Tekken 8 might not be launching till January, however Bandai Namco introduced the thirty second and last combatant of the sport’s roster in the present day. Women and gents, enter the acrobatic Taido specialist, Reina.

Tekken 8 Director Kohei Ikeda took to the PlayStation Weblog to element how the character went from conception to actuality. Bandai Namco additionally dropped a brand new Tekken 8 trailer in the present day showcasing the mysterious fighter’s ability set.

The trailer opens with Reina sitting on a throne of types earlier than the nickname “Purple Lighting” is emblazoned throughout the display screen. You shortly see why the moniker is becoming.

We see flashy snippets of bouts versus Feng, Hwoarang, Jun, Xiaoyu, Leroy, and Lars. All of whom are simply dispatched with a flurry of flips and kicks. Sequence lead Jin Kazama then steps in to indicate the most recent entrant some manners.

Heihachi’s protégé

As this can be a Reina trailer, that doesn’t precisely work out for Jin. Nevertheless it’s right here that we get a tease as to what Reina’s place is in Tekken 8‘s story. Jin asks “Who’re you…?” To which Reina playfully replies “Jin senapai. We lastly have our probability to battle!” As the 2 characters start to battle, Reina simply disposes of Jin with a formidable set of assaults and combos.

Whereas Reina’s heritage is a purposeful thriller at this level, it’s price throwing on the market that Purple Lightning could also be a telling nickname. Using lightning is a little bit of a calling card for members of the Mishima household of fighters. And when Kazuya enters the trailer after Jin, there’s an apparent distaste for one of many overarching villains of the Tekken collection. The duo even leads with what seems to be opposing lightning assaults as their bout begins. And there might even be a tease of the brand new character possessing the Satan Gene that plagues a number of the collection’ most necessary combatants.

In Kohei Ikeda’s weblog submit, he signifies that Reina “performs a significant function in Tekken 8’s story”. Ikeda additionally teases that the character “exudes a charismatic sense of evil, reflecting her character’s duality in each character and preventing fashion.” So it should stay unclear till the sport launches which aspect of this household feud the character falls in keeping with (if any), however the implication positively leans in direction of Reina being a possible lacking inheritor of Heihachi Mishima.

With the current reveal of the French fighter Victor Chevalier, and now Reina, we’re at 32 confirmed characters. For those who’re all for a breakdown of every, take a look at our full listing of all of the Tekken 8 fighters revealed to this point. The newest entry within the historic preventing collection launches on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Sequence X|S on January 26.