The Devils Come Down to Smash Bros.

Super Smash Bros. creator Masahiro Sakurai confirmed that Kazuya Mishima from Bandai Namco’s Tekken series would be the newest character coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate during the E3 2021 Nintendo Direct presentation. It came as a surprise to many Smash Bros. and Tekken players, though this shouldn’t have been. Bandai Namco is also the developer of SSBU, and Sakurai was likely to give them a little favor for at least one character for the second Fighter’s Pass. Sakurai himself hasn’t been silent about being a fighting game fan, given the presence of Ryu and Ken from the Street Fighter series and Terry Bogard from Fatal Fury/The King of Fighters in SSBU. The roster could have used one more, and Kazuya will fit right in.

It never stops being remarkable to see how characters from other franchises have been faithfully implemented into Smash Bros., and Kazuya is no different despite being from a 3D fighter. He has, to be fair, starred in fighting games on 2D planes like Street Fighter x Tekken, sure, but even that game isn’t as different from Tekken as Smash is. The team did all they could, implementing his spin kicks, a variety of his punches, and even his 10-hit combo.

He also retains the Electric Wind God Fist (EWGF), including the EWGF combo that allows for extremely good players to perform two simultaneously with quick dragon punch motions, though the combo possibilities are different here. Still, those fingers and hands will get a workout with the semi-complicated commands required, though SSBU might be slightly more lenient with the inputs and timing.

It’s just a shame they couldn’t include a crotch-grabbing animation for when Kazuya lands a Demon God Fist on a standing opponent. But Smash Bros. is too innocent for that. I understand the reasons.

Sakurai mentioned that a key reason Kazuya was chosen was due to him having the Devil gene, and a reason why Heihachi Mishima wasn’t chosen. That’s also likely because Heihachi was already a representative from Tekken in several other crossovers, including Soulcalibur II and especially Sony Smash Bros. game attempt PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. It could have something to do with the character losing two voice actors new, while a new one hasn’t been chosen since Unshou Ishizuka died nearly three years ago. But I choose to believe that PSABR is the reason because it’s the funniest.

I’ve already in awe over how good normal Kazuya’s implementation is in this game, and the same applies to Devil Kazuya. He retains the multidirectional Devil Blaster, the Devil Fist, and the Heaven’s Door slam to the ground. His Final Smash is a much prettier and more powerful version of the Devil Blaster, capable of hitting every opponent on a stage multiple times if they’re in range.

I’m also a big fan of the little touches given to both of Kazuya’s forms, like how he hops instead of jumping like other characters, to more faithfully implement him from his Tekken iteration. He’ll also turn to face the opponent whenever he or they land behind him, like Ryu, Ken, and Terry. That’s just the fighting game character thing expected from Smash now.

Kazuya will be playable in SSBU tomorrow, likely after a lengthy update. He’ll come with the Mishima Dojo that belongs to Heihachi, one more grounded than other Smash Bros. franchise stages thanks to not containing any floating platforms. This means players will have to switch up their usual strategies while fighting on it, but they should adjust to it well.

Kazuya will also come with a whopping 39 — 39 — tracks from the Tekken series, several of which were previewed during the reveal and Mr. Sakurai Presents videos. “Kazuya Mishima, Devil Kazuya” from Tekken 2, “Dist Thins Out” and “Karma” from Tekken 6, “Landscape Under the Ghost-Kaminano” from Tekken Tag Tournament 2, and “Dojo (Japanese-style Mix),” “Moonsiders 1st,” “Desperate Struggle,” and “Aloneness” from Tekken 7 will all have new remixes. This makes the most sense for the Tekken 7 tracks thanks to the original versions containing two phases designed to be played over best three-out-of-five matches. Still, that’s a LOT of tracks for a game with an already-ginormous soundtrack.

New Mii Fighters are also coming instead of characters vocal fans wanted, including for Shantae from the titular series, Lloyd Irving from Tales of Symphonia, Dragonborn from The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, and — oh no — Dante from the Devil May Cry™ series. DMC fans are not taking this well, the poor bastards. The Amiibo for Min-Min is also coming in 2022, and similar figures for other characters should come afterward. Maybe Kazuya will get both normal and Devil figures in a package that will be harder to find than it should be.

Sakurai confirmed for what must be the 50th time that the next character will be the final roster addition for SSBU, which means speculation will be insufferable between now and the reveal. Know that whomever or whatever it will be, mountains of salt from multiple fanbases will come with them. I’m personally hoping they go for a reveal on par with Steve from Minecraft for a Full Violence choice; the main guy from Fortnite would qualify here. We’ll see who it will be soon enough, but the internet will never be ready for them.