It’s time for another Tekken 8 trailer, and this one’s all about Yoshimitsu, the deeply bizarre “mechanized space ninja” of the franchise.
Many Tekken 8 characters, like Victor Chevalier and Sergei Dragunov, are fairly “normal” in terms of design, but that’s not a characteristic Yoshimitsu values, and it’s nice to see he’s just as weird as ever in Tekken 8.
As the trailer begins, Yoshimitsu spins into frame, preparing himself for combat against his opponent, who in this case is Nina Williams.
As you’ll likely know if you’ve played previous Tekken games, Yoshimitsu’s move set is a little unconventional compared to other Tekken fighters, and his ninjutsu fighting style uses his sword prominently.
Following the battle against Nina, we then get to see Yoshimitsu take on Bryan Fury, who opens their fight (perhaps a little unfairly) with a Gatling gun.
Not one to be fazed, however, Yoshimitsu simply blocks Bryan’s bullets with his sword before pledging to avenge his followers. Presumably, he’s referring to the members of the Manji clan he leads.
Yoshimitsu proceeds to deliver a brutal beatdown to Bryan, culminating in the ninja warrior’s Rage Art, which is a sight to behold.
He seemingly teleports his victim to a very Akira Kurosawa-esque black-and-white forest, delivering a flurry of blows with his sword before landing the coup de grace, an anime-style slash that causes his enemy’s blood to explode from their body.
At the conclusion of the trailer, Yoshimitsu struggles to suppress the Cursed Blade Yoshimitsu he wields, but manages to get a handle on it (no pun intended) before it consumes him entirely.
Yoshimitsu is just one of many playable characters you’ll get to experience in Tekken 8, with other returning favorites including boxer Steve Fox, martial artist Marshall Law, and theme park enthusiast Ling Xiaoyu.
Tekken 8 will launch for PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on January 26th. A playable demo is also set to be released this week for PS5 and next week for Xbox.
If you want to learn more about the game, you can read our very own Erren’s preview of it right here, as well as her interview with some of the folks behind the game.
