Devil Kazuya (デビルカズヤ Debiru Kazuya?), formerly simply known as Devil (デビル Debiru?) is a character who made his debut in the original Tekken in the form of an unlockable third costume for Kazuya Mishima and his playable debut as a standalone character in Tekken 2, acting as the final boss for all characters except himself. Devil Kazuya is one of the main antagonists/anti-villains of the series. He is the cursed soul half of Kazuya Mishima and later Jin Kazama for inheriting the Hachijo Clan's cursed blood at their births. Originally a malevolent entity with the intent of possessing either Kazuya or Jin, one-half has merged with Kazuya.
Though there are supposedly multiple 'devils' within the series, only the entity which inhabited Kazuya is referred to as 'Devil'. He is the final boss for every character in Tekken 2 except for himself, if the player uses Devil then his final boss will be Angel. Devil can take his own form or can take over the body of Kazuya or Jin to become Devil Kazuya or Devil Jin respectively.
Biography
Personality
Being born as Kazuya's cursed soul half, Devil is a power-hungry, unforgiving entity who is motivated by power above all else, and enjoys causing pain to other people, suggesting a sadistic nature as well, including his vengeful desire as his human-half Kazuya, such as towards Heihachi mostly. He displays no remorse for the damage that he causes to others in his quest for absolute power and control over the world. He is also extremely arrogant, as he believes that his power is unmatchable. He appears to be very cunning and is ruthless in battle. He also very manipulative, such as attempting to lure others who are cursed by an evil entity like Jin to be succumbed by its power through merciless fear and pain like torturing them, in an attempt to gain theirs as his own.
Appearance
Devil's appearance changes throughout the games. As Devil Kazuya, he shares his human-counterpart's facial features and hair. He has long swept back ivory horns, red eyes, including a red eye in the middle of his forehead, bat-like wings, and purple skin. He usually also has Kazuya's scar across his chest. His depiction in the games gradually becomes more beast-like and demonic, until in Tekken 7 he is revealed to have multiple eyes across his wingspan and on his chest, with armored protrusions coming out of his body.
Outfits
Story
Tekken 2
The Devil as he appears in Tekken 2
Character Profile: On Kazuya's shoulders rests the fate from a distant past.
Its history has been built many times over, again and again with each reincarnation. Unbeknownst to Kazuya, something with mysterious intentions watches over him.
Devil's appearance may be the embodiment of the mysterious intentions watching over Kazuya's fate.[2][3]
After being thrown into a mountain ravine by his father, Heihachi Mishima, Kazuya Mishima was approached by an entity of frightening power known as Devil. The entity offered Kazuya the power to overthrow his father in exchange for his soul. Kazuya, driven by anger and revenge, accepted the Devil's offer. The power of the Devil allowed Kazuya to finally defeat Heihachi in the final round of the first King of Iron Fist Tournament. Since Kazuya met Jun Kazama, another entity was created within Kazuya known as Angel which represented all that was good within him.
Regardless of Kazuya's internal struggles he still announced the second King of Iron Fist Tournament. During the final round, a vengeful Heihachi easily beats Kazuya forcing the Devil to take over Kazuya's body, transforming him into his Hybrid form Devil Kazuya. Despite his advantages, Devil Kazuya is defeated by Heihachi and a part of his spirit flees Kazuya's unconscious body. Heihachi then threw Kazuya's lifeless body into the mouth of a volcano, leaving Kazuya's half of the Devil to be destroyed alongside his son.
In Kazuya's and Devil's Tekken 2 ending, the Devil leaves Kazuya's body and becomes his own form.
Devil's poster is seen, but he fights Angel instead.
Tekken 3
The part of Devil that fled attempted to inhabit the body of Kazuya's and Jun's unborn child Jin Kazama. Jun fought this part of Devil off but it succeeded fifteen years later after her apparent demise when it branded the now teenage Jin with a mark on his left arm, possessing him. Since Jin still had the Angel side of his mother in him, Devil and Jin were not one being like that of Kazuya and his Devil.
During the climax of the third King of Iron Fist Tournament, Jin was shot in the head by Heihachi. Revived by the Devil Gene within him, Jin reawakened as Devil Jin and made quick work of Heihachi and the guards that accompanied him. Jin has been able to use the power of Devil to transform into Devil Jin ever since.
Tekken 4
A few days after Kazuya was thrown into a volcano by Heihachi, his body was retrieved by G-Corporation, a biotech firm. They managed to bring Kazuya back to life, which re-awoke the leftover part of Devil that existed inside his body. With G-Corporation's help, Kazuya began investigating the biomechanics of the Devil Gene within him by subjecting himself to various experiments. Kazuya believed that he would be able to control and unlock the power of the Devil Gene, and thus control the power of Devil.
Twenty years later during the events of the fourth King of Iron Fist Tournament, Kazuya was supposed to meet his son, Jin Kazama, in the seventh round of the tournament. Kazuya was declared the winner by default by tournament officials, however, he sensed that Heihachi had some involvement in Jin's disappearance. Heihachi's plans were to lure both Jin and Kazuya to the tournament to obtain the Devil Gene for himself. Combined with the blood of Ogre, Heihachi hoped to achieve immortality. Proceeding to the final round of the tournament, Kazuya met with Heihachi and fought him in battle once again and Kazuya won the fight.
Heihachi leads Kazuya to Hon-Maru, a temple deep within the Mishima compound where Jin was being held captive. Inside Hon-Maru and upon seeing the subdued Jin, Kazuya's eyes began to glow red as Devil took control of his body. Devil confirms his theory that the other half of himself was inside Jin much to the surprise of Heihachi, who demanded to know who he was speaking with. Devil reveals himself and that after Heihachi almost killed him twenty years ago, his being separated and that he is there to retrieve his other half.
Thanking Heihachi in the process for making the search easier, he then proceeds to knock Heihachi out of the room with his telekinetic powers. Devil attempts to absorb the rest of his being, subconsciously taunting Jin, telling Jin to curse him and hate him. The chains that bind Jin act as a Devil Gene suppressant, and it is possibly these that prevent Devil from absorbing his other half. Devil presumes that the Kazama blood within Jin is the reason he can't absorb his other half, but before he can do anything else, Devil is shocked to find that Kazuya has discovered a method which unifies their power. Kazuya states that Devil has now become a part of him and has complete control over the entity's power. With Kazuya and Devil now acting as one being, Kazuya challenged the now conscious Jin, who was both confused and angry after being tormented by Devil, defeated Kazuya.
Tekken 5
Following the battle of Hon-Maru, Jin had fled and Kazuya woke up alongside Heihachi. Suddenly, a squad of Jack-4's sent by G-Corporation to ambushed Hon-Maru. The robots identified Heihachi as one of the targets and tried to take out both the weary Kazuya and Heihachi. The two fought off the attackers together, but eventually, Kazuya took an opportunity to flee and threw his father to their enemies. As Hon-Maru exploded from the self-destructing Jack-4, Kazuya transformed into his Devil form and flew away.
Tekken 6
Since completely unifying his power with his Devil-half, Kazuya seems to have become even more consumed by his evil-half, taking over G-Corporation after killing the traitors and attempting to take over the world with evil intent in his eyes.
Tekken 7
It is revealed that Kazuya was born with the Devil Gene inside of him, inherited by his mother Kazumi who also had the Devil Gene and was sent to kill Heihachi, including Kazuya. When Kazuya was thrown off the cliff, the Devil inside of him awoke for Heihachi’s confirmation on the boy’s other bloodline.
When Akuma went to G-Corporation's Millennium Tower to kill Kazuya due to a debt he made to Kazumi years ago, the two engaged in battle after Kazuya dismissed all of his soldiers from the tower, due to Akuma’s power level are no match for them. During the battle, Kazuya transformed into his devil form but this was spotted on the Mishima Zaibatsu's satellite who revealed Kazuya's true form to the world. The satellite would then fire on the G-Corporation Tower, destroying it but Devil Kazuya survived the attack. Kazuya would later fire a laser beam at the satellite to destroy it, causing public protests towards the Zaibatsu and Heihachi.
In Heihachi and Kazuya's final battle at a volcano, Kazuya unleashed the power of his devil form and ultimately transformed into a more powerful devil form than ever before and was able to subdue Heihachi. However, Heihachi regained consciousness and was able to beat Kazuya out of his devil form. Kazuya was able to kill Heihachi, however, with a fierce punch to the heart. He would then drop Heihachi off a cliff into the lava. However, Kazuya's evil intentions remained as it is revealed G-Corporation have no intention on ending the war and various regions facing invasion. As a result, Kazuya, under the influence of the Devil Gene, is now believed to be the most feared and evil person in the world once again.
After killing Heihachi, Kazuya was attacked by Akuma who survived the G-Corporation Tower's destruction. Kazuya transformed into his devil form and fought Akuma where the result was unknown when Akuma fired a Messatsu Gohado and Devil Kazuya firing a Devil Blaster at each other which destroyed the volcano's surroundings and causing a massive explosion.
Other appearances
Tekken Tag Tournament
Tekken Tag Tournament - Devil Ending
Devil appeared in Tekken Tag Tournament as a playable character.
Ending Description: Devil walks by and sees a downed Jun Kazama, before flying away and taking her in his arms.
Tekken Tag Special Alliance Partners
Namco X Capcom
Devil Kazuya appeared as an NPC boss. He is sought out by Jin and ends up fighting against heroes such as King, as well Ryu and Ken Masters from Capcom's Street Fighter series.
He attempts to obtain the Soul Edge sword from the Soul series (also produced by Namco). He is attacked by Shadaloo because M. Bison was interested in the Devil Gene. Jin, Heihachi, and Ryu manage to spoil his plans by defeating him and returning him to his normal state.
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Devil Kazuya made his return in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 as a playable transformation stance for Kazuya.
Tekken Revolution
Devil Kazuya appeared in Tekken Revolution as a transformation for Kazuya.
Project X Zone 2
Devil appears in the sequel to Project X Zone as a transformation for Kazuya.
Gameplay
Devil Kazuya maintains his human form's fighting style and moves and has an ability to shoot laser beams towards his opponent even in mid-air. Since Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Kazuya is able to morph this form but in Tekken 7, he will morph this form by sacrificing his Rage or briefly transforms as him during Kazuya's Rage Art.
In Tekken 7, Devil Kazuya also has unique gameplay when battling in arcade mode as well as the boss in Treasure Battles. Some notable changes include the second hit of his "Spinning Demon" being able to extend to the mix-ups of the first sweep and being able to immediately follow-up his "Glorious Demon God Fist" into the "Soul Thrust".
During the final showdown against Heihachi and his chaotic battle against Akuma, Devil Kazuya has his own Rage Art as opposed to his human form's Rage Art where he lands a devastating straight punch to the gut and knocks his opponent with Devil's Wrath in mid-air as he flew and hit his airborne opponent with two downward punches to the ground and heavily blasts his opponent with a far more powerful Devil's Beam from his forehead, chest, and his devil wings in explosion. This Rage Art is an instant death when Kazuya is fought as a boss in the Mishima Saga and during Treasure Battle.
Fighting style
Devil fights using Mishima Style Fighting Karate, mixed with supernatural powers.
Moves
Character Relationships
Kazuya Mishima
Possessed Kazuya in exchange for saving his life which resulted in the large scar on his chest. At first, Devil, Angel, and Kazuya were separate entities that could each morph Kazuya or take their own form until Devil split to take over Jin. In the end of Tekken 4, they get rid of Angel from Kazuya's body and merged to permanently become Devil Kazuya. Tekken 7 confirms that Devil was born from Kazuya as the cursed half of his soul, due to Kazuya inheriting his mother Kazumi's devil blood.
Jin Kazama
Attempted to possess him before he was born. The second half of Devil possessed him later in life, resulting in the tattoo on Jin's arm. With the Kazama's purification ability and presumably Angel's existence still in him, Jin is not merged with the Devil in him but can become Devil Jin.
Angel
Angel's existence is mysteriously tied to Devil's in some capacity. Formerly thought to be a possible good side of Kazuya's soul as witnessed by Jun. Angel seems to have been forcefully expelled from Kazuya's body after Devil merged with Kazuya.
Jun Kazama
It is unknown if Jun had ever encountered Devil Kazuya head on but in his Tekken Tag Tournament ending, he comes across Jun unconscious on the ground and carefully lifts her into his arms before flying away, implying Kazuya has some degree of care for Jun (non-canon).
Ogre / True Ogre
His rival in Tekken Tag Tournament (non-canon).
Trivia
General:
- Tekken 2 suggests that Kazuya's soul was not fully consumed by Devil and that the two are, in fact, separate entities. For example, the character profile for Angel states that she represents Kazuya's good side. Also, Kazuya's Tekken 2 ending, depicts him battling against Devil, supporting this theory.
- During the ending of Tekken 4, Devil and Kazuya apparently merge, and thereafter begin to act as one. After Devil battles internally with Kazuya for power, Kazuya seems to emerge victorious and claims to have united their power and now to be in control of Devil.
- After this unification, Kazuya in subsequent games has been able to control when he transforms, including only partially transforming into his devil form.
- Devil's only profile as a separate character refers to it as 'it', and all mentions of its body are "adaptable" with its blood type being "not applicable" and its age "infinite". This suggests that Devil itself is a spiritual/non-physical being, that takes on some physical attributes of whoever it posesses.
- Devil has not officially been a playable character since Tekken Tag Tournament, but he made two brief cameos in Tekken 4 and Tekken 5, and some of his body parts have been customization items on Kazuya, such as the Devil horns, Devil wings, etc.
- Devil resembles the character Devilman from the anime and manga series of the same name.
- So far, only two possessions by Devil are known to exist: Devil Jin and Devil Kazumi.
- Devil's appears in Kazuya's and Angel's Tekken Tag Tournament 2 endings is his Tekken: Blood Vengeance appearance.
- To unlock him, the player must beat the Galaga game while the game is loading and get a perfect score on all 8 stages.
- Counts as a third costume of Kazuya (his name is still shown under his health bar instead of Devil's).
- When Devil blocks an attack, he will move his wings forward in order to guard.
- In order to unlock him, the game must be beaten with Kazuya.
- His sub-bosses are Jun Kazama and Heihachi Mishima.
- Has the same fighting stance as Kazuya and Baek Doo San.
- His final boss is the Angel.
- Devil is not a playable character but is seen in an ephemeral form in the Tekken 3 alternate introduction video.
- To unlock him, beat the game with eleven different characters.
- He now has his own player 2 costume while Angel counts as one of his alternate costumes.
- Devil's Inferno is purple in this game. Unlike the Tekken 2's Inferno, which was yellow.
- He is one of the few characters that Mokujin/Tetsujin or Unknown cannot acquire moves of.
- Choosing both Kazuya and Devil in Tekken Tag Tournament, and then tagging either character into the match results in the morphing of one into the other (tagging in Devil while playing as Kazuya results in Kazuya morphing into Devil, and vice versa). Before the fight, whoever was chosen first will enter the match alone.
- Using Devil's Inferno on Prototype Jack, Jack-2 or Gun Jack will cause them to go berserk and run towards Devil or Angel while flailing his arms, shouting in agony (his K.O shout), interestingly hitting his target and causing Devil or Angel great damage.
- His Sub-Boss is Jin Kazama if he unlocked. If he teamed with Jin, his sub-boss would be Kazuya Mishima.
- He is not playable but he appears in Kazuya's prologue and epilogue. In Kazuya's ending, after consuming Jin's Devil Gene he turns into his original complete Devil form whilst laughing maniacally.
- An image of Devil can be seen on Julia Chang's epilogue while she is researching about Reforestation Program 'Genocell'.
- He is not playable but he appears in Kazuya's prologue.
- Kazuya can be customized to resemble Devil by equipping the following items: Devil's Horns, Third Eye, Devil Wings and Devil Tail on his 2P costume.
- Similar body parts of him are customization items of Devil Jin.
- Devil is now a transformed state for Kazuya as part of his moveset, while in the demo version of the game, Kazuya starts off in his Blood Vengeance devil form instead of human form.
- It is possible that the reason why Devil Kazuya is Kazuya's transformation rather than a separate character is because the two have become one in the aftermath of Tekken 4.
- Devil's voice as is only audible in the demo version, as it seems that Bandai Namco forgot to add the voice files for Kazuya while in Devil Form in the console version and the later Tekken game releases.
- Kazuya briefly transforms into Devil (similar to his Tekken Tag Tournament 2 appearance) for his Rage Art.
- If Kazuya's Rage Drive connects and the player is also holding u/f, then Kazuya will transform into Devil, performing Heaven's Door, and will remain as Devil for the rest of the round, with the same extra moves as in previous games with the addition of a move that is taken from Jinpachi in Tekken Tag 2 done by f+1+2. However, unlike in TTT2, Kazuya will not remain as Devil between rounds.
- Kazuya may also transform into Devil by sacrificing his Rage to transform directly, rather than using his Rage Drive.
- His special rage art on the Mishima Saga and Treasure Battle Special Matches is reminiscent of several Gundam Series' attacks, such as Nu Gundam, Gundam X and Strike Freedom Gundam.
- During the Mishima Saga, Devil Kazuya is able to teleport in a similar way to Jinpachi's Astral Projection move with the exact same move input.
- Devil Kazuya appears a number of times in the story mode. Kazuya transforms into him to fight Akuma, partially transforms in order to shoot down a Zaibatsu satellite, and transforms into a more advanced form of his devil ("Devil Kazuya-X") for his final fight with Heihachi.
Other:
- While Devil himself does not actually appear in Street Fighter X Tekken, an energy-like manifestation of his wings can be seen during Kazuya's Devil Beam super art. Poison's and Ryu's Swap Costume designs are also both based on Devil.
- Kazuya has a different devil form appearance in Tekken The Pachislot 2nd and Tekken The Pachislot 3rd, resembling his classic look from Tekken Tag Tournament.