Tekken 8’s final base character Reina might fill that Heihachi-shaped hole in your heart

Tekken 8 has finalised its base roster with the brand new Reina, a fast-moving character who might just be the series’ long-time antagonist Heihachi Mishima’s daughter.

After a steady but long window of character reveals, Bandai Namco has finally shown off the last member joining Tekken 8’s roster, newcomer Reina. Over on the PlayStation Blog, her fighting style is described as being rooted in Taido, but quite notably, Reina has “somehow acquired techniques like Wind God Fist and Spinning Demon, synonymous with the Mishima-style karate, and even exhibits a power fighter aspect, delivering powerful moves from the Heaven’s Wrath stance once used by Heihachi.” That last bit about Heihachi is important, as previous leaks have claimed she’s Heihachi’s secret daughter.

Tekken 8 director Katsuhiro Harada has previously said that Heihachi has around 18-25 children, so it is entirely possible, and the blog does note that despite Reina’s “fashionable and charming appearance, she exudes a charismatic sense of evil, reflecting her character’s duality in both personality and fighting style.” She also “plays a vital role in Tekken 8’s story, The Dark Awakens,” and was conceived back during the development of Tekken 7’s story, so safe to say saving her for the final reveal feels like something of a big deal.

Reina was apparently designed by Mariko Shimazaki, who had previously designed characters like Kazumi and Josie for Tekken 7, and four time Taido World Championship winner Tetsuji Nakano was recruited to help figure out the new fighter’s style.

Last week another new character coming to Tekken 8, Victor Chevalier, who is voiced by French actor Vincent Cassel, possibly one of the strangest casting choices I’ve seen in a game for a while, but at least they actually got someone French rather than someone doing a hokey fake accent.

Tekken 8 is finally out next year, January 26, on PS5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.