Virtua Fighter and Tekken have mutual respect for each other in the fighting game genre. As the first two 3D fighting games with VF coming first and Tekken coming second, both of these games have made a landmark in their own way. In 2001, Virtua Fighter and Tekken were promoted side by side with their upcoming releases of Virtua Fighter 4 and Tekken 4 respectively. 

In 2019, Katsuhiro Harada, the Executive Producer of the Tekken series, revealed on Twitter that during the SEGA Dreamcast’s lifecycle in 2000 that if he were to release a Tekken game to the console according to Bandai Namco’s former chairman, SEGA would offer a Virtua Fighter character for free. In most recent events, SEGA and Bandai Namco collaborated with each other with the Tekken 7 Collab DLC for Virtua Fighter 5 Ultimate Showdown, which includes the Tekken 7 Costumes for the cast, plus Tekken 7 music and the Tekken 7 UI based on Season 4. This was a dream come true that no one saw coming.

With Tekken 8 coming out next month (expect the annual Fighting Game & DLC blog before the release), it would be perfect if SEGA returned the favor by allowing a Virtua Fighter character to join the roster as potential DLC. There’s a total of 20 characters in the VF series (23 if you count the unused characters), and only a select few can make it. Here are the following VF characters that would be a perfect addition to Tekken 8.

Akira Yuki

Akira has always been the face of Virtua Fighter since 1993 when the game first came out. Whenever he joins another game outside of his own such as Dead or Alive, Project X Zone, Dengeki Bunko Fighting Climax, or even Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, he is always the number one guy to do it.

Akira’s complex moveset can be a challenge for the Tekken community, but it will have a satisfying result for the player once they master his technique. I would imagine how Tekken players would pull off his One-Frame Knee with that button layout.

Pai Chan

The First Lady of Virtua Fighter who also gets represented alongside Akira, Pai Chan is also a solid choice for Tekken 8. Pai relies on a lot of reversals and nasty setups that can overwhelm her opponents with ease. 

Wolf Hawkfield

We don’t often get grapplers as a guest character, but Wolf Hawkfield would be a perfect choice for Tekken 8. Wolf may have limited strings, but he does make up for his powerful throws and his Deadly Move stance would be perfect to use for armored attacks. I’d like to see how he would interact with King II in the game.

Jacky Bryant

Pretty much one of the most popular characters in Virtua Fighter, Jacky is a fan-favorite pick for a possible addition into Tekken 8. Although he shares the same fighting style as Marshall Law since both of them use Jeet Kune Do, Jacky uses a more authentic style of the form that can be different from Law’s. His quick, flashy style would be perfect in Tekken 8 and he would have good interactions with Law as a result.

I was going to add Sarah as well, but declined because it was going to be the same thing as DOA and other games. Akira, Pai, Sarah, and Jacky are the main protagonists of the Virtua Fighter anime and it showed a lot in other collab games they appeared in.

Goh Hinogami

When it comes to Virtua Fighter, we often see the original eight characters get represented but never the newer characters like Shun, Lion, and many others. Goh Hinogami in Tekken 8 would be an interesting choice and I’m not saying this because he’s my main character to use in VF5US. I’m saying this because of the possibilities of what he can do in Tekken 8 since he feels closer to a Tekken character, design-wise. His gameplay may contain slow but powerful strikes as well as a special frame-tight throw sabaki, but his sadistic nature would give Bryan Fury a run for his money.

There are other characters I want to add in as well such as Aoi, Vanessa, and even Jean for that matter, but these are my five characters that I would love to see in Tekken 8 in future DLC. And yes, I agree with Harada when I say: WHERE IS VIRTUA FIGHTER 6?! But that’s for another blog.

VF Month is still going strong. Join us back next week as I talk about my tournament experience with Virtua Fighter. And this one is gonna be a good read.

Until Then… Train Up, Fighters!

LOOK WHO CAME:

Virtua Kazama