People say a game is only as good as its gameplay, but is that really all there is to it? Tekken proves that a captivating storyline is what takes a video game to the next level. The Tekken 8 story timeline has proven this time and time again with their fascinating lore of the Mishima bloodline and how other fighters of the King of Iron Fist tournament tie into it.
With Tekken 8’s release just around the corner, let us get you up to date with everything that has transpired in the Tekken universe since the start.
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Tekken 8 Story Timeline: Overview
The Tekken 8 story timeline is nothing recent and actually stretches back three decades to when the original Tekken (1994) was released. The Tekken 8 story timeline follows the Mishima bloodline and how people across four generations battled it out for control of the Mishima Zaibatsu organisation.
There are tons of twists and turns in the story, with people constantly coming back from the brink of death to avenge themselves and take back the power.
How the Tekken 8 Story Timeline Began
The story of Tekken and the KoIF tournament starts from Tekken (1994). We see Heihachi Mishima training in the Mishima dojo and mastering his family’s fighting style, the Mishima fighting style. He is under the guidance of his father, Jinpachi Mishima, a world-renowned fighter and the leader of Mishima Zaibatsu, a large Japanese business organisation.
One day, Heihachi crosses paths with another fighter, Kazumi. While training together, they fall in love and have a child, Kazuya Mishima. Later on, Kazumi falls ill, and even though Heihachi nurses her back to health, things are never the same as before. Sometime later, Kazumi reveals her true intentions of wanting to kill Heihachi. A fight ensues, and even though Kazumi unlocks her Devil Gene, Heihachi is able to defeat her and end her life.
Now, while Heihachi did end Kazumi Mishima’s life, there was still the problem of Kazuya, the child they had together. Kazuya was furious at his mother’s death and bore hatred for his father ever since then, something which would last longer than most of us expected. Fearful of Kazuya inheriting his mother’s Devil Gene, Heihachi throws Kazuya off a cliff after beating him in battle. He also imprisons his ailing father, Jinpachi Mishima, to take control of the Mishima organisation and grow immensely in fame and power. This is the beginning of the Tekken 8 story timeline.
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The First King of Iron Fist Tournament
To relive some of his old fighting days, Heihachi organises the first KoIF tournament to crown the strongest fighter. It featured various fighters like Yoshimitsu, Marshal Law, Anna and Nina Williams, Prototype Jack, and a few others. A surprise character entry who was expected to be dead was Kazuya Mishima. Kazuya earns his place in the finals by defeating all the other contenders for a shot to seek revenge against his father.
Kazuya is able to defeat Heihachi and throws him off the same cliff he was thrown off as a child, confirming him as the new leader of the Mishima Zaibatsu. With his presumed dead father, Kazuya ran the organisation for a few years before announcing the second KoIF tournament in the Tekken 8 story timeline. The only difference was that this time, the stakes were higher, with Kazuya betting the ownership of his family’s organisation on the line. The tournament hosts many of the previous fighters and includes some new names like Jun Kazama and Alex.
Now, during the tournament, Kazuya falls in love with Jun and has a child with her, Jin, similar to his father. While Jin plays the main protagonist later on, Heihachi comes back during the second KoIF and takes out Kazuya to reclaim ownership of the Mishima Zaibatsu. During the fight between Heihachi and Kazuya, the latter unleashes his dormant Devil Gene, but even that isn’t enough to overpower Heihachi. Heihachi throws Kazuya’s body into an active volcano to deal with him once and for all.
Jin Kazama Enters the Fray
We’re wrapped up until the second KoIF tournament in the Tekken 8 story timeline. With Heihachi in control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, Jun Kazama decides to raise her son Jin away from the Mishima bloodline. She trains him in the Kazama fighting style instead of the Mishima fighting style. In an unfortunate turn of events, Jun Kazama is killed by Ogre, a sentient being recently released by Heihachi’s explorations of power. In order to avenge his mother, Jin seeks out his grandfather, Heihachi, to be trained and become powerful enough to beat Ogre.
This is how Jin’s path crosses with Heihachi Mishima in Tekken 8’s story timeline. Four years later, Jin is strong enough, so Heihachi announces the third KoIF tournament to bait out Ogre. He is successful in his mission, and in the finals, Jin Kazami defeats Ogre and his second form, True Ogre, to finally avenge his mother. However, in an unexpected twist, Heihachi appears at the end and guns down Jin. If you thought this was the end of Jin’s journey, you’re wrong. Jin had inherited the Devil Gene from his father, Kazuya Mishima.
The Devil gene is activated, and after exacting revenge on his grandfather, Jin flies off in Devil form. Later on, in the search for Jin, Heihachi discovers his own son’s body frozen in G-Corp, which signifies the return of Kazuya Mishima in the Tekken 8 story timeline. To bring Kazuya into the open, Heihachi organised the fourth KoIF tournament, which attracted both Kazuya and Jin. Before these two powerhouses can face off in the final, Heihachi drugs and captures Jin. It doesn’t stop Jin, though, as he escapes and defeats both his father and grandfather.
Tekken 8 Story Timeline Sees the Return of an Old Legend
At the end of the fourth KoIF tournament, Heihachi and Kazuya are ambushed by Jack under the order of Jinpachi Mishima, Heihachi’s thought-to-be-dead father. Jinpachi arranged the fifth KoIF tournament, which was pretty uneventful. Jin defeats his great-grandfather and ends his life, putting Jinpachi Mishima to rest permanently.
With Jin now in control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, he decides to take on G-Corp, an organisation run by his father, Kazuya. He also announces the sixth iteration of the KoIF tournament in the Tekken 8 story timeline. During this time, Lars Anderson also makes an appearance. Lars is a defaulter from the Mishima Zaibatsu and Heihachi’s illegitimate son. With the announcement of the sixth KoIF tournament, Heihachi and Kazuya again enter the gameplay. This is cut short, though, with Jin going up against Azazel, the origin of the Devil gene. Jin exhausts himself during the fight and is taken into custody. Heihachi regains control of Mishima Zaibatsu.
At G-Corp, Akuma and Kazuya go head to head, but the fight is interrupted by Heihachi firing an orbital laser to kill Kazuya. He fails, and thus, Heihachi and Kazuya face off once again in an intense battle where Kazuya emerges victorious, killing off Heihachi. Finally, Akuma tries to finish off Kazuya post-battle, but that is where the Tekken 8 story timeline stops.
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The Takeaway
Tekken 8’s story timeline is filled with unexpected twists and intense battles. With Jin yet to be seen after his battle with Azazel, we will see him face off against his father, as suggested in the official trailer. Till then, we’ll just have to sit tight and hope the gameplay is as good as the cinematics.