Tekken 8 is now officially out and in the hands of the masses, and so far, Bandai Namco’s latest entry in the long-running fighting game franchise appears to be a hit (no pun intended). Generally speaking, once a fighting game has launched and had some time to settle in, fans begin discussing DLC and what all they’d want to see added to the game, but with Tekken 8 we already have some people out there actively discussing what’s next.
I certainly did not have Tekken director Katsuhiro Harada addressing requests for Tifa from Final Fantasy 7 for Tekken 8 on my 2024 bingo card, but here we are. While Harada seems to like Tifa, unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like she’ll be joining the roster any time soon.
The discussion began just as most Twitter interactions where a fan hurls a request at a game developer usually does. A Twitter user by the name of DistantMemory96 shared a GIF of Tifa on the social media platform and addressed Harada-san head on.
Initially, the Tekken director shared his own tweet that pointed out the fact that both the Tekken 8 and Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth stations at Taipei Game Show 2024 are currently residing within the same Bandai Namco booth. He explained that it’s a little confusing at the moment — likely because fans could easily walk by and think there’s a collaboration going on between the two IPs — but essentially said that sometimes them’s the breaks.
DistantMemory96 replied to Harada’s tweet and shared a polite request for Tifa to be added to the game. The crux of their message was that even though everyone is currently saying it, they were gonna say it too and let Harada know how great of an addition to Tekken 8 Tifa would be.
While tweets and requests like this can often go unnoticed and not responded to due to the sheer amount of them, Harada took the time here to formulate a response. Funny enough, Harada started out by pointing out that he knows and understands that Tifa is attractive — which not only shares a little bit of the developer’s own preferences here, but also insinuates that her hotness is one of the main reasons people request her so much — but unfortunately, guest characters in Tekken 8 are something that have not been decided on just yet.
“We all know she is attractive and I understand that,” Harada wrote. “But as yet we have not decided anything about [Tekken 8] guest characters etc.”
It’s very possible that this response was just dev speak and trying not to reveal anything just yet, but it’s also an interesting comment considering we have now started to see some of Tekken 8’s DLC being revealed.
We now know that the first wave of DLC characters will include four new contenders that are set to be released alongside the year’s seasons. Eddy Gordo is the first fighter to join the game as downloadable content, and he is slated for a spring 2024 launch.
Another DLC character will follow in the summer, autumn, and winter, but we don’t know who these combatants are yet.
It stands to reason that the first full character pass of DLC is likely already decided, so if what Harada is saying is true, then it likely means Tifa won’t be included in this first batch of characters. That being said, anything can happen, and Tifa is certainly among the most popular video game characters of all time making her a powerful guest character choice.
We all know she is attractive and I understand that.
But as yet we have not decided anything about guest characters etc. https://t.co/dkuMm1pnGG— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) January 26, 2024
