With a long-runner like Tekken, sometimes not every character will be a unanimously praised staple. Here's some of the series' most prominent examples.
Tekken
- Paul Phoenix. Many lament that his calmer badass characterization in 4 was the top of his characterization. After he became a comic relief ever since 5, they take it as if Namco has been doing him dirty to his dignity as seen in 4 and before. At the same time, the other camp thinks his comic relief side is okay and Actually Pretty Funny. The same argument can also be thrown to Marshall Law and his family; their issues were very much the same about serious characters being turned into comic relief since 5.
Tekken 3
- Bryan. In a bit of a subversion, people have no qualms with the character. It's simply a matter of which characterization of him you like: the more reserved badass that debuted in 3 or the raging, power-hungry One-Man Army that emerged in 5 (4 was a bit of intermediate stage). Although it's worth mentioning that even in 3's ending, Bryan throws the upper half of a tank at a special forces squad and cackles on top of a police cruiser after killing them in one fell swoop, so he wasn't exactly what one would call 'reserved' in early installments.
- As the closest the series has had to a proper heroic protagonist to contrast both Kazuya and Heihachi, Jin had developed a broken base on his own following his Face–Heel Turn in 6. While some believe that the turn still kept him interesting in terms of him choosing to go down a darker path intentionally such that he can eventually wipe out the entire Mishima bloodline, fans took umbrage with how badly the actual turn in question was executed. Even the explanation that Jin intentionally kicked off the events of 6 for an actual greater purpose was watered down by later reveals in 7 (namely, that Azazel's defeat didn't amount to anything and the gene had actually been passed down from his grandmother Kazumi's side), and that his noble motives weren't enough to justify starting an entire world war to accomplish his goals. Even as the series has taken steps to making him a more-or-less heroic figure going forward following 6, complete with a Heel–Face Turn in 8, his entire arc in 6 continues to haunt his characterization.
Tekken 5
- When Lili was introduced, she was received warmly as a pretty, stylish and amusing fighter. Even to this day, Lili still has fans who liked her this way. However, come Tekken 6, she gains a sizable number of detractors matching her fandom due to being made into Asuka's rival and her characterization ends up being summed up as 'being extremely petty and making Asuka's life miserable just for being beaten'. It comes at the cost of most of Asuka's other ongoing arcs, starting from her being a Kazama and able to neutralize the Devil Gene, as well as her vendetta against Feng Wei or whatever injustice she feels like in need of some straightening (including her very own cousin Jin), being ignored in favor of a cliched, petty teenage schoolgirl rivalry. The detractors also view this rivalry as a poor man's Sakura Kasugano-Karin Kanzuki rivalry, because those characters are allowed to develop beyond their rivalry as opposed to Asuka-Lili rivalry which tends to be static. Lili's fans, however, find this acceptable as it also contributes to the popularity of BOTH Asuka and Lili. In a manner, this whole situation can also be applied to Asuka's fandom as well.
Tekken 6
- Bob is a pretty big one (no pun intended). Some people love him for being a fat character that isn't used solely for comic relief, and for having a very fun playstyle. Others revile him for being ridiculously overpowered (especially in Tekken 6, case in point; EVO 2011 grand finals was a Bob mirror), and for having very little purpose in the game's roster other than being the token fat character - not to mention how he is a somewhat unsubtle jab at the serious playerbase.
- Alisa is liked for her Moe design (and is quite popular with female Tekken players, the likes of which include Aruu and Jennail "CuddleCore" Carter) coupled with a very unique and interesting moveset, not the least of which includes friggin' chainsaw blades before Denji came along. Conversely, she's disliked for - at best - being a serious nuisance to fight against online (namely in 7, but most notoriously being That One Boss in 6's Scenario Campaign) and - at worst - being a waifubait character with little else in the way of characterization.
- Lars. You either like him for his badass and over-the-top anime-inspired moveset or dislike him for the very same reasons (plus his, ah, "unique" haircut) and/or have bad memories of his time as a High-Tier Scrappy in his debut game (and by extension Tag 2).
Tekken Revolution
- Eliza returning in Tekken 7 got many people riled up for being yet another "waifu bait" character as opposed to a more traditional fighter. As the game already featured Lili, Asuka, Xiaoyu, Alisa, Josie, and Lucky Chloe, there are more than just a few who accused Harada of deliberately Pandering to the Base for what some view as the Lowest Common Denominator. The only way to avoid having Eliza in the base game was to not pre-order also pissed off those gamers who wanted to do just that. The fact that she got onto the roster, while other characters like Armor King, Lei, Anna, Julia, and Zafina had been cut (all of whom later returned as DLC) is another point of contention. That being said, Eliza was included due to her winning a fan poll on who to include in Tekken 7, with second place going a character whose design was so risqué the reason why she wasn't included in past games was because the developers were afraid she'd increase the game's age rating.
Tekken 7
- "2D style" characters, particularly in Tekken 7, in general fall into this. Some players feel Akuma and Geese are great additions as guest characters, whereas many others revile them for their "alien" 2D fighter playstyle and insane combo damage potential.
- The inclusion of a Guest Fighter in the update to Tekken 7: Akuma. People were either excited for him and made jokes about how this is why he's not in the initial roster of Street Fighter V, or despised him for being a Guest Fighter and the fact that he was actually being implemented into the story of the game.
- Josie Rizal in 7, particularly amongst Filipinos, who either loved her because the Philippines has been historically underrepresented in video games, or hated her because of her Stripperiffic outfit and a choice of name that they consider insensitive to Philippine culture and history. Outside of Filipinos, the argument is different: She's either a decent character and someone that gives Bruce's moveset her own good spin, or she's disliked for having replaced Bruce at all, on top of being a crybaby that cries in one of her victory animations.
- Kazumi became this due to the retcons of Kazuya's origin story that she represents as well as dragging out the Devil Gene plot for another game, which some fans saw as played out.
- Leroy Smith as well, even though he has shifted the opinion of the player base from a positive one (right after his reveal at the Season 3 trailer, with players almost unanimously praising his character design) into a heavily negative one (after he finally appeared as a DLC in game and made evident his "broken" gameplay with many easy-to-use, overpowered moves, causing players to declare him as a "pay2win" DLC). His fans were in for a nasty surprise in 8 where he ended up receiving a few nerfs while the rest of the cast received notable buffs that makes him one of the less played characters online. The silver lining is that he gets the chance to properly participate in the story and develop relationships with Jin, Lili and even a rivalry with Feng.
- Lucky Chloe fits the bill even in the American fanbase, despite the massive hatred she has received. While some are extremely pissed with her design and overly blatant moe attitude, many have defended her, saying that the accusations were premature; she still brought diversity to the cast, pointed out many of the other more ridiculous character designs that were already in the series (such as Kuma or Alex), and that judgment should be reserved until how she played had been shown. This is a fighting game, after all. In the end, her base is now split between "She's a normal, serviceable character gameplay-wise, and that's good for her" and "She's personality-wise irritating (see Americans Hate Tingle)". However, both bases still have an agreement about how she's still above the nameless reporter.
- Master Raven. Some disliked her for replacing the original Raven, while others liked having another female fighter in the series. As a bonus for some, the fact that she's basically the Tekken equivalent to Taki, quite possibly the most popular and iconic female character of that series, if not overall, in both appearance and personality, definitely helped with getting fans to accept her. On the other hand, there are those who wanted a female ninja but would've preferred the return of Kunimitsu (who eventually debuted in the Season 4 DLC), especially after she was revamped for Tag 2, instead of a completely new fighter.
- Negan as a Guest Fighter for a Tekken game was quite surprising, since he would seem to be more fit towards a Western fighting game series such as Mortal Kombat, where his home series' brutality would be appropriate. Also, The Walking Dead is not necessarily that large of a fandom to appeal to, even outside the context of fighting games. Still, some players who have actually played as Negan appreciate the uniqueness he brings to the game and several subtle references to the show he's from. Another point of contention with his character is his long, drawn-out intros and win-poses; almost like the game itself encourages Negan players to Troll their opponents by letting them play out rather than skipping them.
- Noctis Lucis Caelum was not safe from this. True, he's pretty much accepted by a good part of the fanbase, but he is also heavily derided; some fans considered Noctis as Harada's method of riding the wave of then-popular games such as Final Fantasy XV (this game itself being a base breaker of its own in its very franchise's fanbase also didn't help), or just outright dismissed him as someone who doesn't belong on Tekken's world. note There's also the fact that many considered him a more fitting choice for inclusion in the Soul series, where his explicitly magical multi-weapon style would be more accepted.
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