Practice with Heihachi Mishima – PlayStation.Blog

Tekken 8 Tekken 8 launched earlier this year, but it seems like a lot has happened in the game since then: several major tournament showcases, numerous game updates and tweaks, and two fan-favorite DLC characters. Now, Tekken 8 is gearing up for the return of none other than Heihachi Mishima, immortal as a cockroach and eager to reclaim the title of lord of the Mishima clan.

Bandai Namco gave us a glimpse at the upcoming version 1.08, which launches on October 3 on PS5, adding Heihachi as a playable character along with a brand new stage and a host of new battles and cinematics that continue the Tekken 8 story. We also spoke with Tekken series Creative Director Katsuhiro Harada and Tekken 8 Director Kohei Ikeda.

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If you’re worried that Heihachi’s near-death experience has fundamentally changed his gameplay, don’t worry. Much of Heihachi’s moveset will be familiar to veteran Tekken players, and old favorites like Wind God Fist are still there to make you feel right at home.

That’s not to say he doesn’t have any new tricks up his sleeve. Two new stances, Thunder God and Wind God, can be used at certain times and give him access to some powerful new moves. And that’s not all: Heihachi can also transform with Warrior Instinct, a power-up that requires Heihachi to enter Heat three times. Warrior Instinct brings a variety of power-ups, like more damage on top of recoverable health and additional/altered abilities. For example, Heihachi’s axe kick, which is already a good pressure tool, gets additional follow-ups when Warrior Instinct is activated. However, since Heat is limited to once per round, you’ll only see Heihachi at his full potential once you’re pretty deep into the fight.

“When we brought Heihachi back from his ‘death’, we needed it to feel convincing. He needed to seem strong if he was to survive. I wanted a new gameplay mechanic to tie into the story. The Tekken monks, who make their debut in the new story content, are also related to Heihachi. We wanted him to feel as if he had learned some long-buried, secret technique of the Mishima Style,” Tekken 8 director Kohei Ikeda stated.

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Heihachi also comes with a brand new stage, Genmaji Temple, an isolated hideout in a beautiful forest where Tekken monks train around the clock. Both daytime and dusk versions of the stage are available to fight.

“We wanted the stage to be the centerpiece of Heihachi’s return,” Ikeda continues. “We wanted the stage to reflect Japanese tastes, like the falling leaves that signal the transition from autumn to winter. But since it’s a training ground, we wanted to emphasize that this is a place where people have been practicing martial arts for a long time — but there’s also a bit of humor when you see the strange moves the monks do.”

The story of Fists and Fate continues

I also had a chance to run through the new story content that was added in the next update. This episode, titled Unforgotten Echoes, focuses on Eddy, Lidia, and Yoshimitsu coming together in the midst of an ongoing conflict. Eddy is trying to atone for his crimes with Tekken Force, while Lidia receives news of a clan of reclusive monks with longstanding ties to the Mishima clan. As they travel to Genmaji Temple, the trio encounters something very unexpected but very familiar face

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“Heihachi is important to the ongoing story, but he’s also a character that a lot of players wanted,” said Katsuhiro Harada, creative director of the Tekken series. “The same can be said about Eddy and Lidia. Eddy is essential to the story, and Capoeira is an iconic martial art that a lot of people love, so we wanted to include him. And then Lidia was added at the end of Tekken 7. She uses karate and she’s incredibly popular. So the factors we looked at were: they play an important role in the story, players want them, they’re used a lot, or they have a new fighting context. The DLC characters so far have all had those factors, so that’s why they were added.”

Tekken 8 update patch released October 3 on PS5. Early access begins September 30 for those who pre-order. Even if you don’t plan on buying Heihachi, the Unforgotten Echoes story and some other new content, including a customizable home screen, will be available for free to all players.