Tekken 8’s final launch character reveal is Reina

Tekken 8 may not be launching until January, but Bandai Namco announced the 32nd and final combatant of the game’s roster today. Ladies and gentlemen, enter the acrobatic Taido specialist, Reina.

Tekken 8 Director Kohei Ikeda took to the PlayStation Blog to detail how the character went from conception to reality. Bandai Namco also dropped a new Tekken 8 trailer today showcasing the mysterious fighter’s skill set.

The trailer opens with Reina sitting on a throne of sorts before the nickname “Purple Lighting” is emblazoned across the screen. You quickly see why the moniker is fitting.

We see flashy snippets of bouts versus Feng, Hwoarang, Jun, Xiaoyu, Leroy, and Lars. All of whom are easily dispatched with a flurry of flips and kicks. Series lead Jin Kazama then steps in to show the latest entrant some manners.

Heihachi’s protégé

As this is a Reina trailer, that doesn’t exactly work out for Jin. But it’s here that we get a tease as to what Reina’s place is in Tekken 8‘s story. Jin asks “Who are you…?” To which Reina playfully replies “Jin senapai. We finally have our chance to fight!” As the two characters begin to battle, Reina easily disposes of Jin with an impressive set of attacks and combos.

While Reina’s heritage is a purposeful mystery at this point, it’s worth throwing out there that Purple Lightning may be a telling nickname. The use of lightning is a bit of a calling card for members of the Mishima family of fighters. And when Kazuya enters the trailer after Jin, there’s an obvious distaste for one of the overarching villains of the Tekken series. The duo even leads with what appears to be opposing lightning attacks as their bout begins. And there may even be a tease of the new character possessing the Devil Gene that plagues some of the series’ most important combatants.

In Kohei Ikeda’s blog post, he indicates that Reina “plays a vital role in Tekken 8’s story”. Ikeda also teases that the character “exudes a charismatic sense of evil, reflecting her character’s duality in both personality and fighting style.” So it will remain unclear until the game launches which side of this family feud the character falls in line with (if any), but the implication definitely leans towards Reina being a potential missing heir of Heihachi Mishima.

With the recent reveal of the French fighter Victor Chevalier, and now Reina, we are at 32 confirmed characters. If you’re interested in a breakdown of each, check out our complete list of all the Tekken 8 fighters revealed so far. The latest entry in the historic fighting series launches on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S on January 26.