Preserving Martial Arts Traditions Amidst Controversy

Tekken 8 is far from a perfect game, but as someone who has seen the series grow and evolve, its latest DLC has reminded me why it is timeless even among other storied fighting games. The main traditions of Tekken are still alive and well based on its newest character, whose representation introduces a new culture and fighting style to fans who wouldn’t be exposed to it in any other situation.

The fanbase for Tekken 8 has been divided ever since Season 2, which introduced a chaotic balance patch that overtuned characters to abuse system mechanics. An emergency patch was needed to alleviate some concerns, especially after the release of other strong DLC fighters like Ana Williams and Fahkumram. However, the team behind Tekken‘s development has not abandoned a widely praised aspect of their creation process despite these controversies.

Tekken Always Has Genuine Reverence For Different Martial Arts

Multiple Fighting Styles Have Been Researched And Implemented With Care

One of the most appealing parts of the Tekken series to me is how well represented different martial arts are from various fighters in each game. From traditional Karate, Muay Thai, Taekwondo, or Boxing to bombastic Lucha Libre art forms, Tekken has integrated tons of respect and passion into a fighter’s unique approach to martial mastery.

Martial arts that were once obscure have gotten far more mainstream notice from their inclusion in Tekken games. For example, the extremely popular fighter Eddie Gordo helped introduce the Afro-Brazilian Capoeira fighting style to many who weren’t aware of it before.

The complex nature of 3D animation and movement in Tekken games means that every punch, kick, and other strike has to be meticulously crafted to suit the game’s purposes. This has allowed every game to evolve in how it shows a martial art, with graphics improving with every title. While it could be easy to make Tekken fighters more fantastical, each character has been kept grounded somewhat by an origin in real-life fighting techniques.

This tradition has continued even as Tekken adds new characters to the series, beyond just guest fighters from other genres. The best example of this recently is the character Fahkumram, a DLC fighter in Tekken 7 who was added after careful research into the Muay Thai fighting style from Thailand.

In this case, the Tekken development team visited Thailand to study its culture, and even asked for help from local artists and designers to help create the character. Fahkumram’s wide array of tattoos are all intricately detailed, with each having a different meaning or translation. His outfit speaks to Thai culture as well, building a character that is authentic beyond just how he fights.

Tekken 8 Continues Tradition By Adding An Obscure Fighting Style From Madagascar

New Character Marks A First In Franchise History

Tekken 8 Miary Zo DLC character from Madagascar

The latest announced DLC fighter for Season 2 of Tekken 8 is Miary Zo, a character from Madagascar. Miary Zo marks the first African character in the Tekken series, with the Baobab Horizon stage bringing fighters to Madagascar for a new arena to duke it out.

This unique character uses a centuries-old fighting style from Madagascar called Moraingy, but Tekken devs have mentioned that her animations will reflect a variety of martial arts from African cultures. Similar to Fahkumram, input on this character has come from Madagascar itself, with local voice actors and designers contributing to the fighter’s representation.

Heads of Tekken 8‘s development have stated that careful research was done on-site in Madagascar to craft Miary Zo (and her stage) from scratch. According to interview details, Miary Zo’s fighting style reflects the wildlife of African regions, taking unique movements and characteristics to create distinct combat techniques.

More Fighting Games Should Study Their Character’s Culture & History

Don’t Use Nationalities As Only A Label

Tekken 8 Miary Zo DLC fighter stage from Madagascar

The inclusion of Miary Zo makes me extremely excited to see her in action, as each movement and attack is likely reflective of long-standing tradition and rich cultural influence. In my opinion, more fighting games should follow Tekken‘s example, as many fighters seem to only have character origins as labels rather than defining traits.

The most egregious example of fighting game characters who are represented through national stereotypes is those from Street Fighter, with fighters like Dhalsim and Blanka coming to mind first.

Using authentic cultural and historical influences can help flesh out a fighting game character, eventually giving you a diverse roster. This can do wonders not only for genuine representation, but also connect with players who feel seen by said representation.

While not every fighting game can recreate incredibly detailed martial arts from various cultures, like Tekken can, extra steps can be taken to make characters feel deeper than just surface level. 3D fighting games like Tekken and Virtua Fighter will undoubtedly be the best at this, but 2D games from popular series might benefit from more authentic design choices.

For now, I’m interested to see how Tekken implements Miary Zo, and if she will be as detailed as other characters that have come before. The gameplay of Tekken 8 may be controversial going into the end of Season 2, but I still appreciate the dedication to the series’ tradition of how it can introduce players to martial arts from around the world.