EVO Japan is upon us, and Bandai Namco’s development team has been working hard developing new content for the upcoming Tekken 8. Earlier in the week, the team released a trailer for returning character Ling Xiaoyu, and there are not one but TWO character trailers today. Let’s break this news down as it’s still fresh off the press.
First off, and probably the more controversial of the two, is Leroy Smith, Tekken 7’s 10th DLC character, who makes his return as a base game character this time around. Something particularly notable is that he made it as a returning character before any of the base game newcomers last time around (Claudio Serafino, Shaheen, Gigas, to name a few). Leroy comes with a gameplay trailer, which you can view below.
Leroy Smith maintains many of the Wing Chun attacks he sported in Tekken 7 and got a couple of newer tricks up his sleeve here. First off, he has more than one attack with his cane (though, it’s unclear if they’ll retain the once-per-match properties it had in 7), and several of his older attacks have more cinematic follow-ups. Leroy’s Rage Art, as well as his various Heat System attacks, were also on display here. Hopefully, Bandai Namco learns from the last time Leroy released and doesn’t absurdly outclass everyone on the roster immediately.
Secondly, Tekken 8 sees Asuka Kazama added as a returning fighter. She’s been here since Tekken 5 and, except for the live-action movie appearances, has been in Tekken media ever since. Originally shown as a cousin to series regular Jin Kazama, she fights using Mishima Style traditional karate. Bandai Namco revealed her at EVO Japan earlier today, and you can watch her gameplay trailer below.
Visual redesign aside, Asuka Kazama appears to have a follow-up system to several of her attacks in this game (a trait Claudio had in Tekken 7). Here, it either extends some moves or alters the properties of others. Asuka also retains a few of her defensive traits, including redirecting her opponent’s attacks. Her Rage Art and Heat System attacks were also put on display here, too.
Leroy and Asuka bring the current roster to 12 characters, and Leroy’s presence alone makes it possible that characters from Tekken 7 may not be one-offs that disappear after a single game. However, it’s very possible that other DLC characters may make a return, but we’ll update once we know for sure. Tekken 8’s release date is currently not known, but it’s scheduled to release on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC via Steam. Pre-order information is not currently available.
