Super Smash Bros. Ultimate started Nintendo's special E3 Nintendo Direct showcase with the reveal of its latest character. Kazuya Mishima from Developer Bandai Namco's Tekken franchise has made the jump to Nintendo's crossover brawler, giving the development studio their second character representative in the title alongside Pac-Man. Kazuya's addition to the game makes him the fourth character from a legendary fighting game franchise, following Street Fighter's Ryu and Ken and Fatal Fury's Terry Bogard. While the previous three fighters represent the realm of 2D fighting games, Kazuya's inclusion gives 3D fighting games perhaps one of its most recognizable figures.
Tekken initially launched in arcades across the globe in December of 1994 before releasing on the Sony PlayStation a few months after each region's launch of Sony's first console. The Tekken franchise remained intrinsically tied to Sony's platform as an exclusive to the PlayStation line of consoles until the release of Tekken 6 in 2009. Tekken 6 saw the first time the franchise would branch out to other platforms, as Tekken 6 and Tekken 7 saw releases across PlayStation and Xbox consoles, while Tekken Tag Tournament 2 became the first and only game in the franchise to see a release across all three major console platforms.
While the franchise has made its home primarily on the PlayStation, the Tekken series has remained one of the most popular and well-known fighting game franchises in the world. From the very first game, the series became recognizable with its unique array of characters. Characters such as Yoshimitsu would become iconic, but the main narrative followed the story of the Mishima bloodline, with Heihachi Mishima and his son Kazuya often playing the opposing roles to one another. Kazuya debuted in the first Tekken game as the protagonist, but as years went on, his role in the franchise has grown increasingly complicated.
Tekken: Who Is Kazuya Mishima?
The first Tekken game introduced Kazuya as the lead protagonist, establishing Kazuya immediately as the series' main mascot as he sought revenge against Heihachi for throwing him off a cliff as a child. The following game saw Kazuya Mishima's role in the franchise change places with his father's as Kazuya became consumed by the Devil that saved his life all those years prior while Heihachi sought his own vengeance. Kazuya's defeat in Tekken 2 led to the character's disappearance for the following game, and his son Jin Kazama took over the role of protagonist. Tekken 4 saw the reintroduction of Kazuya Mishima, beginning a shifting dynamic between the three mascots of the Tekken franchise.
Kazuya's role in Tekken 4 is similar to his role in the first game, seeking revenge against his father while also tempting his son Jin into giving in to his Devil. Kazuya is soundly defeated by Jin in Tekken 4, while he slips into more of a side-role in Tekken 5. He acted behind the scenes and established control of a company known as G-Corporation to stand in opposition to Jin who had assumed control of the Mishima family's global empire the Mishima Zaibatsu going into Tekken 6. The latest release in the franchise, Tekken 7, saw Kazuya renew his rivalry with Heihachi as it was revealed that Heihachi had a hand in the death of his mother with both Mishima acting as protagonist and antagonist through the course of the game.
Each Tekken game saw Kazuya assume different roles through the plot, changing from protagonist to antagonist to even deuteragonist and side-character as needed to advance the plot. Despite the constant shift of role, his importance in the franchise has remained among the most influential characters through the progression of Tekken's narrative. Even beyond Kazuya's narrative importance, however, is how recognizable his fighting style has become, as Tekken's original protagonist and the character through whom all of the Mishima-style characters build their techniques.
Kazuya's Fighting Style In Smash Ultimate
During Smash Ultimate Director Masahiro Sakurai's reveal of Kazuya Mishima, Sakurai showed a brief gameplay demonstration of familiar moves that Kazuya will be adapting to the new arena. Signature throws such as the Stonehead headbutt and the Double Face Kick that have been a part of the Mishima moveset since inception have made the jump to Smash. Kazuya is shown to also be bringing many of the Mishima-style's trademark strikes into the fold. The trailer displayed Kazuya using moves such as the Spinning Demon kicks as well as the Mishima's famous launcher and combo-extender the Wind God Fist. Kazuya is also seen to be capable of the Thunder God Fist, which also gave a glimpse into his more demonic side.
The trailer displayed Kazuya transforming into his Devil form during combat and during the execution of certain attacks, a trait that he had adopted since Tekken Tag Tournament 2. It is currently unknown if this transformation will function similarly to Sephiroth's One-Winged Angel form, but in practice, the form functions similarly to its usage in TTT2 and T7. When executing his Thunder God Fist in particular, Kazuya can transform similar to his T7 Rage Drive to drive the opponent into the ground in a move called Heaven's Door. Kazuya is also shown transforming into Devil to throw opponents into the air before firing a beam from the eye on his forehead while his Final Smash unveils an even more devilish form.
As shown in the trailer, Kazuya's Final Smash invokes the Devil form used in T7's Story Mode finale where he takes on a more monstrous transformation than ever before. He fires a multitude of beams from the eyes on his wings, head, and the center of his chest to obliterate the opponent. This Rage Art during the T7 boss fight acted as an instant loss to the player when hit, making the technique befitting the status of Kazuya's Final Smash. The sheer variety of moves from Kazuya's history finding their way into Smash Ultimate ensures that the Tekken franchise as a whole is well-represented in Smash.
From his own techniques to shared Mishima-style techniques and even a traditional Ten-Hit Combo string and crouch dashing, Kazuya may be one of the most fully-featured characters relative to their source material. Previous entrants from fighting games went so far as to retain their traditional commands and combo capabilities, and with what was shown in the trailer, Kazuya Mishima looks to bring his very own Tekken-brand of fighting mechanics into the world of Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. His full presentation is scheduled for June 28th at 10AM EST with a release date to be announced during the character presentation.