Tekken 8 launched at the start of this year to much fanfare, and the updates just keep coming for the 3D fighter at its largest Evo turnout ever.
Right before the finals kicked off for the game, Bandai Namco took to the Evo 2024 stage to reveal Heihachi Mishima as the third DLC character for Tekken 8 in a bombastic new trailer.
Although he was tossed into a volcano at the end of Tekken 7 and Director Katsuhiro Harada said Heihachi was “completely dead” just last year, it appears the head of the Mishima family is still alive and well after his lava bath.
They don’t show any direct gameplay of Heihachi in a match, but we get to see some glimpses at very familiar moves for the demon-smashing karate master like his double palm, uppercut and Wind God Fist.
It appears Heihachi and the Mishima style are going to play a big role in Tekken 8’s first Story Mode expansion with a group of “Tekken Monks” said to be taking out remnants of the Mishima Zaibatsu.
Eddy Gordo and Lidia Sobieska are also shown to play a role in the new story chapter along with Reina noting that “It’s almost time.”
Heihachi is shown walking out laughing from a fiery landscape though it doesn’t appear to be the volcano from Tekken 7 since he’s now wearing the same insignia as the Tekken Monks, which implies he’s likely their leader.
Despite seemingly dying at least two or three times in past games, Heihachi has never missed a Tekken roster since the original, and it looks like he doesn’t want to break that streak.
It was presumed that Reina would be fulfilling a similar role to the former Mishima Zaibatsu leader with her similar moves and powers, but it looks like there’s no beating the original.
There’s no release date revealed here for Heihachi, but they show he’s still on track for a Fall 2024 window followed by one more character in the Winter.
Lidia is set to release as the second DLC character tomorrow, July 22, in Early Access for Year 1 Pass holders, and she can be picked up by herself on July 25 while the new update will include Photo Mode and the new beach stage for everyone who owns the game.
Everyone is also set to receive the new story chapter in a future update as well though no release window was provided for that yet either.
Either way, the man, the myth, the legend is coming back.
Bandai Namco couldn’t even keep him away for a full year like Capcom did with M. Bison’s similar return in Street Fighter 6.
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You can check out the official trailer for Heihachi’s resurrection below.