At today’s Tekken 7 EVO Japan 2023 Finals, Bandai Namco Entertainment unleashed two new Tekken 8 gameplay videos, and this one features Leroy Smith and Asuka Kazama!
Check out the two fighters’ official gameplay trailers alongside some background reading on both.
Debuting at Tekken 7, Leroy Smith was introduced in the game’s third Season Pass.
Biography (via Tekken fandom):
Leroy grew up in New York until, as a young boy, his lost his entire family to gang violence. An all out gang war in which even police and politicians were on gang payrolls escalated and turned the streets into a warzone. Leroy’s family were killed in the crossfire and Leroy himself was badly injured. This was likely the moment when Leroy sustained a lasting injury in his right eye, which appears to be blind, and may also be why he now uses a cane. During the violence, an injured Leroy fell into a river and was swept out to sea. Fortunately, Leroy was picked up by a passing trade ship, who took him in. He worked as a trader, travelling all over the world, until one day he witnessed Wing Chun in Hong Kong, and decided to stay and learn the martial art.
Asuka Kazama was introduced in Tekken 5 and has been in every major Tekken game since. She is the cousin of Jin Kazama and the niece of Jun Kazama.
Biography (via Tekken fandom):
Asuka is a member of the Kazama family and a pracitioner of Kazama Style Traditional Martial Arts. She was trained in her family’s traditional martial arts style from a young age, and always possessed a strong sense of justice. She became well known around Osaka for breaking up fights in the neighborhood.
Remember when Leroy was overpowered in Tekken 7? Yeah, let’s hope that doesn’t happen again. If you want to check the rest of the official gameplay videos released for Tekken 8, head on over here. There’s also a huge 30-minute video of Harada explaining some of the new gameplay mechanics in the game that’s well worth a watch.
The game will launch for PC, PS5, and Xbox Series X|S though there’s no release window given just yet.