Tekken (series)

Tekken (鉄拳, Tekken^? lit. Iron Fist) is a series of 3D fighting games developed and published by Namco. Originally developed for arcades, versions of several sequels as well as updates and spin-off titles exist for various platforms, including the PlayStation series, Xbox series, PC, and various Nintendo platforms.

The series' official English name is always written in all-capital letters (TEKKEN, abbreviated to TK). Two of the games were considered breakthroughs and among the greatest games of all time. The series itself was previously the best selling fighting game franchise in gaming history, but now stands as the fourth best-selling after Mortal Kombat, Super Smash Bros., and the Dragon Ball series of fighting games. The series was entered into the Guinness World Records in 2017 for having both the 'Longest-running videogame storyline' and 'Longest-running consistent videogame universe'.

Games

(Note: The year is in accordance to their respective arcade release dates.)

Main series

• Tekken (1994)
• Tekken 2 (1995)
• Tekken 3 (1997)
• Tekken 4 (2001)
• Tekken 5 (2004)
• Tekken 6 (2007)
• Tekken 7 (2015)
• Tekken 8 (2024)

Tag Series

• Tekken Tag Tournament (1999)
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (2011)

Updated Games

• Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection (2005)
• Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion (2008)
• Tekken Hybrid (2011)
• Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Unlimited (2012)
• Tekken 7: Fated Retribution (2016)

Spin-offs

• Tekken Card Challenge (1999)
• Tekken Advance (2001)
• Death by Degrees (2005)
• Tekken Resolute (2010)
• Tekken 3D: Prime Edition (2011)
• Tekken X Street Fighter (TBA)
• Tekken Card Tournament (2013)
• Tekken Revolution (2013)
• Tekken Arena (2013)
• Galaga: TEKKEN Edition (2015)
• Tekken (Mobile) (2018)

Movies

• Tekken: The Motion Picture (1998) - A two episode OVA (Original Video Animation) by Namco.
• Tekken: Live Action (2010) - Live action movie loosely based on the series.
• Tekken: Blood Vengeance (2011) - CGI feature movie set in an alternate storyline between Tekken 5 and Tekken 6.
• Tekken: Kazuya's Revenge (2014) - A prequel to the 2010 live-action movie, based on the origin of Kazuya.

Comics

All Tekken comics are officially licensed by Namco.

• Tekken (ASPECT Comics) (1996)
• Tekken Saga (1997)
• Tekken 2: Mishima Family Values (1998)
• Tekken: Tatakai no Kanatani (2000)
• Tekken Forever (2001)
• Tekken 6: Penny Arcade
• Online Tekken Comic (2009)
• Tekken (Titan Comics) (2017)

Novel

• Tekken: the dark history of mishima (2011)

Television series

• Tekken: Bloodline (2022)

Gameplay

Tekken, Tekken 2 and Tekken 3

The Tekken series use separate buttons for right and left limbs, resulting in four buttons. Other trademarks include throw escapes and starting from Tekken 2, autoblock. Each iteration was improved upon both graphically and technically. Tekken 3 introduced the ability to move into the foreground or away from the background, commonly referred to as "Sidestepping". Also, Tekken 3 reduced recovery time after being knocked down then previous games and each game afterwards includes rolls to recover instantly after hitting the ground; allowing the player to get back into the fight instead of pounding buttons.

Tekken 4 and Tekken 5

Tekken 4 gave characters even greater mobility by adding true 3D movement while simultaneously including geometrically complex arenas with unleveled ground, obstacles, and walls. This differed from previous Tekken games, where all of the arenas were level and contained no boundaries, meaning the player could walk forward or backward without limit. Tekken 5 saw the return of both walled and infinite arenas, with the fluid mobility of Tekken 4 being toned down to appease many players who felt it made the game more focused on evasion.

Tekken Tag Tournament

Tekken Tag Tournament, released between Tekken 3 and Tekken 4, is not a part of the Tekken storyline. The game allowed each player to control one of the two selected fighters, who could be tagged in and out of the fight by the additional fifth button, which can be used for tag team attacks and juggles, amongst other tactics. Otherwise, Tag Tournament used much of the Tekken 3 gameplay engine and reintroduced characters who weren't available since Tekken 2.

Rounds

By default, there are two rounds of combat. However, the players have a choice of one to five rounds, as well as options for the time limit of each round. If the winning character retains all of his or her Health without the time limit expiring, the Game Announcer will call out "Perfect!" If the winning character is near knockout (5% health remaining or less), the announcer will call, "Great!" It is possible that both characters can be knocked out simultaneously, and the announcer will call out "Double K.O." If the time limit for the round expires, the character with more health will be declared the winner. If both players have equal health remaining, the round will be a draw. In other cases, the announcer will call out "K.O." when one character is triumphant. A Double K.O. always results in a loss for the player in Arcade Mode.

Characters

Main article: Characters

The Tekken cast is known for having a great diversity within its characters, some being known worldwide, such as Jin Kazama, Heihachi Mishima, Kazuya Mishima, Nina Williams, and Ling Xiaoyu.

Story

Although the characters in the Tekken series have their own respective storyline, the central plot of Tekken saga revolves around the members of the Mishima Family.

Tekken

A worldwide martial arts tournament is nearing its finale, with a large purse of prize money to the fighter who can defeat Heihachi Mishima in the final round of the competition. The contest is sponsored by the giant financial group, the Mishima Zaibatsu. There are eight fighters that remain after winning matches all over the world. The winner of the tournament will receive The King of the Iron Fist title. Only one will have a chance at defeating Heihachi and taking home the prize money and fame.

Kazuya Mishima is the main character. Heihachi's biological son, he was thrown into a ravine by his tyrannical father when he was five years old. Heihachi, believing his son was too weak to ever inherit his conglomerate, decided that if he were truly strong enough, he would be able to survive the fall and climb back up. Kazuya barely survived a fall that left him with the scar prominently visible on his chest. Fueled by hatred for his father, he enters the tournament to exact his revenge.

Tekken 2

Many battles were fought in the first King of Iron Fist Tournament. But only one lone warrior emerged with the right to challenge Heihachi Mishima for the of "King of Iron Fist" title. This warrior was Kazuya Mishima, Heihachi's cold-blooded son. Bearing the scar given to him by Heihachi, he enters into vicious combat with his father on the same field where Heihachi last struck down his own son and dropped him into a trench at age five.

After a grueling battle which raged on for hours, Kazuya emerged victorious by utilizing the power granted to him by the supernatural entity known as Devil. As Heihachi's broken body lay on the ground, Kazuya dropped to his knee and lifted his father into his arms. Kazuya walked slowly to the edge of the same cliff from where his father had thrown him as a child. He stared out over the landscape, and let go of his father's body. As Heihachi's body plummeted, Kazuya's smile gleamed in the sunlight.

Two years have passed. The Mishima Zaibatsu under Kazuya's leadership has become even more powerful with its tendrils reaching to all corners of the world. Soon after his father's apparent death, Kazuya disappears into the shadows. However, rumors of his immense power, and a dark side, slowly begin to spread throughout the world. Sometime later, a message is relayed from the Mishima Zaibatsu fortress to news agencies all over the world announcing the second tournament with a prize a thousand times that of the first.

Like his son before him, Heihachi survived his fall into the ravine thanks to his tenacious endurance. He retreated to the hills to meditate and train in order to rekindle and enhance his fighting ability. He enters the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2 to reclaim his conglomerate and dispose of Kazuya once and for all.

Tekken 3

The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2 draws to a close. Jun Kazama comes to the stunning realization that Kazuya Mishima's supernatural strength stems from Devil. But she cannot help being drawn to him. Several days later, the final challenger arrives to face Kazuya, the organizer of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 2. In a reprise of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 1, father and son clash in a cursed blood battle. Eventually, Heihachi Mishima emerges, scarred, but victorious, to regain control of the immense Mishima Zaibatsu. Unaware of Devil's presence, Heihachi casts the lifeless Kazuya into a volcano.

As Kazuya's body burns, the Devil appears before the pregnant Jun Kazama in a bid to enter the soul of the new life beating within her. But, in a desperate struggle for the future of her child, Jun defeats Devil and retires to solitary Yakushima so as to raise her and Kazuya's son, Jin Kazama, alone.

Having regained control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, Heihachi sets about to further increase his power. He embarks on a crusade to control the political landscape by earning the trust of world leaders by putting wars and conflicts to rest. Using his immeasurable wealth, he forms Tekken Force, a private corporate army employed to quell conflicts efficiently. He also uses Tekken Force to aid developing nations by helping them build agricultural systems that will sustain them.

Around fifteen years have passed, and Jin Kazama is now 15 years old.

Under Heihachi's orders, the Tekken Force is excavating a Central American archaeological site when they discover a mysterious life form. Heihachi orders the creature's capture, but loses contact with the Tekkenshu after a garbled radio message, "... they are all dead... Ogre (Fighting God)?!..." Upon arriving at the dig, Heihachi finds a field of corpses. Heihachi realizes that the power of the mysterious life form could be the key to his dream of world domination. To obtain this mysterious power of Ogre, and the world, Heihachi tempts the fates once again.

Within weeks, strange disappearances occur throughout the world. Persons of a strong soul, masters of martial arts, are reported missing with no knowledge of their whereabouts. Jun Kazama instinctively picks up on the dark power encroaching on her life. She has no understanding of what it is but senses that she has become a target. Accepting her destiny, she tells Jin everything that she knows of their haunted past to prepare him for the fateful day that she now feels is imminent. She tells Jin to go to his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, if anything should befall her. Her intuition proves right. Ogre comes to the mountains, bringing a chilling, swirling wind. Jun instructs Jin to run away. But against his mother's pleas, Jin opts to face Ogre and is knocked unconscious.

When Jin awakens, the house and everything around it is burned to the ground. Jin searches frantically for his mother, but she is nowhere to be found. Honoring her instructions, Jin goes to Heihachi and begs to be trained in order to exact revenge. Heihachi, hearing Jin's tale, is convinced that Ogre is after the souls of powerful fighters. To attract Ogre, Heihachi decides to train Jin as bait, and to eventually lure Ogre to a third King of Iron Fist Tournament.

Four years later, on Jin Kazama's 19th birthday, the curtains rise for The King of Iron Fist Tournament 3.

Tekken 4

Two years ago, Jin Kazama defeated Ogre. Convinced that Jin must harbor the same evil power as Kazuya, Heihachi shot Jin in the head after his victory. The fatal wound awakened Jin's latent Devil Gene, and caused him to transform. He flew off into the night, and has not been witnessed since. Heihachi, meanwhile, ordered his researchers to collect blood samples, skin tissue, and hoof fragments left behind by Ogre in order to conduct genetic experiments. Heihachi’s goal was to grant himself eternal life and ultimate power by splicing Ogre’s genome with his own. However, the research was unsuccessful.

After extensive experimentation, Heihachi’s bioengineers came to the conclusion that an additional gene - the "Devil Gene" - was necessary in order to successfully splice Ogre’s genetic code into another living organism. Heihachi learned that his own genome lacked the Devil Gene, but he knew someone who had it... Jin Kazama.

Heihachi searched for Jin to no avail. However, Heihachi discovered a photograph during his investigation that stirred his curiosity. The 20-year-old photograph was an image of a burnt corpse covered with laceration wounds. Heihachi paid particular attention to the corpse’s back, which had what looked like deformed, protruding wing-like limbs.

Convinced that the picture was of Kazuya, his own son whom he threw into a volcano 20 years ago, Heihachi diverted all his resources into a search for the body. This search eventually led Heihachi to G Corporation, a cutting-edge biotech firm making unprecedented advances in the field of biogenetics research. Heihachi discovered that G Corporation had found the corpse and extracted and analyzed its genetic data. In fact, Heihachi learned that the company was in the midst of creating a new life form by using the data. Heihachi also determined that Kazuya’s remains and research data were secured at G Corporation’s Nebraska and Nepal research laboratories, respectively.

Friday, 25 December. The Tekken Force raided G Corporation’s maximum security research laboratory in Nepal. The bottom floors of the building were obliterated, and the remaining data storage facility containing file servers was airlifted by a group of heavy-duty helicopters. At the same time, a separate unit overseen by Heihachi infiltrated the underground research facility in Nebraska, where Kazuya’s remains were supposedly preserved. As Heihachi observed from his helicopter, he soon realized that, unlike the Nepal facility, the operation in Nebraska was not going according to plan.

A silhouette of a figure slowly emerged on Heihachi's screen... When Heihachi could see clearly enough, he instantly recognized the figure as Kazuya. Kazuya had been resurrected in G Corporation’s research facility. After his resurrection, Kazuya had offered his body as research material to determine the true nature of the Devil that resided within him. Kazuya’s goal was to unify his two selves into one. Kazuya theorized that if he unified his body with the Devil, he would be able to truly harness its powers. He could then finally take revenge against Heihachi and the Mishima Zaibatsu.

Enraged that Heihachi thwarted his plans, Kazuya obliterated the heavily armed Tekken Force and vanished into the flames of the lab’s wreckage. Heihachi determined that if he could capture either Kazuya or Jin, he would be able to gain the data on the Devil Gene he needed. In order to lure Kazuya and Jin to him, Heihachi announced the King of Iron Fist Tournament four, and placed the massive financial empire as the top prize. The champion who manages to defeat Heihachi at the end of the Tournament would inherit the Mishima Zaibatsu.

Well aware that the tournament is just a trap designed to lure them out, Kazuya nevertheless entered, as did Jin, who had been hiding and training in Brisbane, Australia. Both intended to put a stop to Heihachi once and for all.

Tekken 5

During the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, Heihachi had his Tekken Force kidnap Jin. His match scheduled to be against Kazuya was ruled automatically in Kazuya's favor, and Kazuya went on to fight Heihachi in the finals. Kazuya demanded to know Jin's whereabouts, and Heihachi informed him he would take him to Jin after they fought. Heihachi defeated Kazuya, and led him to the Mishima family temple, Hon-Maru. Here, he had imprisoned Jin, and tied him up with chains that subdued the Devil Gene. Initially shocked, Kazuya's Devil then possessed him and spoke through him, belittling Heihachi's attempts to comprehend Devils with science. Devil knocked Heihachi unconscious, and attempted to reabsorb the part of itself from Jin it had lost twenty-one years ago. Unsuccessful, Devil theorized that Jin's Kazama blood must be protecting him. While Devil was distracted, Kazuya was able to take back control of his body, fighting down Devil and then merging their power. Kazuya then called for Jin to awaken. Jin broke free of his chains and defeated Kazuya. Heihachi then awoke, and Jin defeated him too. Standing over his grandfather, Jin's Devil began to manifest. As he drew back his fist to kill him however, he witnessed a vision of his mother, and decided to let him live. He then flew off into the night.

Shortly after, Kazuya and Heihachi, still in Hon-Maru, found themselves under attack from a battalion of 'JACK' robots. Initially, Kazuya and Heihachi fought side-by-side, before Kazuya threw Heihachi into the robots as a distraction, and then flew off, leaving Heihachi to his fate. The robots have set to self-destruct, and they blow up Hon-Maru, with Heihachi still inside. Raven, watching from afar, spoke into a headset, and reported, "Heihachi Mishima...is dead."

The explosion however had broken the chains of a being imprisoned under Hon-Maru forty-four years ago. When Heihachi had launched a coup to first seize the Mishima Zaibatsu from his father, Jinpachi Mishima, he had imprisoned him under the family temple. Jinpachi slowly starved to death, and his body became animated by a hungry demon. Now free, Jinpachi, with his last remnants of human consciousness, called a fifth Iron First Tournament in order to find someone with the strength to defeat him and put him to rest.

Tekken 6

Jin Kazama defeated his great-grandfather in the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5, and ascended as the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu. Unbeknown to others, Jin had begun hearing the voice of an ancient demon, Azazel, in his head. The demon called upon Jin as its servant, and told him to release it by waging war and chaos on the world. Jin believed this demon to be the origin of his Devil Gene, and that if he released the creature, he would be able not only to destroy it and its potential future threat, but also rid the world of the power of the Devil Gene. Believing the world to be full of corruption and cruel powers, Jin sought to destabilize the world and wreak the carnage needed to awaken Azazel. He declared the Mishima Zaibatsu an independent nation, and used Tekken Force to wage war on the world. that if he did so, he would be able to confront the demon for unknown reasons has begun using the Mishima Zaibatsu for world conquest, declaring war on several nations and even space colonies until the entire world is at war.

Unable to stomach Jin's violence, one of his top captains, Lars Alexandersson, led half of Tekken Force in a coup, and seceded from Jin's army. He began fighting a rebellion against Jin. Lars in fact was an illegitimate son of Heihachi Mishima, a fact that he eventually revealed to Heihachi, who had survived the Hon-Maru explosion, in the course of his hunt to stop Jin.

Meanwhile, Kazuya Mishima had determined that the JACK attack in Hon-Maru had been carried out by G-Corporation executives in an effort to assassinate him. He hunted down those responsible, killed them, and then took over as CEO of G-Corporation. Seeing Jin's warmongering as an opportunity to raise his own status, he rapidly militarized G-Corp, and painted himself as a hero by stepping up to fight against the tyrannical Jin Kazama. Kazuya put a bounty on Jin's head, and, in order to lure his assassins to one place, Jin called the sixth King of Iron Fist Tournament.

Tekken 7

The sixth tournament was cancelled when Jin, the tournament host, disappeared. Jin had gone out to the Middle East, having finally awoken Azazel, and defeated the demon. His unconscious body was recovered by Raven and his United Nations operatives. As the helicopter containing Jin departed, Jin awoke, transformed into his Devil, and escaped, blowing up the helicopter as he did. Stumbling through a desert town, Jin was tracked down by UN peacekeepers, but rescued by his uncle and former captain and adversary, Lars Alexandersson. Lars, who had joined forces with Heihachi's adopted son, Lee Chaolan, took Jin back to one of Lee's safe havens to recover. Intending to use Jin as a weapon, Lars and Lee oversaw Jin's protection from those who wished to assassinate him or hold him accountable for his actions.

Seeing an opportunity to seize control of his corporation, Heihachi returned to the Mishima Zaibatsu, and dispatched any opposition by force. He perpetuated the fight against Kazuya's G Corporation, but sought to raise the social profile of the Zaibatsu from the depths Jin had dragged it to. Heihachi called the seventh King of Iron Fist Tournament in order to attempt to kill Kazuya. His plans changed however, when a mysterious individual, claiming to be acting on behalf of Heihachi's late wife, attempted to murder him. Heihachi was defeated in the attack, and decided to publicize his own death, and call off the tournament at the same time. The assassin then moved on to target Kazuya. Heihachi watched the fight, broadcasting Kazuya's devil form to the world, and then targeted Akuma and Kazuya with an orbital laser destroying the G-Corporation's Millennium Tower in the process.

Kazuya having survived the attack, Heihachi summoned Kazuya to a one-on-one fight. Before he attended, Heihachi related his past to a journalist, painting a favorable legacy for himself as a defender of humanity against the Devil Gene of his wife and son, the former of whom he had killed. Kazuya and Heihachi clashed at the mouth of a volcano, with Kazuya emerging victorious. He then threw his father's body into the volcano.

Tekken 8

Six months later, a now unopposed Kazuya Mishima continued to wage war against all nations, with world domination as his goal. Jin Kazama, having awoken from a coma, had joined forces with his uncles, Lee and Lars, in order to oppose Kazuya. Jin targeted a helicopter carrying Kazuya, but his devil form was overwhelmed by Kazuya's. Kazuya announced an eighth Iron Fist Tournament, calling upon fighters to represent their country and determine which countries deserved a place in his new world on the basis of their strength. Anyone who lost in the tournament would perish along with the country they represented. Having discovered that he could no longer call upon his devil form, Jin entered the tournament to try and reawaken it. After a spirited fight with his rival, Hwoarang, Jin regained access to his Devil. During the tournament preliminaries, Jin met a new fighter, Reina, who had somehow learned the Mishima Style Fighting Karate.

After qualifying for the tournament, Jin went to a coliseum in Italy to participate in the first round. The tournament was interrupted by Yggdrasil and the United Nations, who had been warned that something ill would occur at the tournament. As they sought to evacuate the coliseum, Kazuya arrived on the scene. Azazel, who had been imprisoned in Zafina's arm, was released by Kazuya and absorbed, allowing him to gain even further power. Jin escaped and was escorted to Yakushima, while Lars and the rest of the fighters held Kazuya off. After arriving at Yakushima, Jin passed out in front of a shrine. Kazuya, wounded from the previous battle, sent his troops ahead of him. Yggdrasil fought G Corporation on Yakushima, as time was bought for Jin to confront his personal demons and seek a power to counter Kazuya's. Kazuya arrived and began obliterating the battlefield. In amidst this, a young Reina, who had tagged along, deliberately sought to place herself in mortal danger, having been studying Jin throughout this time.

While in his own subconscious, Jin encountered his Devil counterpart, and came to a peaceful alliance with it. Jin then regained consciousness and fought Kazuya once more. Kazuya launched a devastating attack that threatened all of Yakushima, and Jin, strengthened by the spirit of his mother, transformed into an angelic being. In this form, he prevented the attack, though the impact caused him and Kazuya to be launched into space.

Jin and Kazuya continued their fight in space, and were evenly matched. A collision between them however, caused the purification of both their devil powers. The two fell back to earth, now only human. Unphased, they continued their fight. After an intense battle, Jin emerged victorious, leaving Kazuya's unconscious body behind. Soon after, Jin reunited with his friend, Ling Xiaoyu, while an unconscious Kazuya was approached by what seemed to be Jun Kazama. Elsewhere, Reina recovered from her fatal injury and vowed to avenge her father, revealed to be Heihachi Mishima, as she unleashed her own Devil form.

Story Recap

Two Bandai Namco Entertainment-issued recap videos were released, loosely relating the Tekken story thus far with a humorous, tongue-in-cheek tone, and retro-style graphics.

TEKKEN Retro Recap - Part 1

TEKKEN Retro Recap - Part 2

External Links

• Official Site (Japanese)
• Official Site (English)
• Official Facebook Page
• Official YouTube channel
• Wikipedia article