Tekken 8’s final character is an “enigmatic” Mishima Polytechnical School student

Bandai Namco has rounded off Tekken 8’s launch roster with the introduction of its third brand-new character: Reina, the Purple Lightning.

Reina is the 32nd and final fighter to join the upcoming release’s roster, but, as is always the case, last is certainly not the least. Her character promises lightning fast moves, and a mysterious interest in Jin. Why does she want to fight him so badly? We will have to wait to find out.

You can watch Reina’s Tekken 8 introduction trailer below.

“Reina was a character conceived during Tekken 7’s story development a decade ago,” Tekken 8’s director Kohei Ikeda said in a PlayStation blog.

“She plays a vital role in Tekken 8’s story, The Dark Awakens. Despite her fashionable and charming appearance, she exudes a charismatic sense of evil, reflecting her character’s duality in both personality and fighting style.”

Reina will use “swift and brutal techniques such as knife-hand strikes, eye pokes, and scratching” in Tekken 8, which Ikeda said “reflect her character”.

The director explained Reina will use a special move known as ‘Sentai’ which will allow her to “close the distance quickly and launch rushes” on her opponents. She also has ‘Unsoku’ which allows her to “deliver powerful attacks with agile footwork, demonstrating a speedy and aggressive combat approach”.

And that’s not all. As well as this nimble and seemingly devastating acrobatic-like skill, Reina also has techniques such as Wind God Fist and Spinning Demon up her sleeve. She even “exhibits a power fighter aspect, delivering powerful moves from the Heaven’s Wrath stance once used by Heihachi” who is now dead.

“Her offensive capabilities near walls, in particular, are among the most potent of all characters,” Ikeda said.

Her fighting style is inspired by Taido, which is “known for its graceful and speedy movements, with sharp and agile attacks”. The director said the Tekken 8 team enlisted the help of “renowned expert”, Mr. Tetsuji Nakano to help “bring out the distinctive features and personality in Reina’s movements even more” so she certainly sounds like she will keep others on their toes.

See, I told you Reina was last but definitely not the least!

Reina joins the previously announced Victor Chevalier from France and others to round off Tekken 8’s roster, which you can see in full below.

Tekken 8 is set to launch next year, on 26th January, across PC, PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.