When Heihachi Mishima was revealed to be Tekken 8’s subsequent DLC character, I used to be each stunned and never stunned. The collection antagonist was killed off within the earlier entry, Tekken 7, by being thrown right into a volcano, however miraculously survived by some means. The one factor stronger than demise is DLC, I suppose.
Heihachi’s return comes with a brand new story mode referred to as Unforgotten Echoes, which particulars what the opposite DLC characters — Eddy Gordo and Lidia Sobieska — have been as much as in the course of the occasions of Tekken 8. Fortunately, Unforgotten Echoes is a free replace, so gamers can check out the DLC characters with out having to pay for them.
DailyTech performed the primary 5 chapters of Unforgotten Echoes and sat down with producer Michael Murray to debate why Heihachi was introduced again, how he differs in Tekken 8 in comparison with his earlier iterations, and the way characters are balanced in comparison with the remainder of the roster.
Bringing again dangerous
It looks like Bandai Namco couldn’t let go of Heihachi. Each followers and the builders missed him, so it solely made sense for him to return again. At first, director Katsuhiro Harada informed the staff to make Heihachi “look very lifeless,” and so they really went into the method with the intention of killing him off.
“However then Harada was like, ‘What? I didn’t say kill him!’” Murray tells DailyTech. “I suppose he meant simply to make it look sensible with out really killing him. So plenty of the enjoyable of Tekken 8 was attempting to plan a solution to carry him again from the lifeless. So we actually did intend it at first.”
Heihachi comes with a brand new gameplay mechanic referred to as Warrior’s Intuition, which adjustments the properties of a few of his assaults and provides a sinister reddish aura round him. On this powered up state, he can deal extra recoverable well being injury and has entry to extra extensions on his strikes, making it simpler for him to combo and juggle his opponents. This mechanic ties in narratively too, because the staff needed Heihachi to nonetheless really feel highly effective.
“In Tekken 7, he was a extra technical character, the place you had much more wonderful detailed strategies, like little strikes right here and there that you just had to make use of to attempt to open up your opponent to break,” Murray says. “Whereas now he has a extra dynamic and highly effective approach of with the ability to assault your opponent.”
In an effort to stability out Warrior’s Intuition, one among its disadvantages is how lengthy it takes for Heihachi to activate it. He can’t accomplish that on a whim; he has to enter Warmth state thrice, which might solely be executed as soon as a spherical. So Warrior’s Intuition received’t even be obtainable till later within the match. As a personality, Heihachi nonetheless has weak low assaults, making him vulnerable to being blocked and counterattacked. This fashion, Heihachi isn’t terribly overpowered in comparison with the remainder of the forged.
New horizons
The replace additionally brings a brand new stage referred to as the Genmaji Temple, which has a pivotal setting for Unforgotten Echoes because it’s a secluded coaching floor for Tekken monks. The surroundings options intricately detailed temple buildings crammed with vibrant gentle and surrounded by lush greenery. To commemorate Heihachi’s return, the builders needed to create a Japanese-themed centerpiece stage.
“They actually prefer to give attention to that change from autumn into winter. Falling leaves decide the colours and accents, that type of brown orange going into white snow,” Murray says. “We needed to give attention to that being a hidden space the place folks had practiced martial arts whereas not being too severe and to offer it somewhat little bit of a Tekken comedic aptitude.”
One of many extra notable new characters in Tekken 8 was Reina, who was positioned as a brand new huge risk. However with Heihachi within the highlight once more, the place does Reina slot in? Murray mentions that he and Harada needed to do a feminine Mishima character for fairly a while now, and are pleased with the optimistic reception Reina has acquired.
“Simply because Heihachi comes again doesn’t imply she’s going to be sidelined,” he explains. “However whether or not there’s going to be a deep path about her and Heihachi is one thing we are able to’t actually speak about. You’ll simply have to attend for the longer term.”
Tekken 8‘s DLC 3 launches on October 1 for Season Move homeowners and October 4 for everybody else on PC, PS5, and Xbox Sequence X|S.
