SPOILER ALERT: The following list contains plot spoilers from Tekken 8. We recommend you complete The Dark Awakens story mode before reading.
Tekken 8has blown us away with its abundance of content, dynamic fighting system, and well-executed story. Still, every game has its flaws, and a few of Tekken 8’s irregularities left us confounded. For instance, will we just forget that Jin is a war criminal because he magically transformed into an angel? Maybe Angel Jin has wings, but they’re not carrying this logic.
We found other things in Tekken 8 that make no sense. Some of these details regard plot holes that may or may not get filled in a future DLC. But other parts of Tekken 8 don’t make sense from a gameplay perspective. Keep reading; you may discover we share the same peeves about Tekken 8.
7You Can’t Play The Retro Namco Arcade Cabinets
There are plenty of Namco Easter Eggs in Tekken 8, especially in the Arcade Quest mode. One of the first references we noticed was theclassic cabinets at Gong Arcade, featuring titles like Galaga and Dragon Spirit.
Naturally, our first thought upon seeing the game cabinets was theGame Center in Street Fighter 6’s Battle Hub, which lets you play a rotation of Capcom’s retro classics. So, we were disappointed when we couldn’t play any retro cabinets at Gong.
This feels like a missed opportunity. Perhaps we’ll see a retro game feature launch in a future update? (fingers crossed!)
6Prim Has No Fashion Sense
Anyone who has started Tekken 8’s Arcade Quest has been introduced to Max and his Tekken-loving friends. Each one has a specific reason why they love Tekken. Beat loves showing off flashy special moves, Nick lives for the competition, andPrim spends hours expressing herself with Tekken’s character customization.
We at TG try not to engage in catty behavior. But, from an objective standpoint, Prim’s outfit does not scream ‘Style Guru’ or ‘Fashionista.’ Her outfit is aloud lavender/pink get-up with clashing patterns and chunky black sneakers. Still, Tekken is aboutpersonal style, not high fashion. So, who are we to judge?
5Do The Humans Understand What Kuma And Panda Are Saying?
Kuma and Pandaare two of our favorite Tekken characters. After all, who doesn’t want to play as a martial artist bear? But you can’t read too much into them. Otherwise, you’ll fall into a rabbit hole of logistical questions like ours. The main question on our minds is,“Can everyone understand these bears?”
When you play through Kuma and Panda’s character episodes, you’ll learn they have much on their minds. Panda even had acomplete press interviewin her character episode ending (albeit using yes/no/emoticon signs). So, we suppose the human communication dynamic isless Brian Griffin and more Lassie. (Well, let’s saymore intelligent than Lassie.)
4Azucena’s Reason For Siding With G Corp Is Illogical
Chapter 10 of Tekken 8’s main story, The Dark Awakens, features plenty of Tekken’s supporting cast. It’s a nice break from the Jin/Kazuya feud. But the scenarios that drive these characters to fight are (rather purposefully) ridiculous.
We laughed heartily at the bizarre vendettas, especially Paul and Law’s prize money debacle. But one character interaction goes above and beyond to jump the shark.
Naturally, we’re referring to Azucena and Leo’s confrontation. It’s bizarre to see Azucena, a well-meaning java-prenuer (do you like our portmanteau?), trust her aspirations for world peace in a corporation hell-bent on making aliteral devil the authoritarian leader of the world. Thank goodness she woke up and smelled the coffee.
3Did Jin Kazama Get Off Scot-Free As A War Criminal?
Let’s be honest. We’re all thinking the same thing. Did Jin seriously getpardoned by the UN for starting a world war that killed millions? No jail time, no sanctions, and not even community service?
Yes, he intended to control the devil gene by destroying Azazel. But this feels like collective punishment of civilians in pursuit of an evil party - which we’re pretty sure is still a war crime.
At least we can take comfort in the knowledge that Jin has a conscience and was thinking the same thing. And perhaps the laws of war are a less essential theme in a story about angels, demons, ogres,and other mythical beings. Well, Jin, our advice is’don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.'
Did anyone else notice theinconsistency of Heihachi’s mortality status in Tekken 8?Some people say he’s dead. Other times, he is referred to as “missing.” Perhaps Heihachi is dead, but the global community hasn’t realized it yet. We’re just as confused as you are, mainly because we completely believed Heihachi was gone for good.
Even Katsuhiro Harada, who directed Tekken 7,was shocked by the severity of Heihachi’s demise. And he’s the one who advised that Heihachi’s death would be as believable as possible. So, the fact that Tekken 8 didn’t fully commit to doubling down on this plot point leaves the smallest window of possibility for the return of Tekken’s famed patriarch.
Let’s remember that nothing is finite in the world of Tekken.Jun was considered ‘dead’ for decadesand was still written back to life. Plus, Heihachi has been pronounced dead multiple times in the series, only to triumphantly return. Tekken fooled us once before with Tekken 4, so we’re skeptically approaching Heihachi’s second death.
1Who Is Reina’s Mother?
While the Jin/Kazuya stand-off was the central plot of Tekken 8, Reina’s identity was a significant B plot. Several scenes alluded to ties between her and Heihachi. Therefore, we weren’t surprised to find out she is his daughter. What did surprise us wasthe presence of her devil gene.
Allow us to elaborate. The devil gene does not come from the Mishima bloodline. We learned this fact whenKazumi Mishima, the actual gene carrier, was introduced in Tekken 7. This implies Kazumi could be Reina’s mother. But wouldn’t Kazuya know he had a sister if he and Reina shared the same birth parents?
