The Most Pivotal Moments In Tekken’s Narrative

Summary

• The Mishima soap opera in Tekken has lasted for decades, with pivotal story moments intertwining personal vendettas and demonic legacies.
• Kazuya’s survival in a volcano kickstarts his descent into darkness, leading to devilish powers and a thirst for revenge against his father.
• Jin’s self-actualization in Tekken 8 marks a monumental moment in fighting game history, showcasing a transformation and resolution 25 years in the making.

Throughout the decades, Tekken has maintained a level of consistency and fan investment that most fighting game series can only dream of. Not many arcade games can say their story matters like Tekken can. With the release of Tekken 8, the Mishima soap opera has been ongoing for longer than most of its fanbase has been alive.

Each game in the series introduced key developments that led to the debut of new characters, the expansion of the roster and in some cases, the complete overhaul of fighting styles. Here are the most important and memorable story moments in the series.

10

An Unholy Union

The Start Of The Devil Gene

The origin of the Devil Gene remained ambiguous in the series until the sixth entry, where it was proven to be Azazel who was the first Devil. However, the curse of the Mishima clan began when Kazumi Hachijo married Heihachi Mishima, head of the Mishima Zaibatsu, a multinational conglomerate.

The Hachijo clan, carriers of demonic blood, saw themselves as a force for good. Guided by a vision of the future, Kazumi was assigned to murder Heihachi before he threatened the world. In a bitterly ironic development, she ended up falling in love with him and having his child. When she tried to fulfil her mission, Heihachi won out and killed her instead.

9

Heihachi Underestimates His Son

One Of Many Volcano Sequences

While Kazuya was still a child, Heihachi decided he was too weak to carry on his legacy and threw him into a volcano. His reasoning was that a worthy successor wouldn’t die from a fall. Kazuya survived, but just barely.

Kazuya’s blood, carrying the Devil Gene and boiling over his father’s treatment of him, caused the Devil himself to appear and make Kazuya an offer of power. The child agreed, beginning his descent into darkness before he ever really had a chance to be good.

8

Kazuya Seizes Control

The First King Of Iron Fist Tournament

After gaining immense strength from his deal with the devil, Kazuya travelled the world competing in martial arts tournaments in a bid to be noticed by his father. Heihachi, however, had adopted Lee Chaolan as a successor by this point. The hubristic Heihachi announced The King Of Iron Fist Tournament, a martial arts contest where the winner would be granted control of the Mishima Zaibatsu.

Kazuya went undefeated through the entire tournament and, in an act of revenge, threw Heihachi off a cliff. This success was short-lived, however, as the very next tournament Heihachi defeated Kazuya and – you guessed it – threw him off a volcano.

7

Ogre Appears

A New Generation Of Fighters

Between Tekken 2 and 3, there is a massive timeskip. A few fighters disappeared from the story, several new faces appeared, and some were replaced by their children or expies with similar playstyles. To make it easier for you, we’ve logged the replacements in the table above.

The most important debutant is Jin Kazama, who would go on to become the series protagonist. During this time, Heihachi’s personal army – the Tekken Force – uncovers an ancient fighting god in a Mexican ruin. This creature, known as Ogre, attacks and kills martial artists all around the world – including Jun, Jin’s mother.

6

Paul Gets Disqualified

A Lighthearted But Critical Failure

Paul is a fan-favourite Tekken character and is one of the few to have appeared in every single instalment. He is also unambiguously strong, having missed out on victory in the King Of Iron Fist Tournament multiple times due to technicalities. The first time Paul qualified for the finals was in Tekken 2, where he ended up getting stuck in traffic and thus replaced by Heihachi.

In Tekken 3, Paul actually defeats Ogre and leaves, believing himself to have won the tournament. Unfortunately for him, Ogre morphs into True Ogre, opening himself up for another round. Since Paul is off celebrating too early, Jin advances in the tournament and wins.

5

Jin Learns Karate

A Multigenerational Conflict

The most important change in Tekken 4 is Jin’s playstyle. Up till this point, he had been little more than a replacement character for Kazuya. As Tekken 4 re-introduced his father to the story, however, Jin was assigned a new signature fighting style based on traditional karate. Story-wise, the reason for it is that Jin despises his male lineage so much that he unlearns the Mishima fighting style.

While his new mastery over karate gets him far in the fourth Iron Fist tournament, Jin is disqualified when he is attacked and kidnapped by the Tekken Force. Heihachi leads Kazuya to the temple of Hon-Maru, where the latter attempts to absorb Jin’s devil powers. Both Kazuya and Heihachi are defeated, but Jin stops short of killing them because of the mercy his mother instilled in him.

4

The Zaibatsu Changes Hands

Hostile Takeovers Galore

Tekken 5 is one of the most beloved games in the series, and for good reason. Not only does it have a huge roster and incredible gameplay that still holds up, it featured superb plot development. With Kazuya and Heihachi out of the picture following an explosion at Hon-Maru, the Mishima Zaibatsu falls into the hands of Jinpachi Mishima.

Jinpachi, though supposed to be long dead at this point, is re-animated by an ancient evil. He announces the next Iron Fist tournament in the hopes that a great fighter will defeat him before the evil inside him takes over completely. That fighter is Jin, who finally seizes control of the Zaibatsu.

3

Azazel Is Unleashed

World At War

In Tekken 6, series protagonist Jin seems to turn evil, declaring war against the world and kickstarting multiple conflicts. The G Corporation, led by Kazuya, is the only organization powerful enough to combat the Zaibatsu. However, Jin is attempting to become a martyr.

As his half-brother Lars finds out, the objective of Jin’s warmongering was to awaken Azazel, the first Devil, and kill him. Jin fails to do this, but Azazel is sealed into newcomer Zafina’s arm for the time being.

2

Heihachi Recovers From Amnesia

The Umpteenth Volcano Battle

Kazuya and Heihachi seem to have a fixation on volcanoes. With Jin in a coma following his battle with Azazel, the two are able to duke it out without the grandson getting involved. The winner is Kazuya, but his victory is hollow. At this point in the series, Heihachi is simply too strong to die.

Instead, he develops amnesia and is taken in by a clan of Tekken Monks. To achieve the ultimate Mishima fighting power, they charge him with the task of stopping a meteorite. No, we’re not making this up.

Heihachi stops the meteorite with a headbutt, but doing so also fixes his hippocampus. Remembering he’s evil, he promptly defeats Yoshimitsu, Eddy, Linda and the entirety of the Tekken Monks before setting out for the Zaibatsu.

1

Jin Reaches Self-Actualization

A Payoff 25 Years In The Making

If you have been a Tekken fan since childhood, this moment is for you. This is, without a doubt, one of the greatest story moments in fighting game history. The way it is holistically communicated to you through gameplay is simply the cherry on top.

During a decisive battle against Kazuya, Jin defeats the evil inside himself and becomes Angel Jin – rather than the Devil Jin he would morph into up till this point. Devil Kazuya and Angel Jin keep fighting until they presumably run out of mana, at which point they fight some more in human form.

Jin adjusts his gauntlet, and his classic theme from Tekken 3 starts playing. All of a sudden, you’ll notice you can now do Mishima-style combos with Jin. A shocked Kazuya is handily beaten as Jin uses a mixture of Mishima style, Kazama style and traditional karate against him. After the battle, Jin reaffirms his friendly rivalry with Hwoarang and acknowledges Xiayou’s feelings for him. After a quarter of a century, our boy finally gets his happy ending.