SnakeFighter64
Smash Obsessed
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.
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.
Last edited:
