Tekken 8 Version 1.08 is shaping up to be the game’s biggest update yet as it brings back an iconic character alongside brand-new story content for free.
As revealed in EVO 2024, Tekken is bringing back Heihachi from the dead. Even though his death in Tekken 7 seemed very much a convincing end to his story, the team decided to add old man Mishima back into the roster for Tekken 8.
To explain how he survived, Version 1.08 will also add new story content for free – a first for the series. Thanks to this, players will find out what happened to Heihachi, along with what Lydia and Eddy were up to during the events of the eighth game.
Ahead of the version’s release, we got to try out Tekken 8’s latest version via a hands-on session courtesy of Bandai Namco. There, we got to test out Heihachi along with the opening chapters of the add-on campaign.
Heihachi is Back With Some New Moves
To start, I got to test out Heihachi, the iconic Tekken character who is also Harada’s favorite (as Michael Murray pointed out in our recent interview).
I have to admit though, I’m not a hardcore Tekken fan, and as such, I steer clear of the Mishimas as I could not land an Electric Wind God Fist if my life depended on it. So, this won’t be an in-depth exploration of his new mechanics.
Heihachi mains from Tekken 7 will likely feel at home with the Tekken 8 version of the character as Murray pointed out ahead of our hands-on, they designed Heihachi to feel and play similarly, albeit with some changes.
These changes were made so that Heihachi has a more aggressive playstyle (as befits Tekken 8’s overall gameplay). For instance, Heihachi’s high and mid moves have been buffed.
Meanwhile, other changes were made so that Heihachi would be more accessible to newer players, as Tekken 8 has a sizeable portion of players new to the series. Among these changes is the ability to hit a Wind God Fist.
This is done through stances. In Tekken 8, Heihachi has two stances, with one of these allowing players to use Wind God Fist with just one button input instead of the more complex input that’s required. Of course, players can also land Heihachi’s strong abilities with the Special Style option, though that will limit the moves they have.
Another new addition is Warrior’s Instinct, a major powerup that can be activated only once per match. This is a separate counter below the Heat bar, and it charges every time Heihachi enters Heat. When 3 Heat modes are reached, players can activate Warrior’s Instinct with a button input. This gives access to new techniques and adds more damage plus recoverable damage. While powerful, this can only be used late in a match, meaning its usage will be limited in proper matches.
As for the experience of Heihachi, even with the changes to make him more accessible, he should still be quite a difficult character to master, at least during my time with him. In my hands-on, I tried out Heihachi’s new moves in the gorgeous new Genmaji Temple stage, a secluded mountain temple with three options: daytime, afternoon, and night. There, I still struggled to take advantage of his kit, though on the times that I got to string proper combos, he felt plenty powerful.
Overall, Heihachi mains should be satisfied with his Tekken 8 rendition. For those who aren’t Mishima players like myself though, they’ll still be able to try Heihachi for free even without the Season Pass thanks to the new story content.
The Free Story Content Will Delight Tekken Fans
Even though Tekken has a long history of additional content for its mainline entries, there hasn’t really been new story content added post-game. So, it was a surprise for us to find out that the development team decided to create new story chapters, for free I might add.
We asked Murray about this before getting some hands-on time with the experience. He mentioned that the team believed that this was the right time to make story content as there were many players invested in the storyline. What’s more, this is a chance for players to try out the new Season Pass characters.
The new story content opens with Eddy, the first of the Season 1 DLC characters. Eddy’s chapters explain what he was up to during the main story’s events. If you get confused with the timeline, don’t worry as the chapters have indicators regarding when in the Tekken timeline they happen.
Speaking of the series timeline, long-time players will appreciate Eddy’s chapters as there are some callbacks to older games. Specifically, some cutscenes feature footage from older Tekken games which is a particular treat for those who have played the previous titles.
There’s also the fact that it’s nice to see Eddy interacting with various Tekken characters again such as Jin and Nina. After all, it has been a long time since Eddy has interacted with these notable faces in Tekken.
As for Lydia, her role in the story is interesting as she’s key in introducing the storyline of Heihachi’s return. This happens in one of the chapters where she’s approached by the Tekken monks.
These monks are the ones who saved Heihachi from what was certain death in Tekken 7. Given that his death was supposed to have been a definitive end for him, how Heihachi survived might seem a bit contrived to some. On the flip side, the story direction for Heihachi was interesting, though what happens in the later chapters shouldn’t be too surprising.
We can’t judge the new story fully as we haven’t finished all the chapters during our hands-on time. What we can say is that they are a great addition. After all, aside from being a treat to long-time fans and for those who love Tekken’s story, there’s the fact that this content is 100% free.
Sure, the gameplay here is what you’d expect as it’s pretty much cutscene-battle-cutscene-battle in terms of flow, but there are some memorable battles that switch things up a bit. We won’t mention those as it’d be better for you to experience for yourself.
Tekken 8 Version 1.08 Hands-on Impressions: Still an Exciting Update
Tekken 8 players are in for a treat when Version 1.08 lands later this year, especially because the update adds lots of additional story chapters at no cost – definitely a great way to celebrate Tekken’s 30th anniversary. It also helps that the story chapters feature cutscenes and battles that are sure to delight long-time fans.
As for Heihachi, fans of the character will likely be happy with his Tekken 8 rendition. Even with some additional mechanics that make him more aggressive while being a bit more accessible to play, Heihachi retains a similar playstyle to what players have been used to throughout the years.
Version 1.08 will be released in Fall 2024, though there’s no word yet on an official release date.