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Social A New Challenger Enters! Kazuya Mishima Social Thread!

SnakeFighter64

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TTT2 Kazuya.png

Tekken is a classic of the fighting genre, having perfected 3D fighting after it was invented by Virtua Fighter. Since it's debut in 1994 it has been a staple franchise of the genre, growing to be a top name alongside classics like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, even having a crossover with the former. I would make the case that, after Street Fighter and Fatal Fury have been added, it's about time Tekken got a piece of the Smash pie.

The main story of Tekken, as fighting games typically have a few concurrent narratives, is the family drama of the Mishima family. Basically, a corporate giant, martial artist, and head of the Mishima Zaibatsu; Heihachi Mishima; was a **** to his son Kazuya as he growing up because he possessed the genes of a literal devil. Leading to Heihachi throwing his own son off a cliff. The family drama only gets more intense, and ridiculous, over the years eventually leading to Kazuya's son Jin starting World War III.

Why Kazuya?
When most people are asked about a Tekken character, they would probably either tell you to pick Heihachi or Jin as the playable representative. But I would argue that Kazuya has the most potential of Tekken's main family trio. All three use Mishima style karate, but Heihachi lacks the devil powers of his son and grandson. Now, a strict melee fighter can and has been done in Smash (see Little Mac), but I don't think it makes Heihachi very interesting from a gameplay perspective compared to his progeny. Besides, while many see him as the mascot of sorts, he's always been more of a main antagonist than a protagonist. Not to mention, his voice actor recently passed away. Jin on the other hand is often seen as the Ryu of the series, taking that position from his father in Tekken 3. But he has gone on to be just as big a villain in the series as his father and grandfather. Giving away his "protagonist" status to other characters in later games. He's barely in Tekken 7's story mode, for example. So, Kazuya's seniority (being around sense the first title and only missing out on one installment), trumps Jin's. Not to mention, Namco themselves seem to treat Kazuya as the "main guy" more that his father or son. Look to Street Fighter x Tekken. Who is Ryu's rival? Kazuya. That game also features two guest characters, Sony's Japanese mascots Toro and Kuro. Toro borrows Ryu's moveset, and Kuro borrows Kazuya's. Plus, while Jin's Devil form has always been treated as a separate character (ala Evil Ryu), Kazuya has had the ability to freely switch between the two since Tekken Tag Tournament 2, a trait he carries into Tekken 7.

So with that out of the way,
How would he play?
As previously stated, Kazuya primarily uses a fictional martial art unique to the Tekken series called Mishima Style Karate. To quote the Tekken Wiki "Kazuya is one of the most basic characters in the series. His moveset furthers powerful single strikes, and despite them being mostly slow and/or unsafe on block, they do a lot of raw damage. Most of Kazuya's best moves are predictable and hard to surprise with, so his most rewarding method of play is centered around block punishment." I think it better to link a video of his moves from Tekken 7 as opposed to listing them out here. With a fighting game it's always easier to show rather than tell. His special moves would be the "powerful single strikes" mentioned earlier, while his normals would be his basic combos. Both shown in the video. Except for his down special, Devil Transformation. It's not as drastic as the other transformation characters. Just look at his devil form. The only real differences between Kazuya and Devil are special moves. But you can only be Devil for a short bit of time. Till a meter runs out. At which point you have to wait for it to fill back up. Each form would also have a unique final Smash. His normal form's final smash is shown at the beginning of the earlier linked video. His Devil form's final smash is shown here. Obviously, both would need slight modification so they can be done on multiple opponents at once, but the seed is there. The goal of the character is that, if you're playing him right, you feel like you are controlling a final boss. Simple, but technical.

Stage
His stage is an easy choice. Some might point to the Mishima Estate Dojo, others would point to the King of Iron Fist Arena. But my choice is Eternal Darkness, Kazuya's arena from his appearance as the Final Boss in Tekken 2. This stage would be quite complimentary to his play style as described, increasing the intimidation factor when fighting him.

Potential Costumes
Kazuya and Devil both have a variety of potential alt costumes from across the Tekken series.
T2 Kazuya.jpg
T5 Alt.jpg
T6 Suit.jpg
T6 Robot.jpg
T7 Kazuya.png
T1 Devil.jpg
T2 Devil.jpg
Pachislots Devil.png
TTT2 Devil.jpg
As you can see, some of them are more viable choices than others.

latest.jpg

His music, if we follow Street Fighter's example, would primarily come from Tekken 2. Which is widely regarded by fans as the best soundtrack in the series.

As for spirits? Take your pick from Tekken's vast catalogue of characters.

It’s November. We see a new trailer, starting at the exact moment the last one left off before launching into Terry’s gameplay. And a certain amount of time in, the lights in the King of Fighters arena (the stage we were shown that goes with him) goes dark, the Devil Gene tattoo appears on the Jumbo-tron, G-Corp soldiers show up and start pointing their weapons at the crowd, and Kazuya drops in from a helicopter to challenge Terry, Ryu, and Ken. He brags about how strong he is as the gameplay goes on. Then we cut back to cinematic. Just as Ryu and Terry launch a Shinku Hadooken and a Power Geyser, his eye flashes red and he turns into his devil form. We see more gameplay before leading to a final clash between the four kings of the ring. Then the Smash logo.

 
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Flik

Smash Journeyman
Joined
Jul 16, 2014
Messages
370
My most wanted 3rd party! Although I feel Jin is more lilkely, Kazuya would still feel right as he is one of the protagonists. Hopefully Sakurai will feel the need to bring a token evil guy to the DLC line up with Kazuya.

I always thought that, if you really need to bring some game mechanic from Tekken, it should be the devil transformation from when you activate the rage mode: After taking enough damage (how much damage you need to enter in Rage mode in Tekken, 70%, 80%?), Kazuya would (automatically) turn into his devil form; his neutral B becomes a laser beam and his Up B becomes his Rage Drive, going much farter than his regular Up B. Of course, It would last until you lose a stock, just like in Tekken when the round ends.
 
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DBo

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Joined
Feb 4, 2016
Messages
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View attachment 237774

Tekken is a classic of the fighting genre, having perfected 3D fighting after it was invented by Virtua Fighter. Since it's debut in 1994 it has been a staple franchise of the genre, growing to be a top name alongside classics like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat, even having a crossover with the former. I would make the case that, after Street Fighter and Fatal Fury have been added, it's about time Tekken got a piece of the Smash pie.

The main story of Tekken, as fighting games typically have a few concurrent narratives, is the family drama of the Mishima family. Basically, a corporate giant, martial artist, and head of the Mishima Zaibatsu; Heihachi Mishima; was a **** to his son Kazuya as he growing up because he possessed the genes of a literal devil. Leading to Heihachi throwing his own son off a cliff. The family drama only gets more intense, and ridiculous, over the years eventually leading to Kazuya's son Jin starting World War III.

Why Kazuya?
When most people are asked about a Tekken character, they would probably either tell you to pick Heihachi or Jin as the playable representative. But I would argue that Kazuya has the most potential of Tekken's main family trio. All three use Mishima style karate, but Heihachi lacks the devil powers of his son and grandson. Now, a strict melee fighter can and has been done in Smash (see Little Mac), but I don't think it makes Heihachi very interesting from a gameplay perspective compared to his progeny. Besides, while many see him as the mascot of sorts, he's always been more of a main antagonist than a protagonist. Not to mention, his voice actor recently passed away. Jin on the other hand is often seen as the Ryu of the series, taking that position from his father in Tekken 3. But he has gone on to be just as big a villain in the series as his father and grandfather. Giving away his "protagonist" status to other characters in later games. He's barely in Tekken 7's story mode, for example. So, Kazuya's seniority (being around sense the first title and only missing out on one installment), trumps Jin's. Not to mention, Namco themselves seem to treat Kazuya as the "main guy" more that his father or son. Look to Street Fighter x Tekken. Who is Ryu's rival? Kazuya. That game also features two guest characters, Sony's Japanese mascots Toro and Kuro. Toro borrows Ryu's moveset, and Kuro borrows Kazuya's. Plus, while Jin's Devil form has always been treated as a separate character (ala Evil Ryu), Kazuya has had the ability to freely switch between the two since Tekken Tag Tournament 2, a trait he carries into Tekken 7.

So with that out of the way,
How would he play?
As previously stated, Kazuya primarily uses a fictional martial art unique to the Tekken series called Mishima Style Karate. To quote the Tekken Wiki "Kazuya is one of the most basic characters in the series. His moveset furthers powerful single strikes, and despite them being mostly slow and/or unsafe on block, they do a lot of raw damage. Most of Kazuya's best moves are predictable and hard to surprise with, so his most rewarding method of play is centered around block punishment." I think it better to link a video of his moves from Tekken 7 as opposed to listing them out here. With a fighting game it's always easier to show rather than tell. His special moves would be the "powerful single strikes" mentioned earlier, while his normals would be his basic combos. Both shown in the video. Except for his down special, Devil Transformation. It's not as drastic as the other transformation characters. Just look at his devil form. The only real differences between Kazuya and Devil are special moves. But you can only be Devil for a short bit of time. Till a meter runs out. At which point you have to wait for it to fill back up. Each form would also have a unique final Smash. His normal form's final smash is shown at the beginning of the earlier linked video. His Devil form's final smash is shown here. Obviously, both would need slight modification so they can be done on multiple opponents at once, but the seed is there. The goal of the character is that, if you're playing him right, you feel like you are controlling a final boss. Simple, but technical.

Stage
His stage is an easy choice. Some might point to the Mishima Estate Dojo, others would point to the King of Iron Fist Arena. But my choice is Eternal Darkness, Kazuya's arena from his appearance as the Final Boss in Tekken 2. This stage would be quite complimentary to his play style as described, increasing the intimidation factor when fighting him.

Potential Costumes
Kazuya and Devil both have a variety of potential alt costumes from across the Tekken series.
As you can see, some of them are more viable choices than others.


His music, if we follow Street Fighter's example, would primarily come from Tekken 2. Which is widely regarded by fans as the best soundtrack in the series.

As for spirits? Take your pick from Tekken's vast catalogue of characters.

It’s November. We see a new trailer, starting at the exact moment the last one left off before launching into Terry’s gameplay. And a certain amount of time in, the lights in the King of Fighters arena (the stage we were shown that goes with him) goes dark, the Devil Gene tattoo appears on the Jumbo-tron, G-Corp soldiers show up and start pointing their weapons at the crowd, and Kazuya drops in from a helicopter to challenge Terry, Ryu, and Ken. He brags about how strong he is as the gameplay goes on. Then we cut back to cinematic. Just as Ryu and Terry launch a Shinku Hadooken and a Power Geyser, his eye flashes red and he turns into his devil form. We see more gameplay before leading to a final clash between the four kings of the ring. Then the Smash logo.

Imo, Kazuya Mishima would only be in it if Jin Kazama is released first, although I would totally want both of them in the game! :love:
 

Johnknight1

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Kazuya Mishima is the clear best Tekken character pick in my mind.

Tekken 7 has a strong case for being the greatest fighting game ever. It's definitely the most well-made fighting game made this generation. And no character from the Tekken series is probably as popular, well-liked and central to the series as Kazuya (the OG protagonist and probably main villain of sorts going forward). Also just the general Kazuya moveset has been so loved forever (even when Jin stole it in Tekken 3). It's such a great moveset.

Kazuya's buttons
Kazuya's combos
Kazuya's unique move combinations
Kazuya's Devil Powers and Devil Kazuya transformation

in combination with the awesome Tekken grounded juggle combos and Tekken 7 Rage mode...

...it would be such a sick and perfect combination to put in Smash. Doubly so if you add in Jin Kazama (his son) as an Echo Fighter of him.

Kazuya would be absolutely perfect in Smash Ultimate with how different philosophically he is from all the characters we have in Smash thus far.

After we got Ryu (and Ken) and Terry (and how just amazing Terry is in Smash; absolutely a home-run addition), the next logical step from a fighting game character is Kazuya IMO.

And the fact Kazuya has a real shot at happening is a great thing. I really wanna see Kazuya happen and I think many other people should too. If you play Tekken and imagine some of Kazuya's attacks, buttons, mix ups and combos in Smash... it just gets you pumped for the possibility of Kazuya in Smash. It's gotten my hype levels for it way way up, because you know, you just know Tekken head Harada would help the Smash development team develop a fantastic interpretation of Kazuya in Smash. It would be glorious to see, that's for sure.

Also yeah... play Tekken 7 y'all. It's one of the best games ever made.
 
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Michael the Spikester

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Pretty content with this reveal, yet again another villain to the roster.

Surprising it wasn't Jin however, the only conclusion I can think is perhaps it was like Min Min which the creator asked for that certain character.
 

Noipoi

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Well, I’ll give you this. You were right about Namco. I was adamant we wouldn’t get one, and I was wrong. I concede this point. And congratulations on Kazuya, he looks cool. You were right, and I was wrong.


We’ll see about Crash tho :4wario2:
 

Geno Boost

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I screamed during that reveal it made me very excited Tekken was a part of my childhood and I thought the potential of having Tekken rep has passed over since Heihachi mii costume reveal but I always had secretly hope in my heart that Kazuya still could somehow manage to make it in
Keep in mind I didn’t play street fighter and fatal fury
And the only fighting games that I have enjoyed were Tekken and Joy mech fight (I played ARMS and Pokken but it was boring I left it in less than a week of buying it)
Thanks Sakurai and Harada for the big surprise
 
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DragonKent17

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I'm so happy with Tekken getting a rep. The possibilities of Tekken 7 soundtrack (along with T3 and Tag Tournament spinoffs) is happening
 
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AreJay25

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After Heihachi's Mii Costume came back, I was 100% certain that Tekken missed its chance again.

Boy, am I god damn happy to be wrong. Looking forward to playing Kazuya, and man I can't wait for the music selection.
 

THE 6r

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Smash always need more FGC content. I hope this brings some Tekken players to the scene.

Also, mods, do your thing and MOVE THE THREAD!!!
 
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Wunderwaft

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Mar 21, 2019
Messages
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I'm still reeling over this reveal. I thought Tekken was out after the Heihachi mii costume reveal, it's the deconfirmation that hit me the most during the DLC cycle. I'm so glad Tekken finally got it's rightful due.
 

zumaddy

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Congrats guys! Haven't played any of the newer Tekkens recently, but I'm a fan of the older ones and Kazuya is a great pick. I wanted Tekken to get a fighter before a 3rd Street Fighter rep, and I'm glad it worked out.
 
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