has worked as a gaming writer for over three years because of his passion for the medium and reporting the latest updates in the industry. Having played hundreds of games, Obaid finds himself coming back to Elden Ring, Cyberpunk 2077, and Red Dead Redemption 2, with these games being among his favorites. He has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as Wccftech, Metro UK, PS Lifestyle, GamePressure, VGC, and Gamespot.
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