[GoLLuM13]

The presentation of the characters of Tekken 8 continues with Bandai-Namco. After Nina Williams, Kazuya Mishisima and Jin Kazama, it's Paul Phoenix's turn to have a gameplay trailer. We knew this character from the first Tekken, and he has clearly taken on age and muscle. He has also changed his haircut, there is no more gel, as if the character assumed his age. We can also see his lifelong friend Law Marshall, who is used as a punching ball.

Tekken 8 should be available on PS5, Xbox Series and PC (Steam), however, no date has been revealed yet.

and as a bonus, the evolution of Paul since the first Tekken

Image Credits : DM Gaming Comparison

[DoctorEldritch]

@GoLLuM13 Why did he change his haircut? He does indeed look like he ran out of hair gel.

[GoLLuM13]

@DoctorEldritch I'm pretty sure there were gel shortage too 😂

[DoctorEldritch]

@GoLLuM13 Do they explain this in his backstory somehow, the changes in the outfit or hairstyle? Usually, when in comics or manga/anime a character gets a new look, it is to do with some personal development in their story. Or did they just explain it as he is acting more his age now and that's it?

[GoLLuM13]

@DoctorEldritch so far the only communication is about gameplay reveal, if they mentioned this anywhere, it's well hidden

Here is the official message that came with the video on YouTube and Twitter :
"Fighting is a skill he has mastered with hair--err flair.
Paul punches back in #TEKKEN8 !"

I guess we'll know more about the story when the game will launch or around launch date

[DoctorEldritch]

@GoLLuM13 How do they share lore in the Tekken universe, actually? In RPGs, it is easier to share lore, with quests and information pieces you can find around. But Tekken is purely fighting. Then again, Mortal Kobat designed detailed backstories for the fighters, but they also have films to use as a method of storytelling, Tekken does not yet, as far as I know. How do fighting games tell the lore, do you need to go to the game wiki to learn about it?

[GoLLuM13]

@DoctorEldritch What I know from Tekken I know it through games and video games magazines back then when is still was a thing.
But I know there is an animated movie as well as two live-action movies at least and there is also an animated show that was recently released on Netflix (2022 I think) but I can't tell you more about those because I haven't seen any, yet, I mostly focused on games so far

[DoctorEldritch]

@GoLLuM13 Ah, so there are shows as well, good to know. I did not know that, I thought only MK had shows and movies so far. Then again, having shows is good, but for them to work they need to follow canon. Some of them are too different from it sometimes.

[GoLLuM13]

@DoctorEldritch Oh yeah some movies are just exploiting the name of the license, like Dead or Alive, the first Mortal Kombat and obviously Street Fighter 👀

[DoctorEldritch]

@GoLLuM13 Then again, it is a hard balance: you need to be true to the source and the lore, but also add something new to the universe and not just tell what the game did in a different format, and to appeal to both old fans and those unfamiliar with the universe at all.

For example, Shenmue: The Animation was not a bad anime as such, but did not really add anything to the experience if you played the game.

On the other hand, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners did a superb job of telling a separate story (pacing notwithstanding) that added more brushes to the world without contradicting or blindly retelling the game. But it is different, maybe, because the game itself is based on the role-playing franchise, it is easier to create new stories in universes like that, same with Warhammer 40K.

But using magazines to learn lore is very nostalgic.