Game News He’s the worst father in the history of video games. Learn about Heihachi’s Horrific Deeds for Tekken 8 Release

Game news He’s the worst father in the history of video games. Learn about Heihachi’s Horrific Deeds for Tekken 8 Release

That’s it, Tekken 8 has finally seen the light of day! So for the occasion, we invite you to look back at the history of this emblematic fighting game, through a single character: Heihachi. If you’ve ever played any of the franchise’s titles, you probably know the horrors that characterize this character. Present in a large part of the franchise’s titles, he is one of the most important fighters in the history of Tekken, which does not prevent him from committing atrocities. A fact unanimously recognized since he has been elected several times, notably by the English-speaking media Kotaku, as the worst father in the history of video games… Just that! When you don’t know the franchise or this fictional individual, this title may seem exaggerated. However, this is indeed the case according to many players who follow the history of Tekken and the characters linked to this franchise.

Who is Heihachi from Tekken?

Present since the very first Tekken (in 1994 on arcades), he is the central element of the game. Far from being a conventional father, he displays impressive musculature for his 75 years (from Tekken 4, 52 during the first game). His fighting style is karate, which he masters to perfection, in addition to being endowed with extraordinary abilities. Heihachi is a formidable fighter, who is also the head of the Mishima Zaibatsu. It is a mega-company created and established by Jinpachi Mishima, his own father. Unfortunately, for unknown reasons, the two men hate each other, indicating that Heihachi has always had a conflicting relationship with his family. So, to take over the family financial empire that belonged to his father, he locked him up to let him starve.

Subsequently, he will meet a woman named Kazumi with whom he will fall in love and experience moments of happiness with her. She ends up getting pregnant with a boy who they name Kazuya. Heihachi’s life is unfortunately marked by a tragic event: the loss of his wife when she gave birth to their child. He will subsequently have immense hatred towards his son, holding him responsible for the death of his wife. At least, that’s what players think until the reveal of the seventh opus. In reality, it was Heihachi who killed his wife when he discovered that she married him only to eliminate him and that she is possessed by “the devil” (she has demonic genes). To his great despair, he realizes that his son is also affected by this demonic gene. This begins the cycle of family hatred that Tekken players know very well.

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Why is Heihachi a horrible father?

While training his son in martial arts, he made the decision to throw her off a cliff. It’s hard to say he’s father of the year after such an act. Why did he act like this? Simply to test his strength and find out if he also possessed this demonic gene. As surprising as it may seem, the latter, at only 10 years old, survived his fall by giving his soul to a demon, proving Heihachi’s doubts.. Since then, and quite understandably, the two individuals have had a visceral hatred for each other. They are constantly trying to kill each other in most Tekken games. This rivalry is the very heart of the franchise and has hardly seen any improvement, quite the contrary.. Distrustful of his offspring, Heihachi even goes so far as to adopt another child of Chinese origin, Lee Chaolan to make him Kazuya’s rival.

At the end of the first game released in 1994 on arcade machines, Kazuya manages to beat his father and takes revenge by throwing him, in turn, from the top of a cliff. However, this fueled Heihachi’s resentment who, in the second opus, managed to take advantage of his son’s weakness to try to get rid of him permanently. The latter was in difficulty due to the duality of his soul (Angel and Devil) which clashed within him… His father therefore took the opportunity to cause chaos and throw him into a volcano. In the end, Heihachi swung at his son twice in an attempt to take him down, which hardly makes him a loving father.

This situation was unfortunately not fulfilling for Kazuya, who was filled with hatred and anger throughout his life. The latter has become a brutal being, devoid of empathy and who does not seem to appreciate anyone. Kazuya will subsequently have a son named Jin Kazama (appearing for the first time in Tekken 3), whom he will also try to kill to recover all of his demonic powers. In short, loving fathers in Tekken seem to be a rare commodity.

The good sides of Heihachi

Certainly, he is not a good family man, but Heihachi is not devoid of remarkable human qualities.. He shows a better side of himself with his pet bear named Kuma (“bear” in Japanese) whom he loves much more than his own son. He also likes the fighter Ling Xiaoyu and that’s why he decides to train the girl’s panda in martial arts to protect her. He appreciates him more than his own grandson Jin Kazama, proof of yet another rivalry within his family. He is also a laughing person who does not hesitate to make fun of his opponents. Although this is not particularly a quality, it demonstrates a certain lightness which contributes to being someone relatively appreciated by players.

In short, it’s difficult to be a worse father than Heihachi who deserves his title awarded several times. However, since the seventh installment and the discovery of his wife Kazumi’s motivations, many feel that he is more of an anti-hero than an antagonist as he was considered for many years. In any case, if you want to continue following the Greek tragedy-like events of this hate-filled family, Tekken 8 is already available!