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gaymer-hag-stan · 5 months

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Who Is Tekken?

I made a tier ranking because I was bored and because this is TEKKEN 8'S RELEASE WEEK!!!

So, basically this is a tier list based on who I think represents the series best. Not personal preference, just who I think of when I think of Tekken, and which characters I think usually act as the "face" of the franchise.

Tekken God Tier a.k.a. The one true "Face" of Tekken

Paul Phoenix - Although the story is centered around the Mishima Family feud, Paul I think best represents the spirit of Tekken as a whole. His design is outrageous, he can be considered goofy, not only because of the hair but because of his most recent portrayal and rivalry with Kuma, but he is nevertheless not treated entirely as a joke character. He is always there and he is a veteran.

Tekken Kings Tier a.k.a Characters present in all games that are also synonymous with Tekken

Yoshimitsu - Yoshimitsu is another character that is always present and, like Paul, he represents Tekken's spirit. He always looks ridiculous and he is completely redesigned in each new installment.

King - King also fits the same mentality as the other two. The jaguar mask, and the fact that when he speaks jaguar growls come out make him a staple to the "ridiculous but not a joke character" archetype that Tekken essentially jumpstarted and has polished to perfection over the years. Many other fighting games have joke characters of course, but some of Tekken's joke characters are actually pretty viable options.

Tekken Overlords Tier a.k.a. Characters who are present in almost all games and also represent the brand in promotional events and such

Nina Williams - Nina is undisputedly the Queen of Tekken. She is the only female fighter to appear in all Tekken games, she has her own spinoff game and she is almost always featured in collaborations and promotional events. She is the Chun-Li of Tekken with Cammy's demeanour. A two-in-one type of deal if you will.

Kazuya Mishima - Kazuya was the protagonist of the original Tekken game and has ever since taken on the role of either the primary or secondary antagonist. If Nina is Tekken's Chun-Li, then Kazuya is Tekken's Ryu, but with a twist. Kazuya is no hero, he is not the golden shoto honest boy who wants to save the world. Quite the opposite. Tekken can be campy but it can also be extremely edgy. Kazuya perfectly represents this inherent need to be edgy. When other fighting games attempted to replicate Street Fighter's Ryu by making more stoic stereotypical Japanese heroes who don't say much and only want to become stronger, Tekken introduced a villainous type of protagonist that will stop at nothing to achieve ultimate power. Tekken doesn't have a Ryu, only an Evil Ryu.

Ling Xiaoyu - Many would argue that Xiaoyu is Tekken's Chun-Li, and in the sense of having an upbeat female Chinese martial artist she is, but she is more like Chun-Li's little sister, or Tekken's little sister in this case. Nina is mature and sexy while Xiaoyu is cheerful and cute, childish even, in her debut appearance. Depending on who you ask she may be the main female character of Tekken but I'll say she's the second best thing. Still extremely important for the franchise.

Hwoarang - Hwoarang has never missed a game since his debut and I don't think he will in the future either. He is a very integral part of Tekken and his high kicks in the tightest of jeans definitely add a little more unhingedeness to the series.

Marshall Law - Every fighting game that respects itself pays homage to the greatest martial artist that ever lived. Law has every Bruce Lee mannerism that you can imagine and then some!

Tekken Warrior Tier a.k.a Jack

Although Jack's appearance and moveset are not necessarily remarkable, the fact that he undergoes a name change with each new Tekken entry, to match the mainline game's numbering, is kinda iconic in its own right and tied to Tekken itself. Even though he skipped Tekken 4 (and the JACK unit in the original game is a generic one not related to Jane's JACK who is present in all the following games) there is still a JACK-4 line, which further goes to show that you can't have Tekken without the JACKs.

Tekken Fighters Tier a.k.a. fairly recognisable characters who appear in most games

Lei Wulong - Tekken not only has its own Bruce Lee, but it also has its own Jackie Chan*! Lei has one of the most complicated movesets in fighting game history and as fighting game development gets pricier and pricier, he puts an actual strain on Namco's developments costs. While I don't think he will completely miss Tekken 8 or any following Tekkens, he is most likely gonna be permanent DLC to accommodate for the resources and money needed for his animations lmao

*since he is still alive though they actually started making his face more distinct as time went on and graphics became more realistic, possibly to avoid a lawsuit lol

Jin Kazama - Jin has essentially been the protagonist of Tekken since Tekken 3 (with a minor stint as a villain in 6 and, technically, being in a coma throughout Tekken 7's entire story) He is once again positioned as the "hero" in Tekken 8, although, like I said with Kazuya, Tekken doesn't do heroes the traditional way.

Bryan Fury - Bryan is the resident kickboxer of Tekken and he hasn't missed a game since his debut. His psychotic laugh is a Tekken trademark and his unhinged personality is a perfect match for a series like Tekken.

Steve Fox - Likewise, Steve is the resident boxer of Tekken. Arguably, he's not as strong in the personality department, so his fighting style kind of hard carries him and is also probably why he hasn't skipped an entry since his inception.

Asuka Kazama - Asuka is kind of the "new generation" type of Tekken girl. She had a really strong debut in Tekken 5, I think she really served in that game, but ever since the rivalry with Lili subplot was introduced I feel like Lili's personality overpowers hers. Nevertheless, they have been positioned by Namco as the new main female Tekken rivalry ever since Tekken 6 so that's that.

Tekken Brawlers Tier a.k.a. the last three core Tekken characters

Heihachi Mishima - Heihachi is arguably the Akuma of Tekken. He often assumes the final boss role and has been in all Tekken games until his death (?). Tekken 7 was teased as the big finale to Kazuya and Heihachi's rivalry, and his death (??) truly meant the end of an era for the series.

Feng Wei - I struggled a lot with this one because he's a character I personally don't care at all about, but personal bias aside I think his moveset is quintessential Tekken, and like Asuka he also had a very strong Tekken 5 debut that kind of hard carries him ever since. His scenes in the Tekken 5 opening cinematic are pretty memorable.

Lili - If the Tekken universe has an it girl it is her. Lili has been a consistently popular character since her debut and I don't think it's hard to see why. Her personality is hilarious, the rich mean daddy's girl type, her moveset is hella fun and her design is pretty slick and gets the message across - you know she is the spoiled brat before she even opens her mouth.

Tekken Grand Masters Tier a.k.a. characters who are still pretty important but can skip a game or two

Lee Chaolan - Lee's trademark "excellent" is definitely pretty standard amongst Tekken fans, but from here on, him and the characters that follow are more or less characters who are mostly relevant within the Tekken community and don't necessarily represent the franchise as a whole or are instantly recognisable as Tekken characters. Lee's is a very interesting take on Bruce Lee's Jeet Kune Do. In Tekken 1, all of the "rival" characters are in some way reused or alternate versions of the initial eight characters' fighting styles. In this case, he practices Jeet Kune Do like Law, but unlike Law, he doesn't retain any of Bruce Lee's mannerisms, other than the outrageous screams.

Eddy Gordo - Eddy is the resident capoeira master of Tekken, and you could argue this alone could earn him a higher placing, but I feel like the fact that he was Christie's pallette swap for two games split the spotlight between them. He still has a story-related reason to fight and is therefore still coming back whereas Christie's story arc is done for now, but even still, he was missing from the initial arcade release of Tekken 7 and is now only coming back as DLC. Eddy is undoubtedly a trademark Tekken character, but I feel like all the characters above him have become a tad more essential than him over the years.

Sergei Dragunov - Dragunov certainly has his fans, and has a fun moveset and an interesting... gimmick, if you can even call it that, in that he chooses not to speak. Ever... Almost.

Jun Kazama - No other character has had such a strong impact in the Tekken fanbase as Jun. Despite only being canonically present in one game (and it will 100% remain so as she is definitely still dead in Tekken 8) she has been constantly requested by fans, has had a "clone" character in the form of Asuka, and even an "evil counterpart" in the form of Unknown. Jun is kind of the face of the Tekken Tag Tournament games, as both of them, and any future ones we hopefully get, were always fans' chance to get to see her again after her death. Even after Asuka's debut, Jun's comeback in Tag 2 was among the main marketing for the game.

Christie Monteiro - Like I said, Christie replaced Eddy in Tekken 4 and 5 as the "face" of capoeira for Tekken. Although Eddy was the OG, and I feel like his Tekken 3 and Tag 1 appearances are his main popularity and nostalgia boosts over hers, Christie is arguably the more fun of the two and although her story arc is over, she has more to give in the personality department. With Tekken 8 going the extra mile to make Kuma and Panda feel more unique, decades after their debut as identical characters, I think the same energy can be applied to Eddy and Christie. They already had different standing throws to begin with so a first step was taken ever since Tekken 4.

Craig Marduk - Marduk is the series' resident big burly screaming neanderthal type of character. He has had a bit of character development through his feud and eventual friendship with King and, even when it seemed like Gigas had kind of replaced him in Tekken 7 he actually made it back so good for him, I guess...

Leo Kliesen - Leo kind of invented being non-binary back in 2008 right? What was initially envisioned as a gimmick, a character without gender, has taken on a whole new meaning as people found new ways to express their identities that weren't as widely explored before and I think that this is a good thing. No one in the Tekken world seems to treat Leo's androgyny as something abnormal, in fact nobody even acknowledges it, nobody is bothered by it, nobody loses sleep about it. Leo is Leo and they're here to stay. My only issue is that Leo's personality trait sliders were all set right in the middle too and this is definitely something that could be worked on a lot more.

Lars Alexandersson - Tekken 6 tried really hard to set Lars up as "the new Mishima" and I don't think it worked. I mean look at Reina's reception. I think that's what they were going for at the time. Did it work? Yes and no. Lars is intrinsically tied with the story and he seems to have been positioned as a positive role model and moral compass for Jin to make him "find his way" or whatever the fuck. If you think about it, after Jun's death, Jin only had Heihachi's abusive relationship and murder attempt and then his equally bloody reunion with his father in the form of family. Lars, and I guess Lee (they don't seem to have canonically interacted with each other before Tekken 7's ending) are now positioned as the good influences in Jin's life. Although Lee has worked under both Heihachi and Kazuya, and Lars had no issues working as a mercenary for Heihachi in the Tekken Force and only quit after Jin started World War III. Once again this harkens back to how no one is a saint in Tekken. Lars is no exception.

Raven - He took a small break in 7 but his fighting style was still represented in the form of his master. Raven's design is a knock-off Blade but the fact that he is a ninja working for the United Nations and that they also keep expanding his organization with new members in the form of Master Raven and Victor is proof enough of his relevancy to the series.

Tekken Experts Tier a.k.a. the last few ones that actually matter

Kuma - Kuma is a joke character, but an arguably quite good one at that. Tekken employs many "jokey" characters, the Pauls, the Yoshimitsus, the Kings, as marketing gimmicks. "Oh you know Tekken has a guy with weird hair that punches real hard" or "Tekken has a mech space ninja" or "Tekken has a dude with a jaguar head" but nothing hits quite hard like "Tekken has a bear". Street Fighter II had many martial artists in its original eight-character roster. A stoic karateka, a cheerful Kung Fu master, a hardened wrestler. But it also had Blanka, a weird "out of the box" type of character that fights with an unconventional fighting style and has a unique appearance. The other characters I mentioned have unique appearances but Paul practices judo, King is a wrestler and Yoshimitsu is a ninja (so at least his shenanigans are somewhat excused). But Kuma is a talking bear (when he speaks we hear growls, just like with King, but he is canonically able to communicate with humans, he just follows Tekken's "everyone speaks their mother tongue" and therefore speaks 'bear') who practices a mix of Mishima-style karate along with... Well bear moves. Very few other games in the market can match that energy.

Anna Williams - Anna is unfortunately, more often than not, in the shadow of her older sister, a sentiment that perhaps hits too close to home for a lot of younger siblings. Nevertheless, even if she began as a Nina clone, she was among the very first who the developers started differentiating from their original counterpart, as early as Tekken 3. Anna is certainly popular, but she is constantly treated as an afterthought to Nina, which itself prevents me from placing her any higher. While Nina is allowed to be part of the main story and have a subplot with her son or others, Anna has only ever had her rivalry with Nina, her having the hots for Kazuya and an interaction with Lee that may not even be canon. Perhaps the fact that she constantly has to live in the shadow of a more popular sister is in and of itself her own gimmick within the Tekken universe. The fact that she always serves the cunt™, all the cunt™ and nothing but the cunt™ is also probably a reason why she is a favourite of the gays and the girls.

Ganryu - Ganryu is another joke character. He has many running gage, actually, from his obsession with Michelle Chang and then her much-younger-than-him (...) daughter and them barely even acknowledging his existence, his lying over his ranking in sumo (and being cancelled by the... Sumo masters??? because of it) and also trying and failing to promote his chanko restaurant through the Tournaments, Ganryu is perhaps the Joke Character of Tekken. Even so, Kazuya apparently found something in him as he was among his elite bodyguards along with Bruce, Anna and Lee in Tekken 2.

Julia Chang - Julia I feel like also peaked during her Tekken 5 era but has been slowly fading in the background ever since. Arguably the most interesting character development she's had was adopting the Jaycee luchadora persona... Which was not canon... Her new streamer persona doesn't seem to be necessarily popular and the fact that she's again missing from another mainline base Tekken game may reflect that Namco don't necessarily seem like they know what to do with her at all.

Devil Jin - Devil Jin is not really an actual character, rather an alter ego of sorts of Jin, although we haven't necessarily "seen" him so far. Whenever Jin canonically assumes his devil form he just seems to lose control for a few seconds and then snaps back to normal. The reason for his existence is that people were pissed that Jin's Tekken 3 moveset was dropped in Tekken 4 as Jin relearned his fighting style to distance himself from his Mishima heritage and go back to his mother's teachings and Namco simply decided to bring it back in the form of an alter ego. He simply exists as a gameplay mechanic, although it still has endured for all these years, showing the impact Tekken 3 still has on the series. The initial story trailers for Tekken 8 seemed to hint that Devil Jin was no more but, for better or worse, Namco doesn't seem to be ready to let go just yet.

Baek Doo San & Michelle Chang - Both have been completely replaced by Hwoarang and Julia respectively so both are mostly in this tier for their presence in the first few games and the fact that their fighting style lives on through their disciples. Arguably Baek's is a little more alive than Michelle's though lol

Alisa Bosconovitch - Alisa is another one of the teen girly characters that Namco loves to push as their main form of female character archetype. Alisa being an android with chainsaw blades coming out of her arms was certainly an interesting gimmick back when she was added to Tekken 6, but it doesn't have an impact nearly as strong as "man with jaguar head" or "talking bear".

Zafina - Zafina closes up the last tier of actually important characters for the game's identity. She is cunty and as assassin but also her fighting style is extremely cooky and her animations are hilarious and, on top of that, she now also has the rotting Azazel hand. A perfect mix of the three pillars of Tekken; edginess, camp and c*nt~

Tekken Mentors Tier a.k.a. Pallette swaps, the last few legacy characters and Mokujin

Tekken Initiates Tier a.k.a Bosses, one-off characters and the literal newcomers who cannot be properly placed yet. I consider Leroy a newcomer since he didn't get a story chapter last time and since he's the only T7 DLC to make it in T8 thus far he gets a small bonus boost

Tekken Beginners Tier a.k.a. even more palette swaps, characters completely replaced by others or obscure randos that only come back for the Tag Tournaments. The rest of T7's characters that did not make the cut (so far) are here either because they didn't have as strong an impact as the rest or they were DLC and haven't shown their full potential yet

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