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Taking the Big, Screwed-Up Family to its logical extremes since 1994. note 

Welcome to the King of Iron Fist Tournament.
Get ready for the next battle!

Tekken (鉄拳, lit. "Iron Fist") is one of Namco / Bandai Namco Entertainment's most popular franchises and the most successful 3D fighting game series of all time, such that it is a Trope Codifier for that subgenre.

Tekken is renowned for its fast paced and demanding gameplay. The game makes judicious use of extremely precise hitboxes for all of its characters and places heavy emphasis on frame data. If someone punches for example, you can often justduck under it entirely. Punches and kicks are uniquely mapped to the four face buttons, with each one corresponding to a limb. If you press a button that uses the right arms, then the character will almost certainly strike with that arm. Combos and special inputs are thus a bit more intuitive than other fighting games, making the series surprisingly accessible for newcomers.

On the deeper side, Tekken is quite different than most 2D fighters. Gone are staples like projectiles or energy attacks, with only a select few members of the cast able to use either of them. Instead, Tekken mostly focuses around supernaturally empowered martial arts. Every character fights with their own unique style, such as King's Japan Pro Wrestling, Eddy Gordo's capoeira, and more fantastical options like the robotic Jack and Kuma the Karate bear. Most Tekken matches are quite compact, often taking place at much closer ranges than other fighting games. The emphasis on movement and damaging punishment opportunities means that the game is a careful balance of risk and reward.

Characters also have massive movelists, often far exceeding almost every other fighting game series. For example, main character Kazuya has over 60 moves by Tekken 7, and that's not even getting into characters like Yoshimitsu or Hwoarang, who have stances with their own dedicated movelists. This complexity has earned it many fans around the globe and extreme success in arcades (and later in console ports), and the series has a reputation for being one of the most challenging, technical yet highly rewarding fighting games a person can play.

While fighting games are not traditionally known for rich storylines, Tekken holds the Guinness World Record for the longest-running sequential video game storyline, period.note  It begins with the Mishima Zaibatsu, a conglomerate of the Mishima family, run by Heihachi Mishima, sponsoring a tournament called King of Iron Fist. The winner is promised a huge prize... if they can beat Heihachi, that is. As it turns out, the tournament winner is in fact his disgruntled son Kazuya Mishima. Having been thrown into a ravine when he was only five years old by Heihachi himself, Kazuya made a Deal with the Devil, survived, and trained himself so he could exact revenge. Heihachi, too late to realize Kazuya's devilish power, was soundly beaten and was thrown by Kazuya into the same ravine where he was thrown by Heihachi.

Eventually, Heihachi comes back and reclaims his place after Kazuya, seemingly the hero of the first story, turns out to be even worse of a person than he is, so after his victory he kills Kazuya by throwing him into a volcano. The third game takes place after a Time Skip and deals with Kazuya's son, Jin Kazama. The fourth deals with the return of Kazuya, and later games continue to cover the struggle inside the Mishima family, with the Devil Gene complicating matters, and even involving an Eldritch Abomination. The seventh game, featuring the appearance of Heihachi's wife and Kazuya's mother, Kazumi Mishima in flashback sequences, resolves the blood feud between the father and son, but does not end the Tekken series as a whole, with the story's ending setting up a new narrative. The eighth moves the family rivalry to the next generation with Kazuya seeking to bring the world under his control, while his son Jin, with the help of several allies, mounts a rebellion to stop him.

    Works 
  • Tekken (Arcade/PlayStation)
    Released in 1994 for the arcades and 1995 for PS. The console version has an embedded Galaga in it. Total playable characters: 8 (arcades), 17 (PS).
  • Tekken 2 (Arcade/PlayStation)
    Released in 1995 for the arcades and 1996 for PS. Introduces Survival, Team Battle, and Time Attack modes, which would become staples in future games. Total playable characters: 25.
  • Tekken 3 (Arcade/PlayStation)
    Released in 1997 for the arcades and 1998 for PS. Gameplay is overhauled, with an emphasis on third axis fighting and more fluid movement; this is arguably the moment where the series fully gains its voice. The console version features a guest character (Gon), something that would not be repeated again until Tekken 7. Total playable characters: 21 (arcades), 23 (PS).
  • Tekken Tag Tournament (Arcade/PlayStation 2)
    Released in 1999 for the arcades and 2000 for PS2. A Dream Match Game with Tag Team mechanics, each battle is 2 vs 2. The player is encouraged to perform tag team combination attacks as part of their repertoire. The game also introduces "Rage" (known as "Netsu" in-game), where the reserve character will gain a momentary stat increase if the main is sufficiently damaged as an incentive for them to tag; it will not be featured again until Tekken 6. The console port is the first iteration of the series released for a sixth generation console and shows it; the graphics, lighting, details, and music are enhanced. Total playable characters: 38 (arcades), 39 (PS2).
    • Tekken Tag Tournament HD (PlayStation 3)
      Released in 2011 as part of the Tekken Hybrid collection. It is an HD Remaster of the PS2 port.
  • Tekken 4 (Arcade/PlayStation 2)
    Released in 2001 for the arcades and 2002 for PS2. Completely reworks the graphics and character designs; a line can be drawn between this game and Tekken Tag Tournament, so all future installments owe their art direction to Tekken 4. The game introduces the concept of wall splats due to the presence of walled arenas, which is retained in its successors, and Free-Floor Fighting, which is not. Total playable characters: 23.
  • Tekken 5 (Arcade/PlayStation 2)
    Released in 2004. In response to criticisms directed at the previous game's slower gameplay, it is advertised as Revisiting the Roots, featuring faster gameplay reminiscent of Tekken 3 and a mechanic designed to make the game less of a juggle-fest (although it is still present). The console version has embedded versions of the first three arcade versions of Tekken, as well as Star Blade. Total playable characters: 32.
    • Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection (Arcade/PlayStation Portable/PlayStation 3)note 
      Released in 2005 for the arcades and 2006 for the PSP and PS3. It is an Updated Re-release of Tekken 5, with the focus mainly in rebalancing. It adds variations of stages from the original game, and changes the color palette (all characters have different default colors now). It is the first in the series to be released in a seventh generation console and the first to offer online play. Total playable characters: 35 (arcades and PSP), 36 (PS3).
  • Death by Degrees (PlayStation 2)
    Released in 2005. It is an action game spinoff starring Nina Williams.
  • Tekken 6 (Arcade)
    Released in 2007. (Re)introduces "Rage", this time activating when the character is in low health. Juggling opportunities are extended with the new "Bound" mechanic, in which a character can be staggered and launched into the air. Total playable characters: 39.
    • Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion (Arcade/PlayStation 3/Xbox 360/PlayStation Portable)note 
      Released in 2008 for the arcades and 2009 for PS3, X360, and PSP. It is an Updated Re-release of Tekken 6, featuring rebalancing, new stages and characters. Total playable characters: 41.
    • Tekken 3D: Prime Edition (Nintendo 3DS)
      Released in 2012. Another updated rerelease, also featuring the movie Tekken: Blood Vengeance. Total playable characters: 41.
  • Tekken Tag Tournament 2 (Arcade)
    Released in 2011. The second Dream Match Game, it significantly expands on the Tag Team mechanic of the first game, this time in a next-gen engine that enables walled arenas and Bound. Total playable characters: 44.
    • Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue (PlayStation 3)
      Released in 2011 as part of the Tekken Hybrid collection. It is a trial version of sorts, featuring only four characters from the Tekken: Blood Vengeance movie.
    • Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Unlimited (Arcade/PlayStation 3/Xbox 360/Wii U)note 
      Released in 2012. It is an Updated Re-release of Tekken Tag Tournament 2 that most notably adds the ability to play with a single character instead of a Tag Team. It is the first in the series to be released for an eighth-generation console. Total playable characters: 44 (arcades), 59 (PS3, X360, Wii U).
    • Tekken Revolution (Play Station Network)
      A Defunct Online Video Game running from 2013 to 2017. It was a free-to-play game based on Tekken Tag Tournament 2, removing the Bound system and the tag team system while instead adding in special attack mechanics and character leveling with a roster that can be slowly accumulated over time through microtransactions or in-game currency that could be earned while fighting. Total playable characters: 29.
  • Tekken 7 (Arcade)
    Released in 2015. Introduces Rage Art, which sacrifices Rage Mode for a Desperation Attack, and replaces Bound with Screw Attack, which can be abused less. Total playable characters: 27.
    • Tekken 7: Fated Retribution (Arcade/PlayStation 4/Xbox One/PC)note 
      Released in 2016 for the arcades and 2017 for PS4, XOne, and PC. It is an Updated Re-release of Tekken 7, introducing Rage Drive and an adjusted Rage Art. Total playable characters: 52.
    • Tekken 7: Fated Retribution - Round 2 (Arcade)
      Released in 2019, it is the back-porting of the content and changes not included in the previous Fated Retribution arcade update that brings it up to par with the console's second season pass (including the new Wall Bounce feature added in Season 2).
  • Tekken 8 (PlayStation 5/Xbox Series X|S/PC)
    Released in 2024, it was the first Tekken installment to release for ninth gen consoles, and the first mainline installment to bypass arcades completely in favor of home consoles. Introduced the Heat system, a franchise-first Super Mode that switches and powers up a character’s moveset and encourages aggressive play. Total playable characters: 32.

Non-Video Game Works

  • Tekken: The Motion Picture (1998)
    A non-canon anime film loosely based on Tekken 2.
  • Tekken (2010)
    An American live-action adaptation that focuses on Jin Kazama as he enters the "Tekken Tournament". None of the games' producers were consulted during production, and lead producer Katsuhiro Harada was dismayed by how it turned out, leading him to sponsor Blood Vengeance.
    • Tekken: Kazuya's Revenge (2014)
      A prequel revolving around Kazuya Mishima. While the original film made an attempt to feature some elements and plot of its source material, Kazuya's Revenge is an In Name Only adaptation that bears very little resemblance to the games.
  • Tekken: Blood Vengeance (2011)
    An All-CGI Cartoon movie in the same canon as the games expanding on the series lore of the Devil Gene.
  • Tekken: Bloodline (2022)
    A six-episode Netflix anime focusing on Jin Kazama's origin and loosely adapts the events of Tekken 3.

Guest Fighter appearances

Nintendo also got a Spiritual Successor of sorts to the series in the form of Pokkén Tournament, a Spin-Off of the Pokémon franchise that plays similarly to a Tekken game with several twists, since Tekken project director Katsuhiro Harada himself is involved in its development.

Street Fighter X Tekken, a crossover with Street Fighter was released in 2012, this game had gameplay based on Street Fighter but featured a full roster of Tekken characters. A follow-up with Tekken-style gameplay titled Tekken X Street Fighter was announced alongside Street Fighter X Tekken, but it fell into Development Hell and was left as Vaporware.

The series' many, many characters can all be found here.


TROPE EXAMPLES - FIGHT!

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  • Aborted Arc: Both Armor King's ending in Tekken 2 and King II's ending in Tekken 3 hint that the former has some sort of medical problem that causes him to cough up blood. However, because he gets killed by Marduck in Tekken 4, that doesn't get resolved.
  • Abusive Parents:
    • Heihachi Mishima is perhaps the most well known example of this trope in fighting games. The main catalyst behind the events of the series is Heihachi throwing his son Kazuya off of a cliff as a child. Kazuya himself is an Archnemesis Dad to Jin, but never quite on the scale of his own father. Aside from preposterous hairstyles, the Mishima family overall are known for violent feuds with one another.
    • Baek Doosan's backstory in Tekken 2 involved his father who was an abusive alcoholic due to an injury. It got so bad that Baek ended up accidentally killing the guy during a sparring session that degenerated into a fight.
    • Richard Williams, the father of Nina and Anna Williams. He raised the two sisters as assassins and showed favoritism towards Nina because of her superior skill in the craft which resulted in Anna's jealousy of Nina and the rivalry between them. To Richard's credit, he did make a request on his deathbed for Nina and Anna to put aside their rivalry. Too bad it didn't work.
  • Added Alliterative Appeal: Tekken Tag Tournament and its sequel.
  • A.I. Breaker:
    • Heihachi's d+1, 2 string in Dark Resurrection would beat any AI opponent at any difficulty. The AI just couldn't seem to block the palm thrust (and the AI is otherwise a Perfect Play A.I. at Ultra Hard difficulty so this is a glaring oversight). Interestingly, despite being the same move for all intents and purposes, the AI was not nearly as susceptible to the same command from Paul.
    • The AI has a high chance of getting hit with the Delayed Hopkick (u/f,N+4 for many characters) in most Tekken games.
    • When an AI Hwoarang advances while in his Flamingo stance, and you sidewalk around it as he does so, he won't stop moving forward all the way to the end of the screen or the stage unless you hit him out of it or you let the round time-out.
  • All Love Is Unrequited: There's Kuma for Panda, Ganryu for Michelle, and later her replacement Julia, and Xiaoyu for Jin (until 8 where Jin likely returns these feelings).
  • Amazonian Beauty: In Tag 2, the in-game models some of the ladies who are traditionally more slender, toned, and athletic (i.e. Nina, Anna, Michelle, Julia, Christie, etc.) are a bit more built this time around, particularly in the arms, shoulders, and back. Considering that they're martial artists who presumably train/workout on at least a semi-regular basis, it makes sense. While the T1 ladies did have some muscle on display, handing out the Heroic Build to both genders (not unlike where Street Fighter has been going of late) might be an attempt to go back to that portrayal for some sense of "realism" (i.e. a somewhat viable explanation for why a 5-foot-something woman can powerbomb a man, robot, or bear nearly twice her size).
  • Ambiguous Gender: Leo. Word of God says female and she gets a bikini in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 to affirm this fact. If one goes by voicing, though, it is hazy; Veronica Taylor provides Leo's voice during the time she is speaking English, but when she switches to speaking German, a male voice actor is provided. In Tekken 7 she can be customized to wear both male and female clothing too, blurring the line even further. If we go by her full name - Eleonora Kliesen, so a girl. This, however, was debunked as Leo is confirmed to be androgynous, in part due to having different genders of voice actors voicing them in different languages.
  • And Your Reward Is Clothes:
    • Taken to an extreme in Tekken 6. Granted, the clothes come with defensive or offensive upgrades, but they only apply within Scenario Campaign mode. As a result, you'd often end up putting together a lot of aesthetically mismatched articles of clothing just to make the most effective character build.
    • The Treasure Battle mode in 7 allows you to fight for either Fight Money or customization items for characters, along with bringing up your offline rank. Winning a total of 2000 matches automatically unlocks everything in the game.
  • Anime Chinese Girl: Xiaoyu, despite being arguably the most stereotypically Japanese character. She doesn't even speak any form of Chinese. Possibly justified in that she's enrolled in a Japanese high school, having been taken to Japan personally by Heihachi after she impressed him by knocking out all of his security personnel on a Mishima Zaibatsu boat she snuck aboard.
  • Anime Hair:
    • Pretty much all of the Mishima kin, as well as Paul.
    • Special mention must go to Lars, who looks like a Super Saiyan. Of course, he is Heihachi's secret son and so has inherited the Mishima blood (and apparently the hair as well).
  • Another Side, Another Story: Invoked with 7's side chapters in story mode. Each fight can be played from the perspective of either main combatant. This applies to all but a select few of the characters who are more important to the main story (ex. Kazuya, Heihachi, Jin, Lars, Alisa, Lee).
  • Anti-Frustration Features: Once completing the tutorial stage of Scenario Campaign, you are allowed to freely unlock one playable character other than Lars and Alisa, who are unlocked from the beginning. This is for the sake of veterans, as they might not be familiar with the two new additions.
  • Arc Symbol: Kazuya's gloves in the earlier games—ten roundels arranged in a triangle, pointing towards the forearm. When he gets Put on a Bus in 3, Jin wears similar gloves (complete with the same design), and the Arc Symbol from this game onward is now the latter's Power Tattoo, as well as (to a lesser extent) the three-arm crescent triskelion pattern on his new gloves starting in 4.
  • Arc Words: "Power is everything", as of 6. Repeated by either Kazuya or Jin often during the series recap in the Scenario Campaign prologue, as well as in some game trailers. Inverted in 8 as Jin now declares that "Strength isn't everything."
  • Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy:
    • Feng Wei, who was actually based on evil, arrogant kung fu movie villains. To be fair his 5 ending shows him exploding mountains with his kung fu, so maybe he can afford to be arrogant.
    • Baek Doo San has some shades of this in Tekken 2 while simultaneously being a Jerkass Woobie (he accidentally killed his father while young). While Baek since mellowed out in later games, his pupil Hwoarang has filled in for him.
    • Craig Marduk too. He killed a guy (Armor King I) in a bar brawl, then when he is defeated by the guy's student (King II), he challenges him to beat him again, simply to reclaim his former glory. Ironically, both of them are currently best friends.
    • In 7, the latest addition is the Arrogant Savateuse Gal, Katarina Alves.
  • Art Evolution:
    • Both with in-game rendering and especially the cutscenes. Just look at Tekken 1's incredibly blocky "humans" that simply didn't move naturally at all, to 2 upping the ante several notches within only nine months; even if they were still notably blocky, they at least moved more like people. 3 then jumped leaps and bounds beyond that, and by the time the series hit the PS2 and a new generation of arcade hardware, it never looked back.
    • Similarly, the visual styles of the characters themselves have notably changed. Even beyond Costume Evolution, someone like Jin carries his core appearance from 3 all the way to to 8, but has subsequently been enhanced, refined, toned both up and down and revised subtly with each new generation of Tekken, particularly with his face growing from trying to simply look "realistic" to having a stylized but distinct structure all his own. Even in the HD era, the differences between 6, 7 and 8 are colossal, and even recurring characters with returning costumes look notably different per game.
  • Artificial Brilliance: Just to give an example, using Asuka. After a few matches the game will know you like to go for the uppercut/back kick/gun combo, so it will completely shut down that. It will then read when you go for the leg sweeps and block, it predicts you using a tag throw when in trouble so it puts a stop to that, then juggles because it knows you just tag normally when low on health.
  • Art Shift/Stylistic Suck:
    • For some reason, Xiaoyu's ending in Tekken 3 is in a 2D anime style with lots of Super-Deformed. Her ending in 5 is likewise also done in 2D.
    • Done again with Mokujin's western animation-inspired Tekken 6 ending.
    • The endings in Tag 2 have a lot of this. Some of the more drastic examples include a sketchy animation style in Combot's ending, Forest's ending using paper dolls, and a comic book style in Bob's ending. Not counting legitimate Art Shift endings/aspects, some of the more realistic CGI endings are also noticeably lower quality than in the game itself. YMMV on this.
  • Asskicking Leads to Leadership:
    • This is how you take control of the Mishima Zaibatsu.
    • While its rival G Corporation does not have an established tradition of kicking butt to gain power, Kazuya seems to have created the rule when he becomes CEO after the events of 5 by killing all responsible for ordering his assassination.
  • Ass Kicks You: Initially applied to Lili in 6, but in Tag 2 any female character regardless on their stance on the tomboy or girly girl scale can equip a girly headdress that allows them to send their opponent flying by hitting them with their rear ends. Can be quite funny to see Xiaoyu launch a super heavyweight Jack like this.
  • Attacking Through Yourself: Yoshimitsu is able to stab his sword through himself to damage his enemy. The attack does serious damage to himself, but even more to his enemy if it successfully connects. (However, if Yoshimitsu has not been hit prior to this, and the attack results in a KO, it still counts as a "Perfect" round.)
  • Awesome, yet Impractical:
    • Some of the characters have unblockable attacks that will instantly knock out your opponent (or leave very little health left) but performing these attacks either takes too long or is very hard to input without messing up. Kuma, for example, has a Fartillery attack that can immediately knock out ANY character. Too bad he takes forever to perform it, and its range is tiny. In 5, the commentator will say "Oops" if it does connect.
    • 10 hit combos. They're smooth looking and might impress someone new to the game, but aren't true combos as often as they are, meaning someone can block at certain key points and wait for the right opportunity to punish.
    • Chain Grabs. They're some of the most visually impressive attacks in Tekken, but each new step offers the opponent a new chance to break the grab, limiting their usefulness on someone experienced. What's worse, some chain grab breaks will cause the initiator damage when the opponent escapes.
  • Ax-Crazy: Bryan, complete with awesomely evil laugh. In fact, he gains health when Nina kicks him in the crotch. Or stomps on his crotch with her stiletto heels.
  • Back from the Dead:
    • Kazuya, who is resurrected by G Corporation after Heihachi killed him in 2.
    • Jinpachi is resurrected sometime between 4 and 5 by an unidentified evil spirit.
  • Badass and Child Duo: Jack carries around a little girl whose parents he killed and who he subsequently adopted. That girl, Jane, later goes on to develop several other Jack models because of her affection for the Jack-2 model that served as her protector.
  • Badass Family: The Mishima clan, natch. And, in what could be seen as a subversion of Gameplay and Story Segregation, this even applies in-game. The Mishima family characters have consistently appeared in the top tiers of every Tekken game up until they were finally bumped down to upper-mid and mid-tier characters in Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion.
  • Bait the Dog: Back in the first game, Kazuya was probably trying hard to emote a "Ryu clone" vibe, right down to white pants, red accessory (Kazuya's gloves as opposed to Ryu's headband), stoic attitude and Badass Arm-Fold win pose, and the "story" plays it up that he's trying to topple his evil father to make his evil company a better one. Your only hint that there's something wrong with Kazuya is that he has a Devil palette swap for his third costume in the PS1 port. Come the second game, turns out that Kazuya is just as bastardly as Heihachi was, is more open to his evilness, and the two of them have been competing in who's Eviler than Thou ever since. Harada, you Magnificent Bastard!
  • Balls of Steel: Tekken Tag Tournament featured a number of special intros/outros from combining certain pairs of fighters on your team. Several outros involving Nina Williams features her delivering her signature Groin Attack to her partner, causing him to crumble to the ground. If you pair her with Bryan Fury, however, she'll deliver the groin attack — but he laughs at it and does one of his taunts in response.
  • Barehanded Blade Block: You don't need to do anything special to deflect Yoshimitsu's sword strikes (provided they're not unblockable attacks).
  • Battle Amongst the Flames:
  • Battle in the Rain:
    • Acid Rain in Tekken 5 as well as its Dark Resurrection counterpart, Festival.
    • Once one character is one round shy of victory in the Tekken 7 version of Dragon's Nest, a storm rolls in and the music changes (making the setting a little closer to the Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection stage Western Gate).
    • The first reveal trailer for Tekken 8 depicts a duel between Kazuya and Jin in the midst of a thunderstorm.
  • Battle Intro: Tekken 3 was the first game to give characters intro animations and 4 was the first one where the camera would focus on the fighters as they perform their intros (also the first game with dialogue from the fighters during their intros). 6 was the first game where character-specific intros were experimented with (certain character matchups will grant a special introduction pose, such as Miguel hatefully telling Jin that all his anger is directed solely at him) but it was fully embraced in 8 where significant matchups will be given a totally unique intro scene up to the point where the characters assume their neutral stances and the announcer ushers in the match start.
  • Bears Are Bad News: Kuma and his son Kuma II — well, only bad news for one guy in particular (Paul). And then there's Kuma II's unrequited love for Panda...
  • Beauty Is Never Tarnished: The Williams sisters Nina and Anna are a prime example, with the convenient justification of being cryogenically frozen between 2 and 3.
  • Big Bad: Heihachi in the first, third (with Ogre), and fourth games, Kazuya in the second and eighth, Jinpachi in the fifth, Jin and Azazel in the sixth. Basically, anyone who takes over the Mishima Zaibatsu becomes the Big Bad.
  • Big Bad Ensemble: Heihachi and Ogre in the third, and Kazuya, Jin, and Azazel in the sixth.
  • Big Damn Heroes: Lars' team of renegade Tekken Force members in Tekken 6's Console story mode.
  • Big, Screwed-Up Family:
    • The Mishimas. Oh God, the Mishimas. There is at least one murderous link between every one of the five, blood-linked family members who have appeared so far, spanning four generations.
      • To put this into perspective, there have only been three times where the Mishimas have been shown to be on good terms with one another. One of these was during Kazuya's childhood when he played/trained with his grandfather Jinpachi; another is a dream sequence of Lars' in Tag 2 where the collective (playable) Mishima/Kazama family (barring Jinpachi and Lee) get together to enjoy dinner and finally is Jun's non-canon 8 ending, which is also a dream sequence involving Kazuya and Jin having a sparring match while Jun watches.
      • Heihachi's wife and Kazuya's mother, Kazumi, joins the fight in Tekken 7. However, she wants both of them dead precisely to avert the cycle of violence from happening again (a retread of Jin's plotline from 4 and 5, before he undergoes a Face–Heel Turn in 6).
    • The Williams are also pretty rough, though this is one truly bad case of Sibling Rivalry gone horribly wrong. It can be argued that they're the Distaff Counterpart of the Mishimas in that respect.
    • The Kazamas are starting to get there, and it's not just because Jin is both a Mishima and a Kazama. Asuka also has him in her crosshairs.
  • Bilingual Dialogue: Exaggerated, as multiple characters understand each other even though all of them speak different languages. They even understand what animals are talking about, when all they hear are growls. Hell, they understand Mokujin, a wooden dummy!
    • This is taken further in Tag Tournament 2, where almost every character now speaks their respective native language (Leo speaks German, Miguel Spanish, Lili and Sebastian French, Bosconovitch Russian, and both Eddy and Christie Portuguese) as opposed to English in previous games.
    • Wang's TTT2 ending even features Quadrilingual Dialogue! To be more specific: Wang speaks Mandarin, Jinpachi Japanese, Bosconovitch Russian, and Sebastian French. And their entire conversation is seamless.
  • Black-and-Gray Morality: Unlike most fighting games, Tekken has never shied away from moral ambiguity and most of the main protagonists in the Mishima clan have unsympathetic or outright villainous traits that make the task of choosing who to root for confusing at times. Tellingly, the developers of the original arcade game wanted Kazuya (a sociopath with Devil powers who resents his father) and Nina (an emotionless assassin who hates her sister) to represent the fundamental centre of Tekken. Other members of the roster, including the more upstanding ones, tend to have serious personality flaws, e.g. Paul's stupid obsession with being the Toughest in the Universe, Lili's bizarre fixation on Asuka, Miguel's rage issues, and so on. Tekken 6 presents a genuine moral dilemma in its climax as the apparent Fallen Hero Jin reveals that he did have good reasons for starting a destructive world war, while the Hero Protagonist Lars has his naïve Black-and-White Morality challenged by the complex situation.
  • Blind Weaponmaster: The first Kunimitsu, confirmed by Word of God. Her appearance in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 shows massive scars on her face, and modding the game reveals that the scars reach over her eyes.
  • Blocking Stops All Damage:
    • Tekken had no block damage (in its default setting), most noticeable when the smaller characters blocked attacks from a bear. Some heavy shots would even stagger a defender, suggesting they would hurt a little but the life gauge would not go down.
    • In certain games, this feature could be turned off. The universal Supercharger move and similar moves unique to certain characters can also cause chip damage.
    • Subverted with Azazel's pillar attack, as it can cause chip damage if blocked.
    • Subverted in 7: Fated Retribution with the introduction of Akuma. His Gou-Hadou attacks inflict chip damage if blocked. Also introduced in the same game, certain characters' Rage Drive attacks do chip damage if an opponent blocks it with their back to a stage wall. DLC character Eliza's energy waves also cause chip damage as well.
    • 8 now features chip damage from certain attacks, which can actually be recovered by attacking in return.
  • Bloodstained Glass Windows: 5 features the "Antares" stage, which is a gloomy looking chapel. Said chapel is remixed as "Snow Castle" in Dark Resurrection, with snow falling in through a hole in the ceiling.
  • Book Ends: Tekken 7's story mode begins with a child Kazuya trying to fight a younger Heihachi as the tutorial and dramatic opener to their feud, with the former getting his first toss off a cliff. The ending of the story, extra fight with Shin Akuma aside, is the two fighting to the death and Kazuya ultimately managing to gain the strength he lacked in his youth to return the favor to his father after so many years.
  • Boss-Only Level: In the Tekken Force mini-game in Tekken 3, after completing the 4th stage 4 times, you go on to a bonus 5th stage that only consists of one duel with Doctor Bosconovitch.
  • Boss Rush: Tag Tournament 2 provides one; arguably the biggest (and only) one of the series thus far. Players must face a team of Heihachi and Jinpachi, followed by True Ogre. The final boss is Jun Kazama herself, and when she is defeated, she transforms into Unknown. The player must defeat her to complete Arcade Mode. Especially if you face the likes of Wang/Bruce, Baek/Lee, Anna/Ganryu, Kuma/Kunimitsu (sub-bosses), and Kazuya/Jin, Ogre/Angel (bosses) beforehand.
  • Boxing Kangaroo: Roger and his family. Parodied with Alex, a boxing velociraptor.
  • Brick Joke: Paul's ending in 5 suggests he had flipped, challenging aliens. In 6 and Tag 2 they had in fact brought it on, or at least make an appearance.
  • Bruce Lee Clone: Marshall and Forrest Law. Lei Wulong, meanwhile, is a Jackie Chan Clone.
  • Bully Hunter: Just one of the ways Asuka is different from Jun. Guess who wants to avoid conflict and who is eager for a fight.
  • Bullying a Dragon: In 4, Jeff Slater, the current Vale Tudo champion, challenges Craig Marduk to "the biggest unofficial bout of the century." Problem is, not only is Marduk significantly bigger than Slater, but he was a Vale Tudo champion as well. All it takes is a headbutt to bring Slater down.
  • But for Me, It Was Tuesday: Kazuya pulls this on Leo when confronted about the death of her mother. Miguel presumes this of Jin during their confrontation in Miguel's Character Episode.
  • Button Mashing: New players love to do this using Eddy or Christie, as well as Hwoarang and Steve to a lesser extent. Lili's been added as of 5:DR. The CPU used to do this with Law in Tekken 2. Jack and Lee are both this as well. Basically, any apparent Extremity Extremist character is Button Mashing fodder for many inexperienced players. This is actually a testament to how intuitive the controls are for first-timers.
  • Call-Back: Some of the special tag throws for certain specific partners in Tag 2 are this:
    • For the Laws, tagging from Forest's 2+4 to his father Marshall calls back to the opening in 3 where Forest is attacked by some thugs at Marshall's chinese food restaurant. Marshall comes in with a flying kick to help and defend his son, knocking down a thug behind him, and then they salute each other.
    • For Heihachi and Kazuya, tagging from their Stonehead grab (f,f+1+2) to the other, is a callback to the opening sequence of Tekken 5 where they both are attacked by waves of Jack robots at Hon-Maru. Kazuya and Heihachi fight the Jacks together, pulling out an impressive "combo" made of Kazuya's Thunder Godfist and Heihachi's Hell Axle kicks, fending off the Jack waves, until Kaz grabs Hei from behind and tosses him into the swarm of Jacks to make his own escape, as seen when tagging from Heihachi to Kazuya.
    • Tagging from Paul to Bryan results in an opponent's skull literally sandwiched between Paul's Phoenix Smasher and Bryan's Mach Breaker. This is a callback to the opening of Tekken 6 where Paul confronts Bryan, resulting in an epic fist clash by the two aformentioned techniques.
  • Calling the Old Man Out: Kazuya to Heihachi, later Jin to BOTH of them, and even later on Lars to Heihachi.
  • The Cameo:
    • Snoop Dogg appears in a special stage featuring background music from a single he performed just for Tag 2. Evidently, he's a big fan.
    • Also, the Prince of All Cosmos from Katamari Damacy appears as a customization item for Lili in Dark Resurrection.
  • Character Catchphrase: "Get ready for the next battle" by the announcer during the VS screen, starting from 5 and has stayed ever since (the phrase itself originally appears in 4 but is unspoken). Snoop Dogg also opens his "Knock Em Down" rap in his Tag 2 stage with this phrase.
  • Character Customization: The past several games have allowed this to some extent with hair, clothes, items and emblems. You could conceivably make up pilots from the Ace Combat games for example; thanks to a ton of logos from the game, with a little work Michelle and Alisa can look like reasonable expies of Kim Possible and Cameron from Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, or take Nina, play around with the hair and she resembles Jill Valentine.
  • Character Roster Global Warming: Each game tends to feature two heavy characters, Jack and the bears. Now contrast this with the character roster of Tekken Tag Tournament 2, which is gigantic.
  • Chef of Iron: Marshall Law, called "the fighting chef."
  • Chuck Cunningham Syndrome: A number of characters have either went inexplicably missing or flat out disappeared in later games. Note that this excludes characters who are explicitly killed off.
    • Alex, Angel, Kunimitsu, and P. Jack completely disappeared after 2. Their existences (barring the Tag games) aren't even recognized at all. Same with Tiger, who hasn't make another appearance after 3, and Combot and Miharu after 4 (again, they all appeared in the Tag games).
    • An aged Michelle appeared in Julia's Tekken 3 ending, but that's her only canonical post-2 appearance so far.
    • Ganryu, Bruce Irvin, Roger, Baek, and Wang disappeared after Tekken 2, but reappeared in 5 and 6.
    • In 7, Raven was replaced by a female named Master Raven, who is apparently his superior.
    • Other than Raven, six characters from 6note  currently don't appear in 7. The list used to be even larger; Anna, Armor King, Bob, Devil Jin, Eddy, Ganryu, Jack, Jin, Julia, Kuma, Lee, Lei, Marduk, Miguel, Nina, Panda, Yoshimitsu, and Zafina didn't appear in the original release build of the game.
  • Color-Coded Elements: Particularly involving the Mishima family's trademark lightning aura. At first, all members were portrayed with blue-colored lightning bolts. In TTT, Kazuya retained the original color, whereas Jin and Heihachi's bolts were respectively recolored red and yellow. This would stick for 4, although 5 recolored Heihachi's to bluish white, while Jin (and Devil Jin) kept red. Jinpachi's bolts are dark violet and black and Lars gets electric purple. Meanwhile, Kazumi's bolts in Tekken 7 are reddish white, even though she is not a Mishima family member by blood.
  • Combination Attack: Tag Throws. While mostly generic in the original Tag, with only a limited number of exclusive tag moves available to certain pairings note , the sequel ups the number of character-specific tag throws considerably and even differentiates the basic throws depending on who is initiating the grab. Also there's a handful of Great Combos. Some specific pairings even have their own unique combos (Alisa/Xiaoyu, Marshall or Forest Law/Paul, Jack-6/Bryan, Baek/Hwoarang, Nina/Anna, Jin/Asuka, and Kazuya/Jinpachi).
  • Comeback Mechanic:
    • Tekken 6 has "Rage Mode", which activates when a character is low on life and does more damage the lower their life gets.
    • A Rage-esque mechanic exists in the first Tag Tournament, functioning similarly to how it does in Tag Tournament 2, albeit on a much stricter timer.
    • In Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Rage returns but is tweaked so that the losing character's partner is the one who gets "Raged" and the only way to get the buff is to tag them in. Also, it goes away after a certain amount of time and there are moves the opponent can do to end Rage Mode instantly.
    • There's a version of this when playing solo in Tag 2. The solo character has a chance to get two Rage Modes.
    • Tekken 7 adds Rage Arts, which are very powerful moves only doable while in Rage Mode. Using it requires you to consume your Rage. Fated Retribution included Rage Drives which function similarly but are not cinematic and also increased damage output of the Rage attacks the closer the character is to defeat. Rage Mode itself still grants a power-up but the damage increase it provides is substantially less significant than in 6 in order to sway players to using the Rage moves instead.
    • The Tekken 8 Heat mechanic can technically serve this function, but it's available from the beginning of each round and is intended to serve as an incentive to be as aggressive as possible against your opponent. Rage is still present in this game, so both mechanics can be used in conjunction with one another to swiftly turn the tide of a round. Rage Arts still remain (now with a universal input for every character, d/f+1+2) but Rage Drives were dropped in order to make way for the new Heat Smash move (an powerful one-shot attack that is somewhat similar in concept to Rage Drives but now tied to the Heat gauge instead of character health).
  • Comic-Book Time: The series initially averted this, with two years passing between 1 and 2, nineteen years between 2 and 3, and two years between 3 and 4 (the latter was released back in 2001). Then the time freezes. The story indicates that there is some amount of time passing between each game afterward, but nothing major. It feels as if the last four tournaments are held a month apart from each other.
    • To be specific, 5 happens two months after 4, 6 happens six months after 5, and 7 happens at best weeks after 6. 8 happens six months after 7, and Jun's profile mentions that Ogre's attack happened seven years ago, when back in 6 it was still six years ago, so a full year has passed since Tekken 4, after 22 real life years...
  • The Computer Is a Cheating Bastard:
    • Namco Bandai's habit of making the end bosses ridiculously overpowered. Tekken has mostly avoided this in the first few games, but later falls victim to this trope starting from Tekken 5 with the introduction of Jinpachi. Azazel follows the tradition in Tekken 6, as do Unknown in Tag 2 (who in the original Tag, by contrast, isn't overpowered at all) and Devil Kazumi in 7.
    • It kicks in when the game thinks you're doing too well and breaks out the 10-hit juggles, Perfect Play A.I. and Artificial Brilliance. Bye bye controls, bye bye controller, bye bye any chance of winning. It settles down after knocking you down a peg or six, or if you can trick it out with different moves.
    • Playing 7's Story mode on a 10-star difficulty, unlocked only after beating the mode once, will exemplify the hell out of this trope, especially in the Special Chapter. Even the Cannon Fodder thrown at you for the sake of cool fights will run you through with Perfect Play A.I. and sudden impossibly unfair advantages like firing their guns indefinitely and with superarmor.
  • Continue Countdown: A big perpetrator. Each game has one, usually happening over your beaten character laying on the ground, or otherwise expressing frustration or disappointment in some way.
  • Convection, Schmonvection:
    • The final battle of Tekken 7 against Kazumi Mishima takes place in a volcanic region with craggy rocks, lava flows, and fiery natural vents seen throughout the background. It's somewhat similar to Jinpachi's stage in 5: Dark Resurrection but more focused on the volcanic setting.
    • The opening cinematic of 7 depicts Heihachi and Kazuya fighting in the middle of an active volcano (so not even around it like the Devil's Pit stage but actually in arm's length of the molten rock splashing and spraying everywhere).
    • A stage in the console version of Tekken 7, "Brimstone & Fire", has a similar premise to Devil's Pit. It gets truly absurd here as there are patches of exposed magma on the surface of the stage that the fighters can just walk over or fall onto without suffering any ill effects.
  • Corrupt Corporate Executive: Kazuya during his reign as Zaibatsu CEO. Heihachi subverts this in that he uses the Zaibatsu behind the scene for his own machinations but does a lot of good with the organization on the surface (legitimate good, not just Villain with Good Publicity stuff). As of Tekken 6 Kazuya's still up to no good as an executive. This time in G Corporation, where he takes over by having his rival executives assassinated. Which is... quite a necessary foil to Heihachi who tends to plot behind the scenes, Kazuya sees no problem in blatantly plotting in front.
  • Crapsack World: By fighting game standards, the Tekken universe isn't so bad for the first five games, though the Mishima Zaibatsu's near-limitless financial power combined with the fact that the King of Iron Fist Tournament potentially allows any corruptible idiot to take control of it, including unfiltered megalomaniacs like Kazuya, has always given the series an unsettling edge. Things take a nosedive after 6 when Jin declares war on the entire Earth, sending his forces to indiscriminately attack random targets.
  • Creator Cameo: Harada himself appears in the still for Stage 5 of Tekken Tag Tournament 2's Fight Lab, apparently conducting a business transaction with Violet. And he recently revealed that he did the battle cries for Marshall Law and Yoshimitsu up until 5.
  • Cross Counter: The Bandai Namco logo for Tekken Project games features Jin and Kazuya about to commit to one in slow-motion until the scene cuts away abruptly before they make contact. This scene was updated for 8, featuring Jin and Kazuya's new outfits and the new Bandai Namco logo. This scene is also replicated in-game in Tag 2 as joint victory pose (when their team wins with a tag team move) and as their special Battle Intro in 8.
  • Crossover:
    • Yoshimitsu's ancestor shows up in the Soul series, starting in Soulcalibur. Heihachi also appears in Soulcalibur II, and Devil Jin's moveset is unlockable (by defeating a custom character named Harada_TEKKEN, no less!) for custom characters in Soulcalibur V.
    • Street Fighter X Tekken and Tekken X Street Fighter have the two series cross over and fight each other.
  • Cyberpunk for Flavor: The Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corporation's presences as mega-corporations whose use of robotics and bio-technology have made the world of Tekken a worse place definitely read as Cyberpunk, but it all still coexists with explicitly supernatural and wacky elements. Tekken 4's attempts at Doing In the Wizard and overall aesthetic make it the closest to straight Y2K-era cyberpunk.
  • Damage-Sponge Boss:
    • In Jack 6's level (Container Terminal 3) of the Scenario Campaign in 6, there's a Boss in Mook Clothing much like this. It rarely blocks because it doesn't need to; burning through its health on Hard mode will usually drain the timer before it can actually be brought down even with S-Class clothing (in most cases the endlessly swarming Jack bots are the real offensive threat). Most players opt to just knock it into the nearby water.
    • NANCY-MI847J in T6: BR.
  • Dance Battler:
    • Eddy and Christie, especially in her victory pose. There's even a mode that allows Eddy to dance, disco style. Disco ball included. Tiger is based on the original idea for Eddy, where he was an African American disco dancer rather than a Brazilian capoeira artist.
    • While not taking it to the extreme of Eddy, Christie and Tiger, a few of Alisa's moves are clearly inspired by ballet.
    • Lucky Chloe, introduced in 7, has most of her moveset derived from more modern street dance moves. In her Rage Art, she breakdances as a means to juggle her opponent before ending with a handstand to launch the opponent in the air and either pose before her opponent hits the ground behind her, or catch them with a leaping punch to their back on the way down.
  • Darker and Edgier: The series has its wacky moments, but the main storyline's tones have shifted more towards the darker scale of things as the series goes on. Even the games get in on this; Tekken 7 has red flashes of blood on the outlines of the screen in cutscenes when characters take heavy blows, and Kazuya looks more and more weary and battered in every game post-4.
  • Deal with the Devil: Kazuya, as part of the explanation behind his revival in 4.
  • Dedication: Played for Laughs at the end of Tekken Force Mode in Tekken 4. Upon beating the final stage, the words "Dedicated to all of the Tekken Force members who lost their lives in battle" will be shown, followed by a scrolling list of every named Tekken Force member you defeated as well as the specific moves you used to defeat them. Also counts as Bragging Rights Reward, since unlike 3's Tekken Force Mode — where a character can be unlocked by finishing the game mode 4 times — the only other reward for finishing Tekken Force in 4 is unlocking a stage (Hon-Maru), which is particularly annoying since it's so much longer and more difficult than in 3.
  • Degraded Boss: Happens to virtually every boss of the series at some point.
    • Heihachi has had to suffer this indignity twice. Kazuya defeats him in Tekken 1 and he shows up in the sequel as a selectable character from the start. He wins that tournament and manages to maintain his status as boss through 3 (below Ogre) and into 4 where, despite being the canonical winner, is ambushed at Hon-Maru after the tournament ends and assumed killed. However he survived and canonically returns in 6 (his appearance in 5 is regarded as non-canon).
    • As stated above Kazuya is the host and sub-boss of Tekken 2 (below his Devil form) and is bested by Heihachi. Heihachi dumps him down a volcano but he's rejuvenated by G Corporation and returns as an active participant in 4.
    • Jin won Tekken 3 but would not ascend to boss status until 6 (below Azazel), which he rose to by defeating Jinpachi Mishima (as Devil Jin) in 5. After Azazel's temple collapses around him, he survives but barely and returns to 7 as a regular participant (although he was a secret boss in the original arcade release of Tekken 7).
    • In the Dream Match Tag games, Heihachi, Kazuya, Ogre/True Ogre, Jinpachi (in Tag 2), and Jin all show up as selectable characters. The boss of the Tag games, Unknown, has never been knocked off. Heihachi/Jinpachi (as a team) and True Ogre also serve as sub-bosses under Unknown (and her neutral form, Jun Kazama) in Tag 2.
  • Demoted to Extra: Happened to the tournament itself to the point it may have become The Artifact. From 1 to 5 the tournament is what gave Mishimas a chance to settle their current conflict with each other (Or in 3's case, to allow Jin to fight Ogre), but then the war started in 6 and the tournament is so pointless to the main plot that it's not even referenced in Scenario Campaign since neither Lars or Alisa participated on it (Since there's no hints they joined it and they can't be picked in Arena mode). 7 also doesn't even hint who won the sixth tournament, or if the tournament even kept going to reach the finals.
    • And speaking of 7, the only reason why Heihachi even started that tournament was just as a PR stunt, to use it to reveal Kazuya as someone who has Devil powers, but once Akuma shows up, derails the plot and Heihachi is seemingly killed, the tournament gets cancelled, and that doesn't affect the plot at all. At this point it's clear the tournament is only still around for the characters not involved with the Mishima conflict to even have a story to begin with, so it still has a point, but it's not as important as before.
  • Desperation Attack:
    • "Rage Arts", a new addition to Tekken 7, enables your character to tap into powerful attacks once they enter Rage Mode. Using a Rage Art knocks you out of Rage Mode, so you can only use it once per round.
    • The Fated Retribution update adds "Rage Drives", which are less damaging alternatives to Rage Arts and lack the armor that the Rage Arts do but can lead to unique setups that can't be accomplished with Rage Arts (such as stunning opponents on the ground, or even inflicting a second screw juggle after having already started one). Rage Arts and Drives now damage scale depending on how close your character is to defeat, with more damage being done the later you use it.
  • Difficult, but Awesome:
    • Despite being the main characters of the franchise (which usually assures accessibility), the Mishima characters are probably among the most challenging to use (with very demanding move execution and movement technique for a good player). However (Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion notwithstanding), a player who does understand their subtleties will have learned the best characters in the game.
    • 10-hit combos deal loads of damage but requires precise timing. An opponent aware of the entire string can easily turn this into a disadvantage.
    • Chain throws. The further along the chain, the more inputs are required, and the less time you have to input them. But if pulled off, you can deal enough damage to almost knock out your opponent. It also consumes a large chunk of round time, allowing you to win a round just by time out should you prefer.
    • There is a special category of attacks in the game referred to as "Just Frame" moves that require highly precise inputs performed within a narrow time frame. With a few exceptions, these moves tend to be either unlisted on a character's movelist, or they are listed but without any indication of there being a Just Frame version. More often than not, being considered an expert in using a particular character who has Just Frame moves involves mastering said commands and being able to reliably use them when necessary during fights. The most famous example is the Mishima characters' EWGF (Electric Wind God Fist), an offensively faster (as well as slightly more damaging) and defensively safer variant of the Wind God Fist attack. In fact, part of the reason the Mishimas are so notoriously this trope is the fact that many of their best combos involve using the EWGF multiple times in juggles.
  • Ditto Fighter: Mokujin, Tetsujin, Combot and Unknown, though they have a few differences:
    • Mokujin and Tetsujin change fighting styles once per round, or every time they are switched out in Tag Tournament.
    • Combot changes fighting styles once per fight in 4. In Tag 2, his whole fighting style can be customized a la Emerl from Sonic Battle.
    • Unknown is the same as Mokujin, except she can also switch mid-battle by pressing R3, and she can't mimic fighters that Mokujin and Tetsujin can, like the Jack robots or Ganryu. This isn't true anymore in Tag 2, however.
  • Divergent Character Evolution: Given enough time, most clones in the series will eventually diversify enough to warrant status as separate characters. The process is largely complete by 5. Believe it or not, Ganryu used to be a clone of the Jacks, as does Kuma.
  • Doing In the Wizard: Tekken 4, in general. Most soft sci-fi and blatantly supernatural elements are downplayed or eliminated entirely. For example, the Mishima Clan's Devil powers seem to be attributed to a genetic mutation. Ogre, instead of being an ancient god, is a "bioweapon." The Ridiculously Human Robot, Jack, was replaced by the Clockwork Creature, Combot. Neither Angel nor Devil or Devil Jin are playable characters. And the final boss, like the first game, is simply Heihachi rather than some sort of Humanoid Abomination. Whatever the reasons for this change, though, it didn't stick. In subsequent games, it's pretty clear that the Devil Gene, a supposed genetic fluke, does have a supernatural origin. Jack not only returns but is joined by the even more ridiculously-human-looking (and very anime-esque) Alisa Bosconovitch. The final bosses of Tekken 5, 6 and 7 are definitely supernatural. Roger makes a return (without Alex), and now has an equally anthropomorphic family. Tekken Tag 2 even brings back Alex, Angel, both Devils, Ogre, and Unknown. In short, the Wizard Came Back Strong.
  • Downer Ending: While Tekken endings are often ambiguous enough as to what will happen next to make it unclear if this is ever the case, with Tekken 7 having a story mode it is considering how Heihachi died after it was revealed he was a Well-Intentioned Extremist, Kazuya is more of a devil than ever, Jin is still recovering from the events of Tekken 6, and Akuma couldn't fulfill Kazumi's dying wish.
  • Downloadable Content: From Tag 2 onward.
    • Tag 2 has DLC for characters, costumes, and music. They are free of charge.
    • Revolution, being a free-to-play game, revolves around paid DLC to add content.
    • 7 has a mixture of paid and free DLC and includes new characters, costumes, music, and rebalancing. Eliza is free of charge only if you pre-ordered the game.
  • Dream Match Game:
    • Both Tag Tournament games, who bring back characters from the entire series, including characters who had been Put on a Bus since they last appeared.
    • Starting with 5, the canon games also give off this vibe, with the return of background characters from the days of old.
  • Dynamic Entry: In the Tag games, it is possible to tag out and perform a flying kick or similar attack with the incoming partner. Practically all tag throw animations also do this, but even more cinematically.
  • Early-Installment Weirdness: The first game has a lot:
    • It only has an Arcade, Vs., and Options mode.
    • Kazuya is the lead character.
    • Heihachi is the final boss, has black hair (his hair doesn't go grey until sometime during the post-T2 Time Skip), wears a gi with long sleeves for his primary attire, and is much harder to defeat than he is in other games. The requirements to unlock him here are stricter than later games, as you need to beat the game without using any continues. If you play Arcade Mode with him, you will face all the sub-bosses with Devil Kazuya taking Heihachi's place.
    • Devil Kazuya is literally just another costume of Kazuya with purple wings, but nothing like the character Devil.
    • To unlock Devil Kazuya you have to play (and clear) the Galaga mini-game which is available as the game loads.
    • Kuma's second costume is not Panda, but Kuma palette swapped to look like a polar bear. This also happens in the second game.
    • All the sub-bosses are skin swaps of existing characters. This includes Anna who from Tekken 2 onward has always had something to distinguish her from Nina. Lee is a clone of Law and doesn't have the trademark speed he would be known for.
    • The first Jack only appears in this game and doesn't have his jetpack move (a staple of the Jack line that would begin with P. Jack in the second game). P. Jack looks nothing like the P. Jack we are used to from Tekken 2 onward, one costume featuring a drill on one hand.
    • Yoshimitsu is drawn more like a knight than the robot/alien he is known as later. He also appears to have hair.
    • Kunimitsu is drawn with a much more masculine body and has a different mask, and notably lacks her stabbing attack. She also wields two knives (scythes in her 2P costume), though the second weapon in merely an aesthetic aspect. It's not clear whether Kunimitsu is meant to be male or female in this game as the voice clips used are the same as Yoshimitsu.
    • There are hardly any special moves whatsoever.
    • The game speed is slower and there is no sidestepping of any kind. Sidestepping was added for Kazuya in Tekken 2 and for every character in Tekken 3 onward.
    • The sound effects and music in the game are crude and midi-based.
    • Only the default eight characters have CG ending sequences. All of those endings share the same music as well, something which only the first Tag game would reuse.
  • Easily Forgiven: King forgave Marduk for not only killing Armor King, but spitting on Armor King's name; basically they're now best buds. Armor King II, however...
  • Easter Egg: Every game since at least the third installment has featured hidden moves, win poses, or character-specific actions not listed in the manual or the in-game movelists. Some are hardly noticeable (i.e. moves with extra particle effects or Asuka berating Jin while hitting him), while others are ridiculous, over the top, and/or hilarious (the Jacks malfunctioning and using their Windmill Punch when hit by Devil's Inferno, most male characters performing the Headbutt Carnival with Heihachi, Nina and a female opponent trading slaps...)
    • Tag featured this oddity when tagging out after Xiaoyu's False Salute taunt.
    • Tekken Tag Tournament 2 has fun with this using the tag mechanics; King and Armor King, for example, can do a special KO throw when wearing several custom items where the point character will execute a powerbomb grab, then hold the opponent down for a pin whilst the other character runs in as a ref and taps the 3-count.
    • The TTT2 DLC stage Moai Excavation prominently features a Moai statue behind the stage proper. Performing a Floor Break will reveal that the statue has chest markings similar to those of Devil Jin.
    • Miguel in 6 had a unique intro quote when facing against Jin. 7 expanded on this with specific pre-battle animations between the Mishimas, Akuma and Geese.
    • Performing Miguel's Rage Art on a robot (Alisa or Jack-7) would cause their view to be clouded with static instead of slowly losing vision like the rest of the cast.
  • Embedded Precursor: Tekken 5 had the arcade versions of the first three games. It also included Starblade, a Namco space shooter from the early 1990s.
  • Evil Counterpart: The sub-boss system of the early Tekken installments had a number of sub-bosses equal to the amount of default initial characters, and they were linked up exactly so that each was the "rival" of each other. The sub-bosses were generally all more powerful versions of the default characters, and bodyguards of the Big Bad. Later installments scrapped this idea, though.
  • Evil Laugh: Bryan. Devil Jin's laugh is also quite evil... and crazy.
  • Evil Versus Evil: Kazuya vs. Heihachi in 2 , 4 and 7 and Kazuya vs. Jin in 6. This eventually evolves into Mishima Zaibatsu vs. G Corporation in 6 and 7.
  • Extremity Extremist:
    • Resident Boxing Battler Steve. Even up to Tag 2, the number of kicks in his movelist can be counted on one hand.
    • Hwoarang's Taekwondo focuses heavily on kicks.
  • Eyebrow Waggle: Ganryu has a victory pose where he does this at the camera. He's noted by Lili for his Big Ol' Eyebrows.

    F to J 
  • The Faceless: The Kings and the Mitsus, although King I's face is very briefly seen in the intro to the first game. Kunimitsu wears a full-face fox mask in the older games, but has an extra costume in Tekken Tag Tournament which has her wearing a demon mask only covering the top half of her face. TTT2 still shows her wearing a fox mask, but, like the demon mask, it only covers her eyes and nose.
  • Fallen Hero:
    • Kazuya starts off as the stotic antihero of the first game but eventually let the devil consume him and became one of the bad guys from the second game onwards. By the beginning of the sixth game, he has plans for world domination.
    • Kazuya's son Jin has also become this. He was The Hero for about three games, then at the beginning of the sixth game, takes over the mega corporation and uses it to start World War III so he can awaken Azazel and eradicate the Devil Gene. He's aware that he's become this and seems to be on the path of redemption at the end of 7 by setting out to kill Kazuya and put and end to the war he himself started.
  • Fanservice:
    • Check out some of the character portraits and win poses. They are some of the most sexualized this side of Dead or Alive.
    • The biggest case of Fanservice in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is not portraits or win poses... After Capcom, with Streetfighter X Tekken including DLC that cost several times the price of the game, Katsuhiro Harada promised all character and stage specific DLC would be free... and he delivered, while throwing in revealing swimsuits for nearly everyone.
  • Fanservice Pack:
    • Tekken Tag Tournament 2 is this in spades. Not for nothing does it get a Teen rating for partial nudity and sexual themes. The outfits are more revealing, the breasts are larger and bouncier than ever, and special mention should be given towards all the sexy clothing pieces found in Customization with bikinis, sexy Santa dresses, and maid uniforms galore.
      • Special mention should also be given to the character select panel options, namely Panel 4. The Panel 4 images, usually Stripperiffic in nature, could rival what is found in Dead or Alive. See them here. (The illustrations in question are by Shunya Yamashita.)
      • This isn't to say that the male characters are left out. Most male characters who don't already have a shirtless costume can be customized to have one. In addition, almost every male swim suit is as sexy as the ladies' - the overwhelming majority of younger guys (and even some of the older ones) wear nothing more than fundoshi or speedos.
      • In the interest of fairness it needs to be pointed out that this doesn't apply to each female character in equal measure. Xiaoyu and Jun still have moderately-sized breasts and a number of the default female costumes are actually quite conservative — the only way to get them to show the levels of flesh mentioned above is to customize them. There is also Leo (officially female) who has no jiggle physics, no Fanservice type clothes (except a bikini) and no flirty animations. And Angel has maid and Santa outfits, but no bikini; which makes sense since it's kind of hard to work around her wings, which cannot be modified or removed in customization.
      • In TTT2 the only females without jiggle physics are: Angel, Leo, Lili, and Christie. However, they all gain jiggle physics with alternate costumes except Leo.
    • In Tekken 7, several female characters have alternate costume options that alter their figures. The already buxom Eliza, for example, has her chest nearly double in size.
  • Fantastic Fighting Style: A few examples throughout the series, most prolific being Mishima Fighting Karate. It's the chosen style of Jinpachi, Heihachi, Kazuya, Jin (initially) and, by extension, Devil and Devil Jin. Barring a little lightning, some flashy moves and a few of Jinpachi's more ridiculous powers, the style is mostly rooted in real Karate styles, though these differ by character, leading one to wonder if Mishima style has any original forms or is simply a system of crosstraining.
    • Heihachi mostly uses Goju-ryu, a traditional Okinawan style with low stances and a balance of hard and soft moves.
    • Kazuya is primarily rooted in Shotokan, which emphasizes hip rotation, range and counter attacks. His style may be the least reminiscent of real Karate, as his moveset has changed very little since the earlier games while other characters have been updated with realistic Motion Capture movesets. Devil uses this style as well.
    • Jin uses Shito-ryu in earlier games, a fast and high style, but also has some throws from his mother and some special attacks from his dad and grandpa. He ditched Mishima style after Tekken 3 in favor of "traditional Karate", which is probably Kyokushin judging by his moveset, kata and subtle hints in his backstorynote . Devil Jin still uses Jin's original style in later games, albeit with wings and laser beams.
  • Female Angel, Male Demon: Averted after Tekken 2, since the Angel side of the equation didn't go anywhere. They do return for the (non-canon) Tag games, though.
  • Fixed-Floor Fighting: All battles are conducted in a flat plane, even when the surface suggests a ramp to stand higher/lower. The series tried to avert this in Tekken 4, which featured several stages in uneven ground. It was poorly received and the game went back to square one. On the other hand, Tekken 6 introduced a different definition of "uneven" (see Free-Floor Fighting below).
  • Flanderization:
    • The conflict between the Williams sisters received this. In Tekken 1 and 2, it was mostly just Nina playing mean pranks on Anna (stealing one of her shoes in Ninas T1 ending, taking nude Polaroids of her getting out of the shower in Anna's T2 ending). By the time Tekken Tag and Tekken 4 rolled around, it had shifted to the two of them attempting to outright murder each other. Though it's worth noting Anna's Japanese profile from 2 says that they're trying to kill each other by then, so what got Flanderized is how they do nothing but try to kill each other in later games.
    • Paul went from a dedicated warrior who wanted to be the strongest fighter in the world to a bumbling self absorbed jackass who's only fighting for fame and money, generally losing to joke characters. 5 even gave him an absurd obsession with aliens and becoming the "strongest in the universe," which has carried over to 8 as shown in his Rage Art in that game.
    • With each sequential entree in the series, Kazuya becomes more and more cartoonishly evil. In Tekken 2, he dabbled in organized crime, assassinations and illegal research, but by the time of Tekken 6, he has made several bids to Take Over the World, attempted to murder his own son, and numerous other horrible acts.
    • Ling Xiaoyu is a case that gained more depth after her initial appearance, and then lost it to a different form of Flanderization. In 3, her only character trait was the desire to build an amusement park. Then her ending in Tag gave a slight hint of her interest in Jin Kazama, followed by 4 confirming that they know each other and are good friends. From 5 onwards, Jin has been the centerpiece of every motivation Ling has.
  • Flash Step: Several characters have highly mobile bursts of speed that make them briefly disappear and reappear, such as Lars, Raven, and Eliza, just to name a few.
  • Formerly Friendly Family: Where to begin!?
    • Heihachi Mishima used to be deeply in love with his wife, Kazumi. However, when she reveals that the only reason she married him was to assassinate him before his ambitions for world conquest ruined the world, he is forced to kill her in self-defense. In turn, this made Heihachi bitter towards not only her, but their son (because he had the same supernatural curse in his blood that she did). Likewise, when a young Kazuya learned that Heihachi had killed his beloved mother, Kazuya attacked him. Then, both as a test to see if the boy would succumb to his curse and out of spite, he tossed Kazuya off a cliff. Sure enough, the Devil took hold and from that moment on, both father and son were mortal enemies.
    • Kazuya was also very fond of his paternal grandfather, Jinpachi, who partially trained and doted on him as a youth before Heihachi betrayed him. By the time Kazuya had grown up, Jinpachi had been consumed by a wicked demonic power and Kazuya himself had embraced his devil persona. Thus, in Kazuya's Tekken 5 ending, he briefly holds his injured grandfather in his arms and the two recollect their happier years together...before Kazuya's eyes burn red and he flashes a Slasher Grin before finishing Jinpachi off.
    • History repeated with Kazuya's son, Jin Kazama. While not exactly "loving" of his grandfather, Jin was told by his mother Jun to seek Heihachi if something ever happened to her (which it did). Heihachi raised and trained Jin, and even enrolled him in his school, but it was all part of Heihachi's plan to lure out Jun's killer: a creature called Ogre. When Jin gets to Ogre first and slays him, Heihachi decides that he has outlived his usefulness and orders his men to gun him down. Once again, Jin survives because the Devil he inherited from his father takes control, and Jin spends the next several years despising and plotting the downfall of every member of the Mishima family.
    • After Jin himself underwent a Face–Heel Turn upon seizing control of the Mishima Zaibatsu, one of his strongest subordinates in the Tekken Force was Lars Alexandersson, who is later revealed to be Kazuya's half-brother (and thus, Jin's half-uncle). While their relationship was mostly that of commander and loyal subordinate (as neither knew they were family at the time), the moment that Jin betrayed him and got the men under his command killed, Lars and Jin became bitter enemies, and in fact, being part of the same family they both despised only made their animosity that much greater. In Tekken 7, the two are forced to bury the hatchet to deal with Kazuya, who had finally killed Heihachi and was now poised to conquer the world unopposed.
  • Free-Floor Fighting: A variant is introduced in 6 in that the one that changes is the environment, not the plane. Tag 2 expanded upon the concept with the ability to knock opponents off of balconies onto the floor below in addition to breaking the ground underneath you. 7 looks to up the ante even further by having multi-story battles (one location test video showed a character getting slammed through one floor and yet another floor on the second round; the final version ramps it up even further by having four levels to fall through).
  • Friend to All Children: Several
    • Paul is renowned worldwide, but is especially admired by children.
    • King in spades. The man works at an orphanage and participates in the Iron Fist Tournament of raise funds for it.
  • Gaiden Game: The Tag games, which bring back almost every character that appeared in the series up until that point, regardless of what happened to them in canon.
  • Gameplay and Story Segregation: In Tekken 6's Scenario Campaign mode, you can use any character you want for the gameplay portion. The cutscenes, however, prominently feature both Lars and Alisa, the latter replaced later by Raven.
  • Generation Xerox: This series lives on this trope. If a Legacy Character doesn't make an appearance in the latest installment, expect a new character to show up with most of, if not all of their moves.
    • This is especially interesting when the Legacy Character and the new character appear in the same game: Hwoarang/Baek, Eddy/Christie, Michelle/Julia, Asuka/Jun/Unknown in Tag 2, and in Tekken Tag Tournament, the record is Jack-2/P. Jack/Gun Jack in the same game.
    • This occasionally necessitates Divergent Character Evolution: in the original Tekken, all of the bosses were basically the original 8 again with a few moves borrowed from other fighters. Lee Chaolan was originally Marshall Law with Paul Phoenix's jumpkicks, Armor King was King with the Mishima uppercuts... By Tekken 6, however, the characters are very different.
    • This trend is initially scaled down in 7, which cuts many doubles to avoid repetition. More and more have seen return to the roster, however.
  • Genre Shift: Tekken is a straight fighter, but certain minigames and modes (IE Tekken Force, Devil Within and the entirety of Tekken 6's Scenario Campaign) have translated that into a Beat 'em Up.
  • Glowing Eyes of Doom: Kazuya Mishima's left eye glows red as of Tekken 4, either because of the Mishima bloodline's Devil Gene, or his resurrection by G Corporation. Mokujin, as well, though his aren't really evil as much as an indicator of evil. The wooden dummy comes to life whenever an evil force arises. 7 introduces Claudio, whose left eye glows and is framed by a distinctive tattoo when he activates his Starburst power.
  • Goldfish Poop Gang: As of 6, it's Marshall Law, Steve Fox, and Paul Phoenix. Steve is just sort of there looking out for his idiot companions though.
  • Grand Finale: Tekken 7 isn't the final game in the series, but it does serve as the end of the Mishima Saga, which is to say the rivalry between Heihachi and Kazuya. After learning all about the problems of the Mishima clan, the story mode culminates with Kazuya defeating Heihachi in a final battle and tossing him off a cliff into a lake of lava. The Stinger sets up future games, as it shows that Jin has recovered from his coma and is ready to take on his father one more time.
  • Grapple Move: Every character have at least 5 throws: Two from the front, one from the left, one from the right and one from the back. Also everyone has the ability to run and tackle (though some can do it from a stationary position). Tag Tournament introduces tag throws. Also King, Armor King, Nina and Anna have chain throws. Some characters have wall throws, crouching throws, air throws and/or ground throws.
  • Greater-Scope Villain: There are three of them so far.
    • Ogre, the Big Bad of 3, becomes this in the following games due to his Hero Killer status (albeit his alleged victims mostly turn up alive and well later). One of his confirmed victims is Jun Kazama; even if her fate is unknown, he is still responsible for taking her away from Jin, who develops some brooding issues due to her disappearance. Not to mention that Ogre's blood, capable of creating the ultimate life form, is the reason why Heihachi decides to set a trap for Jin and Kazuya in the fourth tournament (this plot is later dropped, though).
    • Azazel, on a grand scale. He is the source of the Devil Gene; without him, the series would have not existed.
    • 7 reveals that Kazumi Mishima is second only to Azazel in as bigger bad. Azazel may be the source, but Kazumi was the one who channeled the Devil Gene and its associated curse to the humans. Her attempted murder of Heihachi caused the latter to become spiteful and detesting, inducing his futile attempt to kill off Kazuya and the Gene before it could spread further, thus starting the cycle of revenge between the Mishimas that lasts until today.
  • Guest Fighter
  • Hard Truth Aesop: Jin's actions in Tekken 6 serve as a lesson that even if you have good intentions behind them, it doesn't justify doing bad actions, especially when these said actions comes to other people's expenses. During his time as the CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu, he declares World War III to cause as much chaos as possible to awaken Azazel, the source of the Devil Gene. He intends to get a Mutual Kill, but instead it ends up in failure. He becomes just as reviled as his father and grandfather, two people he loathes as a result because it causes many people to die, earning contempt from people like Miguel, and Jin is forced to live with the consequences for the rest of his life even though that goal of his was a noble one.
  • Hated by All: In Tekken Tag 2, characters can enter Rage Mode faster or slower depending on how much they like their teammate. NO ONE likes Ogre, so many characters will enter Rage Mode only when Ogre is very close to death.
  • Healthy Green, Harmful Red: Tekken 2: The characters' full health bar is shown in green colour. As the player beats their opponent (and vice-versa), their health bar drops and turns red.
  • Hero Antagonist: Akuma in Tekken 7. All he wants is to carry out Kazumi's last wish of ending the cycle of violence between Heihachi and Kazuya by killing them. Every time he's encountered, though, you're always playing against him.
  • High-Five Left Hanging: When getting a tag finish in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 with cousins Jin and Asuka Kazama, Asuka will reach out for a handshake and Jin simply blows her off, leaving Asuka indignant.
  • History Repeats:
    • Heihachi deals with this a lot, betraying his sons and grandsons, which leads to them disowning him at best, and wanting him dead at worst. Twice the Mishima Zaibatsu was taken from him and he had to take it back. Twice Kazuya threw him off a high place to kill him (A cliff in 1, a volcano in 7), and the second one succeeded.
    • Kazuya defeating Heihachi and the world becoming a worse place because of it happened in Tekken 2 where he took over Mishima Zaibatsu and used it to try to create an independent nation, and once again in 7 where after killing Heihachi, he keeps the war for world domination going and is destroying the Mishima Zaibatsu.
    • Jun wanted to save Kazuya from Devil back in 2, and is still continuing it come 8. Xiaoyu is trying to make Jin see the error of his way and become the man he used to be.
    • In 1, Paul defeated the first Kuma, but didn't have the strength needed to continue in the tournament. In 5, he managed to defeat the second Kuma, but once again didn't have the strength needed to continue in the tournament.
    • In 2, Kunimitsu wants to steal Yoshimitsu's sword for her dying grandfather as he wants to make a sword as precious as it. In 7 the second Kunimitsu wants to steal Yoshimitsu's sword to give to her dying mother, who is the first Kunimitsu, as she never managed to steal the sword to cheer her up. Both times they failed.
    • In 2 Michelle's mother was kidnapped by Kazuya so he can get Michelle's pendant, which forced Michelle to participate in the tournament to save her mother. In 3, Michelle herself was kidnapped by Heihachi to get Michelle's pendant, forcing Julia to participate in the tournament to save her.
    • Nina's and Anna's rivalry is full of this. Anna once in a while tries to be the one to make a truce, but Nina generally does something to keep it going. It's at its worst in 7 where Anna was sick of fighting, met someone, was about to get married, then Nina killed the groom and now Anna hates her more than ever.
    • Paul is a bike riding arrogant character who was once rival of Kazuya, who doesn't care about him. Hwoarang is a bike riding arrogant character who's Jin's rival, who would rather not deal with him.
  • Hit Stop: Land a particularly powerful attack in Tekken 7 (like Paul's Phoenix Smasher) and the game will briefly slow down and zoom in for the hit. The final hit of a round will also stop the animation for a brief moment as the words "KO" appear on the screen. If both characters attack simultaneously and either one can potentially knock out their opponent, the screen will zoom in and slow down accompanied by a very distinct sound effect before either one move connects and kills the opponent or they both whiff their attacks, in which case the action resumes.
  • Hollywood Old:
    • Nina and Anna are subversions. They are chronologically in their early 40s from 3 onward, but continue to exhibit their youthful, 20-something looks. This is because, in-story, they are physically frozen through cryogenics shortly after the events of 2.
    • Lee is a rare male example — he is pushing 50, but still looks like he's in his late 20s/early 30s.
    • Marshall later plays it straight in 6, when he shaves his facial hair. It's a lot more evident when he's paired with his son.
    • Jun finally returns in 8 after being missing for at least 20 years in-game, but looks much younger than Kazuya, particularly emphasized by the next-gen graphics and more aged and scarred look that he has in the game.
  • Iconic Outfit:
    • The hoodie Jin sports in 4 (popular enough that it returned for 5 and was used as his attire in Namco × Capcom), Kazuya's purple tuxedo from 2 onward.
    • Ironically, this caused complaints around the time of Tekken Tag 2. Katsuhiro Harada said that the lack of new outfits from Tekken 5 onwards (some characters, such as Jin and Nina in 6, would still get new duds but not in nearly as great a number as the games previous) was to invoke this trope, desiring to have a character's wardrobe become a part of their character as it had for Ryu's gi or Chun-Li's qipao in Street Fighter. However, because Tekken was well-known for differentiating player 1 and player 2 characters by outfit and not merely color as well as the fact that characters received new clothes between games had been standard up to that point, fans cried foul that things had suddenly turned stagnant in Tekken 6. The fact that Tekken 7: Fated Retribution is bringing in a new default costume for every returning characternote  is likely a response to this.
  • Immediate Sequel: The time between Jin's ending in 4 (unambiguously the last event to occur in the Tekken 4 story) and the opening cinematic of 5 is only about 5 minutes at most. However, the actual story of 5 doesn't kick off until a month or two after the events at Honmaru.
  • Immune to Flinching: "Power Crushes", a new feature in Tekken 7. Certain moves will enable your character to absorb incoming hits during their startup, similar to a Focus Attack in Street Fighter IV (you will still take damage during this time but the attack is unstoppable). These moves are indicated by white particles around your character during the startup frames. They are, however, still vulnerable to throws and low attacks. The previously mentioned Rage Arts also share this property (except for the vulnerability to lows and throws).
    • 8 gives more emphasis to this trope, with several characters like King and Jack-8 gaining armor properties from their respective stances when Heat is activated. Also, in line with the general push towards "aggression," players are encouraged to make ample use of this ability in order to keep opponents in check.
  • Impending Clash Shot:
    • From Tekken 6 and onwards during the Namco Bandai logo. It shows Jin and Kazuya about Cross Counter but the screen smashes to black at the last second.
    • In Tekken Tag Tournament 2 this also happens their special tag winning pose.
    • 7 will slow down the action right before the final blow of a round if both characters are attacking at the same time, letting you watch as they close in on each other before the hit connects.
  • In Name Only: The naming of Tekken 3D: Prime Edition is somewhat redundant, as there's no other edition of the game at all. It's probably to prevent potential confusion if it were simply called Tekken 3D, though.
  • Interactive Start Up: For a long time, Namco held the patent for playing a minigame while a game loads. Most famously, this was used in Tekken, which let you play a game of Video Game/Galaga while you waited for the game to load. The original Tekken 5 on PS2, meanwhile, started up with a playable portion of Namco's old 3D space shooter Starblade while the game loaded, and a full version of it could be unlocked later on. The patent finally expired in 2015.
  • Interclass Friendship: Asuka Kazuma and Emilie De Rochefort plays with this trope. The two are rivals with the latter wanting to constantly fight the former to her utter annoyance. However, one ending implies that Lili wants to be friends with Asuka but doesn't know how to express it except by fighting her. And then there's Asuka's 7 ending of Lili buying her family's struggling dojo and moving in with her.
  • Invulnerable Attack: The Special Arts in Tekken Revolution have several frames of invincibility at the beginning, signified by their blur effect. They can be hit/thrown out of with good timing and a clash between two players using Special Arts will usually go to the one who used their attack second.

    K to O 
  • Kevlard: Bob purposely gained weight so he could have this advantage, as well as attaining a certain balance of "speed and weight" to augment his offensive power.
  • Killed Off for Real:
    • Circa 2011, Harada confirmed that the first King, the first Kuma, and the first Armor King are all officially dead.
      • Ogre is 99% probably dead, as Jin's T3 ending shows him disintegrating into dust, while Heihachi's backstory in T4 says that he injects himself with Ogre's blood, which would mean that he is dead and/or incapacitated. However, since he appears as the final boss of Devil Within in T5, being resurrected in some way, there is a chance that he might not stay dead.
      • Jinpachi actually bit the dust many years before the events of the series, but is resurrected in 5. At the end of the game, he dies permanently.
      • Azazel is likely gone for good, since his last appearance ends in his defeat. Curiously, he does not get much press in 7, despite the fact that it revolves heavily around the origins of Devil Gene. Zafina's reappearance in 7, however, hints that he may be attempting to possess her body, with his power just barely contained within her left arm. She makes use of this power on some of her attacks, and it's depicted as her losing control of said arm.
    • 7 has two people kicking the bucket. The first is Kazumi, who was murdered by Heihachi when Kazuya was five. The second is Heihachi, who is thrown by Kazuya into a volcano.
  • Kissing Cousins: Not really, but in Asuka's Tekken 5 ending Jin ends up in her cleavage. In quite a slapstick manner.
  • Kryptonite Is Everywhere: Surprisingly there are at least 5 different and unrelated things that counter the devil gene in some way. Downplayed since they mostly don't get used:
    • Angel, who at least in Tag games is shown to be able to suppress the devil gene.
    • Kazamas can do the same. Kazama blood is used to explain why Devil Jin's transformation isn't as drastic as Kazuya's.
    • Heihachi's ending in Tekken 4 has chains being used to chain up Kazuya, and he says the chains suppress the power of anyone with the devil gene to the point this is why Kazuya can't break them. Oddly enough it's only in that ending where the chains do that, in Jin's and Kazuya's endings, Jin can break them just fine.
    • Julia's Genocell research. G-Corporation was planning to use it for the Devil-Human Integration Program. This particular detail was quietly dropped after Tekken 4.
    • Claudio, and perhaps Archers of Sirius in general, are the latest characters capable of doing so as of Tekken 7.
  • Kung-Fu Sonic Boom: During the intro cutscene of Tekken 6, Bryan Fury throws a Mach Breaker and meets Paul Phoenix's Phoenix Smasher on their fists and creates a shockwave. This was also portrayed in the arcade Bloodline Rebellion opening scene with Kazuya and Jin.
  • Lampshade Hanging: When you defeat Jinpachi as Xiaoyu, and he disintegrates to dust, she asks who she's actually supposed claim the prize money from, considering the fact that the only people who witnessed the fight is her and a guy who turned into sand.
  • Land of Tulips and Windmills: The Netherland Stage in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 takes place in a field of tulips with windmill and is appropriately named Tulip Festival.
  • Language Barrier: A notable aversion, especially in later titles, where everybody can understand each other despite every character speaking their native language. This phenomenon is never explained, but has become a part of Tekken.
  • Launcher Move: Not one specifically (although the Mishima "Electric Wind Godfist" is probably the closest thing the series has to a signature launcher) but something that is key to the series. Juggle combos are Tekken's main gimmick so you need to find as many ways to set up launchers as possible.
    • With the introduction of Heat in 8, several moves that normally just push opponents away or even simply leave them standing are now designated as "Heat Engagers." Not only do they activate Heat when an opponent is hit by such a move, but doing the same moves while Heat is active will allow players to start combos after they hit, even if they don't technically launch the opponent in the air.
  • Lawyer-Friendly Cameo: The final bosses of Tekken Tag 2's Fight Lab are Bob, Ganryu and Jinpachi wearing outfits that are similar (way too similar) to Ken, Ryu and (Shin) Akuma. Granted, both Tekken and Street Fighter just crossed over and would soon cross over again in the opposite directionnote . One could imagine the secretary going "There's a Mr. Akuma here to see you. He heard about the simulated versions. Yes, he's cracking his knuckles..."
  • Legacy Character
    • The current versions of King and Kuma from Tekken 3 and onward are different characters from the ones that appeared in the first two games. After Dark Resurrection, a new Armor King appeared to replace his deceased predecessor (though it's somewhat implied they actually shared the Armor King persona while the former Armor King was still alive).
    • The Jacks could count too, since in every game (except for 4, which featured no Jacks) it's a different model, but some of them are pretty much carbon copies to others (Jack-2 to the original Jack — in fact, the latter was the only Jack model not to appear in the first Tag Tournament because of this — and Jack-6 to Jack-5).
    • Master Raven in 7: Fated Retribution replaces the original Raven introduced in 5, although Master Raven is actually Raven's superior.
    • And the OTHER ninjas, the Mitsus, also have a part in this trope; as of Tekken 7 Kunimitsu's daughter has taken up her mother's mantle. Yoshimitsu, on the other hand, has also inherited his name/title; he's even implied to be the successor to another Yoshimitsu who fought in ages past.
  • Lethal Joke Character: Bosconovitch and Gon were incredibly game breaking, due to the fact most attacks missed them (Bosconovitch would crumple to the ground and lie on the floor, while Gon was a tiny dinosaur. Both could only be hit with sweeping leg kicks, and Bosconovitch was extremely fast, for an old man).
  • Lineage Comes from the Father: The Mishima family members are patrilineal and their members only recognize their heritage as such. So it goes as follows: Jinpachi > Heihachi > Kazuya and Lars > Jin. Plus Lee if you count adopted son. The most notable trait of them (the Mishima Karate) is also inherited from father to son. Even Jin, who is additionally also the son of The Chosen One Jun Kazama, is emphasized far more with his Mishima heritage rather than the Kazama's, even though his surname is Kazama.

    Tekken 7 shows what happens when this trope is actually played out. Jin is obsessed with his Mishima lineage so much, he thinks that all things bad are because the family is cursed with the Devil Gene, beginning way back with Jinpachi. In truth, the family is cursed, but because of Heihachi's Greed more than anything. The Devil Gene, meanwhile, comes from Kazuya's mother, Kazumi Mishima. So it isn't unique to the family at all!
  • Lipstick-and-Load Montage: Nina Williams does this during the Tekken Tag Tournament opening and in her ending in Tekken 6.
  • Luke, I Am Your Father:
    • Steve Fox, Nina Williams is your mom.
    • Lars turns out to be Heihachi's bastard son.
  • Male Might, Female Finesse: Kazuya Mishima and his son Jin Kazama are unstoppable Lightning Bruisers who can transform into One Winged Angels, while their respective Love Interests Jun Kazama and Ling Xiaoyu rely on Waif-Fu to deliver the beatdown.
  • Meaningful Name:
    • Kuma is the Japanese word for "Bear".
    • Mokujin is Japanese for "wood(en) man." And Mokujin's Palette Swaps Tetsujin and Kinjin are also similarly named — their names meaning "iron man" and "gold man" respectively.
    • As for Panda...no explanation necessary.
    • Kazuya's name is a subtler example that is unrelated to meaning. The kanji of his name (一八) is a combination of the first name kanji of his mother, Kazumi (美), who was kind and caring, and the second name kanji of his father, Heihachi (平), who is ruthless. Kazuya was once kind and caring before turning into the ruthless man he is today.
  • Mechanically Unusual Fighter:
    • Dr. Bosconovitch (only in the third game) spends his time prone to the ground and (at his best) crouching; he never jumps or indeed stand still. It's tricky both to play and fight him.
    • Steve also counts. Despite him having some kicks in his movelist, pressing the kick buttons by default will simply have him weave left or right.
    • Akuma in Tekken 7: Fated Retribution has a Super Meter (allowing him to perform enhanced moves as well as a Kamehame Hadoken when it's full) as well as the ability to jump as he does in Street Fighter (since 3, Tekken has mostly negated aerial attacks in favor of 3D motion). He can also perform special moves, which is unusual in spirit for Tekken (since most Tekken moves are sequences of button presses and single directional inputs, with a few exceptions).
    • DLC character Eliza appears to be a Distaff Counterpart of Akuma in terms of gameplay, as she also has her own Super Meter, as well as EX versions of her moves. She even has her own dive kick! Her Kamehame Hadoken moves through the ground in front of her, though, instead of in a straight line.
    • Geese Howard from King of Fighters also has his own Super Meter straight out of KOF XIV. Filling up his Meter gives him access to Max Mode at the cost of one bar, during which he can perform EX versions of his special moves within a limited time. He also has two Super Moves, Raging Storm and Raigou Reppuuken, that cost two bars to perform.
  • Mechanical Muscles: The Jack robots, with a new Jack built and sent to compete in almost every game. Most of them have synthetic skin with obvious (sometimes glowing) seams, while Gun Jack and Protoype Jack (P. Jack) are even more visibly robotic, with squared-off metal plates and Colossus-style ridges respectively.
  • MegaCorp: The Mishima Zaibatsu and the G Corporation. In Tekken 6, Jin is using the former to try and Take Over the World (supposedly) and the latter (run by his father, Kazuya) is his only opponent.
  • Monster and the Maiden: Killer Robot Jack finds and befriends an orphaned human girl, Jane, untill Jack eventually gets blown up by a Mad Scientist. Jane, now an adult, dedicates her life to rebuilding Jack (and succeeds).
  • Moveset Clone: Plenty. They tend to undergo Divergent Character Evolution as time goes on, however.
    • The hidden characters in the original Tekken are virtually carbon copies of the eight default characters. They have maybe one or two unique moves but that is it. With the exception of Wang, they all even share the same voice clips as one of the eight.
    • The Jacks are Legacy Character, so it is understandable that they change very little throughout the series.
    • In 2 and Tag, Alex and Angel are Roger's and Devil's clones, respectively. In Tag 2, they become Roger Jr.'s and Devil Jin's clones, respectively.
    • Kuma/Panda is the longest and most consistent example. They have the same normal movelist and identical hitboxes. Tekken 7 gives them a different Rage Art, but that is the only difference they have so far (other than attack effect, which is entirely cosmetic).
    • Kuma Jr., King II, and Armor King II are, like the Jacks, identical copies of their deceased Legacy Character: Kuma Sr., King I, and Armor King I, respectively.
    • Jin in 3 has all of Kazuya's and a few of Jun's moves. He has few to no unique moves of his own. When Kazuya returns in 4, Jin is given a different fighting style, with the in-story justification as Jin wanting to forget all of his Mishima past. Jin's old moveset is later incorporated into Devil Jin in 5, while Jun's movelist is recreated, also in 5, through the new character Asuka.
    • In 3 and Tag, True Ogre has all of Ogre's moves bar one (Ancient Power) and possesses unique moves of his own.
    • Eddy/Christie have different throws, but their other moves are identical. Tiger Jackson started as Eddy's 3P outfit in 3 but was made into a different character in Tag 2 with some slightly different moves (see the below bullet about the console-exclusive characters).
    • Violet and Miharu from Tekken 4 are copies of Lee and Xiaoyu, respectively. While Violet is somewhat differentiated in Tag 2, he's back as Lee's copy in 7.
    • All new characters added in the console version of Tag 2 are slight modifications of the existing cast. Miharu is a slightly different Xiaoyu, Sebastian is a slightly different Lili, etc.
    • Master Raven is a Distaff Counterpart of Raven. Beyond that, there is little difference.
    • Anna was relegated to this in the arcade version of Tekken 3, simply serving as Nina's 3P outfit. However when the game arrived on console she was differentiated back into a full character.
  • The Movie: A grand total of 3 (completely canonically separate) movies exist; Tekken: The Motion Picture (an OVA made in 1998), Tekken (a live action movie made in 2010, which was not supervised by Namco and later disowned by Harada), and Blood Vengeance (a 3D CG movie) supervised by Namco and written by Dai Sato of Cowboy Bebop fame) .
  • Mr. Fanservice: Most of the male characters, even including those already in their septuagenarian years (except for the very old ones like Wang and Jinpachi, or the odd ones, like Yoshimitsu), are this. Not helped by the fact that many of them also seem to have a shortage in the shirt department. Taken to an extreme in Tekken 6, where you can customize virtually all male characters to shut down their shirt department. The only ones who don't receive this "luxury" are Wang (where giving this to him is just torturing him; he's freaking 105 years old, people), Yoshimitsu (actually, we don't really know what he looks like underneath), and the Jack robots (obvious reasons). So start ogling them, ladies (and men too, for that matter).
  • Ms. Fanservice: Many of the playable female characters, some with more revealing costume options than others. Christie in particular has the most Stripperiffic ones in Tekken 6, not to mention her normal fighting stance really shows off the Jiggle Physics. Even those who wear modest clothing as their default costumes can be customized to become Stripperriffic.
  • Multi-Slot Character: Devil Jin and Devil Kazuya combine this trope with Gameplay and Story Integration; Devil Jin is always a separate character from Jin, while Devil Kazuya is only a separate character in 2 and Tag Tournament 1, with every other appearance having him be a part of Kazuya's moveset. This is fitting because Jin hates his Devil side and views it as an Enemy Within, while Kazuya embraces his Devil and eventually masters it.
  • Ninja: Raven and Kunimitsu. Yoshimitsu will tell you he is but he's a bit over the top. 7 introduces Master Raven, the superior of the first Raven.
  • Nobody Poops: Averted in Law's Tekken 6 ending. Paul, Law and Steve had agreed to share the prize money, but Law uses laxatives to incapacitate them and give him enough time to steal all the money for himself (what a Jerkass). Paul's ending also implies that Law used these laxatives throughout the tournament to cheat their way to victory.
  • No Celebrities Were Harmed:
  • No Flow in CGI:
    • In terms of in-game models, the games before the PS2 (with just a few exceptions). Notably, as Tekken 4 was the first full-fledged installment tailored for the PS2note , the designers pretty much went out of their way to make sure this would be averted by giving every single character independently animated parts, which led to King with long hair beneath his mask, Paul's 2P costume with his hair down, and Jin's hoodie outfit covering the top of his head until the hood naturally falls down, among many other things.
    • Subverted with Tekken 7 now using the Unreal 4 graphics engine (which also meant the developers had to re-animate all the characters from scratch). Almost every character costume, especially the alternates in Fated Retribution, displays significant visual upgrades in all their glory.
  • No One Could Survive That!: Just look at Bryan's Tekken 3 and 6 endings... and Heihachi too, in Tekken 5.
  • Nostalgia Level: A few games update older stages with a few new tweaks and such, not counting the original Tag game remixing every Tekken 3 level. Tekken 6's Noh Theater updates Jin's Tekken 3 stage, while 7's Dragon's Nest is an update of the stage of the same name from 5. Tag 2 features a hefty amount of these, like Moonlit Wilderness and Snow Castle from 5, complete with remixes of their respective stage themes.
  • Not Even Bothering with the Accent:
    • Several (though not all) English-speaking characters from non-American countries all have American accents instead of the ones you'd expect them to have. For example: Nina and Anna (Irish), Steve (British), Leo (German), Eddy and Christie (Brazilian), Marduk (Australian), Lili (Monégasque — well, French by extension), Bosconovitch (Russian), and so on. Lei was initially a subversion, until his Chinese accent suddenly became American in Tekken 6 (it is, however, a Hong Kong English accent, so this might be a Double Subversion).
    • Also the main characters in 6's Story Mode. Lars is Swedish and Alisa is a robot made by a Russian. They for some reason decide that the optimal language to speak would be perfect Japanese. However, Alisa is arguable, considering she is a robot and can be programmed to speak Japanese (theoretically, she could have any language loaded into her memory banks), as well as the fact that her current "master" — the person whose commands she's programmed to obey — is Japanese. Except for the fact Lars is half-Japanese and has been working for a Japanese company, it would make sense that he would be bilingual. Why he prefers Japanese is anyone's guess. (Although it's actually not too strange since Lars himself is well aware how big a deal his father is and that he'll probably have to deal with issues revolving around his father's family sooner or later. In the end, the final decision to make him speak Japanese is probably that it's easier that way while still remaining feasible.)
    • Similarly, Xiaoyu gets a pass for not speaking Chinese seeing as she primarily lives in Japan.
    • Most of the characters in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 speak their native languages like Hwoarang speaking Korean (which has been done ever since Tekken 5), Steve with a British accent and Leo with German. The Japanese characters (with Lars included) speak Japanese as always. The Williams sisters don't speak Irish English, though someone suggested in a forum somewhere that it was probably due to their time in cryosleep experiments. The Williams sisters' cases are understandable in that they're international assassins; revealing their origins by speaking in their native accents would serve to give away their backgrounds.
    • 7 adds the Italian character Claudio, Shaheen who speaks Arabic, and another Brazilian, Katarina. Lucky Chloe's nationality isn't specified, and is made confusing by her speaking Japanese, along with some accented English. The trope is played straight, however, by Filipina fighter Josie Rizal, who speaks clear, unaccented English with absolutely no hint of Tagalog or any other Filipino dialect - that said, English is one of the two national languages spoken in the Philippines, and most Filipinos do get to speak it fluently with no accent, so Josie's portrayal is still somewhat accurate.
  • Nothing Is the Same Anymore:
    • Tekken 3 must have felt like this for fans when it was first released in 1997, despite wounding up to be the franchise's Establishing Series Moment. The story jumped 19 years from Tekken 2 and as a consequence nearly every established characters like Kazuya were discarded and presumably killed off (well, according to the then official story, anyway; they had long debunked it), while those who returned were aged up. Instead, the game focused on a new generation of Younger and Hipper fighters, some of whom doubled as Legacy Character for the older characters. If this kind of change is done today, people would no doubt be pissed off. A lot (we're looking at you, Soulcalibur V).
    • For a lot of players, Tekken 4 felt like a step back from Tekken Tag Tournament which had made a number of innovations and included a much larger roster. Gameplay-wise, it went for a grittier feel. It removed the characters' primary throws, added walls to the levels (which had previously been open ended), and introduced a story mode that was not hugely different to Arcade mode. The game only really had two new, non-clone characters, in the form of Steve Fox (who, being a boxer, only has punches) and Craig Marduk (who in story, killed the first Armor King, which led to old school fans instantly disliking him). Although Eddy returned to the game, it was as a second costume for a Moveset Clone, Christie, which many fans felt was demoting an innovative character. Only two pre-Tekken 3 characters not in that game returned in 4, these being Kazuya and Lee. Thankfully, Tekken 5 returned to the series' roots by re-introducing a number of the older characters and improving the gameplay of 4.
    • Tekken 7 is a lesser case. It is the first game in 18 years to do a major shake-up of the character lineup, mostly to avoid it from expanding too much, and did a much-awaited costume makeover on the entire cast, who had mostly stayed the same since 2004's Tekken 5 (these were admitted by Harada). Unlike 3, there is no Time Skip and the absent characters very much still have the chance to return sometime in the future.
    • Speaking of 7, the plot is affected by this, as well, especially in regard to the Mishima family curse and the Devil Gene, with the introduction of Kazumi Mishima, the earliest known person to possess the Devil Gene. Namely, it implies that the Devil Gene is not endemic to the Mishimas, and their personal issues are a different can of worms altogether. And as has been promised since the beginning, the game turns out to be A Death in the Limelight episode for Heihachi, one of the series' most iconic characters.
  • Not Just a Tournament: In Tekken 2, Kazuya announces the King of the Iron Fist Tournament 2 to get rid of Heihachi and his other enemies. In Tekken 3, Heihachi announces the King of the Iron Fist Tournament 3 to lure Ogre out in order to capture him using the contestants as bait. In Tekken 4, Heihachi needs to get the Devil Gene to become immortal so he announces the King of the Iron Fist Tournament 4 to lure Kazuya and Jin out to obtain the Devil Gene. In Tekken 5, Jinpachi is seeking a worthy opponent who can defeat him and stop the evil in him from destroying the world. And in Tekken 6, Jin initiates the tournament so that he and Kazuya can face off against one another, awakening Azazel and making the latter vulnerable. In Tekken 7, Heihachi assumes control of the Mishima Zaibatsu while Jin is missing and initiates the tournament to draw out Kazuya for one more confrontation.
  • Offscreen Moment of Awesome: Jun fighting off Devil while pregnant with Jin.
  • The Old Convict: Eddy Gordo's backstory from Tekken 3 is that he was framed by the Mishimas, and while in prison, was trained in Capoeira by the oldest convict interned there. Distaff Counterpart Christie Monteiro is the old man's granddaughter.
  • Older Than They Look:
    • Nina and Anna are in their 40's from Tekken 3 onward, but still look as though they're in their 20's due to their time in cryogenic sleep. Also, Lee is approaching 50, but you wouldn't think it just from looking at him...
    • The first Tag Dream Match Game features characters from Tekken 2 and Tekken 3, which are separated by a 19 years timeskip. Everyone appears as they do in their most recent game. This results in Heihachi looking appropriately like what a 70 years old grandpa should be, but not Baek, Bruce, Ganryu, Jun, Kazuya, Kunimitsu, and Michelle looking like what middle aged adults should be. This is particularly striking in the case of Jun and Kazuya, who look less like parents and more like older siblings to their son, Jin. Ditto with Michelle to Julia. Tag 2 ages many of them, although the trope is still present with Jun, Kunimitsu, and Michelle.
    • Subverted with Kazumi in Tekken 7, who initially seems to be a smack-dab example of this trope as she does not look remotely like a septuagenarian (or a grandmother, for that matter). That is because she is a ghost; the real Kazumi has been dead for like 45 years.
  • Old Master: Wang Jinrei. As of 6, he's 105!
  • One-Steve Limit:
    • The Mishima/Kazama family notably have similarly-named members, rooted in the Japanese tradition of naming progeny after ancestors. Jinpachi and Heihachi have names ending in -hachi (八). The "ya" part of Kazuya in fact also uses 八, albeit using the kun'yomi pronunciation. Jin is most likely named after Jinpachi, as the kanji used (仁) is the same. Kazuya, too, inherited the "kazu" (一) part from his mother, Kazumi. Ironically, the names that are most commonly confused with one another, Jun and Jin, have unrelated kanji (準 vs 仁). They just happen to sound similar.
    • The series does have an aversion. "Michelle" and "Miguel" are variants of a single name: Michael (the former is the French feminine form, while the latter is the Spanish masculine form).
  • One-Winged Angel: Several characters in the series have their own one-winged angel forms:
    • Kazuya has Devil (the final boss of Tekken 2), who can fly, shoot lasers, and has purple skin. Since Devil's last appearance in Tag Tournament, Kazuya has fully accepted his demonic powers and it shows. (For reference, he uses Devil's lasers in the Street Fighter/Tekken crossover and can transform into Devil in Tag Tournament 2. He also canonically assumes Devil's form to escape Hon-Maru at the beginning of 5.)
    • His son, Jin, has been "cursed" to inherit his father's devil gene. Since the fifth game, a second Jin aka Devil Jin has been playable. This version of Jin is not only batshit insane, but embraces his Devil powers and uses them in combat, in conjunction with a new fighting style (a mix of the Mishima-style Karate that normal Jin unlearned and the more traditional Karate that post-Tekken 4 Jin uses).
    • Even the supposedly innocent Jun Kazama is not safe from this trope. Tag Tournament 2 shows (and confirmed many a fan theory) her OWA form is Unknown, the final boss of the Tag Tournament games. "Junknown" uses other characters' fighting styles (a la Mokujin) but can willingly change her style mid-battle (not like Mokujin). In Tag 2, Junknown loses her mimic ability and resorts to Jun's moveset with boss-style moves.
    • Tekken 3 has Ogre (the Final Boss, mind you) and True Ogre. The upgrade from Ogre to True Ogre comes with a somewhat Nightmare Fuel-esque change in appearance as well as a power upgrade. Oh, and he can fly. And breathe fire. Devil Within, a Tekken Force Mode-themed mini-game in 5, gives Ogre a second OWA: Monstrous Ogre.
    • Another Final Boss example is Tekken 6's Azazel. Fulfill the right conditions, and a powerful golden Azazel (confirmed in 6's Scenario Campaign to be Azazel's ultimate form) can be fought in the place of the normal variant.
    • Yet another example in the form of Jinpachi Mishima. His true demonic form is fought as Tekken 5's final boss (worth noting that a fiery variant is fought as the final boss of 5: Dark Resurrection). This is actually more of an inversion, as Jinpachi's (supposedly) regular form can be used as a playable character in Tag Tournament 2 (where he is downgraded to a sub-boss; being a sub-boss battle with Heihachi).
    • Kazumi Mishima in 7 fights in the first round of the final stage still looking human, despite with some assistance from her pet tiger. Defeat her once and she takes on a more demonic appearance, turning white and red, bearing wings, and of course, firing lasers.
    • The Story mode of 7 gives Kazuya's Devil form an additional more one-winged angel state, which includes additional eyes on his chest and wings, all of which are capable of firing lasers.
    • Zafina's return in 7 hints at her potentially having a form of this trope, as Azazel's powers are somehow contained in her left arm. In some of her new moves, she appears to be unleashing those powers to attack her opponent, and it also envelops her arm in crystals, make it appear more like Azazel's. However, she also seems to lose control of herself in the process, and has to consciously restrain its destructive urges.
  • The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: This seems to be what's behind Hwoarang having a +1 Netsu trigger towards Jin in Tag Tournament 2 (+1 is usually reserved for when the character has a genuinely good view of the other character); likewise Paul's +1 towards Kazuya.

    P to T 
  • Palette Swap:
    • Tetsujin in Tag is a silver-colored, iron-sculpted Mokujin. There is also the gold-colored, iron-sculpted Kinjin (or Gold Tetsujin in Tag).
    • All the returning characters from Tekken 5 were given different default colors for their outfits in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection (some more noticeable than others; Kazuya's P1 outfit was changed from white to maroon and his P2 outfit from purple to white while Heihachi's P1 outfit went from black to a dark teal, which wasn't as noticeable). It is possible to set the original colors with customization and most of these changes reverted in 6 (with the exception of Xiaoyu, whose orange scheme stuck after DR). Usually averted with regards to P1 and P2 outfits (which differentiate by clothing rather than purely color) but starting with Tag 2, alternate outfits were dropped for the most part and this trope is played straight.
  • Perfect Play A.I.: As you gain ranks this will become self-evident, with the game starting to break out the ten-hit or infinite combos, reading controller inputs, using the classic Mortal Kombat slide along the ground, and begin preventing you from tagging out, specifically targeting your partner when low on health. Earlier in the series, the computer would resort to Secret A.I. Moves to simulate difficulty.
  • Perpetually Shiny Bodies: While not prevalent overall, TTT2 actually goes out of its way to avert this trope by showing dirt, water, mud, and whatever that gunk filling up Fallen Garden is on the fighter's clothes (or even a specific spot) as they get knocked to the ground. There's even an achievement for getting gunked in Fallen Garden (Doused But Not Out).
  • Pet the Dog: In Kazuya's Tekken 5 ending, he is shown to respect Jinpachi and even remembers the good old days training with him before making the Deal with the Devil...and then kills him.
  • Phenotype Stereotype:
    • Ten out of the eleven European human characters in the series have blue eyes (the exception is Miguel, who has brown eyes). As many as seven of them have blond hair, too (Dr. B and Sebastian's hairs have grayed out, so they may/may not have blond hair originally). The majority is justified, although Lili being a platinum blonde-haired, blue eyed, light-skinned girl from Monaco is highly unlikely in real lifenote . Lars' blond hair and blue eyes are similarly unrealistic, since he is half-Japanese; as Heihachi has black hair and brown eyes, both of which are dominant traits, he should have inherited them instead.
    • It is interesting to note, however, that the Irish Williams sisters completely ignore all kinds of Irish stereotypes, including Significant Green-Eyed Redhead. Nina is blonde, while Anna is brunette. Both of them have blue eyes. These on top of not having stereotypically Irish names (e.g. surnames starting with O or Mc) or accent (they speak generic American).
    • Averted to hell with the American characters. Out of the eight Americans, three are White, one is Black, one is Native, two are Asian, and one is mixed-race (Native and Asian). Of the three whites, three have blue eyes, but only two have blond hair.
    • More aversions: Armor King (a black Mexican) and Eddy (a black Brazilian) defy the usual portrayal of Latin America being a land of brown-skinned people.
  • Pimped-Out Dress: A few outfits, especially in 5.
  • Play Every Day: Tekken Revolution is set up with this in mind and even advises it; players get daily bonuses each day they sign in.
  • Plotline Crossover:
    • A few of the endings in Tag 2 are actually interconnected plots. For example, Jin's ending seamlessly segues into that of Devil Jin. The most significant case of this is a story which takes up an entire afternoon: in chronological order: Asuka, Lili, Miharu, Kuma, Panda, Alisa and Xiaoyu's endings.
    • In an unusual case of a non-canon title setting up a rather major Sequel Hook for future games, TTT2 also reveals that Steve and Leo are linked through Leo's mother Emma, who not only worked for the Mishima Zaibatsu, but was a young Steve's caretaker/mother figure who hid him away after the Zaibatsu used Steve as a guinea pig (one of many) for tests involving the Devil Gene.
  • Point Build System: Revolution has three parameters players can, using their in-game fight money, increase with skill points earned whenever they level up: Power (damage of attacks), Endurance (size of health gauge), and Vigor (chance of scoring a critical hit or entering Rage, determined by the difference in Vigor between opposing fighters).
  • Power Tattoo: Jin's devil tattoo. Unknown has a reverse version of this.
  • Practical Taunt:
    • Lee Chaolan has one where he leans back and wags his finger at his opponent, beckoning them to come at him. While this may look like a taunt, it also has the more prominent utility of being an alternate stance that gives him access to moves that are great at countering a reckless charge, which is the likely reaction for someone who falls for the taunt. Back in 4, if the opponent was backed against a wall while Lee assumed this stance, he was capable of beating the opponent to death with a flurry of jabs. This was nerfed since, limiting him to only 4 jabs at a time.
    • To a certain extent, Bryan's taunt move also counts, though it's more a case of Difficult, but Awesome. Some of his moves can be executed immediately after his knee hits the opponent (the knee itself, however, does not do any damage), although pulling off those moves requires precise timing to take advantage of the opponent's very small window of vulnerability.
  • Press X to Die: Yoshimitsu has a button combo that allows him to stab himself with his own sword. Sure, you can damage another guy behind you, if there is a guy behind you, but after you stab the other character and yourself at the same time, you can stab yourself again and take away the rest of your health. Still pretty funny, though.
  • Product Placement:
    • Xiaoyu’s stage in Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament was set in Namco’s amusement parks, Wonder Eggs 2 and Wonder Eggs 3, respectively.
    • Several of the 2P outfits in Tag 2 were devised by OilShock Designs. Bruce instead features threads designed by Snoop Dogg (who also worked with the Tekken crew to create a Snoop Dogg-themed stage in the game).
    • In-universe, the logo for Ganryu's restaurant "Chanko Paradise" appears a lot in Tekken Tag Tournament 2.
    • 6 featured characters wearing Tekken 6-themed t-shirts designed by the MMA clothing line "Tapout". These shirts were available for purchase in real life from Tapout for a time as well.
    • The Tag 2 stage Coastline Sunset - set in the Philippines - features ads for Filipino arcade chains Quantum and Timezone.
    • 7, due to the partnership with New Japan Pro-Wrestling, features some of its products, including CHAOS and Bullet Club shirts, as well as a Whole Costume Reference for King, who gets Kazuchika Okada-themed outfit and his Finishing Move as his Rage Art.
  • Punch-Kick Layout: Tekken works on a 3D plane, and so rather than a series of light to heavy punches like the 2D Street Fighter, you instead have four buttons corresponding to each individual limb; right-punch, right-kick, left-punch, and left-kick. Tekken's attacks are thus built around unique combo strings for each character, every fighter having upwards of several dozen attack chains formed by inputting each button in the right order.
  • Rage Quit: In 7, the number of times a player quits in the middle of an online match gets tracked, and if it occurs often enough they get penalized.
  • Recovery Attack: Starting with the third game in the series.
  • Red Herring: The promotional materials for 7 sets up Kazumi as the Big Bad of the game. In the actual Story Mode, Kazuya is the Big Bad and Final Boss, while Heihachi is the Villain Protagonist. Kazumi appears in precisely one flashback chapter, where we witness Heihachi kill her. That's it.
  • Reduced to Dust: When a character defeats Jinpachi Mishima in 5, he dissolves to dust, due to the fact that the evil spirit that possessed him engulfed him in flames.
  • Reduced To Rat Burgers: In Death by Degrees a few found notes reveal that not only have rats infested parts of the ship, but they've become the primary food source for a majority of the crew, with a chef even writing up a recipe to enchance the meat into a fancier dish.
  • Relationship Values:
    • Hidden in the second Tag game, and they can get a little wonky. A trick to select tag win poses goes some way to resolve this. The strangeness of it all is that many teams with good synergy are actually counter-intuitive to what you'd expect given what canon (and the Netsu Power chart) dictates. One of the only exceptions to this is Kazuya; notorious in that almost all of his specific relationships are negative ones, the one positive relationship he has (with Jinpachi) results in what is widely regarded as a very dangerous team to face in the right hands.
    • It's been done before: The Netsu system was present in the original Tag as well, albeit some combinations in that game completely prevented the Rage system from activating altogether — Ogre is understandably disliked by most of the cast.
  • Religious Bruiser: Angel, of course. Jun serves as The Lancer to her. Michelle and Julia are also shown to be praying to unspecified spirits before and after a match.
  • Remixed Level: Applied multiple times over the course of the series:
    • The first Tag game had backgrounds that were higher definition remakes of the stages from Tekken 3, with the exception of Dr. Boskonovitch's - probably to reflect his lack of involvement in the game.
    • Similarly, Dark Resurrection took many of the stages present in 5 and changed them up in terms of color schemes and designs. While the PSP port only kept the remixed stages, the Arcade version and the PS3 port do include both versions.
    • 7 features several: At launch, one of the first stages revealed was a remake of the Dragon's Gate from 5, while in Story Mode, a fight involving a remake of the intro to 5 brings back Honmaru from 4, now sharing similar properties to the Mishima Dojo stage debuting in 7. The later DLC release of Lidia brought about the Island Paradise stage which remixes two stages at once: Poolside from 5 and the Beach from 4, complete with remixes of their stage themes.
    • 8 retains the general layout of the Arena stage from 7 with several graphical and aesthetic updates.
  • La Résistance:
    • The world war precipitated by Jin in 6 creates a number of these in-story. Lars and other rebellious Tekken Force members are one example. Hwoarang and Baek are leaders of another according to the Scenario Campaign, with Miguel being a member of it.
    • Lars is leading a different Resistance group in 7 with core members including himself, Alisa, Lee, and the Reporter. Their goal is to prevent both Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corporation from taking the still-comatose Jin away.
  • Ret-Canon: Although Tag 2 is non-canon, it does incorporate several elements from Blood Vengeance (which features more than a few Continuity Snarls to its name), such as Xiaoyu and Alisa's friendship and Kazuya and Jin's "true" Devil forms.
  • Retcon: Since this is a long-running fighting game series, retcons are to be expected:
    • It is pretty clear that 3 was written to be a soft reboot of the series, with many of its mainstays giving way to newbies. The main story, that Ogre attacks fighters around the world, would be taken to its logical conclusion: he kills them too. Hwoarang enters the third tournament explicitly to avenge the death of Baek.
    • The identity of Unknown. The Tekken 6 artbook mentions that Unknown was meant to be Jun's younger sister, which explains a lot of inconsistencies when she appears again in Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Unknown in the first Tekken Tag Tournament is shorter than Jun in height, and if you look at her CGI ending, you will realize that she bears little resemblance to Jun (Unknown has noticeably sharper, more Caucasian features, not to mention green eyes, rather than Jun's brown).
    • The Devil Gene's true origin has changed a lot in between games. The first time, it is explained to be a spontaneous mutation within Kazuya (more on this in the next bullet). The second time, Jinpachi is told to be case zero, thus skipping Heihachi and Lars in the process. The third time, Azazel is said to be the source, meaning that he and Jinpachi must be connected somehow. The fourth (and probably final) time, it is revealed that Jinpachi is a Red Herring (his case is because of Demonic Possession); Kazumi is actually the true case zero, which explains why Heihachi and Lars do not inherit it.
    • Prior to the concept of the Devil Gene (which appeared for the first time in 4), in the very two first games, Kazuya's Devil powers were in fact the doing of Devil, who at the time was a supernatural entity independent from Kazuya (as opposed to being simply a mutated Kaz, as seen in the more recent installments). When kid Kaz was dropped into the "Precipice of Fate" by Heihachi that day, he made a literal Faustian Deal with the Devil, in order to both survive his fall and to gain power enabling him to exact Revenge on his father. Devil gave the power to Kaz, presumably as a mutation granting him inhuman powers, by the looks of it anyway, though it was never made wholly clear if this form was a mutation Devil gave to Kazuya for him to use, or simply Devil taking over Kazuya's body and using it as a medium to manifest himself physically, but whatever the case, Kaz didn't have complete control over his Devil form/power until 4 when he fully "assimilated" Devil into himself upon reuniting with a captured Jin in the Hon-Maru temple. Why is Devil's existence as his own character independent from Kaz important you ask? Well, for one, because Angel's role in the story was to be a force opposing Devil and trying to "save Kazuya's soul" (in Tekken 2, anyway). As soon as Devil ceased to exist as a standalone character, so did Angel, since her sole purpose was to be Devil's enemy, and with him gone, there was no reason for her to continue existing in the story.
    • And the reason explaining why Heihachi dropped Kazuya off a cliff in the first place? Up to 5 (as seen in Xiaoyu's ending in the fifth game, and in other media such as the OVA), it was because Hei wanted Kaz to be strong enough to inherit his own position as ruler of the Mishima Zaibatsu (which is basically a global financial empire at this point, so whoever rules it gets to be one of the most important, influential men in the world). But 7 establishes that Hei actually wanted to kill Kazuya before he became a demonic being like his mother. Kazuya's survival was NOT part of the plan.
    • And again, Heihachi adopts Lee Chaolan as another son of his own, in order to give a rival adoptive brother to Kazuya and hope said rivalry would groom the latter into a stronger person. Or that's how it was before 7 anyway...
    • And why does Heihachi conceive Lars with an unknown Swedish woman? In 6, it's talked like Heihachi had sex with that woman in a mission in Scandivania, and Heihachi he didn't even know about Lars, but had his suspicions about the woman getting pregnant. But in 7 it's talked like Lars was conceived because Hei wanted to make sure he didn't have the Devil Gene in his body the problem is that this is the same game that reveals the Devil Gene's source was Kazumi Hachijo, Heihachi's late wife, and that not only he knew this well, he also killed his own wife in self-defense after she attacked him in her Devil form, and later he tried to kill Kazuya as well before the boy developed a Devil form too. So, if Hei knew this information all along, why did he decide to conceive Lars, anyway? And considering that Kazumi was killed when Kazuya was 5, and Lars is about 20 years younger than Kazuya, even if Heihachi suspected Devil Gene is contagious, why did he wait around 15 years to confirm if he has it?
  • The Reveal: Tekken 7 has a reveal 23 years in the making: the Devil Gene is not endemic to the Mishima family. Kazuya and Jin inherited it from Kazumi, Heihachi's wife.
  • Revenge: Used often as the reason for the fighters to enter the tournaments: they want to battle a fellow participant (usually the official sponsor) because of a past humiliation/anger. Most don't devolve into outright killing, but a few do.
    • The first game has both Kazuya and Michelle against Heihachi.
    • The second has Heihachi (against Kazuya) and Marshall (against Baek).
    • The third has Eddy (against the Mishima Zaibatsu), and the trio of King, Hwoarang and Jin (against Ogre).
    • The fourth has King (against Marduk) and Kazuya (against Heihachi)
    • The fifth has Marduk (against King), Kazuya (against G Corporation), Lee (against Kazuya), Steve (against the Mishima Zaibatsu), Yoshimitsu (against Bryan), Asuka (against Feng), and Armor King (against Marduk)
    • The sixth has Anna (against Nina), Armor King (against Marduk), Leo (against Kazuya), and Miguel (against Jin).
    • The seventh has Eddy (against Kazuya), Lili (against Asuka) and Miguel (against Jin).
    • The eighth currently has Feng (against Leroy).
  • Ring Out: Believe it or not, the series uses this twice in the same game.
    • The boss fight against NANCY-MI847 in 6. One of NANCY's attacks breaks through the glass floor. If you step on it, you will fall and get KO'd.
    • Scenario Campaign liberally uses this. Try to steer clear from the edge of the levels, especially the ones with water in it.
  • The Rival: Hwoarang to Jin, Lili to Asuka, Kuma to Paul, Lee to Kazuya, King to both Armor King and Marduk, the members of the Mishima family to each other, Anna to Nina. The Player Character/sub-boss pairings of the earlier installments used to indicate this, but the idea was later scrapped.
  • Rival Final Boss: In 4, the Big Bad of the game is Heihachi Mishima, but the last guy Hwoarang fights is Jin Kazama, his rival.
  • Rubber-Band A.I.: After winning a fair few matches, the CPU gets mad and goes into overdrive, becoming a shameless Perfect Play A.I. that even uses the signature MK Walker moves such as being a pixel out of range of an attack and countering, and sliding across the floor. Survive even this and when it then blatantly cheat by not allowing you to block, dodge or even tag out as it takes out all your health in one long combo. It will start to calm down after maybe ten straight losses, but the game gets harder and stays harder the more you play it.
  • Rule of Cool: Realistically, certain characters like Alex, Kuma, Panda, Roger Jr., Yoshimitsu, Jack and Alisa should not have been allowed into fighting tournaments alongside humans, for the simple reason that they'd kill all of their opponents within seconds. Then again, who cares about being realistic when you can pit a panda bear against a kangaroo?
  • Running Gag:
    • Beginning in 5, Lee Chaolan's Thumbs Up.
    • Lee Chaolan's spanking-related running gag.
    • Excellent!
    • The Mishimas' "tradition" throwing each other off of high places (particularly cliffs or volcanoes) .
  • The Runt at the End: The main members of the Mishima family are Jinpachi, Kazuya, Jin (being the son of Kazuya, he counts), Heihachi, and Kazumi. Out of all of them, Heihachi is the only one who doesn't have a Superpowered Evil Side. Even though that should put him at a disadvantage to them, he's more than capable of fighting them on equal footing.
  • Samus Is a Girl: Kunimitsu was a Palette Swap of Yoshimitsu in the first game, which led to people believing she was a man until subsequent installments. Leo also counts to a lesser extent; she appears less masculine than Kuni did in her debut, but nonetheless masculine enough for many fans to believe she was a man until her true gender was revealed; it doesn't help that some translations of Tag 2 mistakenly refer to her as male.
  • Scenery Gorn: Happens to the final stage, Heavenly Garden, of TTT2. Very pretty lotus pond, with dragonflies, a flamingo, floating islands in the background, a twin rainbow, etc. Then you fell Jun, and Unknown takes the opportunity to take her over. Cue the water slowly turning necrotic violet, then the scene suddenly becomes the Fallen Garden, where the sky is full of dark smoke, the islets are on fire, the (remaining lotuses) are now ghostly, the animals are nowhere to be seen, and the rainbows have been replaced by grayscale versions of themselves. In addition, the shallow pond you've been fighting in turns into a swamp where the "mud" sticks to you for a while if you fall into it.
  • Scenery Porn: All over the place, such as Moonlit Wilderness in 5, Fallen Colony in 6 and Heavenly Garden in TTT2.
  • Self-Made Orphan: Baek Doo San (unintentionally), according to his backstory. The Mishimas wish they were... Heihachi and Kazuya attempted to this. At the end of 7's Story, Kazuya succeeds.
  • Set Swords to "Stun": Anyone carrying a weapon won't be able to do any more damage than those who don't.
  • Shared Signature Move
    • The Mishima family all share similar, iconic techniques with each other, including "Flash Punch Combo", "Wind God Fist", and "Dragon Uppercut". Kazuya and his father Heihachi in particular were Moveset Clones in their debut before gradually differentiating across the series. Then Tekken 3 introduced Kazuya's son, Jin, who later distanced himself from the family and recreated his fighting style, but with some Variant Power Copying to retain functions of the first. Though his Superpowered Evil Side, Devil Jin, retains his original Mishima style.
    • While Jin has stopped using any of the Mishima family's moves, Devil Jin shares his "Devil Beam" with his father Kazuya. His unwillingness to use the Devil Gene's abilities contrasts Kazuya who milks the abilities for as much power possible.
    • Heihachi's pet bear, Kuma, can perform some of his master's techniques like the leaping "Hell Axle", "Stone Head" throw, and "Demon Uppercut". Panda retains these moves as Kuma's Moveset Clone.
    • Roger the kangaroo and his Moveset Clone Alex the velociraptor were both taught many of King and Armor King's signature moves by Armor King, including the Flying Cross-chop, the Frankensteiner, the Tombstone Piledriver, and the Giant Swing. Roger later taught his son, Roger Jr, these moves, though Roger Jr added a few variations to some of them.
  • Shock and Awe: Though it doesn't actually electrocute anyone, the Mishima characters (Lars included) all emit some kind of electricity when they make a hard hit. As of Tekken 6 there are hints that this actually factors into their heritage (based on Kazuya's comments to Lars during the final stage of Scenario Campaign, as well as Jin recognizing Lars's familial connection), though the actual electricity may only be a visualization. Played straight, however, by Dr. Bosconovitch in Tag 2 (who can generate enough static electricity from just rubbing his hands together!), as well as his earlier appearance in 3 (where doing Yoshimitsu's sword stab will have the doctor using some sort of taser to shock the opponent endlessly until they either die or he decides to hit them out of it). Kazumi Mishima in 7 seems to monkey wrench this theory as she also produces electricity when she hits, despite not being of Mishima blood note .
    • 8 all but officially codifies this as a natural trait of the Mishimas — even including Lars as a son of Heihachi.
  • Shout-Out: Enough for its own page.
  • Shown Their Work:
    • All of the martial arts displayed are impressively well-researched.
    • Come on, a luchadore who spends all his money on a Mexican orphanage and—holy shit.
  • Sidelined Protagonist Crossover: Akuma, Geese Howard, and Negan became Guest Fighters in Tekken 7. All of them are antagonists in the works they appear in. For the latter, his characterization is taken from before he starts mellowing out in Season 9, which began just a couple of months after his inclusion's announcement in EVO 2018.
  • Situational Damage Attack: The various Jacks have a move called Gigaton Punch, where the Jack du jour will begin winding up his arm as the announcer starts counting, similar to the aforementioned Balrog. It's fairly weak if used immediately, but once fully charged (the announcer will exclaim "5!"), the attack deals monstrous damage and becomes unblockable. Good luck actually hitting someone with it by that point, though.
  • Slide Attack: Upon running 3 steps worth and inputting LK. Lee has a variant which he can pull off from a crouching position or his Mist Step. The Laws can do this as well. Shaheen in 7 also has a slide of his own.
  • SNK Boss: All of the bosses have some cheap trick up their sleeve. See here for more details. True Ogre, Devil, Jinpachi, and Azazel spam ranged attacks (most of which can't be blocked) and have insane combos — the latter two have insanely cheap stun moves that will stop any combo in its tracks or force you to stand even after you've just been knocked down. Unknown has an insane health bar and regenerates health to make up for her lack of cheap moves.
    • In Unknown's case, the health bar and regeneration was justifiable considering she battles alone and is a mimic fighter. In Tekken Tag Tournament 2, she has earned her SNK boss status with not just Jun's moves and the regenerating health, but also a stage full of purple slime that she can take advantage of with her moves! Not only that, but she has a move that drains your first character to 1 HP, automatically tagging in your partner!
    • Jun herself qualifies when she's the final boss. She might not resort to dirty tricks like other SNK bosses but the A.I. is on crack cocaine. She's very fast; blocks counters and juggles like crazy and by this stage would have your tactics down cold.
    • Two words: Shin. Akuma. The developers pulled out all the stops on him to make him as tough as he was in the past Street Fighter games, giving him anti-flinching armor, allowing him to charge his Super Gauge instantly, and included the ability to parry attacks. None of the other characters in the game can do that. Not to mention that his signature move, Shun Goku Satsu, has been upgraded to a One-Hit Kill move. Best of luck.
  • Solo-Character Run: Possible to do in TTT2. As a trade-off, the solo character has 240 health (as opposed to the normal 180 value), recovers red health automatically (instead of needing to be on standby), and receives a modified version of Rage from 6 (whereas duos get Netsu Power).
  • Soundtrack Dissonance:
    • The first game used the same cheery tune for all its endings, including Kazuya's where he tosses his father down a cliff.
    • Almost a given with the presence of Tekken Tunes in Tag Tournament 2, which allows players to replace the game's BGMs with music from their console hard drives. Matt and Pat were two of the most notable offenders, deciding to use the soundtrack from Ocarina of Time.
    • In a similar fashion, the Jukebox in the PS4 version of 7 allows players to replace the game's themes with almost every theme from the entire series up to that point. It's very possible to use a silly music like "High School Love!" from the Wii U version of Tag 2 on a serious stage like Brimstone and Fire, or use the slow and creepy "Nothingness" from 4 on the light-hearted Kinder Gym.
  • Sphere of Destruction:
    • Occasionally accompanies Kazuya and/or Jin's transformations into their Devil Forms, although this is only present in select cutscenes. On one of those occasions for Jin (his Tag 2 ending), it's a very poignant Angst Nuke.
    • Angel's ending in Tag 2 has her countering Devil's laser beam with this.
    • Eliza's Rage Art engulfs her opponent in this before she slashes through them with her hand.
  • Spinning Out of Here: Yoshimitsu possesses a special in his Indian mediation stance allowing him to spin so fast (while sitting down) that he instantly warps on the other side of his opponent. From a standing position, he can also do this, but however, it also damages him in the process.
  • Status Quo Is God: Averted in some aspects, played straight in others. As of the sixth game, the storyline has spanned 23 years and it shows: technology evolves, characters age and some are outright Killed Off for Real. However, some older character plots (not to mention physical appearances) seem to be stuck in perpetual limbo, perhaps because they've been around for a long while and nobody has any idea what to do with them (Paul wants to win the tournament, Law's short on money, Hwoarang has a rivalry with Jin, Xiaoyu has a crush on Jin, Nina & Anna have issues...)
  • The Stinger:
    • At the end of Scenario Campaign, Jin charges toward Azazel as the both of them fall into the ruins of the latter's chamber. After the credits, Raven and his team return to the ruins to find Jin, alone and unconscious. On seeing this, Raven cryptically comments, "Why can't I be wrong just once?"
    • The first scene of Tekken Tag Tournament 2's console opening movie features Jinpachi taking a cab. The terrified driver inquires where Jinpachi wants to go, to which he responds, "Can't you tell where? I must unleash this awesome power!" After finishing Arcade mode once, an additional movie is unlocked where Jinpachi arrives... at a red-light district.
    • The ending of 7's story has Kazuya supposedly killing Heihachi. However, Jin has successfully left his coma, appears to have his Devil in control now, and joins Lars, Alisa and Lee in stopping Kazuya, setting the stage for the next game.
  • Strapped to a Bomb:
    • In Tekken 5, Heihachi's ending has Jin, Kazuya and Jinpachi strapped to a rocket as it launches.
    • Lee's ending in 5 has Heihachi with a bomb collar around his neck. His ending in 6 has Heihachi, Kazuya and Jin strapped to rockets, while he plays exploding golf.
  • Suddenly Voiced: Julia's ending in 3. Particularly since it's the only ending in the game with spoken dialogue.
  • Superpowered Evil Side: The Devil Gene, which transforms its inheritors to demonic forms. Kazumi, Kazuya, and Jin all possess this, but only Kazumi (being the case zero) has full control over it. There are unnamed other demonic powers as well, such as the evil spirit who possesses Jinpachi and the wolf spirit who possesses Jun, turning her into Unknown.
  • Take That!:
    • Bob is a Take That! at tournament players who called Hwoarang "Bob" because they couldn't pronounce his name.
    • The final Combot missions are against Ryu, Ken and Akuma, who bloat up beyond Bob's dimensions and become worthless as you deal damage until they explode into chickens. Take That! indeed. Violet also carelessly dismisses them as no-name celebrities.note 
  • Tag Team: One of the two main selling points of the aptly-named Tag Tournament titles. Certain characters even gain access to unique tag throws and hidden moves/stances from pairing up with specific fighters, and Tag 2 ups the ante by having specific teams benefit from additional tag-out openings normally not available to the player (signified by blue sparks appearing during certain moves), allowing for more combo possibilities and even hidden Tag Combos.
  • Tiger vs. Dragon: An interesting use of it. In Tekken 5, there is a stage called "Dragon's Nest", which takes place in a mountainous shrine amid several dragon statues. In Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, this stage was changed to "Western Gate" and all the statues were replaced with tiger statues, signifying the contrast (the sky was also made kind of gloomy as opposed to the bright midday of Dragon's Nest).
  • Time Skip: Nineteen years between Tekken 2 and Tekken 3, two years between Tekken 3 and Tekken 4, and six months between Tekken 7 and Tekken 8.
  • Training Stage:
    • Strategic Space from Tekken Tag Tournament 2. The design is futuristic and sterile and the floor has a grid pattern to help players measure hitboxes. Also, it features all three variations of the stage break: it has a wall break, a floor break, and a balcony break. The stage is used for the Training Mode in Tekken 3D: Prime Edition, where it is unable to be used elsewhere.
    • 7 has Geometric Space, which is basically Strategic Space minus the stage breaks.
  • Translation Convention:
    • Tekken 6 has some characters speaking in different languages (Bear!) and perfectly understanding each other. Thank Namco there are subtitles.
    • Briefly subverted in Tekken 4, where Jin speaks heavily-accented, broken English to an unaccented English-speaking Hwoarang in an ending cutscene.
    • In Tekken Tag 2, now almost every single character is speaking their native language, not just a variant of English, Japanese and Chinese from the previous games. Particularly, Lili, Leo, Miguel, Eddy and Christie used to be English speakers before Tag 2 had them speaking their native French, German, Spanish, and Portuguese, respectively.

    U to X 
  • The Unintelligible: The animal characters and Mokujin, naturally. The Jacks, Ogre, King and Armor King; bit out there, but not that bizarre in light of most other weirdness in the series. As of 6, Yoshimitsu also counts; some of his lines are still actually intelligible to some extent, but in his case, unlike the other aforementioned characters, the game just doesn't bother with subtitles.
  • Unknown Rival:
    • Paul considers himself Kazuya's biggest rival, though he's largely ignored. After Tekken 2, Paul's pretty much stopped caring about Kazuya and moved onto Kuma, who genuinely dislikes him.
    • Lili and Asuka is another example. In the 6th game, Lili is determined to defeat Asuka, but the latter couldn't really care less... until Lili pisses her out using a Zany Scheme. Tag 2 takes this up to eleven, and Sebastian elaborates that getting Asuka to fight her is actually her way of showing affection!
    • Jin's actually aware that Hwoarang wants a piece of him (in fact, he even remembers why) but he simply can't be bogged down with matters like this. It's an unusual case of It's Not You, It's My Enemies that applies to a rival rather than a loved one.
  • Updated Re-release: Each game since 5 has gotten an arcade revision at least once.
    • Tekken 5 received two revisions in the arcades. The first, called Tekken 5.1, was a balance patch that only changed certain elements to rebalance the game. Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection is the full upgrade that included new stages, new moves for the existing cast, and three new characters. Eddy was also separated from Christie for the first time in this version. This is the only arcade revision that was also released as a separate revision on consoles (the original Tekken 5 only launched on PlayStation 2 while Dark Resurrection was ported to PSP and PlayStation 3).
    • Tekken 6 received one revision called Bloodline Rebellion that added two characters to the roster and some new stages (and includes new attacks for the existing cast). It also changed the properties of low parries to convert to a Bound state. The console version is derived fully from Bloodline Rebellion with no release of the original Tekken 6 appearing on a home console.
    • Tekken Tag Tournament 2 received an update titled Unlimited which, chiefly, added the ability to play as a single character as opposed to a tag team. No new characters were added to the arcade version of Unlimited. However, when Unlimited was ported to the consoles, it rectified this by adding five new characters at launch, followed by ten more through DLC.
    • Tekken 7's revision is entitled Fated Retribution. The update added two new stages, a new lighting model, the new "Rage Drive" mechanic (a alternate Rage Mode technique to Rage Arts; see Desperation Attack for more details), revision to characters' movesets, and two new characters (including a Guest Fighter). Further updates added two more characters. The console version was based on Fated Retribution and introduced twelve characters (including three Guest Fighters), seven of whom had been ported to the arcades. The remaining content not included in that update is included in the arcade update entitled Fated Retribution - Round 2 which will bring parity to the console's second season pass in terms of content. This includes a new feature introduced in the second season called "Wall Bounce" where certain moves will slam an opponent into a wall and then repel them back towards the attacker. This is the only time in the series a new gameplay mechanic has been introduced outside of a "major" revision as well as the first time an arcade update has been based on a console update.
  • Upgrade vs. Prototype Fight: JACK (and later JACK-2) against Prototype JACK. It's even in the name.
  • Urban Fantasy: Set in the modern day (the 1990s for the first two games, the 2010s for the rest), the series is mostly realistic with the occasional supernatural elements like the Devil Gene and Ogre. As noted in Doing In the Wizard, Tekken 4 tries to ground the fantastical elements by retconning the Devil Gene into a genetic mutation, which makes it the only game whose genre is Sci-Fi, instead of Fantasy.
  • Use Your Head:
    • The Mishimas are not above headbutting you during a fight. Heck, all the Mishimas and the animals will headbutt you when given the chance. In Tag 2, pairing two Mishimas together allows you to switch characters by having one headbutt the opponent right towards your partner who enters with a headbutt of their own. There's also an Easter Egg where a Mishima character facing a male opponent can potentially keep trading headbutts until one of them gets knocked out.
    • Alisa takes this to the extreme. A good chunk of her combat moves involve detaching her head and using it as an instrument of blunt force or a bomb.
    • Also the running charge.
  • Variable Mix:
    • 3 has three different variations of each stage theme that would play at the start of each round, signified by a starting backing drum beat in the second round, before transitioning to a new melody entirely in the final round. Don't blame yourself if you never knew about this, this feature was lost in the PlayStation version due to the limitations of the console.
    • Present in 4; for most stages, the BGM would play normally until a KO is scored, which would then cause the song to jump ahead to a bridge which would then lead into a later section of the composition.
    • In 7, when one player is on match point, the music will change to a more intense version of the theme (or sometimes a completely different theme) until the end of the match.
  • Version-Exclusive Content:
    • Tekken 3's home port added the characters of Dr. Boskonovitch and Gon.
    • The PlayStation 2 version of Tekken 4 adds the Hon-Maru stage.
    • The Wii U port of Tag 2 gives the majority of characters a Nintendo-themed alternate costume to wear, as well as bringing back Tekken Ball mode and adding in special power-ups to change your size during matches.
  • Villain Protagonist: Kazuya is the series' original example and still holds the mantle to some extent, though the extent of his villainy wasn't known until Tekken 2, where he serves as the final boss. Ironically, that game places Heihachi, the previous game's villain, into the protagonist role as he enters the tournament to retake his company. The series has since pinballed back and forth between the perspectives of each of the Mishima family members, with all of them becoming more hateful and corrupted in each passing instalment. By 6, even Jin has succumbed to the dark side, forcing a new Hero Protagonist by the name of Lars Alexandersson, Heihachi's bastard son, into his former role. Kazuya predicts that Lars may fall into the same cycle of conflict as the other Mishimas.
  • Villain with Good Publicity: Heihachi. Kazuya becomes this in 6, hailed as a "savior" by the people from the now-tyrannical Zaibatsu under Jin.
  • Visual Pun: The Mishima bloodline's tendency towards Anime Hair can be interpreted as the result of the Static Electricity generated by their unique ki effects.
  • The Voiceless: King and Armor King. Because all their "dialogue" is just unintelligible growls (which, strangely enough, is not unintelligible to the other characters — just to the players). Dragunov, who just doesn't talk at all — although Word of God and the Scenario Campaign of Tekken 6 confirm that he is capable of speech, he just doesn't like to do it very often. Jack is never heard to speak, but the aforementioned Scenario Campaign reveals that he can speak, albeit in Third-Person Person Hulk Speak. Kuma, Panda, Roger and Alex also can't talk properly, but they are animals...
  • Walking Shirtless Scene: Many male characters have at least one default costume that completely bares their upper parts. Marshall, King, Ganryu, Bruce, Bryan, Marduk, and Feng consistently follow this trope, but there are other periodical examples as well. From 6 onward, all male characters except for Wang, Bob, and Tiger can be customized to fight shirtless.
  • Waterlogged Warzone: Mystical Forest and Tunnel Disaster stages- the former is a small waterlogged basin in the middle of a forest, while the latter is a burning, exploding motorway tunnel with water flooding the floor.
  • We Can Rebuild Him: Bryan — twice. And Kazuya, who is brought back by the G Corporation after being thrown into a volcano by Heihachi.
  • "Well Done, Son" Guy:
    • Lee is desperate for his adoptive father Heihachi's respect; he's never come anywhere near getting it. By the time of 4, though, he's decided to settle for humiliating him.
    • The same with Jin and Kazuya towards Heihachi. Heihachi himself towards Jinpachi? He never asked a "Well Done" treatment from him. He preferred a more... direct... way of getting glory. By displacing and imprisoning Jinpachi. Essentially, Heihachi has no intention of doing anything that looks like relinquishing power to anyone, even a son or grandson. "Well Done, Son" Guy is not going to work on someone who doesn't believe in reciprocal respect in the first place, only power.
  • Wham Line:
    • From the opening cinematic of 5: "Heihachi Mishima... is dead," delivered by Raven. Except not really, as Heihachi turns up alive and well within the span of the same game.
    • From 6's Scenario Campaign: "Alisa, disable safe mode. And then reboot." We all knew it was coming, but still pretty cool.
  • Wham Shot: For 7: Fated Retribution: Remember how Kazumi met with someone in the VERY FIRST trailer, a sequence revisited several times afterwards? Street Fighter's Akuma is that figure, and he had been making a promise to Kazumi to kill Heihachi and Kazuya all those years ago.
  • What Happened to the Mouse?: Angel, Kunimitsu, Tiger, Alex, and Combot. That is, until Tag Tournament 2, where Angel, Kunimitsu and Alex reappear (the former two as DLC characters), and Combot, both as an opponent in the Fight Lab and an unlockable fighter. Plus, Eddy can be customized to look like Tiger in Tekken 5 and 6, and Tiger himself also appears as a separate character in TTT2.
  • Why Don't You Just Shoot Him?: In Raven's ending in Tekken 6, Dragunov does, but misses. In Dragunov's ending, he takes a different approach.
  • Why Won't You Die?: Heihachi and Kazuya supposedly "died" several times during the games' events, often with one killing the other. In the case of Kazuya, he was found by some science team members and resurrected.
  • World of Buxom: Most girls have quite a respectable bust in Tekken Tag Tournament 2. Subverted with other females, however, like Xiaoyu, Jun, and Leo (although she does have her own bikini outfit). 7 introduces Katarina and Master Raven.
  • World War III: According to Tekken 6, Jin has begun using the Mishima Zaibatsu for world conquest to declare war across the globe until the world itself deems him a threat that must be dealt with. Although it's not conquest he's after, but trying to plunge the world into enough strife and horror that Azazel will gain material form — and thus be killable.
  • Wrestler in All of Us:
    • The game features two fighters, King and Armor King, who are wrestlers. But that doesn't explain Heihachi Mishima (a karate master) busting out powerbombs, or kickboxer Bryan Fury's DDT, or even (Kenpo and Xing Yi practitioners) Michelle and Julia Chang's range of suplexes... The reason? Wrestling moves are cool!
    • In Julia's Twisted Sister throw, especially cool. Even Jun has a couple of wrestling moves, though to be fair, they are common, and lest we forget Goldber—sorry, Craig Marduk.
    • Christie and Eddie can do a float-over DDT while Michelle and Julia can do tiger suplexes.
    • Julia appears in Tekken Tag 2 as "Jaycee" and gets a luchador outfit by default. Guess she really did wrestle on the side. Her ending reveals she's filling in for a friend, which at least implies that she has connections in the ring (aside from King).
    • And in Michelle's ending, she finds Jaycee's mask and fools around in it. Julia sees her and Michelle is embarrassed, but Julia thinks she looks great in it and suggests they form a tag team. Must run in the family.
  • Wrestler of Beasts:
    • Kuma is a bear who was trained in martial arts by Heihachi Mishima, who adopted him as a pet and later made him his bodyguard. Kuma was defeated in the first King of Iron Fist Tournament by Paul Phoenix. His son Kuma II became a rival for Paul.
    • This applies in gameplay for player characters who fight any of the animal characters in the game (Kuma, Panda, Roger, Alex and Gon).
  • Xanatos Gambit: Jin let Alisa be captured by the rebels, as she had cameras set up inside her to record their every move. Being able to activate her "Kill them all" programming at any moment was another plus, too.

GREAT!!

Alternative Title(s): Tekken Tag Tournament 2, Tekken 2, Tekken 1, Tekken Tag Tournament

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Peeping Tom Ganryu

Ganryu peeps on Julia as she's showering and gets arrested

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