It turns out that killing a Tekken character is difficult, particularly when gravity is involved. Even though Katsuhiro Harada, the creator of the Tekken series, tried his hardest to persuade us that Heihachi Mishima was truly, truly dead this time, surprise! The third DLC character for Tekken 8 is none other than the King of Iron Fist.
Unforgotten Echoes, the upcoming free story extension for Tekken 8, aims to explain the why and how of Heihachi’s reappearance. I had the opportunity to play the full two-hour DLC campaign during a preview event. My overall opinion? It is more excellent (albeit very silly) ass Tekken tale content if you can simply let it ride you without thinking.
While Unforgotten Echoes is an eight-chapter account of how and why Heihachi escaped being hurled into a pool of lava at the end of Tekken 7, it begins by bringing you up with what Eddy, Yoshimitsu, and Lidia were all doing during Tekken 8’s campaign. Along with Yoshimitsu, Eddy now works for Lidia as a member of a resistance group opposing G-Corp. To be completely honest, this entire DLC mostly feels like window decoration. I apologize to Yoshimitsu fans who were frustrated by his lack of screen time in the main Tekken 8 story; he still does not have much of a chance to shine in this DLC.
Although there is not much plot significance to the early battles with Eddy, they do have some interesting moments, like when Eddy and Jin reunite for the first time since Tekken 6. They also do a great job of incorporating gameplay snippets from previous Tekken games as flashbacks, which is a cool touch.
Ultimately, Heihachi enters the picture when Eddy, Lidia, and Yoshimitsu find themselves entangled in the Tekken Monks’ lives. I will not give away Heihachi’s survival strategy or any details of his particular journey through the DLC, but I will say that it does a fantastic job of revealing a different side of him, and the way it connects to the main Tekken 8 plot made me smile broadly and even more excited to see what happens next in the illustrious series.
Regarding Heihachi, “strong” is the term that springs to mind when characterizing his playing style. This is not to indicate that I believe he will be among the finest characters in the game; rather, it just means that his moves have such an
In the end, Unforgotten Echoes was a fun way to pass two hours, and by bringing Heihachi back into the fold, it effectively sets up what will happen in the Tekken universe going forward. The fact that it is free is crucial, as it is a great method to assess if the DLC characters suit your playing style before spending real money on them. It remains to be seen if Bandai Namco chooses to replicate this for further DLC packs or if this was a unique one-off event in honor of Tekken’s 30th anniversary and Heihachi’s significance to the narrative.
Nevertheless, when Unforgotten Echoes is made available to owners of Deluxe and Ultimate Editions on October 1 and to all other users on October 4, you will be able to experience it all for yourself.
