Heihachi returns to Tekken 8 in gloriously brutal fashion

A legend is back… with a whole lot more

Features By Roland Moore-Colyer published 24 September 2024

If there's one thing fighting game series Tekken teaches us, it’s that being thrown off cliffs and into volcanoes ain’t no thing. Now I don’t suggest you try that at home – or wherever your local active volcano is – but for one such example, may I point you to the upcoming DLC for Tekken 8. That’s because it sees the return of the iconic Heihachi Mishima. 

For the uninitiated, Heihachi was the final boss of the original Tekken, the main character of Tekken 2, and somewhat of a hero-villain character of the series, who seemingly met his end by being thrown into a volcano by his son,  

Kazuya Mishima, who was also thrown into a volcano by Heihachi at the end of Tekken 2 yet survived. There’s a heck of a lot more to this, as the story of the Tekken series goes places. 

But rest assured Heihachi Mishima, and his Mishima Style Fighting Karate, is back and better than ever, thanks to Tekken 8’s Unreal 5 Engine-powered graphics and refined movesets. 

Like the addition of Eddy Gordo and Lidia Sobieska in previous Tekken 8 DLCs this year, access to Heihachi will come as part of the paid DLC. But Bandai Namco is pushing out a 1.08 update that among optimizations and new features, like being able to use an online practice mode with friends, adding your favorite character to the main menu screen, and getting access to new in-game customization items, also brings in a new story in the form of the Unforgotten Echoes campaign. 

As part of a hands-on event, I got to play the first five chapters of the new story, which put me in control of Eddy as he looked to regain command over a beleaguered Tekken Force.

The story then jumps to Lidia as she pursues the enigmatic Tekken Monks and comes face to face with the once-thought-to-be-dead Heihachi. From there I was given control over the legendary fighter himself, who, without giving much away, appears to be a more sympathetic fellow this time around rather than a power-hungry warrior.

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