Zafina (Arabic: زافينا Zāfīnā, Japanese: ザフィーナ Zafīna) is a playable character in the Tekken series. She was introduced in Tekken 6 and appeared in Tekken Tag Tournament 2. She returns in Tekken 7 as a DLC character included in the third season pass.
Biography
Zafina was born somewhere in the Middle East to a group of spiritual warriors with an ancient past and, as such, she possesses great spiritual abilities of her own.
Since childhood, Zafina was raised to be a protector of an imperial tomb. Several years ago, a foreign army attacked the imperial tomb she and her group were protecting and Zafina single-handedly wiped every single one of them out. Since then, the group’s guru appointed her to be its sole protector.
In her public life, she uses her spiritual powers as an astrologist, but recently she has only been able to see evil omens, and her premonitions have grown more and more intense by the day. Seeking to understand the meaning behind all of this, Zafina sought the advice of her guru, and he began to tell her of an ancient prophecy passed down from generation to generation only to a select few. According to the prophecy, when two evil stars come into contact, the seal of the tomb will be broken and the one held captive will be released, inevitably bringing about the destruction of the world. Zafina considered both the meaning behind the guru's tale and her own dire premonitions.
Zafina went to the temple alone by riding her camel, she opened the seal by inserting her two daggers to check if the Devil haven't escaped[5].
Personality
Zafina is a determined woman who strives for success in order to avoid chaos. She is calm and focused, not letting her emotions get the best of her while on a mission.
Outfits
Story
Tekken 6
Zafina heard of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 6, and that Kazuya and Jin were meant to be participating in the tournament. Zafina set out to join the tournament, with the intention of destroying the two evil stars.
Tekken 6 Zafina Ending
Ending Description: Having defeated Azazel, Zafina exits his Temple and approaches her guru. They nod to each other, acknowledging Zafina's permission to re-enter the temple and face the devil, and her understanding of the task. After Zafina enters the temple, the structure collapses, presumably with her still inside.
Scenario Campaign
Zafina has a minor role in this mode. She follows Lars throughout the mode, just like Raven. She does, however, appear in some scenes - she talks to Wang about having faith in Lars, regarding his ability to stop the war, while watching Lars' vehicle leave the container terminal, as well as confronting Jin, telling him of her premonitions and warning him about his warring, unaware of his knowledge of Azazel. She also helps Lars and Raven defeat hordes of Tekken Force soldiers on one stage and provides vital information to them.
Tekken 7
Zafina, one of the clans who has protected the royal graves since ancient times. It was not possible to prevent Azazel's resurrection due to the collision between the two devastating stars, Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima. The resurrected Azazel appeared to have been defeated by Lars Alexandersson and Jin Kazama, but it barely escaped extinction in spirit form. Upon discovering this, Zafina succeeds in sealing Azazel within her body by a ritual passed down by her clan. However, Zafina felt that the power of Azazel sealed in her body gradually increased.
"Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima are still alive. If I do not cancel the blood of the devil, Azazel will become resurrected again ...remaining time is short." Zafina thought that in order to begin the hunt for the ones of Devil blood, she had to contact the Archers of Sirius group of exorcists that has operated since ancient times.[2]
Other Appearances
Tekken Tag Tournament 2
Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Zafina's Arcade Ending
Zafina appeared in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 as a playable character.
Ending Description: In this ending, Zafina also acts as the narrator. The threat of the "two stars that would shake the world" is now over, and Zafina watches a full moon in the sky before touching an ancient wall, pondering why she is still tormented by feelings of unease and remarking that "a new star may already be rising somewhere in this world". As she does so, she is ambushed by a small group of soldiers, who she defeats with ease. Zafina turns and exits the area, certain that she will be able to protect the land from any other evils that may emerge.
Gameplay
Second only to Lei in total number of stances and transitions to stances from attacks, Zafina is a genuinely tricky and unpredictable character, whose strength lies not so much in her sheer power but in her less tangible elements. While mostly unsafe and easily punishable, her moves are so unorthodox that most opponent can't react properly. Her range is also one of her greatest weapons, and she can punish opponents from what are usually safe ranges. In Tekken 7, she retains her moves in Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 but also gained new moves where she unleashes the giant claws from her demonic left hand in its beastly appearance that resembles Azazel's to claw or stab her opponents. Her Rage Art has her to kick her opponent's gut while moving forward in her Spider Stance to attack thrice as the last blow summons a giant claw on her demonic left hand to make a heavy attack on her opponent.
Fighting Style
Zafina's fighting style, only referred to as "Ancient Assassination Arts", has unique fighting stances and abnormal moves that director Katsuhiro Harada likened to that of a "spider". Her style requires large levels of flexibility and even contortionism. Her Scarecrow stance is similar to a common Indian dance pose which has led some fans to erroneously believe that her style is based on Indian Kalaripayat, but the moves depicted in the game actually bear no resemblance to any existing martial art.
Moves
Quotes
Character Relationships
- Jin Kazama - She tried to stop him and Kazuya from colliding, as, according to the legend of her people, it would eventually lead to the end of the world. It's unknown how Zafina felt when Jin told her that he was going to destroy Azazel. Remains her target in Tekken 7.
- Kazuya Mishima - The second "evil star", whom she tried to prevent from colliding with Jin. He is more dangerous target she cannot ignore than Jin.
- Kazumi Mishima - The new "evil star", whom she believes that may already be rising somewhere in this world, unaware that Kazumi is the earliest “evil star” before Kazuya and Jin, and the source behind the Mishima conflict through Heihachi Mishima. She also had an unique intro with her in Tekken 7.
- Azazel - Her enemy. Her society has been guarding Azazel's seal for many generations. In Tekken 7, it's revealed that Azazel survived and Zafina had to perform a spell to seal the demon within her in an attempt to contain it.
- Wang Jinrei - Her ally, she also assured him that Lars will save the world (a prediction that was to become only half-true).
- Raven - Zafina mentions in the Scenario Campaign that they have a prior professional relationship, later works with Raven to defend her village in the Scenario Campaign.
- Lars Alexandersson - She is seen following him in the S. Campaign, and gave him advice through Wang. Lars and Raven later defend her village from the Tekken Force.
- Claudio Serafino - In Tekken 7, Zafina seeks to obtain the services of his group of exorcists in order to help her deal with Azazel and to hunt for Kazuya and Jin.
Trivia
General:
- Zafina is another form name of Zafir which in Arabic language means "Victorious".
- The European Tekken 6 website mistakenly refers to Zafina's nationality as Indian. However, her original Japanese bio, as well as her North American bio and Tekken Tag Tournament 2 bio, simply state her origins as unknown.
- Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada has also confirmed Zafina to be of Middle Eastern origin, citing her as "a female character from the Middle East who uses ancient assassination arts". Some time after this, he stated that she was of Arabian origin on Twitter,[1] and later stated that she is "probably from Egypt".[6]
- Based on feedback from fans, Harada and his development team made Zafina specifically to address the need for a smooth-hitting, prey-stalking female in the series.
- The naming themes for her moves are wildly different between the Japanese and English versions. The Japanese version uses a wide variety of mythical creatures and weapons from many cultures' mythologies, including several demons described in the Lesser Key of Solomon. The English version, meanwhile, refers almost entirely to Mesopotamian lore.
- Her Japanese move set may likely reflect more of how her heritage draws major influences from the dynamic history of the Middle East in the early part of the First Millennium; many parts of Eastern Europe and the Western Middle East were the beginnings of the Silk Road, which saw great amounts of trade and cultural interaction between Europe and Asia, while the inclusion of Norse mythology based names also stems from the close interaction between that of Arabia and the Varangians, who were Nordic Vikings that traveled eastward during the times of the Viking Age; the most famous evidence of this interaction would be that of the chronicles of the Arab traveler Ahmad Ibn Fadlan.
- In Tekken 6 and Tekken Tag Tournament 2, she is voiced by Lisle Wilkerson, who previously voiced Nina Williams and Christie Monteiro.
- Soul Calibur character Viola's move set resembles Zafina's, as they share many of the same kicks. Additionally, they both have psychic powers.
- Zafina is similar, and often compared to, Rose's apprentice and Street Fighter V newcomer, Menat, as both women are from the Middle East and share the same occupation of fortune-telling.
- In the "Power is Everything" trailer for Bloodline Rebellion, Zafina is shown wielding two daggers (at 0:42 - 0:44).[7] This scene was fully seen in the opening movie of the home release of the game. Zafina uses the daggers to open a set of two doors, and appears to be shocked at what she sees. She is implied to have seen Azazel being resurrected.
- Zafina can be customized to resemble Princess Jasmine from Disney's Aladdin.
- Zafina and Julia Chang shared the same goal (to stop Jin and Kazuya from colliding).
- Zafina's Stage 1 and Stage 2 opponents in Scenario Campaign's "Arena" mode are Raven and Kazuya Mishima.
- Her ending is connected to Devil Jin's ending, where she was seen taking Azazel's orb.
- Her Player 1 outfit has been modified, with the addition of white capris known as 'salwar' under her red skirt, black shoes replacing her gold sandals, a few minor alterations to her top in terms of design and color scheme, including the addition of some decorative bangles (the reasons for these sudden changes have yet to be specified).
- She has a special tag throw with True Ogre where she will perform Diabolos (fighting move) while True Ogre will ram the stunned opponent with his horns.
- Her item move is a mask that allows her to summon a demon spirit to accompany her in battle. It will float around which ever team/character has the lowest health, but will appear with Zafina if she wins the match.
- She has a special continue screen with Hwoarang where he will start moving forward in his "Left Flamingo" stance while Zafina follows him on her "Scarecrow" stance.
- She has a special win pose with Jin, where she turns back at Jin who passed her by.
- The music for her reveal trailer is a remix of the Tekken 6 home version opening movie theme.
- During her reveal trailer, Zafina wields Azazel's Orb on her demonic left hand similar to how Menat wields her Left Eye of the Lion floating crystal ball.
- Her Mystic customization outfit bears a little resemblance to Menat's first alternate costume in Street Fighter V and the only difference is their headwear, in which Menat has a hood connected to her dress, covering her head while Zafina is accessorized with a headdress made of golden chains.
- Like Anna, Marduk and Julia, Zafina's old and new quotes are now redubbed by her current voice actress, Lisle Wilkerson.
- Zafina has unique intro dialogues with Jin, Devil Jin, Kazuya, Kazumi and Claudio.
- The concept of Zafina using Azazel's power resembles exorcist Meisuke Nueno, the protagonist of Hell Teacher Nūbē, who borrows his strength from a powerful demon sealed onto his left hand.
Other:
- In Street Fighter X Tekken, Juri's Swap Costume is Zafina's Tekken 6 outfit.
- In Tekken: Blood Vengeance, Zafina's dossier is briefly seen when Anna Williams opens a file containing dossiers of various persons of interest.
Gallery
See Also
References
- ^ a b https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/452138449017896960
- ^ a b Tekken 7 Season 3 Japanese press release
- ^ http://www.tekkenzaibatsu.com/wiki/Tekken_Tag_Tournament_2/System/Netsu_Relationship_Chart
- ^ https://www.tekken-official.jp/tk6br/characters/zafina.html
- ^ Tekken 6 Opening
- ^ https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/452138449017896960
- ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebVDKx_7gZU&fmt=18