Tekken Characters With The Most Appearances Across The Series

Summary

• The Tekken series boasts global popularity, with a diverse fanbase celebrating beloved characters like Yoshimitsu, Law, and Xiaoyu.
• Each character’s inclusion in a Tekken game holds significance for fans, impacting gameplay and fan favorites.
• Iconic characters like Jin, Nina, and Paul contribute to Tekken’s lasting legacy, embodying the series’ essence and popularity.

The legacy of the Tekken series spans three decades. It’s one of the most storied and successful fighting games to date, and boasts a worldwide fanbase. From Japan, to Korea, to Pakistan, to the United States and beyond, Tekken is second only to Street Fighter in name recognition. The series, which once grew so popular for its simplicity, is now fairly complex in its own right, with many fans only having one or two characters they have fully learned.

This means that each character’s appearance in a Tekken game has far-reaching implications for the fanbase. If your main didn’t make it, you’ll have to wait and hope for them to be included as DLC, or just learn a new character. Here are the characters whose inclusion fans have celebrated most often.

All mainline games and spin-offs count as separate appearances. Tekken: Dark Resurrection does not account for a separate appearance because it is an updated version of Tekken 5.

13

Yoshimitsu

Appearances: 11

Yoshimitsu is one of Tekken’s most unique characters. A sword-weilding ninja of the Manji Clan, Yoshimitsu is a darker take on Robin Hood. Though his namesake sword is a weapon of justice meant to protect the weak, Yoshimitsu uses it for revenge too, particularly against his rival Bryan Fury. If his sword does not kill evildoers for a prolonged period of time, its user will be driven to madness.

Yoshimitsu’s motifs may be ghoulish, but his gameplay is decidedly cartoonish. He is capable of flight using his blade as a rotor, has seemingly endless spins and flips, and can damage himself just as much as his opponents. He can also meditate to restore his health, making him an anomaly among the Tekken cast. Yoshimitsu has appeared in every single Tekken title except Tekken Revolution and Tekken Mobile.

12

Marshall Law

Appearances: 11

Tekken’s tribute to Bruce Lee, Marshall Law is a character you have to try, if only for his Shaolin Spin Kicks. A proponent of Jeet Kune Do, the martial art created by his real-life inspiration, Law is a quick and deadly opponent: as fans put it, Law always seems faster when someone else is playing him.

Law’s in-game storylines usually feature a comedic tone, but the character is more than simple comic relief. A dedicated father to his son Forest, and loyal friend to Paul, Law helps restore the world by running food kitchens after the events of Tekken 8. He was briefly replaced by his son Forest in Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament, but makes a cameo in the T3 ending.

Law, along with his best friend Paul, was featured in the standalone PS2 game Urban Reign.

11

Ling Xiaoyu

Appearances: 11

Xiaoyu was a part of the new generation of fighters introduced in Tekken 3: unlike her peer and crush Jin, she was not a replacement or expy for any past character. She had completely original gameplay, based on Baguazhang and Piguaquan.

Xiaoyu’s characterization was also unique for a fighting game character of the time: she had a small frame, relying more on movement and torque than brute force. Her stance-based gameplay, cheongsam outfit and personality rooted in kawaii sensibilities made her popular enough to be included in every Tekken game since.

10

Lee Chaolan

Appearances: 11

Lee is Heihachi’s adoptive son, and was originally chosen as the successor of the Mishima Zaibatsu. He was disowned, and failed to appear in Tekken 3 as he was off building his robotics business. In Tekken 4, a mysterious fighter named Violet appeared, later revealing himself to be Lee.

The character has appeared in every Tekken title since: charming and funny, Lee swallows the hurt the Mishima side of his family caused him and runs a successful tech company. His logistical aid in Tekken 8 helps Jin stop Kazuya, though Lee isn’t above getting his hands dirty on the battlefield either.

9

Bryan Fury

Appearance: 11

A cyborg with no moral core, Bryan antagonizes everyone he comes across whether they are friend or foe. Everything about this character, from his maniacal laughter to his brutal win poses, is just off. Bryan would set the world on fire just to laugh about it, and his non-canonical Tekken 8 ending sees him build a Mad Max dystopia where he’s finally happy.

Bryan fights using kickboxing, relying on quick jabs and fast follow-ups to overwhelm his opponents. Since his debut in Tekken 3, Bryan has appeared in every game, representing the darker side of Tekken.

8

Jin Kazama

Appearances: 11

Jin Kazama debuted in Tekken 3 as a replacement for Kazuya; his explosive popularity quickly cemented him as the series protagonist. His gameplay style was changed in Tekken 4 to accomodate Kazuya’s return: while Jin uses the Mishima fighting style in Tekken 3 and Tag Tournament, he fights using traditional karate from Tekken 4 onwards. Tekken 8 finally sees him re-incorporate elements of the Mishima and Kazama fighting styles into his moveset.

Jin is the poster boy of Tekken. Driven by a strong sense of shounen-esque justice, Jin has defied even his creators’ attempts to downplay his role. When Tekken 6 attempted to establish Lars as the new series protagonist, it quickly became apparent to Harada and co. that the fans wanted Jin.

7

Anna Williams

Appearances: 11

Alongside her more popular and reserved sister Nina, Anna is one of the earliest characters in Tekken. She debuted in Tekken with a similar playstyle to Nina, often being criticized in early games as a Nina clone.

After a mysterious absence in Tekken 4, Anna returned in Tekken 5 with a more fleshed-out fighting style. Her sultry characterization and occasional bouts of comedy have ensured an appearance in every Tekken game since, most recently as a DLC character in Tekken 8.

6

Kuma

Appearances: 12

If you really want to split hairs – or fur, as it were – Kuma in his current incarnation has only had ten appearances. His predecessor, also named Kuma, died after Tekken 2. But if he’s named the same, looks the same and plays the same, isn’t it the same Kuma?

In terms of gameplay, at least, this character has appeared in every single Tekken game except Tekken Mobile. Though not popular in the higher ranks, Kuma is ideal for casual combat – or just griefing your friends – due to his jovial playstyle.

5

Kazuya Mishima

Appearances: 12

We’re not going to sugarcoat it: Kazuya is the most important character in Tekken. He was once the series protagonist, and briefly returned to that role – in dubious fashion – in Tekken 7. By Tekken 8, he is the ultimate villain. He was also chosen to represent Tekken in the Super Smash Bros. series.

Once deemed too weak by Heihachi to carry on the Mishima legacy, Kazuya fought his way to the top in the original game and was the King of Iron Fist Tournament’s first canonical winner. He has appeared in every Tekken game except Tekken Card Challenge for the WonderSwan.

4

Heihachi Mishima

Appearances: 12

Despite Ogre, despite Jinpachi and despite Azazel, Heihachi is the true final boss of Tekken forever. It doesn’t matter how many times he supposedly dies: this man will climb out of every volcano, every ravine and every pile of rubble you throw him under. At this point, Heihachi Mishima dying in a Tekken game just means he’ll be DLC in the next one.

Heihachi is evil incarnate: Tekken 8 offers a brief glimpse into the man’s purer psyche while he has amnesia, but then he headbutts a meteor and remembers he’s supposed to be a villain. With a fighting style so powerful it can demoralize opponents, Heihachi was the final boss in the original Tekken, T4 and T7, and served a sub-boss role in several other games.

3

King

Appearances: 13

King is one of the most iconic characters in Tekken. A luchador with a heart of gold, King wears a jaguar mask and roars like a tiger while overwhelming his opponents with his pro wrestling combos.

King often has the biggest moveset out of all the characters: in the first two games, he had some extended throws that would drain your entire health bar if your opponent managed to do all the inputs correctly. He is also one of the most popular characters in the series worldwide, his presence highlighting how Tekken’s diversity is one of its strongest elements.

Canonically, the current incarnation of King is actually King II – the original luchador died before Tekken 3.

2

Nina Williams

Appearances: 13

Tekken’s strongest female character is Nina, an Irish assassin who fights using Koppo and Hapkido. Mother to Steve, Nina lacks warmth and is a steely professional in all her appearances.

Nina can use quick jabs and extended throws with equal efficiency. She’s also capable of spitting a poison mist into her opponent’s face, so you don’t want to get on her bad side. The character has appeared in every single Tekken game, as well as her own standalone spin-off Death by Degrees.

1

Paul Phoenix

Appearances: 13

The Mishima family may be the face of Tekken, but Paul is Tekken. This judo practitioner represents the essence of the series and what made it so popular in the first place: simple 3D fighting gameplay, with each button mapped to a single limb. Among the old generation, Paul is the most popular character by a landslide: his Burning Fist has seen steady nerfing throughout the series as his characterization grows goofier, but it isn’t a Tekken game until Paul says, “Osu!”

Canonically, Paul has been denied multiple victories due to his constant bad luck. In the original Tekken, he fought Kazuya to a draw. In Tekken 2, he qualified for the finals but got stuck in traffic. And in Tekken 3, he actually beat Ogre, but left before the god transformed into True Ogre, allowing Jin to fight him for another round and clinch the victory. Never celebrate too early.