History VideoGame / Tekken

[[redirect:Franchise/Tekken]]

!All spoilers of games released before 2010 are left unmarked.
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[[caption-width-right:350:''The'' BigScrewedUpFamily.]]

->''Welcome to the King of Iron Fist Tournament.\\
Get ready for the next battle!''

''Tekken'' (鉄拳, lit. "Iron Fist") is one of Creator/BandaiNamcoEntertainment's most popular franchises, and possibly the most successful 3D {{fighting game}} series of all time.

The game's plot starts with the Mishima Zaibatsu, a conglomerate of the Mishima family, run by Heihachi Mishima, sponsoring a tournament called ''King of [[TitleDrop Iron Fist]]''. The winner is promised a huge prize... if they can beat Heihachi, that is. As it turns out, the tournament winner is in fact his disgruntled son Kazuya Mishima. Having been thrown into a ravine when he was only five years old by Heihachi himself, Kazuya made a DealWithTheDevil, survived, and [[TrainingFromHell trained himself]] so he could [[CallingTheOldManOut exact revenge]]. Heihachi, too late to realize Kazuya's devilish power, was soundly beaten and was [[HoistByHisOwnPetard thrown by Kazuya into the same ravine where he was thrown by Heihachi]].

Eventually, Heihachi comes back and reclaims his place, killing Kazuya by throwing him into a volcano. The third game takes place after a TimeSkip and deals with Kazuya's son, Jin Kazama. The fourth deals with the [[BackFromTheDead return of Kazuya]], and later games continue to cover the struggle inside the Mishima family, with the Devil Gene complicating matters, and [[SerialEscalation even involving an]] EldritchAbomination. The seventh game, featuring the appearance of Heihachi's wife and Kazuya's mother, [[MissingMom Kazumi Mishima]], is said to conclude the Mishima saga, though not the ''Tekken'' series as a whole.

[[folder:Works]]
* ''Tekken'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStation) \\
Released in 1994 for the arcades and 1995 for PS. The console version has an embedded ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}'' in it. Total playable characters: 8 (arcades), 17 (PS).
* ''Tekken 2'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStation) \\
Released in 1995 for the arcades and 1996 for PS. Introduces Survival, Team Battle, and Time Attack modes, which would become staples in future games. Total playable characters: 25.
* ''Tekken 3'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStation) \\
Released in 1997 for the arcades and 1998 for PS. Gameplay is overhauled, with an emphasis in third axis fighting and more fluid movement; this is arguably the moment where [[GrowingTheBeard the series fully gains its voice]]. The console version features a guest character (Manga/{{Gon}}), something that would not be repeated again until ''Tekken 7''. Total playable characters: 21 (arcades), 23 (PS).
** ''Tekken Advance'' (UsefulNotes/GameBoyAdvance) \\
Released in 2001. It is a non-canonical 2D FightingGame developed by Creator/EightingRaizing, loosely based on ''Tekken 3''. Total playable characters : 10.
* ''Tekken Tag Tournament'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStation2) \\
Released in 1999 for the arcades and 2000 for [=PS2=]. A DreamMatchGame with TagTeam mechanics, each battle is 2 vs 2. The player is encouraged to perform tag team combination attacks as part of their repertoire. The game also introduces "Rage" (known as "Netsu" in-game), wherein the reserve character will gain a momentary stat increase if the main is sufficiently damaged as an incentive for them to tag; it will not be featured again until ''Tekken 6''. The console port is the first iteration of the series in a sixth generation console and [[SceneryPorn shows it]]; the graphics, lighting, details, and music are enhanced. Total playable characters: 38 (arcades), 39 ([=PS2=]).
** ''Tekken Tag Tournament HD'' (UsefulNotes/PlayStation3) \\
Released in 2011 as part of the ''Tekken Hybrid'' collection. It is a HD {{Remaster}} of the [=PS2=] port.
* ''VideoGame/Tekken4'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStation2) \\
Released in 2001 for the arcades and 2002 for [=PS2=]. Completely reworks the graphics and character designs; a line can be drawn between this game and ''Tekken Tag Tournament'', so all future installments owe their art direction to ''Tekken 4''. The game introduces the concept of wall splats due to the presence of walled arenas, which is retained in its successors, and FreeFloorFighting, which is not. Total playable characters: 23.
* ''VideoGame/Tekken5'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStation2) \\
Released in 2004. In response to criticisms directed at the previous game's slower gameplay, it is advertised as RevisitingTheRoots, featuring faster gameplay reminiscent of ''Tekken 3'' and a mechanic designed to make the game less of a juggle-fest (although it is still present). The console version has embedded versions of the first three arcade versions ''Tekken'', as well as ''VideoGame/StarBlade''. Total playable characters: 32.
** ''Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStation3)[[note]]Released as "''Tekken: Dark Resurrection''" on PSP.[[/note]] \\
Released in 2005 for the arcades and 2006 for the PSP and [=PS3=]. It is an UpdatedRerelease of ''Tekken 5'', with the focus mainly in rebalancing. It adds variations of stages from the original game, and changes the color palette (all characters have different default colors now). It is the first in the series to be released in a seventh generation console and the first to offer online play. Total playable characters: 35 (arcades and PSP), 36 ([=PS3=]).
* ''Death By Degrees'' (UsefulNotes/PlayStation2) \\
Released in 2005. It is an action game spinoff starring Nina Williams.
* ''Tekken 6'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}) \\
Released in 2007. (Re)introduces "Rage", this time activating when the character is in low health. Juggling opportunities are extended with the new "Bound" mechanic, in which a character can be staggered and launched into the air. Total playable characters: 39.
** ''Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStation3[=/=]UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStationPortable)[[note]]Released as "''Tekken 6''" on console.[[/note]] \\
Released in 2008 for the arcades and 2009 for [=PS3=], [=X360=], and PSP. It is an UpdatedRerelease of ''Tekken 6'', featuring rebalancing, new stages and characters. Total playable characters: 41.
* ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}) \\
Released in 2011. The second DreamMatchGame, it significantly expands on the TagTeam mechanic of the first game, this time in a next-gen engine that enables walled arenas and Bound. Total playable characters: 44.
** ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Prologue'' (UsefulNotes/PlayStation3) \\
Released in 2011 as part of the ''Tekken Hybrid'' collection. It is a trial version of sorts, featuring only four characters from the ''Tekken: Blood Vengeance'' movie.
** ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2: Unlimited'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStation3[=/=]UsefulNotes/{{Xbox 360}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/WiiU)[[note]]Released as "''Tekken Tag Tournament 2''" on console.[[/note]] \\
Released in 2012. It is an UpdatedRerelease of ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' that most notably adds the ability to play with a single character instead of a TagTeam. It is the first in the series to be released in an eighth-generation console. Total playable characters: 44 (arcades), 59 ([=PS3=], [=X360=], Wii U).
* ''Anime/TekkenBloodVengeance'' \\
Released in 2011. A CGI movie in the same canon as the games.
** ''Tekken Hybrid'' \\
Released in 2011. A Blu Ray release of ''Blood Vengeance'', packaged with ''Tag Tournament HD'' & ''Tag Tournament 2 Prologue'' for the UsefulNotes/PlayStation3.
* ''Tekken Revolution'' (UsefulNotes/{{PlayStation Network}}) \\
Released in 2013. It is a free-to-play game based on ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2''. Service has been terminated as of April 2017. Total playable characters: 29.
* ''[[VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken Tekken X Street Fighter]]'' \\
A {{crossover}} game with Creator/{{Capcom}}'s ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' series. Currently stuck in DevelopmentHell.
* ''VideoGame/Tekken7'' - (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}) \\
Released in 2015. Introduces Rage Art, which sacrifices Rage Mode for a DesperationAttack, and replaces Bound with Screw Attack, which can be abused less. Total playable characters: 27.
** ''Tekken 7: Fated Retribution'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStation4[=/=]UsefulNotes/XboxOne[=/=]PC)[[note]]Released as "''Tekken 7''" on console/PC.[[/note]] \\
Released in 2016 for the arcades and 2017 for [=PS4=], [=XOne=], and PC. It is an UpdatedRerelease of ''Tekken 7'', introducing Rage Drive and an adjusted Rage Art. Total playable characters: 46 (arcades), 49 ([=PS4=], [=XOne=], and PC).
** ''Tekken 7: Fated Retribution - Round 2'' (Arcade)\\
The back-porting of the content and changes not included in the previous ''Fated Retribution'' arcade update that brings it up to par with the console's second season pass (including the new Wall Bounce feature added in Season 2).
[[/folder]]

The games are one of the [[TropeCodifier Trope Codifiers]] for 3D Fighting Games, and is widely accepted as the most popular game in the genre. ''Tekken'' itself is ''very'' demanding to play, as the game makes judicious use of extremely precise hitboxes for all of its characters -- if someone punches for example, you can just duck under it entirely. Punches and kicks are uniquely mapped to the four face buttons, with each one corresponding to a limb. If you press a button that uses the right arms, then the character will almost certainly strike with that arm, for example. Characters also have massive movelists -- for example, main character Kazuya has over 60 moves by ''Tekken 7'', and that's not even getting into characters like Yoshimitsu or Hwoarang, who have stances with their ''own'' dedicated movelists. This complexity has earned it many fans around the globe, and the series has a reputation for being one of the most challenging, technical yet highly rewarding fighting games a person can play.

''Tekken'' has been extremely successful in arcades (and later in console ports), with characters' fighting styles influenced by real-life martial arts. The series contains seven games so far as well as a dream tag match game series called ''Tekken Tag Tournament''. It has also spawned 3 separate movies; [[Anime/TekkenTheMotionPicture one traditionally animated]], [[Film/{{Tekken}} one live-action]] and [[Anime/TekkenBloodVengeance a CG movie]]. Ports were exclusively to the [=PlayStation=] consoles until the 6th installment, which received an UsefulNotes/XBox360 port. The series has often been derided by the father of the ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' series, Tomonobu Itagaki; however, other fighting game developers (such as ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' co-creator Ed Boon) enjoy the series.

Lately, the series has been going from strength to strength; ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' was confirmed in late 2010 to much fanfare and approval, and is one of the most expansive and exciting entries of the series so far. Nintendo fans are finally seeing some ''Tekken'' love for the first time since ''Tekken Advance'' also, with ''Tekken 3D: Prime Edition'' for the UsefulNotes/Nintendo3DS. Lastly, but certainly not least, the series is finally going head-to-head with its old rival, in the form of ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'' and ''Tekken X Street Fighter'', 2 separate {{Crossover}} games developed by Creator/{{Capcom}} and Namco respectively. An updated version of ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'', ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2 Unlimited'', was released as a patch to arcade units in March 2012, and a home console version of ''Tag 2'' with the changes introduced by it was released in September for [=PlayStation 3=], Xbox 360 and Wii U. This is notably the first time a ''Tekken'' title has ever been available on a Nintendo home console. In June 2013, Namco released ''Tekken Revolution'', a free-to-play installment based on the ''Tag 2'' engine exclusively for the [=PlayStation 3=] via the [[UsefulNotes/PlayStationNetwork PlayStation Store]] featuring new gameplay mechanics such as [[PointBuildSystem customizable character stats]], [[CriticalHit Critical Arts]], and [[InvulnerableAttack Special Arts]]. Nintendo also got a SpiritualSuccessor of sorts to the series in the form of ''VideoGame/PokkenTournament'', a SpinOff of the ''Franchise/{{Pokemon}}'' franchise that plays similarly to a ''Tekken'' game with several twists, since ''Tekken'' project director Katsuhiro Harada himself is involved in its development.

Furthermore, a 3D CG movie based on the series (and developed by Namco itself) premiered in July 2011, called ''Anime/TekkenBloodVengeance'', a canonical movie expanding on the series lore of the Devil Gene. The movie saw a limited theatrical release, but saw most of its distribution via DVD and Blu-ray releases in 2011, as well as being bundled with ''Tekken Hybrid'' (a Blu-ray which also includes ''Tekken Tag Tournament HD'' and a demo of ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'') and ''Tekken 3D: Prime Edition''.

The series' [[LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters many, many]] characters can all be found [[Characters/{{Tekken}} here.]]

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!![[CatchPhrase Get Ready For The Series' Trope Examples]]:

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[[folder: # to E]]
* ZeroPercentApprovalRating: In ''Tekken Tag 2'', characters can enter Rage Mode faster or slower depending on how much they like their teammate. NO ONE likes Ogre, so many characters will enter Rage Mode only when Ogre is very close to death.
* AbusiveParents:
** Heihachi Mishima is perhaps the most well known example of this trope in fighting games. The main catalyst behind the events of the series is Heihachi throwing his son Kazuya off of a cliff as a child. Kazuya himself is an ArchnemesisDad to Jin, but never quite on the scale of his own father. Aside from [[AnimeHair preposterous hairstyles]], the Mishima family overall are known for [[BigScrewedUpFamily violent feuds with one another]].
** Baek Doosan's backstory in ''Tekken 2'' involved his father who was an abusive alcoholic due to an injury. It got so bad that Baek ended up accidentally killing the guy during a sparring session that degenerated into a fight.
** Richard Williams, the father of Nina and Anna Williams. He raised the two sisters as assassins and showed favoritism towards Nina because of her superior skill in the craft which resulted in Anna's jealousy of Nina and the [[TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry rivalry between them]]. To Richard's credit, he did make a request on his deathbed for Nina and Anna to put aside their rivalry. Too bad it didn't work.
* AddedAlliterativeAppeal: ''Tekken Tag Tournament'' and its sequel.
* AIBreaker:
** Heihachi's d+1, 2 string in ''Dark Resurrection'' would beat any AI opponent at any difficulty. The AI just couldn't seem to block the palm thrust (and the AI is otherwise a PerfectPlayAI at Ultra Hard difficulty so this is a glaring oversight). Interestingly, despite being the same move for all intents and purposes, the AI was not nearly as susceptible to the same command from Paul.
** The AI has a high chance of getting hit with the Delayed Hopkick (u/f,N+4 for many characters) in most Tekken games.
** When an AI Hwoarang advances while in his Flamingo stance, and you sidewalk around it as he does so, he won't stop moving forward all the way to the end of the screen or the stage unless you hit him out of it or you let the round time-out.
* AllLoveIsUnrequited: There's Kuma for Panda, Ganryu for Michelle, and later her replacement Julia, and Xiaoyu for Jin.
* AmazonianBeauty: In ''Tag 2'', the in-game models some of the ladies who are traditionally more slender, toned, and athletic (i.e. Nina, Anna, Michelle, Julia, Christie, etc.) are a bit more built this time around, particularly in the arms, shoulders, and back. Considering that they're martial artists who presumably train/workout on at least a semi-regular basis, it makes sense. While the ''T1'' ladies did have some muscle on display, handing out the HeroicBuild to both genders (not unlike where ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' has been going of late) might be an attempt to go back to that portrayal for some sense of "realism" (i.e. a somewhat viable explanation for why a 5-foot-something woman can powerbomb a man, robot, or bear nearly twice her size).
* AmbiguousGender: Leo. WordOfGod says female and she gets a bikini in ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' to affirm this fact. If one goes by voicing, though, it is hazy; Veronica Taylor provides Leo's voice during the time she is speaking English, but when she switches to speaking German, [[CrossdressingVoices a male voice actor is provided]]. In ''Tekken 7'' she can be customised to wear both male and female clothing too, blurring the line even further. If we go by her full name - Eleonora Kleisen, so a girl.
* AndYourRewardIsClothes:
** Taken to an extreme in ''Tekken 6''. Granted, the clothes come with defensive or offensive upgrades, but they only apply within Scenario Campaign mode. As a result, you'd often end up putting together a lot of [[RainbowPimpGear aesthetically mismatched articles of clothing]] just to make the most effective character build.
** The Treasure Battle mode in ''7'' allows you to fight for either Fight Money or customization items for characters, along with bringing up your offline rank. Winning a total of 2000 matches automatically unlocks everything in the game.
* AnimeChineseGirl: Xiaoyu, despite being arguably the most stereotypically Japanese character. She doesn't even speak any form of Chinese. Possibly justified in that she's enrolled in a Japanese high school, having been taken to Japan personally by Heihachi after she impressed him by knocking out all of his security personnel on a Mishima Zaibatsu boat she snuck aboard.
* AnimeHair:
** Pretty much all of the Mishima kin, as well as Paul.
** Special mention must go to Lars, who looks like a [[Anime/DragonBallZ Super Saiyan]]. Of course, he is Heihachi's secret son and so has inherited the Mishima blood (and apparently the hair as well).
* AnotherSideAnotherStory: Invoked with ''7's'' side chapters in story mode. Each fight can be played from the perspective of either main combatant. This applies to all but a select few of the characters who are more important to the main story (ex. Kazuya, Heihachi, Jin, Lars, Alisa, Lee).
* AntiFrustrationFeatures: Once completing the tutorial stage of Scenario Campaign, you are allowed to freely unlock one playable character other than Lars and Alisa, who are unlocked from the beginning. This is for the sake of veterans, as they might not be familiar with the two new additions.
* ArcSymbol: Kazuya's gloves in the earlier games--ten roundels arranged in a triangle, pointing towards the forearm. When he gets PutOnABus in ''3'', Jin wears similar gloves (complete with the same design), and the ArcSymbol from this game onward is now the latter's PowerTattoo, as well as (to a lesser extent) the three-arm crescent triskelion pattern on his new gloves starting in ''4''.
* ArcWords: "Power is everything", as of ''6''. Repeated by either Kazuya or Jin often during the series recap in the Scenario Campaign prologue, as well as in some game trailers.
* ArrogantKungFuGuy:
** Feng Wei, who was actually ''based'' on evil, arrogant kung fu movie villains. To be fair his ''5'' ending shows him ''exploding mountains'' with his kung fu, so maybe he can afford to be arrogant.
** Baek Doo San has some shades of this in ''Tekken 2'' while simultaneously being a Jerkass Woobie (he accidentally killed his father while young). [[CharacterDevelopment He has since mellowed out in later games.]]
** Craig Marduk too. He killed a guy (Armor King I) in a bar brawl, then when he is defeated by the guy's student (King II), he challenges him to beat him again, simply to reclaim his former glory. [[DefeatMeansFriendship Ironically, both of them are currently best friends]].
* ArtificialBrilliance: Just to give an example, using Asuka. After a few matches the game will know you like to go for the uppercut/back kick/gun combo, so it will completely shut down that. It will then read when you go for the leg sweeps and block, it predicts you using a tag throw when in trouble so it puts a stop to that, then juggles because it knows you just tag normally when low on health.
* ArtShift[=/=]StylisticSuck:
** For some reason, Xiaoyu's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S54vMs-tydM ending]] in ''Tekken 3'' is in a 2D anime style with lots of SuperDeformed. Her [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3LHATflOoQ#t=0m59 ending]] in ''5'' is likewise also done in 2D.
** Done again with Mokujin's western animation-inspired ''Tekken 6'' [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHwBjd2oc7Y ending.]]
** The endings in ''Tag 2'' have a lot of this. Some of the more drastic examples include a sketchy animation style in Combot's ending, Forest's ending using paper dolls, and a comic book style in Bob's ending. Not counting legitimate ArtShift endings/aspects, some of the more realistic CGI endings are also noticeably lower quality than in the game itself. [=YMMV=] on this.
* AsskickingEqualsAuthority:
** This is how you take control of the Mishima Zaibatsu.
** While its rival G Corporation does not have an established tradition of kicking butt to gain power, Kazuya seems to have created the rule when he becomes CEO after the events of ''5'' by killing all responsible for ordering his assassination.
* AssKicksYou: Initially applied to Lili but in Tag 2 any female character regardless on their stance on the tomboy or girly girl scale can equip a girly headdress that allows them to send their opponent flying by hitting them with their rear ends. Can be quite funny to see Xiaoyu launch a super heavyweight Jack like this.
* AttackingThroughYourself: Yoshimitsu is able to stab his sword through himself to damage his enemy. The attack does serious damage to himself, but even more to his enemy if it successfully connects. (However, if Yoshimitsu has not been hit prior to this, and the attack results in a KO, it still counts as a "Perfect" round.)
* AwesomeYetImpractical:
** Some of the characters have {{unblockable attack}}s that will instantly [[OneHitKill knock out your opponent]] (or leave very little health left) but performing these attacks either takes too long or is very hard to input without messing up. Kuma, for example, has a {{Fartillery}} attack that can ''[[OneHitKO immediately knock out ANY character]]''. Too bad he takes forever to perform it, and its range is tiny. In 5, the commentator will say [[StealthInsult "Oops"]] if it does connect.
** 10 hit combos. They're smooth looking and might impress someone new to the game, but aren't true combos as often as they are, meaning someone can block at certain key points and wait for the right opportunity to punish.
** Chain Grabs. They're some of the most visually impressive attacks in Tekken, but each new step offers the opponent a new chance to break the grab, limiting their usefulness on someone experienced. What's worse, some chain grab breaks will cause the initiator damage when the opponent escapes.
* AxCrazy: Bryan, complete with awesomely evil laugh. In fact, he ''gains'' health when Nina kicks him in the crotch. Or stomps on his crotch with her stiletto heels.
* BackFromTheDead:
** Kazuya, who is resurrected by G Corporation after Heihachi killed him in ''2''.
** Jinpachi is resurrected sometime between ''4'' and ''5'' by an unidentified evil spirit.
* BadassAndChildDuo: Jack carries around a little girl whose parents he killed and who he subsequently adopted. That girl, Jane, later goes on to develop several other Jack models because of her affection for the Jack-2 model that served as her protector.
* BadassArmFold: A requirement of being a Mishima, it would seem. Even then, the Kazama family and a few others partake in this frequently as well.
* BadassArmy: The Tekken Force.
* BadassBiker: Paul, Jin, Hwoarang, and Nina.
* BadassFamily: The Mishima clan, natch. And, in what could be seen as a subversion of GameplayAndStorySegregation, this even applies in-game. The Mishima family characters have consistently appeared in the top tiers of every ''Tekken'' game up until they were finally bumped down to upper-mid and mid-tier characters in ''Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion''.
* BaitTheDog: Back in the first game, Kazuya was probably trying hard to emote a "[[Franchise/StreetFighter Ryu]] clone" vibe, right down to white pants, red accessory (Kazuya's gloves as opposed to Ryu's headband), stoic attitude and BadassArmFold win pose, and the "story" plays it up that he's trying to topple his evil father to make his evil company a better one. Your only hint that there's something wrong with Kazuya is that he has a Devil palette swap for his third costume in the [=PS1=] port. Come the second game, turns out that Kazuya is just as bastardly as Heihachi was, is more open to his evilness, and the two of them have been competing in who's EvilerThanThou ever since. Harada, you MagnificentBastard!
* BallsOfSteel: ''Tekken Tag Tournament'' featured a number of special intros/outros from combining certain pairs of fighters on your team. Several outros involving Nina Williams features her delivering her signature Groin Attack to her partner, causing him to crumble to the ground. If you pair her with Bryan Fury, however, she'll deliver the groin attack -- but he laughs at it and does one of his taunts in response.
* BarehandedBladeBlock: You don't need to do anything special to deflect Yoshimitsu's sword strikes (provided they're not [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin unblockable attacks]]).
* BattleAmongstTheFlames:
** [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Burning Temple]], in ''Tekken 5''.
** The aptly-named Inferno in ''Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection''. It's as if you're transported to Hell itself. [[WreathedInFlames And the boss character you fought here is also in flames]].
** Anger of the Earth in ''Tekken 6'' is a milder example. The ground where you fight is not scorched up, but the building that surrounds you is (by catapult fires, actually). And the scene overall resembles Armageddon (the sky is blood red). [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything By the way, it's a castle supposedly located somewhere in the Middle East]].
** ''Tekken 7'' has two:
*** In Devil's Pit, [[ClimacticVolcanoBackdrop you're fighting near the crater of a volcano]] [[UpToEleven during an eruption]].
*** Brimstone & Fire, [[spoiler: the cliff where Heihachi threw 5-year-old Kazuya from]], lets you play ''[[SerialEscalation on the lava]]'' itself.
* BattleInTheRain:
** Acid Rain in ''Tekken 5'' as well as its ''Dark Resurrection'' counterpart, Festival.
** Once one character is one round shy of victory in the ''Tekken 7'' version of Dragon's Nest, a storm rolls in and the music changes (making the setting a little closer to the ''Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection'' stage Western Gate).
* BearsAreBadNews: Kuma and his son Kuma II -- well, only bad news for one guy in particular (Paul). And then there's Kuma II's unrequited love for Panda...
* BeautyIsNeverTarnished: The Williams sisters Nina and Anna are a prime example, with the convenient justification of being cryogenically frozen between ''2'' and ''3''.
* {{Bifauxnen}}: Leo Kliesen is actually a girl.
* BigBad: Heihachi in the first, third (with Ogre), and fourth games, Kazuya in the second and seventh, Jinpachi in the fifth, Jin and Azazel in the sixth. Basically, anyone who takes over the Mishima Zaibatsu becomes the BigBad.
* BigBadEnsemble: Heihachi and the Ogre in the third, and Kazuya, Jin, and Azazel in the sixth.
* BigDamnHeroes: Lars' [[LaResistance team]] of [[DefectorFromDecadence renegade Tekken Force members]] in ''Tekken 6'''s Console story mode.
* BigScrewedUpFamily:
** The Mishimas. ''Oh God'', the Mishimas. There is at least one murderous link between every one of the five, blood-linked family members who have appeared so far, spanning ''four'' generations.
*** To put this into perspective, there have only been ''two'' times where the Mishimas have been shown to be on good terms with one another. One of these was during Kazuya's childhood when he played/trained with his grandfather Jinpachi; the other is a dream sequence of Lars' in ''Tag 2'' where the collective (playable) Mishima/Kazama family (barring Jinpachi and Lee) get together to enjoy dinner.
*** Heihachi's wife and Kazuya's mother, Kazumi, joins the fight in ''Tekken 7''. However, she wants both of them dead precisely to ''avert'' the cycle of violence from happening again (a retread of Jin's plotline from ''4'' and ''5'', before he undergoes a FaceHeelTurn in ''6'').
** The Williams are also pretty rough, though this is one truly bad case of SiblingRivalry gone horribly wrong. It can be argued that they're the DistaffCounterpart of the Mishimas in that respect.
** The Kazamas are starting to get there, and it's not just because Jin is both a Mishima and a Kazama. Asuka also has him in her crosshairs.
* BilingualDialogue: Characters understand each other even though one speaks English, one speaks Japanese. They even understand what animals are talking about, when all they hear are growls. Hell, they understand Mokujin, a ''wooden dummy!''
** This is taken further in ''Tag Tournament 2'', where almost every character now speaks their respective native language (Leo speaks German, Miguel Spanish, Lili and Sebastian French, Bosconovitch Russian, and both Eddy and Christie Portuguese) as opposed to English in previous games.
** Wang's ''[=TTT2=]'' ending even features ''Quadrilingual'' Dialogue! To be more specific: Wang speaks Mandarin, Jinpachi Japanese, Bosconovitch Russian, and Sebastian French. [[TranslationConvention And their entire conversation is seamless.]]
* {{Bishonen}}: Lee Chaolan, Hwoarang, Steve Fox, Claudio. The most prominent one in the series, of course, is Jin. Being fighters, though, they are also quite buff ([[HeroicBuild Jin especially]]).
* BlindWeaponmaster: Kunimitsu, possibly. Her appearance in ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' shows massive scars on her face, and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YoKLcx4dsHY modding the game]] reveals that the scars reach over her eyes.
* BlockingStopsAllDamage:
** ''Tekken'' had no block damage (in its default setting), most noticeable when the smaller characters blocked attacks from a bear. Some heavy shots would even stagger a defender, suggesting they would hurt a little but the life gauge would not go down.
** In certain games, this feature could be turned off. The universal Supercharger move and similar moves unique to certain characters can also cause [[ScratchDamage chip damage]].
** Subverted with Azazel's pillar attack, as it can cause chip damage if blocked.
** Subverted in ''7: Fated Retribution'' with the introduction of Akuma. His Gou-Hadou attacks inflict chip damage if blocked. Also introduced in the same game, certain characters' Rage Drive attacks do chip damage if an opponent blocks it with their back to a stage wall. DLC character Eliza's energy waves also cause chip damage as well.
* BloodstainedGlassWindows: ''5'' features the "Antares" stage, which is a gloomy looking chapel. Said chapel is remixed as "Snow Castle" in ''Dark Resurrection'', with snow falling in through a hole in the ceiling.
* BossOnlyLevel: In the Tekken Force mini-game in ''Tekken 3'', after completing the 4th stage 4 times, you go on to a bonus 5th stage that only consists of one duel with Doctor Bosconovitch.
* BossRush: ''Tag Tournament 2'' provides one; arguably the biggest (and only) one of the series thus far. Players must face a team of Heihachi and Jinpachi, followed by True Ogre. The final boss is Jun Kazama herself[[spoiler:, and when she is defeated, she transforms into Unknown]]. The player must defeat her to complete Arcade Mode. Especially if you face the likes of Wang/Bruce, Baek/Lee, Anna/Ganryu, Kuma/Kunimitsu (sub-bosses), and Kazuya/Jin, Ogre/Angel (bosses) beforehand.
* BoxingKangaroo: Roger and his family. Parodied with Alex, a [[PaletteSwap boxing]] ''[[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs velociraptor]]''.
* BrickJoke: Paul's ending in ''5'' suggests he had flipped, challenging aliens. In ''6'' and ''Tag 2'' they had in fact brought it on, or at least make an appearance.
* BruceLeeClone: Marshall and Forrest Law. Lei Wulong, meanwhile, is a ''Creator/JackieChan'' Clone.
* BullyHunter: Just one of the ways Asuka is different from Jun. Guess who wants to [[TechnicalPacifist avoid conflict]] and who [[GoodIsNotSoft is eager for a fight.]]
* BullyingADragon: In 4, [[SmugSnake Jeff Slater,]] the current Vale Tudo champion, challenges Craig Marduk to "the biggest unofficial bout of the century." Problem is, not only is [[TheGiant Marduk]] significantly bigger than Slater, but he was a Vale Tudo champion as well. [[UseYourHead All it takes is a headbutt]] [[CurbStompBattle to bring Slater down.]]
* ButForMeItWasTuesday: Kazuya pulls this on Leo when confronted about the death of her mother. Miguel presumes this of Jin during their confrontation in Miguel's Character Episode.
* ButtonMashing: New players love to do this using Eddy or Christie, as well as Hwoarang and Steve to a lesser extent. Lili's been added as of ''5:DR''. The ''CPU'' used to do this with Law in ''Tekken 2''. Jack and Lee are both this as well. Basically, any apparent ExtremityExtremist character is ButtonMashing fodder for many inexperienced players. [[FridgeBrilliance This is actually a testament to how intuitive the controls are for first-timers.]]
* CallingTheOldManOut: Kazuya to Heihachi, later Jin to BOTH of them, and even later on Lars to Heihachi.
* TheCameo:
** Music/SnoopDogg appears in a special stage featuring background music from a single he performed just for ''Tag 2''. Evidently he's a [[JustForFun/OneOfUs big]] ''[[JustForFun/OneOfUs Tekken]]'' [[JustForFun/OneOfUs fan.]]
** Also, the Prince of All Cosmos from ''VideoGame/KatamariDamacy'' appears as a customization item for Lili in ''Dark Resurrection''.
* CatchPhrase: "Get ready for the next battle" by the announcer during the VS screen, starting from ''5'' and has stayed ever since (the phrase itself originally appears in ''4'' but is unspoken). Snoop Dogg also opens his "Knock Em Down" rap in his ''Tag 2'' stage with this phrase.
* ChainsawGood: Alisa Bosconovitch is built and fights with this.
* CharacterCustomization: The past several games have allowed this to some extent with hair, clothes, items and emblems. You could conceivably make up pilots from the ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' games for example; thanks to a ton of logos from the game, with a little work Michelle and Alisa can look like reasonable [[{{Expy}} expies]] of WesternAnimation/KimPossible and Cameron from ''Series/TerminatorTheSarahConnorChronicles'', or take Nina, play around with the hair and she resembles [[Franchise/ResidentEvil Jill Valentine]].
* CharacterRosterGlobalWarming: Each game tends to feature two heavy characters, Jack and the bears. Now contrast this with the character roster of ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'', which is gigantic.
* ChefOfIron: Marshall Law, called "the fighting chef."
* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: A number of characters have either went inexplicably missing or flat out disappeared in later games. Note that this excludes characters who are explicitly killed off.
** Alex, Angel, Kunimitsu, and P. Jack completely disappeared after ''2''. Their existences (barring the ''Tag'' games) aren't even recognized at all. Same with Tiger, who hasn't make another appearance after ''3'', and Combot and Miharu after ''4'' (again, they all appeared in the ''Tag'' games).
** An aged Michelle appeared in Julia's ''Tekken 3'' ending, but that's her only canonical post-''2'' appearance so far.
** Ganryu, Bruce Irvin, Roger, Baek, and Wang disappeared after ''Tekken 2'', but reappeared in ''5'' and ''6''.
** In ''7'', Raven was replaced by a female named Master Raven, who is apparently his superior.
** Other than Raven, six characters from ''6''[[note]]Baek, Bruce, Christie, Mokujin, Roger Jr., and Wang[[/note]] currently don't appear in ''7''. The list used to be even larger; Anna, Armor King, Bob, Devil Jin, Eddy, Ganryu, Jack, Jin, Julia, Kuma, Lee, Lei, Marduk, Miguel, Nina, Panda, Yoshimitsu, and Zafina didn't appear in the original release build of the game.
* ColorCodedElements: Particularly involving the Mishima family's trademark [[ShockAndAwe lightning aura]]. At first, all members were portrayed with [[YellowLightningBlueLightning blue-colored lightning bolts]]. In ''TTT'', Kazuya retained the original color, whereas Jin and Heihachi's bolts were respectively recolored red and yellow. This would stick for ''4'', although ''5'' recolored Heihachi's to bluish white, while Jin (and Devil Jin) kept red. Jinpachi's bolts are ''dark violet and black'' and Lars gets electric purple. Meanwhile, Kazumi's bolts in ''Tekken 7'' are reddish white, even though she is not a Mishima family member by blood.
* CombinationAttack: Tag Throws. While mostly generic in the original ''Tag'', with only a limited number of exclusive tag moves available to certain pairings [[note]]namely, Jun/Jin (alternatively, Jin with Kazuya or Heihachi), Baek/Hwoarang, Nina/Anna, King/Armor King, Michelle/Julia, and Jack-2/Gun Jack; Xiaoyu could also initiate tag throws with Jin, Heihachi, and Panda/Kuma[[/note]], the sequel [[http://www.tekkenzaibatsu.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=122101 ups the number of]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44w1AYPROk0 character-specific tag throws considerably]] and even differentiates the basic throws depending on who is initiating the grab. Also there's a handful of Great Combos. Some specific pairings even have their own unique combos (Alisa/Xiaoyu, Marshall or Forest Law/Paul, Jack-6/Bryan, Baek/Hwoarang, Nina/Anna, Jin/Asuka, and Kazuya/Jinpachi).
* ComebackMechanic:
** ''Tekken 6'' has "Rage Mode", which activates when a character is low on life and does more damage the lower their life gets.
** A Rage-esque mechanic exists in the first ''Tag Tournament'', functioning similarly to how it does in ''Tag Tournament 2'', albeit on a much stricter timer.
** In ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'', Rage returns but is ''tweaked'' so that the losing character's partner is the one who gets "Raged" and the only way to get the buff is to tag them in. Also, it goes away after a certain amount of time and there are moves the opponent can do to end Rage Mode instantly.
** There's a version of this when playing solo in ''Tag 2''. The solo character has a chance to get '''two''' Rage Modes.
** ''Tekken 7'' adds Rage Arts, which are very powerful moves only doable while in Rage Mode. Using it requires you to consume your Rage. ''Fated Retribution'' included Rage Drives which function similarly but are not cinematic.
* ComicBookTime: The series initially averted this, with two years passing between ''1'' and ''2'', nineteen years between ''2'' and ''3'', and two years between ''3'' and ''4'' (the latter was released back in 2001). Then the time freezes. The story indicates that there ''is'' some amount of time passing between each game afterward, but nothing major. It feels as if the last four tournaments are held a month apart from each other.
* TheComputerIsACheatingBastard:
** Namco Bandai's habit of making the end bosses ridiculously overpowered. ''Tekken'' has mostly avoided this in the first few games, but later falls victim to this trope starting from ''Tekken 5'' with the introduction of Jinpachi. Azazel follows the tradition in ''Tekken 6'', as do Unknown in ''Tag 2'' (who in the original ''Tag'', by contrast, ''isn't'' overpowered at all) and Devil Kazumi in ''7''.
** [[RubberBandAI It kicks in when the game thinks you're doing too well]] and breaks out the 10-hit juggles, PerfectPlayAI and ArtificialBrilliance. Bye bye controls, [[RageQuit bye bye controller,]] bye bye any chance of winning. It settles down after knocking you down a peg or six, or if you can trick it out with different moves.
** Playing ''7'''s Story mode on a 10-star difficulty, unlocked only after beating the mode once, will exemplify the hell out of this trope, especially in the Special Chapter.
* ConvectionSchmonvection:
** The final battle of ''Tekken 7'' against Kazumi Mishima takes place in a volcanic region with craggy rocks, lava flows, and fiery natural vents seen throughout the background. It's somewhat similar to Jinpachi's stage in ''5: Dark Resurrection'' but more focused on the volcanic setting.
** The opening cinematic of ''7'' depicts Heihachi and Kazuya fighting in the middle of an active volcano (so not even around it like the Devil's Pit stage but actually ''in'' arm's length of the molten rock splashing and spraying everywhere).
** A stage in the console version of ''Tekken 7'', "Brimstone & Fire", has a similar premise to Devil's Pit. It gets truly absurd here as there are patches of ''exposed magma'' on the surface of the stage that the fighters can just walk over or ''fall onto'' without suffering any ill effects.
* CoolMask: King, King II, Armor King, Armor King II, Kunimitsu, Jaycee, [[spoiler:and Michelle in her ''[[StealthPun Tag 2]]'' ending]]. And of course, who can forget the cool, ever-changing masks of Yoshimitsu?
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Kazuya during his reign as Zaibatsu CEO. Heihachi subverts this in that he uses the Zaibatsu behind the scene for his own machinations but does a lot of good with the organization on the surface (legitimate good, not just VillainWithGoodPublicity stuff). As of ''Tekken 6'' Kazuya's still up to no good as an executive. This time in G Corporation, where he takes over by having his rival executives assassinated. [[FridgeBrilliance Which is... quite a necessary foil to Heihachi who tends to plot behind the scenes, Kazuya sees no problem in blatantly plotting in front.]]
* CreatorCameo: Harada himself appears in the still for Stage 5 of ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2''[='s=] Fight Lab, apparently conducting a business transaction with Violet. And he recently revealed that [[DescendedCreator he did the battle cries for Marshall Law]] up until ''5''.
* {{Crossover}}:
** Yoshimitsu's ancestor shows up in the ''VideoGame/{{Soul|Series}}'' series, starting in ''Soulcalibur''. Heihachi also appears in ''Soulcalibur II'', and Devil Jin's moveset is unlockable (by defeating a custom character named [=Harada_TEKKEN=], no less!) for custom characters in ''Soulcalibur V''.
** ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'' and ''Tekken X Street Fighter'' have the two series cross over and fight each other.
* DamageSpongeBoss:
** In Jack 6's level (Container Terminal 3) of the Scenario Campaign in 6, there's a BossInMookClothing much like this. It rarely blocks because it doesn't need to; burning through its health on Hard mode will usually drain the [[TimedMission timer]] before it can actually be brought down even with S-Class clothing (in most cases the endlessly swarming Jack bots are the real offensive threat). Most players opt to [[RailingKill just knock it into the nearby water]].
** [[BonusBoss NANCY-MI847J]] in ''T6: BR''.
* DanceBattler:
** Eddy and Christie, especially in her victory pose. There's even a mode that allows Eddy to dance, disco style. Disco ball included. Tiger is based on the original idea for Eddy, where he was an African American disco dancer rather than a Brazilian capoeira artist.
** While not taking it to the extreme of Eddy, Christie and Tiger, a few of Alisa's moves are clearly inspired by ballet.
** Lucky Chloe, introduced in ''7'', has most of her moveset derived from more modern street dance moves. In her Rage Art, she breakdances as a means to juggle her opponent before ending with a handstand to launch the opponent in the air and either pose before her opponent hits the ground behind her, or catch them with a leaping punch to their back on the way down.
* DarkerAndEdgier: The series has its wacky moments, but the main storyline's tones have shifted more towards the darker scale of things as the series goes on. Even the games get in on this; ''Tekken 7'' has red flashes of blood on the outlines of the screen in cutscenes when characters take heavy blows, and Kazuya looks more and more weary and battered in every game post-''4''.
* DealWithTheDevil: Kazuya, as part of the explanation behind his revival in ''4''.
* {{Dedication}}: PlayedForLaughs at the end of Tekken Force Mode in ''Tekken 4''. Upon beating the final stage, the words "Dedicated to all of the [[EliteMook Tekken Force members]] who lost their lives in battle" will be shown, followed by a scrolling list of every named Tekken Force member you defeated as well as the specific moves you used to defeat them. Also counts as BraggingRightsReward, since unlike ''3'''s Tekken Force Mode -- where a character can be unlocked by finishing the game mode 4 times -- the only other reward for finishing Tekken Force in ''4'' is unlocking a stage (Hon-Maru), which is particularly annoying since it's so much longer and more difficult than in ''3''.
* DegradedBoss: Happens to virtually every boss of the series at some point.
** Heihachi has had to suffer this indignity twice. Kazuya defeats him in ''Tekken 1'' and he shows up in the sequel as a selectable character from the start. He wins that tournament and manages to maintain his status as boss through ''3'' (below Ogre) and into ''4'' where, despite being the canonical winner, is ambushed at Hon-Maru after the tournament ends and assumed killed. However he survived and canonically returns in ''6'' (his appearance in ''5'' is regarded as non-canon).
** As stated above Kazuya is the host and sub-boss of ''Tekken 2'' (below his Devil form) and is bested by Heihachi. Heihachi dumps him down a volcano but he's rejuvenated by G Corporation and returns as an active participant in ''4''.
** Jin won ''Tekken 3'' but would not ascend to boss status until ''6'' (below Azazel), which he rose to by defeating Jinpachi Mishima (as Devil Jin) in ''5''. After Azazel's temple collapses around him, he survives but barely and returns to ''7'' as a regular participant (although he was a secret boss in the original arcade release of ''Tekken 7'').
** In the {{Dream Match|Game}} ''Tag'' games, Heihachi, Kazuya, Ogre/True Ogre, Jinpachi (in ''Tag 2''), and Jin all show up as selectable characters. The boss of the ''Tag'' games, Unknown, has never been knocked off. Heihachi/Jinpachi (as a team) and True Ogre also serve as sub-bosses under Unknown (and her neutral form, [[spoiler:Jun Kazama]]) in ''Tag 2''.
* DesperationAttack:
** "Rage Arts", a new addition to ''Tekken 7'', enables your character to tap into powerful attacks once they enter Rage Mode. Using a Rage Art knocks you out of Rage Mode, so you can only use it once per round.
** The ''Fated Retribution'' update adds "Rage Drives", which are less damaging alternatives to Rage Arts and lack the armor that the Rage Arts do but can lead to unique setups that can't be accomplished with Rage Arts (such as stunning opponents on the ground, or even inflicting a second screw juggle after having already started one). Rage Arts and Drives now damage scale depending on how close your character is to defeat, with more damage being done the later you use it.
* DidYouJustPunchOutCthulhu: Azazel, Devil, Ogre.
* DifficultButAwesome:
** Despite being the main characters of the franchise (which usually assures accessibility), the Mishima characters are probably among the most challenging to use (with very demanding move execution and movement technique for a good player). However (''Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion'' notwithstanding), a player who does understand their subtleties will have learned the best characters in the game.
** 10-hit combos deal loads of damage but requires precise timing. An opponent aware of the entire string can easily [[AwesomeButImpractical turn this into a disadvantage.]]
** Chain throws. The further along the chain, the more inputs are required, and the less time you have to input them. But if pulled off, you can deal enough damage to almost knock out your opponent. It also consumes a large chunk of round time, allowing you to win a round just by time out should you prefer.
** There is a special category of attacks in the game many Tekken players refer to as "Just Frame" moves that require highly precise inputs performed within a significantly narrow time frame. With a few exceptions, these moves tend to be either unlisted on a character's movelist, or they are listed but without any indication of there being a Just Frame version. More often than not, being considered an expert in using a particular character who has Just Frame moves involves mastering said commands and being able to reliably use them when necessary during fights. The most famous example is the Mishima characters' EWGF (Electric Wind God Fist), an offensively faster (as well as slightly more damaging) and defensively safer variant of the Wind God Fist attack. In fact, part of the reason the Mishimas are so notoriously this trope is the fact that many of their best combos involve using the EWGF ''multiple times'' in juggles.
* DirtyOldMan: Put Wang against any female (with the exception of Xiaoyu), and see for yourself. This becomes major Squick when he does it against ''Roger Jr.'' (Though in this case, it may be interpreted a desire to actually eat the kangaroos rather than any kind of attraction.)
* DittoFighter: Mokujin, Tetsujin, Combot and Unknown, though they have a few differences:
** Mokujin and [[PaletteSwap Tetsujin]] change fighting styles once per round, or every time they are switched out in ''Tag Tournament''.
** Combot changes fighting styles once per fight in ''4''. In ''Tag 2'', his whole fighting style can be customized a la Emerl from ''VideoGame/SonicBattle''.
** Unknown is the same as Mokujin, except she can also switch mid-battle by pressing R3, and she can't mimic fighters that Mokujin and Tetsujin can, like the Jack robots or Ganryu. This isn't true anymore in ''Tag 2'', however.
* DivergentCharacterEvolution: Given enough time, most clones in the series will eventually diversify enough to warrant status as separate characters. The process is largely complete by ''5''. Believe it or not, Ganryu used to be a clone of the Jacks, as does Kuma.
* DoingInTheWizard: ''Tekken 4'', in general. Most soft sci-fi and blatantly supernatural elements are downplayed or eliminated entirely. For example, the Mishima Clan's [[SuperpoweredEvilSide Devil powers]] seem to be attributed to a genetic mutation. Ogre, instead of being an ancient god, is a [[DeityOfHumanOrigin "bioweapon."]] The {{Ridiculously Human Robot|s}}, Jack, was replaced by the ClockworkCreature, Combot. Neither Angel nor Devil or Devil Jin are playable characters. And the final boss, like the first game, is simply Heihachi rather than some sort of HumanoidAbomination. Whatever the reasons for this change, though, it didn't stick. In subsequent games, it's pretty clear that the Devil Gene, a supposed genetic fluke, ''does'' have a supernatural origin. Jack not only returns but is joined by the even ''more'' ridiculously-human-looking (and very anime-esque) [[RobotGirl Alisa Bosconovitch.]] The final bosses of ''Tekken 5'', ''6'' and ''7'' are definitely supernatural. Roger makes a return (without Alex), and now has an equally anthropomorphic family. ''Tekken Tag 2'' even brings back Alex, Angel, both Devils, Ogre, and Unknown. In short, the Wizard CameBackStrong.
* DownerEnding: While Tekken endings are often ambiguous enough as to what will happen next to make it unclear if this is ever the case, with Tekken 7 having a story mode it is considering how [[spoiler:Heihachi died after it was revealed he was a Well-Intentioned Extremist, Kazuya is more of a devil than ever, Jin is still recovering from the events of Tekken 6, and Akuma couldn't fulfill Kazumi's dying wish.]]
* DownloadableContent: From ''Tag 2'' onward.
** ''Tag 2'' has DLC for characters, costumes, and music. They are free of charge.
** ''Revolution'', being a free-to-play game, revolves around paid DLC to add content.
** ''7'' has a mixture of paid and free DLC and includes new characters, costumes, music, and rebalancing. Eliza is free of charge only if you pre-ordered the game.
* DreamMatchGame:
** Both ''Tag Tournament'' games, who bring back characters from the entire series, including characters who had been PutOnABus since they last appeared.
** Starting with ''5'', the canon games also give off this vibe, with the return of background characters from the days of old.
* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: The first game has a lot:
** It only has an Arcade, Vs., and Options mode.
** Kazuya is the lead character.
** Heihachi is the final boss, has black hair (his hair doesn't go grey until sometime during the post-''T2'' TimeSkip), wears a gi with long sleeves for his primary attire, and is much harder to defeat than he is in other games. The requirements to unlock him here and stricter than later games, as you need to beat the game without using any continues. If you play Arcade Mode with him, you will face all the sub-bosses with Devil Kazuya taking Heihachi's place.
** Devil Kazuya is literally just another costume of Kazuya with purple wings, but nothing like the character Devil.
** To unlock Devil Kazuya you have to play (and clear) the ''VideoGame/{{Galaga}}'' mini-game which is available as the game loads.
** Kuma's second costume is not Panda, but Kuma palette swapped to look like a polar bear. This also happens in the second game.
** All the sub-bosses are skin swaps of existing characters. This includes Anna who from ''Tekken 2'' onward has always had something to distinguish her from Nina. Lee is a clone of Law and doesn't have the trademark speed he would be known for.
** The first Jack only appears in this game and doesn't have his jetpack move (a staple of the Jack line that would begin with P. Jack in the second game). P. Jack looks nothing like the P. Jack we are used to from ''Tekken 2'' onward, one costume featuring a drill on one hand.
** Yoshimitsu is drawn more like a knight than the robot/alien he is known as later. He also appears to have hair.
** Kunimitsu is drawn with a much more masculine body and has a different mask, and notably lacks her stabbing attack. She also wields [[DualWielding two knives]] (scythes in her 2P costume), though the second weapon in merely an aesthetic aspect. It's not clear whether Kunimitsu is meant to be male or female in this game as the voice clips used are the same as Yoshimitsu.
** There are hardly any special moves whatsoever.
** The game speed is slower and there is no sidestepping of any kind. Sidestepping was added for Kazuya in ''Tekken 2'' and for every character in Tekken 3 onward.
** The sound effects and music in the game are crude and midi-based.
** Only the default eight characters have CG ending sequences.
* EasilyForgiven: King forgave Marduk for not only killing Armor King, but spitting on Armor King's name; basically they're now best buds. Armor King II, however...
* EasterEgg: Every game since at least the third installment has featured hidden moves, win poses, or character-specific actions not listed in the manual or the in-game movelists. Some are hardly noticeable (i.e. moves with extra particle effects or [[http://eng.tekkenpedia.com/wiki/Asuka%27s_Ultimate_Tackle Asuka berating Jin while hitting him]]), while others are ridiculous, over the top, and/or [[HilarityEnsues hilarious]] (the Jacks malfunctioning and using their Windmill Punch when hit by Devil's [[EyeBeams Inferno]], most male characters performing the [[http://eng.tekkenpedia.com/wiki/Headbutt_Carnival Headbutt Carnival]] with Heihachi, Nina and a female opponent trading slaps...)
** ''Tag'' featured [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPi2edLh4oY this oddity]] when tagging out after Xiaoyu's False Salute taunt.
** ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' has fun with this using the tag mechanics; King and Armor King, for example, can do a special KO throw when wearing several custom items where the point character will execute a powerbomb grab, then hold the opponent down for a pin whilst the other character runs in as a ref and taps the 3-count.
** The ''[=TTT2=]'' DLC stage Moai Excavation prominently features a Moai statue behind the stage proper. Performing a Floor Break will reveal that the statue has chest markings similar to those of Devil Jin.
** Miguel in ''6'' had a unique intro quote when facing against Jin. ''7'' expanded on this with specific pre-battle animations between the Mishimas, Akuma and Geese.
** Performing Miguel's Rage Art on a robot (Alisa or Jack-7) would cause their view to be clouded with static instead of slowly losing vision like the rest of the cast.
* EmbeddedPrecursor: ''Tekken 5'' had the arcade versions of the first three games. It also included ''VideoGame/{{Starblade}}'', a Namco space shooter from the early 1990s.
* EvilCounterpart: The sub-boss system of the early ''Tekken'' installments had a number of sub-bosses equal to the amount of default initial characters, and they were linked up exactly so that each was the "rival" of each other. The sub-bosses were generally all more powerful versions of the default characters, and bodyguards of the BigBad. Later installments scrapped this idea, though.
* EvilLaugh: Bryan. Devil Jin's laugh is also quite evil... [[LaughingMad and crazy]].
* EvilVsEvil: Kazuya vs. Heihachi in ''2'' , ''4'' and ''7'' and Kazuya vs. Jin in ''6''. This eventually evolves into Mishima Zaibatsu vs. G Corporation in ''6'' and ''7''.
* {{Expy}}:
** Kazuya and Paul of Ryu and Ken, the Law family of Bruce and Brandon Lee, King of Tiger Mask, Lei of Jackie Chan - the list goes on.
** In addition to sharing a color scheme with [[VideoGame/StreetFighter Ryu]], Kazuya also bears a surprising resemblance to [[Manga/DragonBallZ Vegeta]]. Likewise, Lee Chaolan bears a passing resemblance to Vegeta's son, Trunks. (the fully-grown version from the Androids Saga, anyway.)
** Nina and Anna are expies of the sister characters from [[Honor And Glory]] (with the hairstyles swapped), and much like the characters in that movie, a source of tension is that Anna absolutely despises their father whereas Nina likes him.
** Most everything Devil related brings to mind Manga/{{Devilman}}.
** Take a look at Julia's ending in ''Tekken 6'', then have fun making up [[Franchise/TombRaider Lara Croft]].
** The newcomer Lars Alexandersson, which looks a lot like [[VisualNovel/FateStayNight Archer]]. (As a bonus, Lars is voiced by the [[Creator/JunichiSuwabe same voice actor]] as Archer.)
** Leo looks a lot like [[VideoGame/FatalFury Rock Howard]].
** A fat blonde-haired man wearing suspenders? And his name is Bob? [[VideoGame/{{Gungrave}} Wasn't there another guy]] [[http://vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/gungrave/images/6/64/Pagungravebobpoundmax.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120208185648 fitting that description?]]
* ExtremityExtremist:
** Resident BoxingBattler Steve. Even up to ''Tag 2'', the number of kicks in his movelist can be counted on one hand.
** Hwoarang's Taekwondo focuses heavily on kicks.
* EyebrowWaggle: Ganryu has a victory pose where he does this at the camera. He's noted by Lili for his BigOlEyebrows.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: F to J]]
* TheFaceless: The Kings and the Mitsus, although King I's face is very briefly seen in the intro to the first game. Kunimitsu wears a full-face fox mask in the older games, but has an extra costume in ''Tekken Tag Tournament'' which has her wearing a demon mask only covering the top half of her face. ''[=TTT2=]'' still shows her wearing a fox mask, but, like the demon mask, it only covers her eyes and nose.
* FallenHero:
** Kazuya starts off as the stotic antihero of the first game but eventually let the devil consume him and became one of the bad guys from the second game onwards. By the beginning of the sixth game, he has plans for world domination.
** Kazuya's son Jin has also become this. He was TheHero for about three games, then at the beginning of the sixth game, takes over the mega corporation and uses it to start WorldWarIII so he can awaken [[GreaterScopeVillain Azazel]] and eradicate the Devil Gene. He's aware that he's become this and [[spoiler: seems to be on the path of redemption at the end of ''7'' by setting out to kill Kazuya and put and end to the war he himself started.]]
* {{Fanservice}}:
** Check out some of the character portraits and win poses. They are some of the most sexualized this side of ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive''.
** The biggest case of Fanservice in ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' is not portraits or win poses... After Capcom, with Videogame/StreetfighterXTekken including DLC that cost several times the price of the game, Katsuhiro Harada promised all character and stage specific DLC would be free... and he delivered, while throwing in revealing swimsuits for nearly everyone.
* FanservicePack[=/=]HotterAndSexier:
** ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' is this ''in spades''. Not for nothing does it get a Teen rating for partial nudity and sexual themes. The outfits are more revealing, the breasts are larger and bouncier than ever, and special mention should be given towards all the sexy clothing pieces found in Customization with [[WalkingSwimsuitScene bikinis]], {{sexy Santa dress}}es, and [[{{Meido}} maid uniforms]] galore.
*** Special mention should also be given to the character select panel options, namely Panel 4. The Panel 4 images, usually {{Stripperiffic}} in nature, could rival what is found in ''Dead or Alive''. [[http://www.fightersgeneration.com/games/tekkentag2-p4.html See them here.]] (The illustrations in question are by Shunya Yamashita.)
*** This isn't to say that the male characters are left out. Most male characters who don't already have a [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless costume]] can be customized to have one. In addition, almost every male swim suit is as sexy as the ladies' - the overwhelming majority of younger guys ([[SilverFox and even some of the older ones]]) wear nothing more than {{fundoshi}} or speedos.
*** In the interest of fairness it needs to be pointed out that this doesn't apply to each female character in equal measure. Xiaoyu and Jun still have moderately-sized breasts and a number of the default female costumes are actually quite conservative -- the only way to get them to show the levels of flesh mentioned above is to customize them. There is also Leo (officially female) who has no jiggle physics, no Fanservice type clothes (except a bikini) and no flirty animations. And Angel has maid and Santa outfits, but no bikini; which makes sense since it's kind of hard to work around her wings, which cannot be modified or removed in customization.
*** In [=TTT2=] the only females without jiggle physics are: Angel, Leo, Lili, and Christie. However, they all gain jiggle physics with alternate costumes except Leo.
** In Tekken 7, several female characters have alternate costume options that alter their figures. The already buxom Eliza, for example, has her chest nearly double in size.
* FantasticFightingStyle: A few examples throughout the series, most prolific being Mishima Fighting Karate. It's the chosen style of Jinpachi, Heihachi, Kazuya, Jin (initially) and, by extension, Devil and Devil Jin. Barring a little lightning, some flashy moves and a few of Jinpachi's more ridiculous powers, the style is mostly rooted in real Karate styles, though these differ by character, leading one to wonder if Mishima style has any original forms or is simply a system of crosstraining.
** Heihachi mostly uses Goju-ryu, a traditional Okinawan style with low stances and a balance of hard and soft moves.
** Kazuya is primarily rooted in Shotokan, which emphasizes hip rotation, range and counter attacks. His style may be the least reminiscent of real Karate, as his moveset has changed very little since the earlier games while other characters have been updated with realistic Motion Capture movesets. Devil uses this style as well.
** Jin uses Shito-ryu in earlier games, a fast and high style, but also has some throws from his mother and some special attacks from his dad and grandpa. He ditched Mishima style after Tekken 3 in favor of "traditional Karate", which is probably Kyokushin judging by his moveset, kata and subtle hints in his backstory[[note]]He trained at a dojo in Brisbane, a city which at the time of Tekken 4 had a famous Kyokushin school with a renowned master[[/note]]. Devil Jin still uses Jin's original style in later games, albeit with wings and laser beams.
* FemaleAngelMaleDemon: Averted after ''Tekken 2'', since the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Angel]] side of the equation [[WhatHappenedToTheMouse didn't go anywhere]]. [[TheBusCameBack They do return]] for the (non-canon) ''Tag'' games, though.
* FixedFloorFighting: All battles are conducted in a flat plane, even when the surface suggests a ramp to stand higher/lower. The series tried to avert this in ''Tekken 4'', which featured several stages in uneven ground. It was poorly received and the game went back to square one. On the other hand, ''Tekken 6'' introduced a different definition of "uneven" (see FreeFloorFighting below).
* {{Flanderization}}:
** The conflict between the Williams sisters received this. In ''Tekken 1'' and ''2'', it was mostly just Nina playing mean pranks on Anna (stealing one of her shoes in Ninas T1 ending, taking nude Polaroids of her getting out of the shower in Anna's T2 ending). By the time Tekken Tag and Tekken 4 rolled around, it had shifted to the two of them attempting to outright murder each other.
** Paul went from a dedicated warrior who wanted to be the strongest fighter in the world to a bumbling self absorbed jackass who's only fighting for fame and money, generally losing to joke characters.
** With each sequential entree in the series, Kazuya loses more and more cartoonishly evil. In ''Tekken 2'', he dabbled in organized crime, assassinations and illegal research, but by the time of ''Tekken 6'', he has made several bids to TakeOverTheWorld, attempted to murder his own son, and numerous other horrible acts.
** Ling Xiaoyu is a case that ''gained'' more depth after her initial appearance, and then lost it to a ''different'' form of Flanderization. In ''3'', her only character trait was the desire to build an amusement park. Then her ending in ''Tag'' gave a ''slight'' hint of her interest in Jin Kazama, followed by ''4'' confirming that they know each other and are good friends. From ''5'' onwards, Jin has been the centerpiece of ''every'' motivation Ling has.
* FlashStep: Several characters have highly mobile bursts of speed that make them briefly disappear and reappear, such as Lars, Raven, and Eliza, just to name a few.
* FreeFloorFighting: A variant is introduced in ''6'' in that the one that changes is the environment, not the plane. ''Tag 2'' expanded upon the concept with the ability to knock opponents off of balconies onto the floor below in addition to breaking the ground underneath you. ''7'' looks to up the ante even further by having ''multi''-story battles (one location test video showed a character getting slammed through one floor and yet another floor on the second round; the final version ramps it up even further by having '''four''' levels to fall through).
* FriendToAllChildren: Several
** Paul is renowned worldwide, but is especially admired by children.
** King in spades. The man works at an orphanage and participates in the Iron Fist Tournament of raise funds for it.
* GaidenGame: The ''Tag'' games, which bring back almost every character that appeared in the series up until that point, regardless of what happened to them in canon.
* GameplayAndStorySegregation: In ''Tekken 6''[='=]s Scenario Campaign mode, you can use any character you want for the gameplay portion. The cutscenes, however, prominently feature both Lars and Alisa, the latter replaced later by Raven.
* GenerationXerox: This series ''lives'' on this trope. If a LegacyCharacter doesn't make an appearance in the latest installment, expect a new character to show up with most of, if not all of their moves.
** This is especially interesting when the LegacyCharacter and the new character appear in the same game: Hwoarang/Baek, Eddy/Christie, Michelle/Julia, Asuka/Jun/Unknown in ''Tag 2'', and in ''Tekken Tag Tournament'', the record is Jack-2/P. Jack/Gun Jack '''in the same game.'''
** This occasionally necessitates DivergentCharacterEvolution: in the original ''Tekken'', all of the bosses were basically the original 8 again with a few moves borrowed from other fighters. Lee Chaolan was originally Marshall Law with Paul Phoenix's jumpkicks, Armor King was King with the Mishima uppercuts... By ''Tekken 6'', however, the characters are ''very'' different.
** This trend is initially scaled down in ''7'', which cuts many doubles to avoid repetition. More and more have seen return to the roster, however.
* GenreShift: Tekken is a straight fighter, but certain minigames and modes (IE Tekken Force, Devil Within and the entirety of Tekken 6's Scenario Campaign) have translated that into a BeatEmUp.
* TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry: Nina and Anna Williams.
* GlowingEyesOfDoom: Kazuya Mishima's left eye glows red as of ''Tekken 4'', either because of the Mishima bloodline's Devil Gene, or his resurrection by G Corporation. Mokujin, as well, though his aren't really evil as much as an indicator of evil. The wooden dummy comes to life whenever an evil force arises. ''7'' introduces Claudio, whose left eye glows and is framed by a distinctive tattoo when he activates his Starburst power.
* GoldfishPoopGang: As of ''6'', it's Marshall Law, Steve Fox, and Paul Phoenix. Steve is just sort of there looking out for his idiot companions though.
* GrappleMove: Every character have at least 5 throws: Two from the front, one from the left, one from the right and one from the back. Also everyone has the ability to run and tackle (though some can do it from a stationary position). ''Tag Tournament'' introduces tag throws. Also King, Armor King, Nina and Anna have chain throws. Some characters have wall throws, crouching throws, air throws and/or ground throws.
* GratuitousDiscoSequence: Tiger, so very much.
* GreaterScopeVillain: There are three of them so far.
** Ogre, the BigBad of ''3'', becomes this in the following games due to his HeroKiller status (albeit his alleged victims mostly turn up alive and well later). One of his confirmed victims is Jun Kazama; even if her fate is unknown, he is ''still'' responsible for taking her away from Jin, who develops some brooding issues due to her disappearance. Not to mention that Ogre's blood, capable of creating the ultimate life form, is the reason why Heihachi decides to set a trap for Jin and Kazuya in the fourth tournament (this plot is later dropped, though).
** Azazel, on a grand scale. He is the source of the Devil Gene; without him, the series would have not existed.
** ''7'' reveals that Kazumi Mishima is second only to Azazel in as bigger bad. [[spoiler:Azazel may be the source, but Kazumi was the one who channeled the Devil Gene and its associated curse to the humans. Her attempted murder of Heihachi caused the latter to become spiteful and detesting, inducing his futile attempt to kill off Kazuya and the Gene before it could spread further, thus starting the cycle of revenge between the Mishimas that lasts until today.]]
* GuestFighter
** Manga/{{Gon}} appearing in the console version of ''Tekken 3''
** [[VideoGame/StreetFighter Akuma]], appearing in ''Tekken 7: Fated Retribution''. Joined on the console versions by [[VideoGame/FatalFury Geese]] [[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters Howard]] and [[VideoGame/FinalFantasyXV Noctis Lucis Caelum]].
** [[https://twitter.com/Harada_TEKKEN/status/980374600272904192 This]] AprilFoolsDay prank claims [[Franchise/{{Pokemon}} Eevee]] would also be DLC. Don't ask how that would work when ''Tekken 7'' isn't on a Nintendo system.
** Season 2 of ''Tekken 7'' was headlined by Negan from ''Series/TheWalkingDead''. UnexpectedCharacter to the extreme.
* HeroAntagonist: Akuma in ''Tekken 7''. All he wants is to carry out Kazumi's last wish of ending the cycle of violence between Heihachi and Kazuya by killing them. Every time he's encountered, though, you're always playing against him.
* HighFiveLeftHanging: When getting a tag finish in ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' with cousins Jin and Asuka Kazama, Asuka will reach out for a handshake and Jin simply blows her off, leaving Asuka indignant.
* HitStop: Land a particularly powerful attack in ''Tekken 7'' (like Paul's Phoenix Smasher) and the game will briefly slow down and zoom in for the hit. The final hit of a round will also stop the animation for a brief moment as the words "KO" appear on the screen. If both characters attack simultaneously and either one can potentially knock out their opponent, the screen will zoom in and slow down accompanied by a very distinct sound effect before either one move connects and kills the opponent or they both whiff their attacks, in which case the action resumes.
* HollywoodOld:
** Nina and Anna are subversions. They are chronologically in their early 40s from ''3'' onward, but continue to exhibit their youthful, 20-something looks. This is because, in-story, they are physically frozen through cryogenics shortly after the events of ''2''.
** Lee is a rare male example -- he is pushing 50, but still looks like he's in his late 20s/early 30s.
** Marshall later plays it straight in ''6'', when he shaves his facial hair. It's a lot more evident when he's paired with his son.
* IconicOutfit:
** The [[InTheHood hoodie]] Jin sports in ''4'' (popular enough that it returned for ''5'' and was used as his attire in ''VideoGame/NamcoXCapcom''), Kazuya's purple tuxedo from ''2'' onward.
** Ironically, this caused complaints around the time of ''Tekken Tag 2''. Katsuhiro Harada said that the lack of new outfits from ''Tekken 5'' onwards (some characters, such as Jin and Nina in ''6'', would still get new duds but not in nearly as great a number as the games previous) was to invoke this trope, desiring to have a character's wardrobe become a part of their character as it had for Ryu's gi or Chun-Li's qipao in ''Street Fighter''. However, because ''Tekken'' was well-known for differentiating player 1 and player 2 characters by outfit and not merely color as well as the fact that characters received new clothes between games had been standard up to that point, fans cried foul that things had suddenly turned stagnant in ''Tekken 6''. The fact that ''Tekken 7: Fated Retribution'' is bringing in a new default costume for every returning character[[note]]with the exception of Kazuya, Jin, Law, and Yoshimitsu, all of whom have received a makeover in the original[[/note]] is likely a response to this.
* ImmediateSequel: The time between Jin's ending in ''4'' (unambiguously the last event to occur in the ''Tekken 4'' story) and the opening cinematic of ''5'' is only about 5 minutes at most. However, the actual story of ''5'' doesn't kick off until a month or two after the events at Honmaru.
* ImmuneToFlinching: "Power Crushes", a new feature in ''Tekken 7''. Certain moves will enable your character to absorb incoming hits during their startup, similar to a Focus Attack in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' (you will still take damage during this time but the attack is unstoppable). These moves are indicated by white particles around your character during the startup frames. They are, however, still vulnerable to throws and low attacks. The previously mentioned Rage Arts also share this property (except for the vulnerability to lows and throws).
* ImpendingClashShot:
** From ''Videogame/{{Tekken}} 6'' and onwards during the Namco Bandai logo. It shows Jin and Kazuya about CrossCounter but the screen [[SmashToBlack smashes to black]] at the last second.
** In ''VideoGame/TekkenTagTournament2'' this also happens [[http://www.avoidingthepuddle.com/storage/TTT2-Jin-Vs.-Kazuya.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1332266350103 their]] special tag winning pose.
** ''7'' will [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHQT2pakQzk slow down the action]] right before the final blow of a round if both characters are attacking at the same time, letting you watch as they close in on each other before the hit connects.
* InNameOnly: The naming of ''Tekken 3D: Prime Edition'' is somewhat redundant, as there's no ''other'' edition of the game at all. It's probably to prevent potential confusion if it were simply called ''Tekken 3D'', though.
* InteractiveStartUp: For a long time, Creator/{{Namco}} [[DisneyOwnsThisTrope held the patent for playing a minigame while a game loads]]. Most famously this was used in Tekken, which let you play a game of ''VideoGame/Galaga'' while you waited for the game to load. The patent finally expired in 2015.
* InterclassFriendship: Asuka Kazuma and Emilie De Rochefort plays with this trope. The two are rivals with the latter wanting to constantly fight the former to her utter annoyance. However, one ending implies that Lili wants to be friends with Asuka but doesn't know how to express it except by fighting her. And then there's Asuka's 7 ending of [[spoiler:Lili buying her family's struggling dojo and moving in with her]].
* InvulnerableAttack: The Special Arts in ''Tekken Revolution'' have several frames of invincibility at the beginning, signified by their blur effect. They can be hit/thrown out of with good timing and a clash between two players using Special Arts will usually go to the one who used their attack second.
* {{Jerkass}}: Kazuya, Heihachi and Bryan. Oh, boy.
* JokeCharacter: Dr. Bosconovitch and Manga/{{Gon}} in the [=PS1=] port of ''Tekken 3''. Kuma, Panda, Roger, and Alex qualify, as well, being animals.
* JustLikeRobinHood:
** Yoshimitsu, who takes after [[VideoGame/SoulSeries his ancestor]].
** In ''Tekken 6'', he gains an item that allows him to dance in a circle and scatter gold coins around.
* JuxtaposedHalvesShot: The ''Tekken 7'' boxart, featuring Heihachi and Kazuya, gives this effect.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: K To O]]
* {{Kevlard}}: Bob purposely gained weight so he could have this advantage, as well as attaining [[{{Acrofatic}} a certain balance of "speed and weight" to augment his offensive power.]]
* KilledOffForReal:
** Circa 2011, Harada confirmed that the first King, the first Kuma, and the first Armor King are all officially dead.
*** Ogre is 99% probably dead, as Jin's ''T3'' ending shows him disintegrating into dust, while Heihachi's backstory in ''T4'' says that he injects himself with Ogre's blood, which would mean that he is dead and/or incapacitated. However, since he appears as the final boss of Devil Within in ''T5'', being resurrected in some way, there is a chance that he might not stay dead.
*** Jun is also believed to be dead, but [[PanderingToTheBase let's see about that]]. (WordOfGod gives her status as "missing", for what it's worth.)
*** Jinpachi actually bit the dust many years before the events of the series, but is resurrected in ''5''. At the end of the game, he dies permanently.
*** Azazel is likely gone for good, since his last appearance ends in his defeat. Curiously, he does not get much press in ''7'', despite the fact that it revolves heavily around the origins of Devil Gene. Zafina's reappearance in ''7'', however, hints that he may be attempting to possess her body, with his power just barely contained within her left arm. She makes use of this power on some of her attacks, and it's depicted as her losing control of said arm.
** ''7'' has two people kicking the bucket. [[spoiler:The first is Kazumi, who was murdered by Heihachi when Kazuya was five. The second is Heihachi, who is thrown by Kazuya into a volcano.]]
* KissingCousins: Not really, but in Asuka's ''Tekken 5'' ending [[FunbagAirbag Jin ends up in her cleavage. In quite a slapstick manner.]]
* KungFuSonicBoom: During the intro cutscene of ''Tekken 6'', Bryan Fury throws a Mach Breaker and [[PunchParry meets]] Paul Phoenix's Phoenix Smasher on their fists and creates a shockwave. This was also portrayed in the arcade ''Bloodline Rebellion'' opening scene with Kazuya and Jin.
* LampshadeHanging: When you defeat Jinpachi as Xiaoyu, and he disintegrates to dust, she asks who she's actually supposed claim the prize money from, considering the fact that the only people who witnessed the fight is her and a guy who turned into sand.
* LandOfTulipsAndWindmills: The Netherland Stage in ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' takes place in a field of tulips with windmill and is appropriately named Tulip Festival.
* LauncherMove: Not one specifically (although the Mishima "Electric Wind Godfist" is probably the closest thing the series has to a signature launcher) but something that is key to the series. Juggle combos are ''Tekken''[='s=] main gimmick so you need to find as many ways to set up launchers as possible.
* LawyerFriendlyCameo: The final bosses of ''Tekken Tag 2''[='s=] Fight Lab are Bob, Ganryu and Jinpachi wearing outfits that are similar (way too similar) to [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ken, Ryu and (Shin) Akuma.]] Granted, both ''Tekken'' and ''Street Fighter'' [[VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken just crossed over]] and would soon cross over again in the opposite direction[[note]]''Tekken 7: Fated Retribution'', followed by ''[=TxSF=]''[[/note]]. One could imagine the secretary going "There's a Mr. Akuma here to see you. He heard about the simulated versions. Yes, he's cracking his knuckles..."
-->'''Violet's [[SexySecretary Secretary]]''': ''[[LampshadeHanging "Aren't they celebrities?"]]''
* LegacyCharacter
** The current versions of King and Kuma from ''Tekken 3'' and onward are different characters from the ones that appeared in the first two games. After ''Dark Resurrection'', a new Armor King appeared to replace his deceased predecessor.
** The Jacks could count too, since in every game (except for ''4'', which featured no Jacks) it's a different model, but some of them are pretty much carbon copies to others (Jack-2 to the original Jack -- in fact, the latter was the only Jack model not to appear in the first ''Tag Tournament'' because of this -- and Jack-6 to Jack-5).
** Master Raven in ''7: Fated Retribution'' replaces the original Raven introduced in ''5'', although Master Raven is actually Raven's superior.
* LethalJokeCharacter: Bosconovitch and Gon were incredibly game breaking, due to the fact most attacks missed them (Bosconovitch would crumple to the ground and lie on the floor, while Gon was a tiny dinosaur. Both could only be hit with sweeping leg kicks, and Bosconovitch was ''extremely'' fast, for an old man).
* LineageComesFromTheFather: The Mishima family members are patrilineal and their members only recognize their heritage as such. So it goes as follows: Jinpachi > Heihachi > Kazuya and Lars > Jin. Plus Lee if you count adopted son. The most notable trait of them (the Mishima Karate) is also inherited from father to son. Even Jin, who is additionally also the son of TheChosenOne Jun Kazama, is emphasized far more with his Mishima heritage rather than the Kazama's, ''even though his surname is Kazama''.\\
\\
''Tekken 7'' shows what happens when [[RealityEnsues this trope is actually played out]]. Jin is obsessed with his Mishima lineage so much, he thinks that all things bad are because the family is cursed with the Devil Gene, beginning way back with Jinpachi. In truth, the family ''is'' cursed, but because of Heihachi's {{Greed}} more than anything. The Devil Gene, meanwhile, comes from [[spoiler: Kazuya's ''mother'', Kazumi Mishima. So it isn't unique to the family at all!]]
* LipstickAndLoadMontage: Nina Williams does this during the ''Tekken Tag Tournament'' opening and in her ending in ''Tekken 6''.
* LoadsAndLoadsOfCharacters: The series is famous in the fighting game scene for being this. While most other 3D fighting games would rather have small character rosters (''VideoGame/VirtuaFighter'' and ''VideoGame/SoulSeries'' come to mind), ''Tekken'' isn't shy for having a large character roster that just keeps expanding with each game; in fact, it is one of its selling points.
** ''Tekken 6'' features 41 characters.
** The non-canonical ''Tag 2'' features a grand total of ''59'' playable characters (including DLC), all of which aren't {{Palette Swap}}s of each other.
** It seems that this reason is why the roster is scaled down to a more manageable 30-ish in ''Tekken 7''. Harada said that ''Tag 2'''s monstrous roster keeps newbies from joining the series out of sheer fear of having to learn to use and combat that many characters. However, the plan seems to have been relaxed (if not abandoned) recently, with the Second Season of DLC increasing the character count to 46. The Season 3 DLC brings this up to 50.
* LosingYourHead: Alisa Bosconovitch. She can even ''detonate'' it and ''materialize a new one''.
* LukeIAmYourFather:
** Steve Fox, Nina Williams is your mom.
** Lars turns out to be Heihachi's bastard son.
* MaleMightFemaleFinesse: Kazuya Mishima and his son Jin Kazama are unstoppable {{Lightning Bruiser}}s who can transform into {{One Winged Angel}}s, while their respective {{Love Interest}}s Jun Kazama and Ling Xiaoyu rely on WaifFu to deliver the beatdown.
* MeaningfulName:
** Kuma is the Japanese word for "[[ADogNamedDog Bear]]".
** Mokujin is Japanese for "wood(en) man." And Mokujin's {{Palette Swap}}s Tetsujin and Kinjin are also similarly named -- their names meaning "iron man" and "gold man" respectively.
** As for [[ADogNamedDog Panda]]...[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin no explanation necessary]].
** Kazuya's name is a subtler example that is unrelated to meaning. The kanji of his name (一八) is a combination of the first name kanji of his mother, Kazumi ('''一'''美), who was kind and caring, and the second name kanji of his father, Heihachi (平'''八'''), who is ruthless. Kazuya was once [[UsedToBeASweetKid kind and caring]] [[FaceHeelTurn before turning into the ruthless man he is today]].
* MechanicallyUnusualFighter:
** Dr. Bosconovitch (only in the third game) spends his time prone to the ground and (at his best) crouching; he never jumps or indeed ''stand still''. It's tricky both to play and fight him.
** Steve also counts. Despite him having some kicks in his movelist, pressing the kick buttons by default will simply have him weave left or right.
** Akuma in ''Tekken 7: Fated Retribution'' has a Super Meter (allowing him to perform enhanced moves as well as a KamehameHadoken when it's full) as well as the ability to jump as he does in ''Street Fighter'' (since ''3'', ''Tekken'' has mostly negated aerial attacks in favor of 3D motion). He can also perform special moves, which is unusual in spirit for ''Tekken'' (since most ''Tekken'' moves are sequences of button presses and single directional inputs, with a few exceptions).
** DLC character Eliza appears to be a DistaffCounterpart of Akuma in terms of gameplay, as she also has her own Super Meter, as well as EX versions of her moves. She even has her own dive kick! Her KamehameHadoken moves through the ground in front of her, though, instead of in a straight line.
** Geese Howard from ''[[VideoGame/TheKingOfFighters King of Fighters]]'' also has his own Super Meter straight out of ''KOF XIV''. Filling up his Meter gives him access to Max Mode at the cost of one bar, during which he can perform EX versions of his special moves within a limited time. He also has two Super Moves, Raging Storm and Raigou Reppuuken, that cost two bars to perform.
* MechanicalMuscles: the Jack robots, with a new Jack built and sent to compete in almost ever game. Most of them have synthetic skin with obvious (sometimes glowing) seams, while Gun Jack and Protoype Jack (P. Jack) are even more visibly robotic, with squared-off metal plates and Colossus-style ridges respectively.
* MegaCorp: The Mishima Zaibatsu and the G Corporation. In ''Tekken 6'', Jin is using the former to try and TakeOverTheWorld (supposedly) and the latter (run by his father, Kazuya) is his only opponent.
* MovesetClone: Plenty. They tend to undergo DivergentCharacterEvolution as time goes on, however.
** The hidden characters in the original ''Tekken'' are virtually carbon copies of the eight default characters. They have maybe one or two unique moves but that is it. With the exception of Wang, they all even share the same voice clips as one of the eight.
** The Jacks are LegacyCharacter, so it is understandable that they change very little throughout the series.
** In ''2'' and ''Tag'', Alex and Angel are Roger's and Devil's clones, respectively. In ''Tag 2'', they become Roger Jr.'s and Devil Jin's clones, respectively.
** Kuma/Panda is the longest and most consistent example. They have the same normal movelist and identical hitboxes. ''Tekken 7'' gives them a different Rage Art, but that is the only difference they have so far (other than attack effect, which is entirely cosmetic).
** Kuma Jr., King II, and Armor King II are, like the Jacks, identical copies of their deceased LegacyCharacter: Kuma Sr., King I, and Armor King I, respectively.
** Jin in ''3'' has all of Kazuya's and a few of Jun's moves. He has few to no unique moves of his own. When Kazuya returns in ''4'', Jin is given a different fighting style, with the in-story justification as Jin wanting to forget all of his Mishima past. Jin's old moveset is later incorporated into Devil Jin in ''5'', while Jun's movelist is recreated, also in ''5'', through the new character Asuka.
** In ''3'' and ''Tag'', True Ogre has all of Ogre's moves bar one (Ancient Power) and possesses unique moves of his own.
** Eddy/Christie have different throws, but their other moves are identical. Tiger Jackson started as Eddy's 3P outfit in ''3'' but was made into a different character in ''Tag 2'' with some slightly different moves (see the below bullet about the console-exclusive characters).
** Violet and Miharu from ''Tekken 4'' are copies of Lee and Xiaoyu, respectively. While Violet is somewhat differentiated in ''Tag 2'', he's back as Lee's copy in ''7''.
** All new characters added in the console version of ''Tag 2'' are slight modifications of the existing cast. Miharu is a slightly different Xiaoyu, Sebastian is a slightly different Lili, etc.
** Master Raven is a DistaffCounterpart of Raven. Beyond that, there is little difference.
** Anna was relegated to this in the arcade version of ''Tekken 3'', simply serving as Nina's 3P outfit. However when the game arrived on console she was differentiated back into a full character.
* TheMovie: A grand total of 3 (completely canonically separate) movies exist; ''Tekken: The Motion Picture'' (an [[OriginalVideoAnimation OVA]] made in 1998), ''Tekken'' (a live action movie made in 2010, [[CanonDiscontinuity which was not supervised by Namco and later disowned by Harada]]), and ''Blood Vengeance'' (a 3D CG movie) supervised by Namco and written by Dai Sato of ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' fame) .
* MrFanservice: Most of the male characters, [[SilverFox even including those already in their septuagenarian years]] (except for the ''very old'' ones like Wang and Jinpachi, or the odd ones, like Yoshimitsu), are this. Not helped by the fact that many of them also seem to [[WalkingShirtlessScene have a shortage in the shirt department]]. Taken to an extreme in ''Tekken 6'', where you can customize virtually all male characters to [[WalkingShirtlessScene shut down their shirt department]]. The only ones who don't receive this "luxury" are Wang (where giving this to him is just torturing him; he's freaking ''105'' years old, people), Yoshimitsu (actually, we don't really know what he looks like underneath), and the Jack robots (obvious reasons). So start ogling them, ladies ([[EvenTheGuysWantHim and men too, for that matter]]).
* MsFanservice: Many of the playable female characters, some with more revealing costume options than others. Christie in particular has the most {{Stripperiffic}} ones in ''Tekken 6'', not to mention her normal fighting stance really shows off the JigglePhysics. Even those who wear modest clothing as their default costumes can be customized to become {{Stripperriffic}}.
* NatureHero: Julia Chang, and Michelle Chang before her. Jun Kazama was this mixed with angelic spiritual qualities.
* NiceHat:
** Jun shows one off, in a swimsuit no less. [[http://eng.tekkenpedia.com/wiki/File:Tekken_2_-_Artwork_-_Females_-_Bathing_Suits.jpg See for yourself.]]
** Feng's second outfit in ''5'' has him wearing a fedora. Baek's alternate outfit also has him sporting this look.
** Wang also wears one.
* {{Ninja}}: Raven and Kunimitsu. Yoshimitsu will tell you he is but he's a bit [[HighlyVisibleNinja over the top]]. ''7'' introduces Master Raven, the superior of the first Raven.
* NobodyPoops: Averted in Law's ''Tekken 6'' ending. Paul, Law and Steve had agreed to share the prize money, but Law uses laxatives to incapacitate them and give him enough time to steal all the money for himself (what a {{Jerkass}}). Paul's ending also implies that Law used these laxatives throughout the tournament to cheat their way to victory.
* NoCelebritiesWereHarmed:
** The Law family, Lei Wulong, and Raven look like Creator/BruceLee, Creator/JackieChan, and [[Film/{{Blade}} Wesley Snipes]], respectively. Also, Marduk has a strong resemblance to Australian wrestler Nathan Jones who had a brief WWE stint. Not surprising since Marduk's look was actually based on him. ([[HilariousInHindsight In fact]], Jones plays Marduk in the LiveActionAdaptation.)
** King and Armor King are essentially a giant love letter to ProfessionalWrestling. Whilst their most obvious homage is to ''Manga/TigerMask'', their grabs can be attributed to many famous pro-wrestlers, including [[Wrestling/DwayneJohnson The Rock]], Wrestling/StoneColdSteveAustin, Wrestling/TheUndertaker and Wrestling/ReyMysterioJr.
** Thanks to ''Tekken 6'', add Julia Chang to the list as her ending and custom options are HEAVILY inspired by [[Franchise/TombRaider Lara Croft]]. Not to mention she looks [[CelebrityResemblance quite similar to pro wrestler]] Wrestling/SarahStock, otherwise known as Dark Angel of Wrestling/{{CMLL}} or Wrestling/{{TNA}}'s [[SpicyLatina Sarita]], although this was likely unintentional.
** Namco may have picked up on this, as in ''Tag 2'' she's a pro wrestler, filling in for a friend. Or it may be a ShoutOut to La Mariposa/Lisa in ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive''.
** [[MsFanservice Christie]] is based on Tyra Banks.
** In ''Tag 2'', Angel looks a lot like actress [[Creator/SaoirseRonan Saoirse]] [[https://i.redd.it/k28299z1m5u31.jpg Ronan]].
* NoFlowInCGI:
** In terms of in-game models, the games before the [=PS2=] (with just a few exceptions). Notably, as ''Tekken 4'' was the first full-fledged installment tailored for the [=PS2=][[note]]''Tekken Tag Tournament'' was just an enhanced port of the arcade version[[/note]], the designers pretty much went out of their way to make sure this would be averted by giving every single character independently animated parts, which led to King with long hair beneath his mask, Paul's 2P costume with his hair down, and Jin's hoodie outfit covering the top of his head until the hood naturally falls down, among many other things.
** Subverted with ''Tekken 7'' now using the Unreal 4 graphics engine (which also meant the developers had to re-animate all the characters from scratch). Almost every character costume, especially the alternates in ''Fated Retribution'', displays significant visual upgrades in all their glory.
* NoOneCouldSurviveThat: Just look at Bryan's ''Tekken 3'' and ''6'' endings... and Heihachi too, in ''Tekken 5''.
* NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent:
** Several (though not all) English-speaking characters from non-American countries all have American accents instead of the ones you'd expect them to have. For example: Nina and Anna (Irish), Steve (British), Leo (German), Eddy and Christie (Brazilian), Marduk (Australian), Lili (Monégasque -- well, French by extension), Bosconovitch (Russian), and so on. Lei was initially a subversion, until his Chinese accent suddenly became American in ''Tekken 6'' (it ''is'', however, a Hong Kong English accent, so this might be a DoubleSubversion).
** Also the main characters in ''6'''s Story Mode. Lars is Swedish and Alisa is a robot made by a Russian. They for some reason decide that the optimal language to speak would be perfect Japanese. However, Alisa is arguable, considering she is a robot and ''can'' be programmed to speak Japanese (theoretically, she could have any language loaded into her memory banks), as well as the fact that her current "master" -- the person whose commands she's programmed to obey -- is Japanese. Except for the fact Lars is half-Japanese and has been working for a Japanese company, it would make sense that he would be bilingual. ''Why'' he prefers Japanese is anyone's guess. (Although it's actually not too strange since Lars himself is well aware how big a deal his father is and that he'll probably have to deal with issues revolving around his father's family sooner or later. In the end, the final decision to make him speak Japanese is probably that it's easier that way while still remaining feasible.)
** Similarly, Xiaoyu gets a pass for not speaking Chinese seeing as she primarily lives in Japan.
** Most of the characters in ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' speak their native languages like Hwoarang speaking Korean (which has been done ever since ''Tekken 5''), Steve with a British accent and Leo with German. The Japanese characters (with Lars included) speak Japanese as always. The Williams sisters don't speak Irish English, though someone suggested in a forum somewhere that it was probably due to their time in cryosleep experiments. The Williams sisters' cases are understandable in that they're international assassins; revealing their origins by speaking in their native accents would serve to give away their backgrounds.
** ''7'' adds the Italian character Claudio, Shaheen who speaks Arabic, and another Brazilian, Katarina. Lucky Chloe's nationality isn't specified, and is made confusing by her speaking Japanese, along with some accented English. The trope is played straight, however, by Filipina fighter Josie Rizal, who speaks clear, unaccented English with absolutely no hint of Tagalog or any other Filipino dialect - that said, English is one of the two national languages spoken in the Philippines, and most Filipinos do get to speak it fluently with no accent, so Josie's portrayal is still somewhat accurate.
* NothingIsTheSameAnymore:
** ''Tekken 3'' must have felt like this for fans when it was first released in 1997, despite wounding up to be the franchise's EstablishingSeriesMoment. The story jumped ''[[TimeSkip 19 years]]'' from ''Tekken 2'' and as a consequence nearly every established characters like Kazuya were discarded and presumably killed off (well, according to the then official story, anyway; [[{{Retcon}} they had long debunked it]]), while those who returned were aged up. Instead, the game focused on a new generation of YoungerAndHipper fighters, some of whom doubled as LegacyCharacter for the older characters. If this kind of change is done today, people would no doubt be pissed off. ''A lot'' (we're looking at you, ''VideoGame/SoulcaliburV'').
** For a lot of players, ''Tekken 4'' felt like a step back from ''Tekken Tag Tournament'' which had made a number of innovations and included a much larger roster. Gameplay-wise, it went for a grittier feel. It removed the characters' primary throws, added walls to the levels (which had previously been open ended), and introduced a story mode that was not hugely different to Arcade mode. The game only really had two new, non-clone characters, in the form of Steve Fox (who, being a boxer, only has punches) and Craig Marduk (who in story, killed the first Armor King, which led to old school fans instantly disliking him). Although Eddy returned to the game, it was as a second costume for a Moveset Clone, Christie, which many fans felt was demoting an innovative character. Only two pre-Tekken 3 characters not in that game returned in 4, these being Kazuya and Lee. Thankfully, Tekken 5 returned to the series' roots by re-introducing a number of the older characters and improving the gameplay of 4.
** ''Tekken 7'' is a lesser case. It is the first game in 18 years to do a major shake-up of the character lineup, mostly to avoid it from expanding too much, and did a much-awaited costume makeover on the entire cast, who had mostly stayed the same since 2004's ''Tekken 5'' (these were admitted by Harada). Unlike ''3'', there is no TimeSkip and the absent characters very much still have the chance to return sometime in the future.
** Speaking of ''7'', the plot is affected by this, as well, especially in regard to the Mishima family curse and the Devil Gene, with the introduction of Kazumi Mishima, the earliest known person to possess the Devil Gene. Namely, it implies that the Devil Gene is not endemic to the Mishimas, and [[BigScrewedUpFamily their personal issues]] are a different can of worms altogether. [[spoiler: And as has been promised since the beginning, the game turns out to be ADeathInTheLimelight episode for Heihachi, one of the series' most iconic characters.]]
* NotJustATournament: In ''Tekken 2'', Kazuya announces the King of the Iron Fist Tournament 2 to get rid of Heihachi and his other enemies. In ''Tekken 3'', Heihachi announces the King of the Iron Fist Tournament 3 to lure Ogre out in order to capture him using the contestants as bait. In ''Tekken 4'', Heihachi needs to get the Devil Gene to become immortal so he announces the King of the Iron Fist Tournament 4 to lure Kazuya and Jin out to obtain the Devil Gene. In ''Tekken 5'', Jinpachi is seeking a worthy opponent who can defeat him and stop the evil in him from destroying the world. And in ''Tekken 6'', Jin initiates the tournament so that he and Kazuya can face off against one another, awakening Azazel and making the latter vulnerable. In ''Tekken 7'', Heihachi assumes control of the Mishima Zaibatsu while Jin is missing and initiates the tournament to draw out Kazuya for one more confrontation.
* OffscreenMomentOfAwesome: Jun fighting off Devil ''while pregnant with Jin''.
* {{Ojou}}: Lili.
* TheOldConvict: Eddy Gordo's backstory from ''Tekken 3'' is that he was framed by the Mishimas, and while in prison, was trained in Capoeira by the oldest convict interned there. DistaffCounterpart Christie Monteiro is the old man's granddaughter.
* OlderThanTheyLook:
** Nina and Anna are in their 40's from ''Tekken 3'' onward, but still look as though they're in their 20's due to their time in cryogenic sleep. Also, Lee is approaching 50, [[{{Bishounen}} but you wouldn't think it just from looking at him]]...
** The first ''Tag'' [[DreamMatchGame Dream Match Game]] features characters from ''Tekken 2'' and ''Tekken 3'', which are separated by a 19 years timeskip. Everyone appears as they do in their most recent game. This results in Heihachi looking appropriately like what a 70 years old grandpa should be, but not Baek, Bruce, Ganryu, Jun, Kazuya, Kunimitsu, and Michelle looking like what middle aged adults should be. This is particularly striking in the case of Jun and Kazuya, who look less like parents and more like older siblings to their son, Jin. Ditto with Michelle to Julia. ''Tag 2'' ages many of them, although the trope is still present with Jun, Kunimitsu, and Michelle.
** Subverted with Kazumi in ''Tekken 7'', who initially seems to be a smack-dab example of this trope as she does not look ''remotely'' like a septuagenarian (or a grandmother, for that matter). [[spoiler: That is because she is a ghost; the real Kazumi has been dead for like 45 years.]]
* OldMaster: Wang Jinrei. As of ''6'', he's '''''105'''''!
* OneSteveLimit:
** Subverted in the fandom. Hwoarang's [[FanNickname nickname]] "Bob" is complicated, now that there's an actual Bob in the character roster. Possibly it's because ''Tekken'' [[TakeThat was making fun of]] [[StopHavingFunGuys serious tournament players]] who started using "Bob" because they couldn't pronounce Hwoarang's name properly.
** The Mishima/Kazama family notably have similarly-named members, rooted in the Japanese tradition of naming progeny after ancestors. Jinpachi and Heihachi have names ending in -hachi (八). The "ya" part of Kazuya in fact also uses 八, albeit using the kun'yomi pronunciation. Jin is most likely named after Jinpachi, as the kanji used (仁) is the same. Kazuya, too, inherited the "kazu" (一) part from his mother, Kazumi. Ironically, the names that are most commonly confused with one another, Jun and Jin, have unrelated kanji (準 vs 仁). They just happen to sound similar.
** The series does have an aversion. "[[BadassNative Michelle]]" and "[[DashingHispanic Miguel]]" are variants of a single name: Michael (the former is the French feminine form, while the latter is the Spanish masculine form).
* OneWingedAngel: Several characters in the series have their own one-winged angel forms:
** Kazuya has Devil (the final boss of ''Tekken 2''), who can fly, shoot lasers, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and has purple skin.]] Since Devil's last appearance in ''Tag Tournament'', Kazuya has fully accepted his demonic powers and it shows. (For reference, he uses Devil's lasers in the ''Street Fighter/Tekken'' crossover and can transform into Devil in ''Tag Tournament 2''. He also canonically assumes Devil's form to escape Hon-Maru at the beginning of ''5''.)
** His son, Jin, has been [[CursedWithAwesome "cursed"]] to inherit his father's devil gene. Since the fifth game, a second Jin aka Devil Jin has been playable. This version of Jin is not only [[CrazyAwesome bat]][[WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity shit]] [[AxCrazy insane]], but embraces his Devil powers and uses them in combat, in conjunction with a new fighting style (a mix of the Mishima-style Karate that normal Jin unlearned and the more traditional Karate that post-''Tekken 4'' Jin uses).
** Even the supposedly innocent Jun Kazama is not safe from this trope. ''Tag Tournament 2'' shows [[spoiler:(and confirmed many a fan theory) her OWA form is Unknown, the final boss of the ''Tag Tournament'' games. "Junknown" uses other characters' fighting styles (a la Mokujin) but can willingly change her style mid-battle (not like Mokujin). In ''Tag 2'', Junknown loses her mimic ability and resorts to Jun's moveset with boss-style moves]].
** ''Tekken 3'' has Ogre (the FinalBoss, mind you) and True Ogre. The upgrade from Ogre to True Ogre comes with a somewhat NightmareFuel-esque change in appearance as well as a power upgrade. Oh, and he can fly. And breathe fire. ''Devil Within'', a Tekken Force Mode-themed mini-game in ''5'', gives Ogre a ''[[SequentialBoss second]]'' OWA: [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Monstrous Ogre]].
** Another FinalBoss example is ''Tekken 6''[='=]s Azazel. Fulfill the right conditions, and a powerful golden Azazel (confirmed in ''6''[='=]s Scenario Campaign to be Azazel's ultimate form) can be fought in the place of the normal variant.
** Yet [[RuleOfThree another]] example in the form of Jinpachi Mishima. His true demonic form is fought as ''Tekken 5''[='s=] final boss (worth noting that a [[KillItWithFire fiery]] variant is fought as the final boss of ''5: Dark Resurrection''). This is actually more of an inversion, as Jinpachi's (supposedly) regular form can be used as a playable character in ''Tag Tournament 2'' (where he is downgraded to a sub-boss; being a sub-boss battle with Heihachi).
** Kazumi Mishima in ''7'' fights in the first round of the final stage still looking human, despite with some assistance from her pet tiger. Defeat her once and she takes on a more demonic appearance, turning white and red, bearing wings, and of course, firing lasers.
** The Story mode of ''7'' gives Kazuya's Devil form an additional more one-winged angel state, which includes additional eyes on his chest and wings, all of which are capable of firing lasers.
** Zafina's return in ''7'' hints at her potentially having a form of this trope, as Azazel's powers are somehow contained in her left arm. In some of her new moves, she appears to be unleashing those powers to attack her opponent, and it also envelops her arm in crystals, make it appear more like Azazel's. However, she also seems to lose control of herself in the process, and has to consciously restrain its destructive urges.
* TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou: This seems to be what's behind Hwoarang having a ''+1'' Netsu trigger towards Jin in ''Tag Tournament 2'' (+1 is usually reserved for when the character has a genuinely ''good'' view of the other character); likewise Paul's +1 towards Kazuya.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: P to T]]
* PaletteSwap:
** Tetsujin in ''Tag'' is a silver-colored, iron-sculpted Mokujin. There is also the gold-colored, iron-sculpted Kinjin (or Gold Tetsujin in ''Tag'').
** All the returning characters from ''Tekken 5'' were given different default colors for their outfits in ''Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection'' (some more noticeable than others; Kazuya's P1 outfit was changed from white to maroon and his P2 outfit from purple to white while Heihachi's P1 outfit went from black to a dark teal, which wasn't as noticeable). It is possible to set the original colors with customization and most of these changes reverted in ''6'' (with the exception of Xiaoyu, whose orange scheme stuck after ''DR''). Usually averted with regards to P1 and P2 outfits (which differentiate by clothing rather than purely color) but starting with ''Tag 2'', alternate outfits were dropped for the most part and this trope is played straight.
* PandaingToTheAudience: Xiaoyu's pet panda, Panda.
* PantyShot:
** Several female characters wear short skirts and do a lot of high kicks while fighting. Do the math.
** Defied in ''Tekken 3''. You can select your character's win pose by holding a button when the match ends but in the case of Xiaoyu's school uniform, the pose where she performs a split-legged handstand is locked out to avoid this. However, as every character performs a specific win pose when they beat the game and that button bind happens to be associated with that animation, simply beat the game as Xiaoyu to see it.
* PerfectPlayAI: As you gain ranks this will become self-evident, with the game starting to break out the ten-hit or infinite combos, reading controller inputs, using the classic ''Franchise/MortalKombat'' slide along the ground, and begin preventing you from tagging out, specifically targeting your partner when low on health. Earlier in the series, the computer would resort to SecretAIMoves to simulate difficulty.
* PerpetuallyShinyBodies: While not prevalent overall, ''[=TTT2=]'' actually goes out of its way to avert this trope by showing dirt, water, mud, and whatever that gunk filling up Fallen Garden is on the fighter's clothes (or even a specific spot) as they get knocked to the ground. There's even an achievement for getting gunked in Fallen Garden (Doused But Not Out).
* PetTheDog: In Kazuya's ''Tekken 5'' ending, he is shown to respect Jinpachi and even remembers the good old days training with him before making the DealWithTheDevil...and then [[MoralEventHorizon kills him.]]
* PhenotypeStereotype:
** Ten out of the eleven European human characters in the series have blue eyes (the exception is Miguel, who has brown eyes). As many as seven of them have blond hair, too (Dr. B and Sebastian's hairs have grayed out, so they may/may not have blond hair originally). The majority is justified, although Lili being a platinum blonde-haired, blue eyed, light-skinned girl from Monaco is highly unlikely in real life[[note]]the majority of Monégasques, like most Mediterranean peoples, have brown hair, brown eyes, and olive skin[[/note]]. Lars' blond hair and blue eyes are similarly unrealistic, since he is half-Japanese; as Heihachi has black hair and brown eyes, both of which are dominant traits, he should have inherited them instead.
** It is interesting to note, however, that the Irish Williams sisters completely ignore all kinds of [[{{Oireland}} Irish stereotypes]], including SignificantGreenEyedRedhead. Nina is blonde, while Anna is brunette. Both of them have blue eyes. These on top of not having stereotypically Irish names (e.g. surnames starting with O or Mc) or [[NotEvenBotheringWithTheAccent accent]] (they speak generic American).
** Averted to hell with the American characters. Out of the eight Americans, three are White, one is Black, one is Native, two are Asian, and one is mixed-race (Native and Asian). Of the three whites, three have blue eyes, but only two have blond hair.
** More aversions: Armor King (a black Mexican) and Eddy (a black Brazilian) defy [[LatinoIsBrown the usual portrayal of Latin America being a land of brown-skinned people]].
* PimpedOutDress: A few outfits, especially in ''5''.
* PlayEveryDay: ''Tekken Revolution'' is set up with this in mind and even advises it; players get daily bonuses each day they sign in.
* PlotLineCrossover:
** A few of the endings in ''Tag 2'' are actually interconnected plots. For example, Jin's ending seamlessly segues into that of Devil Jin. The most significant case of this is a story which takes up an entire afternoon: in chronological order: Asuka, Lili, Miharu, Kuma, Panda, Alisa and Xiaoyu's endings.
** In an unusual case of a non-canon title setting up a rather major SequelHook for future games, ''[=TTT2=]'' also reveals that [[spoiler:Steve and Leo are linked through Leo's mother Emma, who not only worked for the Mishima Zaibatsu, but was a young Steve's caretaker/mother figure who hid him away after the Zaibatsu used Steve as a guinea pig (one of many) for tests involving the Devil Gene]].
* PointBuildSystem: ''Revolution'' has three parameters players can, using their in-game fight money, increase with skill points earned whenever they level up: Power (damage of attacks), Endurance (size of health gauge), and Vigor (chance of scoring a critical hit or entering Rage, determined by the difference in Vigor between opposing fighters).
* PowerTattoo: Jin's devil tattoo. Unknown has a reverse version of this.
* PracticalTaunt:
** Lee Chaolan has one where he leans back and wags his finger at his opponent, beckoning them to come at him. While this may look like a taunt, it also has the more prominent utility of being an alternate stance that gives him access to moves that are great at countering a reckless charge, which is the likely reaction for someone who falls for the taunt. Back in ''4'', if the opponent was backed against a wall while Lee assumed this stance, he was capable of beating the opponent to death with a flurry of jabs. This was nerfed since, limiting him to only 4 jabs at a time.
** To a certain extent, Bryan's taunt move also counts, though it's more a case of DifficultButAwesome. Some of his moves can be executed immediately after his knee hits the opponent (the knee itself, however, does not do any damage), although pulling off those moves requires precise timing to take advantage of the opponent's very small window of vulnerability.
* The ''Tekken'' series is known for having a pre-rendered intro movie and pre-rendered ending videos for each character.
* PressXToDie: Yoshimitsu has a button combo that allows him to stab himself with his own sword. Sure, you can damage another guy behind you, if there is a guy behind you, but after you stab the other character and yourself at the same time, you can stab yourself ''again'' and take away the rest of your health. Still pretty funny, though.
** In ''VideoGame/Tekken2'', however, Yoshimitsu could work in one of his several self-stab moves to a nasty technique: firstly pull off a cartwheel kick, screw attack and kangaroo kick combo to launch the opponent into the air. Due to the [[JumpPhysics low gravity of the first couple of games]] it was possible to be on your feet as the opponent was being launched upwards with about a quarter of their health left -- trigger the hara-kiri move at the apex of their flight and they fall down behind you just in time to be [[ImpaledWithExtremePrejudice skewered by the tip of the blade as it comes out of your back]]. If the fight has gone on for a while, it forces a draw. If you can do this as your first action, [[CurbStompBattle the match is won in less than three seconds]].
* ProductPlacement:
** Several of the 2P outfits in ''Tag 2'' were devised by [=OilShock=] Designs. Bruce instead features threads designed by Music/SnoopDogg (who also worked with the ''Tekken'' crew to create a Snoop Dogg-themed stage in the game).
** In-universe, the logo for Ganryu's restaurant "Chanko Paradise" appears a lot in ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2''.
** ''6'' featured characters wearing ''Tekken 6''-themed t-shirts designed by the MMA clothing line "Tapout". These shirts were available for purchase in real life from Tapout for a time as well.
** ''7'', due to the partnership with Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling, features some of its products, including CHAOS and Wrestling/BulletClub shirts, as well as a WholeCostumeReference for King, who gets Wrestling/KazuchikaOkada-themed outfit and his FinishingMove as his Rage Art.
* RageQuit: In 7, the number of times a player quits in the middle of an online match gets tracked, and if it occurs often enough they get penalized.
* RecoveryAttack: Starting with the third game in the series.
* RedHerring: The promotional materials for ''7'' sets up Kazumi as the BigBad of the game. [[spoiler: In the actual Story Mode, Kazuya is the BigBad and FinalBoss, while Heihachi is the VillainProtagonist. Kazumi appears in precisely one flashback chapter, where we witness Heihachi kill her. That's it.]]
* ReducedToDust: When a character defeats [[FinalBoss Jinpachi Mishima]] in ''5'', he dissolves to dust, due to the fact that the evil spirit that possessed him engulfed him in flames.
* RelationshipValues:
** Hidden in the second ''Tag'' game, [[http://www.tekkenzaibatsu.com/wiki/Tekken_Tag_Tournament_2/System/Netsu_Relationship_Chart and they can get a little wonky.]] [[NatureHero Jun]] fist bumping [[ProfessionalKiller Nina]] while ignoring her own son? [[http://www.gamefaqs.com/boards/652997-/64116005 A trick to]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBk5e0LwEGI select tag win poses]] goes some way to resolve this. The strangeness of it all is that many teams with good synergy are actually counter-intuitive to what you'd expect given what canon (and the Netsu Power chart) dictates. One of the only exceptions to this is Kazuya; notorious in that almost all of his specific relationships are ''negative'' ones, the one positive relationship he has (with Jinpachi) results in what is widely regarded as a very dangerous team to face in the right hands.
** It's been done before: The Netsu system was present in the original Tag as well, albeit some combinations in that game completely prevented the Rage system from activating altogether -- [[BigBad Ogre]] is [[HeroKiller understandably]] disliked by most of the cast.
* ReligiousBruiser: Angel, of course. Jun serves as TheLancer to her. Michelle and Julia are also shown to be praying to unspecified spirits before and after a match.
* LaResistance:
** The world war precipitated by Jin in ''6'' creates a number of these in-story. Lars and other rebellious Tekken Force members are one example. Miguel is also the leader of another according to the Scenario Campaign.
** Lars is leading a different Resistance group in ''7'' with core members including himself, Alisa, Lee, and the Reporter. Their goal is to prevent both Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corporation from taking the still-comatose Jin away.
* RetCanon: Although ''Tag 2'' is non-canon, it does incorporate several elements from ''Blood Vengeance'' (which features more than a few {{Continuity Snarl}}s to its name), such as Xiaoyu and Alisa's friendship and Kazuya and Jin's "true" Devil forms.
* {{Retcon}}: Since this is a long-running fighting game series, retcons are to be expected:
** It is pretty clear that ''3'' was written to be a soft reboot of the series, with many of its mainstays giving way to newbies. The main story, that Ogre attacks fighters around the world, would be taken to its logical conclusion: he kills them too. Hwoarang enters the third tournament ''explicitly'' to avenge the death of Baek.
** The identity of Unknown. [[spoiler: The ''Tekken 6'' artbook mentions that Unknown was meant to be Jun's younger sister, which explains a lot of inconsistencies when she appears again in ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2''. Unknown in the first ''Tekken Tag Tournament'' is shorter than Jun in height, and if you look at her CGI ending, you will realize that she bears little resemblance to Jun (Unknown has noticeably sharper, more Caucasian features, not to mention green eyes, rather than Jun's brown).]]
** The Devil Gene's true origin has changed a lot in between games. The first time, it is explained to be a spontaneous mutation within Kazuya (more on this in the next bullet). The second time, Jinpachi is told to be case zero, thus [[TheRuntAtTheEnd skipping Heihachi and Lars]] in the process. The third time, Azazel is said to be the source, meaning that he and Jinpachi must be connected somehow. The fourth (and probably final) time, [[spoiler: it is revealed that Jinpachi is a RedHerring (his case is because of DemonicPossession); Kazumi is actually the true case zero, which explains why Heihachi and Lars do not inherit it.]]
** Prior to the concept of the Devil Gene (which appeared for the first time in ''4''), in the very two first games, Kazuya's Devil powers were in fact the doing of Devil, who at the time was a supernatural entity independent from Kazuya (as opposed to being simply a mutated Kaz, as seen in the more recent installments). When kid Kaz was dropped into the "Precipice of Fate" by Heihachi that day, he made a literal Faustian DealWithTheDevil, in order to both survive his fall and to gain power enabling him to exact {{Revenge}} on his father. Devil gave the power to Kaz, presumably as a mutation granting him inhuman powers, by the looks of it anyway, though it was never made wholly clear if this form was [[OneWingedAngel a mutation Devil gave to Kazuya for him to use]], or simply [[DemonicPossession Devil temporally taking over Kazuya's body]] [[GrandTheftMe and using it as a medium to manifest himself physically]], but whatever the case, Kaz didn't have complete control over his Devil form/power until ''4'' when he fully "assimilated" Devil into himself upon reuniting with a captured Jin in the Hon-Maru temple. Why is Devil's existence as his own character independent from Kaz important you ask? Well, for one, because [[GoodAngelBadAngel Angel's role in the story was to be a force opposing Devil]] and trying to "save Kazuya's soul" (in ''Tekken 2'', anyway). As soon as Devil ceased to exist as a standalone character, so did Angel, since her sole purpose was to be Devil's enemy, and with him gone, there was no reason for her to continue existing in the story.
** And the reason explaining why Heihachi dropped Kazuya off a cliff in the first place? Up to ''5'' (as seen in Xiaoyu's ending in the fifth game, and in other media such as the OVA) it was because [[SocialDarwinist Hei wanted Kaz to be strong]] enough to inherit his own position as ruler of the Mishima Zaibatsu (which is basically a global financial empire at this point, so whoever rules it gets to be one of the most important, influential men in the world). But ''7'' establishes that [[spoiler:Hei actually wanted to ''kill'' Kazuya before he became a demonic being like his mother. Kazuya's survival was NOT part of the plan]].
** And again, Heihachi adopts Lee Chaolan as another son of his own, in order to give a rival adoptive brother to Kazuya and hope said rivalry would groom the latter into a stronger person. Or that's how it was before ''7'' anyway...
** And why does Heihachi conceive Lars with an unknown Swedish woman? In ''6'', it was because Hei wanted to make sure he didn't have the Devil Gene in his body (if Lars developed a Devil form like Kaz had before him, it would point Hei as the source of the gene). But in ''7'' it's revealed that [[spoiler:the Devil Gene's source was Kazumi Hachijo, Heihachi's late wife, and that not only he knew this well, he also killed his own wife in self-defense after she attacked him in her Devil form, and later he tried to kill Kazuya as well before the boy developed a Devil form too]]. So, if Hei knew this information all along, why did he get into an affair to conceive Lars, anyway?
* TheReveal: ''Tekken 7'' has a reveal 23 years in the making: [[spoiler:the Devil Gene is not endemic to the Mishima family. Kazuya and Jin inherited it from Kazumi, Heihachi's wife.]]
* {{Revenge}}: Used often as the reason for the fighters to enter the tournaments: they want to battle a fellow participant (usually the official sponsor) because of a past humiliation/anger. Most don't devolve into [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge outright killing]], but a few do.
** The first game has both Kazuya and Michelle against Heihachi.
** The second has Heihachi (against Kazuya) and Marshall (against Baek).
** The third has Eddy (against Mishima Zaibatsu), and the trio of King, Hwoarang and Jin (against Ogre).
** The fourth has King (against Marduk) and Kazuya (against Heihachi)
** The fifth has Marduk (against King), Kazuya (against G Corporation), Lee (against Kazuya), Steve (against Mishima Zaibatsu), Yoshimitsu (against Bryan), Asuka (against Feng), and Armor King (against Marduk)
** The sixth has Anna (against Nina), Armor King (against Marduk), Leo (against Kazuya), and Miguel (against Jin).
** The seventh currently has Eddy (against Kazuya), Lili (against Asuka) and Miguel (against Jin).
* RingOut: Believe it or not, the series uses this twice in the same game.
** The boss fight against NANCY-[=MI847=] in ''6''. One of NANCY's attacks breaks through the glass floor. If you step on it, you will fall and get KO'd.
** Scenario Campaign liberally uses this. Try to steer clear from the edge of the levels, especially the ones with water in it.
* TheRival: Hwoarang to Jin, Lili to Asuka, Kuma to Paul, Lee to Kazuya, King to both Armor King and Marduk, the members of the Mishima family to each other, Anna to Nina. The PlayerCharacter[=/=]sub-boss pairings of the earlier installments used to indicate this, but the idea was later scrapped.
* RivalFinalBoss: In ''4'', the BigBad of the game is Heihachi Mishima, but the last guy Hwoarang fights is Jin Kazama, his rival.
* RubberBandAI: After winning a fair few matches the CPU gets mad and goes into overdrive, becoming a shameless PerfectPlayAI that even uses the signature MK Walker moves such as being a pixel out of range of an attack and countering, and sliding across the floor. Survive even this and it when then [[TheComputerIsACheatingBastard blatantly cheat]] by not allowing you to block, dodge or even tag out as it takes out all your health in one long combo. It will start to calm down after maybe ten straight losses, but the game gets harder and stays harder the more you play it.
* RuleOfCool: Realistically, certain characters like [[EverythingsBetterWithDinosaurs Alex]], [[BearsAreBadNews Kuma]], [[PandaingToTheAudience Panda]], [[KangaroosRepresentAustralia Roger Jr.]], [[CoolSword Yoshimitsu]], [[KillerRobot Jack]] and [[ChainsawGood Alisa]] should not have been allowed into fighting tournaments alongside humans, for the simple reason that they'd kill all of their opponents within seconds. Then again, who cares about being realistic when you can pit a panda bear against a kangaroo?
* RunningGag:
** Beginning in ''5'', Lee Chaolan's Thumbs Up.
** Lee Chaolan's spanking-related running gag.
** Excellent!
* TheRuntAtTheEnd: The main members of the Mishima family are Jinpachi, Kazuya, Jin (being the son of Kazuya, he counts), Heihachi, and Kazumi. Out of all of them, Heihachi is the only one who doesn't have a SuperpoweredEvilSide. Even though that ''should'' put him at a disadvantage to them, he's more than capable of fighting them on equal footing.
* SamusIsAGirl: Kunimitsu was a PaletteSwap of Yoshimitsu in the first game, which led to people believing she was a man until subsequent installments. Leo also counts to a lesser extent; she appears less masculine than Kuni did in her debut, but nonetheless masculine enough for many fans to believe she was a man until her true gender was revealed; it doesn't help that some translations of ''Tag 2'' mistakenly refer to her as male.
* SeriesFauxnale: ''Tekken 7'' isn't the final game in the series, but it does serve as the end of the Mishima Saga, which is to say the rivalry between Heihachi and Kazuya. [[spoiler:After learning all about the problems of the Mishima clan, the story mode culminates with Kazuya defeating Heihachi in a final battle and tossing him off a cliff into a lake of lava. TheStinger sets up future games, as it shows that Jin has recovered from his coma and is ready to take on his father one more time]].
* SceneryGorn: Happens to the final stage, Heavenly Garden, of ''[=TTT2=]''. Very pretty lotus pond, with dragonflies, a flamingo, floating islands in the background, a twin rainbow, etc. Then you fell Jun[[spoiler:, and Unknown [[OneWingedAngel takes the opportunity to take her over]]]]. Cue the water slowly turning necrotic violet, then the scene suddenly becomes the Fallen Garden, where the sky is full of dark smoke, the islets are on fire, the (remaining lotuses) are now ghostly, the animals are nowhere to be seen, and the rainbows have been replaced by grayscale versions of themselves. In addition, the shallow pond you've been fighting in turns into a swamp where the "mud" sticks to you for a while if you fall into it.
* SceneryPorn: All over the place, such as Moonlit Wilderness in ''5'', Fallen Colony in ''6'' and Heavenly Garden in ''[=TTT2=]''.
* SealedEvilInACan: Ogre, Jinpachi, and Azazel.
* SelfMadeOrphan: Baek Doo San (unintentionally), according to his backstory. The Mishimas ''wish'' they were... Heihachi and Kazuya attempted to this. [[spoiler:At the end of ''7'''s Story, Kazuya succeeds]].
* ShockAndAwe: Though it doesn't actually electrocute anyone, the Mishima characters (Lars included) all emit some kind of electricity when they make a hard hit. As of ''Tekken 6'' there are hints that this actually factors into their heritage (based on Kazuya's comments to Lars during the final stage of Scenario Campaign, as well as Jin recognizing Lars's familial connection), though the actual electricity may only be a visualization. Played straight, however, by Dr. Bosconovitch in ''Tag 2'' (who can generate enough static electricity from just rubbing his hands together!), as well as his earlier appearance in ''3'' (where doing Yoshimitsu's [[UnblockableAttack sword stab]] will have the doctor using some sort of taser to shock the opponent endlessly until they either die or he decides to hit them out of it). Kazumi Mishima in ''7'' seems to monkey wrench this theory as she also produces electricity when she hits, despite not being of Mishima blood [[note]]And while it is plausible that this power could be of the Devil Gene, if she is the progenitor of it then only Kazuya and Jin should be able to emit electricity. Jinpachi, Heihachi, and Lars shouldn't be able to but also do[[/note]].
* ShoutOut:
** Especially in regards of King and ProfessionalWrestling. Some of the customization items as well. Creator/{{CLAMP}} designed a special costume for Jin in celebration of the upcoming console release of ''Tekken 6''. It's [[Anime/CodeGeass Lelouch vi Britannia's]] emperor outfit from ''R2'', minus the NiceHat. And that's not all: other [[NamesToKnowInAnime notable names in anime]] made costumes for some characters. [[Manga/{{Naruto}} Masashi Kishimoto]] has made a costume for Lars Alexandersson. He looks kinda like Deidara, but without the Akatsuki robe. Said outfit makes an appearance in ''VideoGame/NarutoShippudenUltimateNinjaStorm2'', where Lars is a GuestFighter. Yoshimitsu gets a bonus costume in the pre-order version of ''6'' -- the [[Webcomic/PennyArcade Cardboard Tube Samurai]]. In the same game, Julia has thigh holsters, grenades, short shorts and boots. Now think about that as you watch her ending and ask if that reminds you of [[Franchise/TombRaider anyone]].
** Marshall Law gains some customizations that pretty clearly give him the appearance of Kenshiro from ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar''. As both men derive inspiration from Creator/BruceLee, this is a justified nod.
** ''Tekken 6'' also lets the player buy a series of tracksuits for Marhsall Law with the [[Film/GameOfDeath yellow tracksuit]] costing around three times as much as the rest. Earlier in the series, this was occasionally one of his alternate outfits.
** Mokujin's appearance is based on the training dummies from the Creator/JackieChan movie ''Shaolin Wooden Men''.
** The shootout scene in the ''Tekken Tag Tournament'' intro's [=PS2=] version is said to have been a nod to ''Film/Terminator2JudgmentDay''.
** Going further with King, one of his grabs is called [[Manga/{{Kinnikuman}} Muscle Buster]]. Furthermore, see the Tag Move he performs with [[TheRival Marduk]] in his ending in ''5''. Muscle Docking anyone?
** Xiaoyu's ending in ''5'' has her TimeTravel to the beginning of ''Anime/TekkenTheMotionPicture'' in a bid to save Kazuya. [[NiceJobBreakingItHero She ends up sending both Kazuya and Heihachi into the cliff.]]
** Hwoarang's ending in ''Tekken 5'' is a nice homage to a scene from ''Manga/{{Akira}}''. In it, Hwoarang is riding his motorcycle down a highway when he sees Devil Jin in the middle of the road. Devil Jin destroys his motorcycle with what appears to be telekinesis and sends Hwoarang flying before he gets up and prepares to fight.
** Lars's ending in ''Tekken Tag 2'' has fanfare suspiciously similar to that of the ''VideoGame/{{Battlefield}}'' series theme.
** True Ogre's ''Tekken Tag 2'' ending is a direct homage to ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}''.
** Now with the emblem pack there is a truly ludicrous amount of Shout Outs to Namco games and other sources. As well as original works, there's many emblems from ''VideoGame/AceCombat'' as well as 8-bit art of their other games, logos and chibi versions of the ''Tekken'' fighters, even designs for ''Tekken'' websites.
** The British Steve can wear a [[VideoGame/ModernWarfare skull bandanna.]]
** Characters such as King, Craig, the Jacks, etc. can do Wrestling/HulkHogan's taunts. [[RuleOfFunny Then Alisa copies them.]]
** One of the stage themes in ''Tag 2'' is named "IT'S NOT A TUNA!", in reference to the quote "It's not a tumor!" from ''Film/KindergartenCop''.
** There are some less noticeable ones at times. For example, [[http://eng.tekkenpedia.com/wiki/File:Kunimitsu_and_Lili_-_Bikini_Origins_-_TTT2.jpg Lili and Kunimitsu's bikinis]] in ''Tag 2'' are respectively based off of Lili's appearance on the cover of Play magazine's "Girls of Gaming 7" issue and promotional art for ''Tag''. [[http://eng.tekkenpedia.com/wiki/File:Michelle_Chang_-_Artwork_-_Bikini.jpg The same applies for Michelle.]]
** "I must unleash this [[Anime/MobileFighterGGundam awesome power]]!"
** Kazumi Mishima can summon a tiger as part of her jumping uppercut attack. Maybe not intentional but that would make it a ''[[VisualPun literal]]'' "[[Franchise/StreetFighter Tiger Uppercut]]".
** A FunnyBackgroundEvent in the Historic Town Square stage in Tag Tournament 2 is [[Literature/TheBremenTownMusicians a rooster dancing on top of a cat which is dancing on top of a dog which is dancing on top of a donkey]].
** In Kuma's ending in Tekken 7, Josie and Kuma pulls out the famous gag from ''Anime/KemonoFriends'' when Kaban thinks Serval is going to eat her.
** The Wii U version of ''Tag Tournament 2'' gives each fighter a Nintendo-inspired costume. One of those costumes, the [[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Sheik]] costume to be exact, is worn by both males (King, Forest Law...) and females (Leo and Miharu), alluding to Sheik's then-ambiguous gender.
** [[spoiler: Shin Akuma]] in ''Tekken 7'' can parry like in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIII'', and even has similar animation when doing it.
** For ''Tekken 7'' each fighter can wear a Wrestling/BulletClub t shirt and your status and life bar (yes you can modify it with different emblems and mods) includes a panel for Wrestling/NewJapanProWrestling.
** In ''Tekken 7'', Armor King can be customized to resemble the Marvel superhero Comicbook/BlackPanther.
* ShowerScene: Anna Williams gets one in her ''Tekken 2'' ending.
* ShownTheirWork:
** All of the martial arts displayed are impressively well-researched.
** Come on, a luchadore who spends all his money on a Mexican orphanage and--[[http://www.cracked.com/article_18626_6-real-people-with-secret-identities-nobody-saw-coming.html holy shit.]]
* SidelinedProtagonistCrossover: [[Franchise/StreetFighter Akuma]], [[VideoGame/FatalFury Geese Howard]], and [[Series/TheWalkingDead Negan]] became {{Guest Fighter}}s in ''Tekken 7''. All of them are antagonists in the works they appear in. For the latter, [[spoiler:his characterization is taken from before he starts [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold mellowing out]] in Season 9, which began just a couple of months after his inclusion's announcement in [[TournamentPlay EVO]] 2018]].
* SituationalDamageAttack: The various Jacks have a move called Gigaton Punch, where the Jack ''du jour'' will begin winding up his arm as the announcer starts counting, similar to the aforementioned Balrog. It's fairly weak if used immediately, but once fully charged (the announcer will exclaim "5!"), the attack deals monstrous damage ''and'' becomes {{unblockable|Attack}}. Good luck actually ''hitting'' someone with it [[DeathOrGloryAttack by that point]], though.
* SlideAttack: Upon running 3 steps worth and inputting LK. Lee has a variant which he can pull off from a crouching position or his Mist Step. The Laws can do this as well. Shaheen in ''7'' also has a slide of his own.
* SNKBoss: '''All''' of the bosses have some cheap trick up their sleeve. See [[SNKBoss/{{Namco}} here]] for more details. True Ogre, Devil, Jinpachi, and Azazel spam ranged attacks (most of which can't be blocked) and have insane combos -- the latter two have insanely cheap stun moves that will stop any combo in its tracks or force you to stand even after you've just been knocked down. Unknown has an insane health bar and ''regenerates'' health to make up for her lack of cheap moves.
** In Unknown's case, the health bar and regeneration ''was'' justifiable considering she battles alone and is a mimic fighter. [[spoiler:In ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'', she has earned her SNK boss status with not just Jun's moves and the regenerating health, but also [[EverythingIsTryingToKillYou a stage full of purple slime that she can take advantage of with her moves!]] Not only that, but she has a [[HPToOne move that drains your first character to 1 HP]], automatically tagging in your partner!]]
** Jun herself qualifies when she's the final boss. She might not resort to dirty tricks like other SNK bosses but the A.I. is on crack cocaine. She's very fast; blocks counters and juggles like crazy and by this stage [[ArtificialBrilliance would have your tactics down cold.]]
** [[spoiler:Two words: Shin. Akuma. The developers pulled out all the stops on him to make him as tough as he was in the past ''Street Fighter'' games, giving him anti-flinching armor, allowing him to charge his Super Gauge instantly, and included the ability to '''parry''' attacks. None of the other characters in the game can do that. Not to mention that his signature move, Shun Goku Satsu, has been upgraded to a OneHitKill move. [[ThisIsGonnaSuck Best of luck]]]].
* SoloCharacterRun: Possible to do in ''[=TTT2=]''. As a trade-off, the solo character has 240 health (as opposed to the normal 180 value), recovers red health automatically (instead of needing to be on standby), and receives a modified version of Rage from ''6'' (whereas duos get Netsu Power).
* SoundtrackDissonance:
** Almost a given with the presence of Tekken Tunes in ''Tag Tournament 2'', which allows players to replace the game's [=BGMs=] with music from their console hard drives. [[WebVideo/TwoBestFriendsPlay Matt and Pat]] were two of the most notable offenders, deciding to use the soundtrack from ''[[VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaOcarinaOfTime Ocarina of Time]]''.
** In a similar fashion, the Jukebox in the [=PS4=] version of ''7'' allows players to replace the game's themes with almost every theme from the entire series up to that point. It's very possible to use a silly music like "High School Love!" from the Wii U version of ''Tag 2'' on a serious stage like Brimstone and Fire, or use the slow and creepy "Nothingness" from ''4'' on the light-hearted Kinder Gym.
* SphereOfDestruction:
** Occasionally accompanies Kazuya and/or Jin's transformations into their Devil Forms, although this is only present in select cutscenes. On one of those occasions for Jin (his ''Tag 2'' ending), it's a very poignant AngstNuke.
** Angel's ending in ''Tag 2'' has her countering Devil's laser beam with this.
** Eliza's Rage Art engulfs her opponent in this before she slashes through them with her hand.
* SpinningOutOfHere: Yoshimitsu possesses a special in his [[StanceSystem Indian mediation stance]] allowing him to spin so fast (while sitting down) that he instantly warps on the other side of his opponent. From a standing position, he can also do this, but however, it also damages him in the process.
* StatusQuoIsGod: Averted in some aspects, played straight in others. As of the sixth game, the storyline has spanned 23 years and it shows: technology evolves, characters age and some are outright KilledOffForReal. However, some older character plots (not to mention physical appearances) seem to be stuck in perpetual limbo, perhaps because [[TheArtifact they've been around for a long while]] and nobody has any idea what to do with them (Paul wants to win the tournament, Law's short on money, Hwoarang has a rivalry with Jin, Xiaoyu has a crush on Jin, Nina & Anna [[TheGloriousWarOfSisterlyRivalry have]] [[CainAndAbel issues]]...)
* TheStinger:
** At the end of Scenario Campaign, Jin charges toward Azazel as the both of them fall into the ruins of the latter's chamber. After the credits, Raven and his team return to the ruins to find Jin, alone and unconscious. On seeing this, Raven cryptically comments, "Why can't I be wrong just once?"
** The first scene of ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2''[='=]s console opening movie features Jinpachi taking a cab. The terrified driver inquires where Jinpachi wants to go, to which he responds, "Can't you tell where? I must unleash this awesome power!" After finishing Arcade mode once, an additional movie is unlocked where Jinpachi arrives... [[spoiler:[[BrickJoke at a red-light district]]]].
** The ending of ''7's'' story has [[spoiler:Kazuya supposedly killing Heihachi. However, Jin has successfully left his coma, appears to have his Devil in control now, and joins Lars, Alisa and Lee in stopping Kazuya, setting the stage for the next game]].
* TheStoic: Sergei Dragunov. Nina as well, to a certain extent.
* StrappedToABomb:
** In ''Tekken 5'', Heihachi's ending has Jin, Kazuya and Jinpachi strapped to a rocket as it launches.
** Lee's ending in ''5'' has Heihachi with a bomb collar around his neck. His ending in ''6'', has Heihachi, Kazuya and Jin strapped to rockets, while he plays exploding golf.
* {{Stripperiffic}}: Christie and Zafina. ''7'' adds Katarina and Master Raven.
* SuddenlyVoiced: Julia's ending in ''3''. Particularly since it's the only ending in the game with spoken dialogue.
* SuperpoweredEvilSide: The Devil Gene, which transforms its inheritors to demonic forms. Kazumi, Kazuya, and Jin all possess this, but only Kazumi (being the case zero) has full control over it. There are unnamed other demonic powers as well, such as the evil spirit who possesses Jinpachi [[spoiler: and the wolf spirit who possesses Jun, turning her into Unknown]].
* SurprisinglyGoodEnglish: The very first fully-voiced cutscene back in ''3'' had it (for its time), and every English speaker since has carried it on. The French (Lili/Sebastian), Portuguese (Eddy, Christie and Katarina), Russian (Dr. Bosconovitch), German (Leo), Spanish (Miguel), Korean (Baek/Hwoarang), Arabic (Shaheen), Italian (Claudio) and Mandarin (Wang/Feng Wei) voice acting is also well done.
* TakeThat:
** Bob is a TakeThat at tournament players who called Hwoarang "Bob" because they couldn't pronounce his name.
** The final Combot missions are against [[Franchise/StreetFighter Ryu, Ken and Akuma,]] who bloat up beyond Bob's dimensions and become worthless as you deal damage until they explode into chickens. TakeThat indeed. Violet also carelessly dismisses them as no-name celebrities.[[note]]I wonder what will happen when the [[GuestFighter REAL Akuma]] wanders over to have a [[PunctuatedPounding nice 'chat']] with you about that...[[/note]]
* TagTeam: One of the [[DreamMatchGame two]] main selling points of the aptly-named ''Tag Tournament'' titles. Certain characters even gain access to unique tag throws and hidden moves/stances from pairing up with specific fighters, and ''Tag 2'' ups the ante by having specific teams benefit from additional tag-out openings normally not available to the player (signified by blue sparks appearing during certain moves), allowing for more combo possibilities and even hidden [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iwu8pRrsfi8 Tag]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SC3j2iOuEas Combos.]]
* TigerVsDragon: An interesting use of it. In ''Tekken 5'' there is a stage called "Dragon's Nest", which takes place in a mountainous shrine amid several dragon statues. In ''Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection'', this stage was changed to "Western Gate" and all the statues were replaced with tiger statues, signifying the contrast (the sky was also made kind of gloomy as opposed to the bright midday of Dragon's Nest).
* TimeSkip: Nineteen years between ''Tekken 2'' and ''Tekken 3''. ''4'' then jumps ahead another two years.
* TragicHero: Jin. BeingGoodSucks ''big time'' if you're a Mishima.
* TrainingStage:
** Strategic Space from ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2''. The design is futuristic and sterile and the floor has a grid pattern to help players measure hitboxes. Also, it features all three variations of the stage break: it has a wall break, a floor break, and a balcony break. The stage is used for the Training Mode in ''Tekken 3D: Prime Edition'', where it is unable to be used elsewhere.
** ''7'' has Geometric Space, which is basically Strategic Space minus the stage breaks.
* TranslationConvention:
** ''Tekken 6'' has some characters speaking in different languages (Bear!) and perfectly understanding each other. Thank Namco there's subtitles.
** Briefly subverted in ''Tekken 4'', where Jin speaks heavily-accented, broken English to an unaccented English-speaking Hwoarang in an ending cutscene.
** Taken UpToEleven in ''Tekken Tag 2'', now almost every single character is speaking their native language, not just a variant of English, Japanese and Chinese from the previous games. Particularly, Lili, Leo, Miguel, Eddy and Christie used to be English speakers before ''Tag 2''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: U to X]]
* TheUnintelligible: The animal characters and Mokujin, naturally. The Jacks, Ogre, King and Armor King; bit out there, but not that bizarre in light of most other weirdness in the series. As of ''6'', Yoshimitsu also counts; some of his lines are still actually intelligible to some extent, but in his case, unlike the other aforementioned characters, the game just doesn't bother with subtitles.
* UnknownRival:
** Paul considers himself Kazuya's biggest rival, though he's largely ignored. After ''Tekken 2'', Paul's pretty much stopped caring about Kazuya and moved onto Kuma, who genuinely dislikes him.
** Lili and Asuka is another example. In the 6th game, Lili is determined to defeat Asuka, but the latter couldn't really care less... until Lili pisses her out using a ZanyScheme. ''Tag 2'' takes this UpToEleven, and Sebastian elaborates that getting Asuka to fight her is actually her way of ''showing affection!''
** Jin's actually aware that Hwoarang wants a piece of him (in fact, he even remembers why) but he simply can't be bogged down with matters like this. It's an unusual case of ItsNotYouItsMyEnemies that applies to a rival rather than a loved one.
* UpdatedRerelease: Each game since ''5'' has gotten an arcade revision at least once.
** ''Tekken 5'' received two revisions in the arcades. The first, called ''Tekken 5.1'', was a balance patch that only changed certain elements to rebalance the game. ''Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection'' is the full upgrade that included new stages, new moves for the existing cast, and three new characters. Eddy was also separated from Christie for the first time in this version. This is the only arcade revision that was also released as a separate revision on consoles (the original ''Tekken 5'' only launched on [=PlayStation 2=] while ''Dark Resurrection'' was ported to PSP and [=PlayStation 3=]).
** ''Tekken 6'' received one revision called ''Bloodline Rebellion'' that added two characters to the roster and some new stages (and includes new attacks for the existing cast). It also changed the properties of low parries to convert to a Bound state. The console version is derived fully from ''Bloodline Rebellion'' with no release of the original ''Tekken 6'' appearing on a home console.
** ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2'' received an update titled ''Unlimited'' which, chiefly, added the ability to play as a single character as opposed to a tag team. No new characters were added to the arcade version of ''Unlimited''. However, when ''Unlimited'' was ported to the console, it rectified this by adding five new characters at launch, followed by ten more through DLC.
** ''Tekken 7''[='s=] revision is entitled ''Fated Retribution''. The update added two new stages, a new lighting model, the new "Rage Drive" mechanic (a alternate Rage Mode technique to Rage Arts; see DesperationAttack for more details), revision to characters' movesets, and two new characters (including a GuestFighter). Further updates added two more characters. The console version was based on ''Fated Retribution'' and introduced twelve characters (including three {{Guest Fighter}}s), seven of whom had been ported to the arcades. The remaining content not included in that update is included in the arcade update entitled ''Fated Retribution - Round 2'' which will bring parity to the console's second season pass in terms of content. This includes a new feature introduced in the second season called "Wall Bounce" where certain moves will slam an opponent into a wall and then repel them back towards the attacker. This is the only time in the series a new gameplay mechanic has been introduced outside of a "major" revision as well as the first time an arcade update has been based on a console update.
* UpgradeVsPrototypeFight: JACK (and later JACK-2) against Prototype JACK. It's even in the name.
* UrbanFantasy: Set in the modern day (the 1990s for the first two games, the 2010s for the rest), the series is mostly realistic with the occasional supernatural elements like the Devil Gene and Ogre. As noted in DoingInTheWizard, ''Tekken 4'' tries to ground the fantastical elements by retconning the Devil Gene into a genetic mutation, which makes it the only game whose genre is Sci-Fi, instead of Fantasy.
* UseYourHead:
** The Mishimas are not above headbutting you during a fight. Heck, ''all'' the Mishimas and the animals will headbutt you when given the chance. In ''Tag 2'', pairing two Mishimas together allows you to switch characters by having one headbutt the opponent right towards your partner who enters with a headbutt of their own. There's also an EasterEgg where a Mishima character facing a male opponent can potentially keep trading headbutts until one of them gets knocked out.
** [[RobotGirl Alisa]] takes this to the extreme. A good chunk of her combat moves involve detaching her head and using it as an instrument of blunt force or a bomb.
** Also the [[UnblockableAttack running charge]].
* VariableMix:
** Present in ''4''; for most stages, the BGM would play normally until a KO is scored, which would then cause the song to jump ahead to a bridge which would then lead into a later section of the composition.
** In ''7'', when one player is on match point, the music will change to a more intense version of the theme (or sometimes a completely different theme) until the end of the match.
* VersionExclusiveContent:
** ''Tekken 3'''s home port added the characters of Dr. Boskonovitch and Manga/{{Gon}}.
** The Wii U port of ''Tag 2'' gives the majority of characters a ''Mario''-themed alternate costume to wear, as well as bringing back ''Tekken Ball'' mode and adding in special power-ups to change your size during matches.
* VillainProtagonist:
** Jin in the original release of ''6''...sort of. He is however upstaged in the ''Bloodline Rebellion'' update by Lars, who is an all-around HeroProtagonist.
** Heihachi in ''2'' and ''7''. In the latter case, the Story Mode opens and ends with you playing as him. [[spoiler: Not counting the Extra Match against Shin Akuma, of course.]]
* VillainWithGoodPublicity: Heihachi. Kazuya becomes this in ''6'', hailed as a "savior" by the people from the now-tyrannical Zaibatsu under Jin.
* TheVoiceless: King and Armor King. Because all their "dialogue" is just unintelligible growls (which, strangely enough, is ''not'' unintelligible to the other characters -- just to the players). Dragunov, who just doesn't talk at all -- although WordOfGod and the Scenario Campaign of ''Tekken 6'' confirm that he is capable of speech, he just doesn't like to do it very often. Jack is never heard to speak, but the aforementioned Scenario Campaign reveals that he can speak, albeit in ThirdPersonPerson HulkSpeak. Kuma, Panda, Roger and Alex also can't talk properly, but they ''are'' animals...
* WalkingShirtlessScene: Many male characters have at least one default costume that completely bares their upper parts. Marshall, King, Ganryu, Bruce, Bryan, Marduk, and Feng consistently follow this trope, but there are other periodical examples as well. From ''6'' onward, all male characters except for Wang, Fat Bob, and Tiger can be customized to fight shirtless.
* WeaponizedBall: Perhaps the entire point of ''Tekken Ball''.
* WeCanRebuildHim: Bryan -- ''twice''. And Kazuya, who is brought back by the G Corporation after being [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome thrown into a volcano by Heihachi]].
* WellDoneSonGuy:
** Lee is desperate for his adoptive father Heihachi's respect; he's never come anywhere near getting it. By the time of ''4'', though, he's decided to settle for humiliating him.
** The same with Jin and Kazuya towards Heihachi. Heihachi himself towards Jinpachi? He never asked a "Well Done" treatment from him. He preferred a more... direct... way of getting glory. By ''displacing and imprisoning'' Jinpachi. Essentially, Heihachi has ''no'' intention of doing anything that looks like relinquishing power to anyone, even a son or grandson. WellDoneSonGuy is ''not'' going to work on someone who doesn't believe in reciprocal respect in the first place, only power.
* WhamLine: From ''6''[='=]s Scenario Campaign: "Alisa, disable safe mode. And then reboot." We all knew it was coming, but still pretty cool.
* WhamShot: For ''7: Fated Retribution'': Remember how Kazumi met with someone in the VERY FIRST trailer, a sequence revisited several times afterwards? [[spoiler:[[Franchise/StreetFighter Street Fighter's]] Akuma is that figure, and he had been making a promise to Kazumi to kill Heihachi and Kazuya all those years ago]].
* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[PaletteSwap Angel, Kunimitsu, Tiger, Alex, and Combot.]] That is, until ''Tag Tournament 2'', where Angel, Kunimitsu and Alex reappear (the former two as DLC characters), and Combot, both as an opponent in the Fight Lab and an unlockable fighter. Plus, Eddy can be customized to look like Tiger in ''Tekken 5'' and ''6'', and Tiger himself also appears as a separate character in ''[=TTT2=]''.
* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: In [[{{Ninja}} Raven's]] ending in ''Tekken 6'', Dragunov does, but [[DopplegangerSpin misses]]. In Dragunov's ending, he takes a [[CrazyPrepared different]] [[StuffBlowingUp approach]].
* WhyWontYouDie: Heihachi and Kazuya supposedly "died" several times during the games' events, often with one killing the other. In the case of Kazuya, he was found by some science team members and resurrected.
* WorldOfBuxom: Most girls have quite a respectable bust in ''Tekken Tag Tournament 2''. See FanservicePack[=/=]HotterAndSexier above. Subverted with other females, however, like Xiaoyu, Jun, and Leo (although she does have her own bikini outfit). ''7'' introduces Katarina and Master Raven.
* WorldWarIII: According to ''Tekken 6'', Jin has begun using the [[MegaCorp Mishima Zaibatsu]] for [[TakeOverTheWorld world conquest]] to declare war across the globe until the world itself deems him a threat that must be dealt with. Although it's not conquest he's after, but trying to plunge the world into enough strife and horror that Azazel will gain material form -- and thus be killable.
* WrestlerInAllOfUs:
** The game features two fighters, King and Armor King, who are wrestlers. But that doesn't explain Heihachi Mishima (a karate master) busting out powerbombs, or kickboxer Bryan Fury's DDT, or even (Kenpo and Xing Yi practitioners) Michelle and Julia Chang's range of suplexes... the reason? Wrestling moves are cool!
** In Julia's Twisted Sister throw, especially cool. Even Jun has a couple of wrestling moves, though to be fair they are common, and lest we forget Goldber--sorry, Craig Marduk.
** Christie and Eddie can do a float-over DDT while Michelle and Julia can do tiger suplexes.
** Julia appears in ''Tekken Tag 2'' as "Jaycee" and gets a luchador outfit by default. [[JustifiedTrope Guess she really did wrestle on the side.]] Her ending reveals she's filling in for a friend, which at least implies that she has connections in the ring (aside from King).
** And in Michelle's ending [[spoiler:she finds Jaycee's mask and fools around in it. Julia sees her and Michelle is embarrassed, but Julia thinks she looks great in it and suggests they form a tag team.]] Must run in the family.
* XanatosGambit: Jin let Alisa be captured by the rebels, as she had cameras set up inside her to record their every move. Being able to activate her "Kill them all" programming at any moment was another plus, too.
[[/folder]]
----
-->'''''Great!!'''''

* ''Tekken 4'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStation2) \\

The games are one of the [[TropeCodifier Trope Codifiers]] for 3D Fighting Games, and is widely accepted as the most popular game in the genre. ''Tekken'' itself is ''very'' demanding to play, as the game makes judicious use of extremely precise hitboxes for all of its characters -- if someone punches for example, you can just duck under it entirely. Punches and kicks are uniquely mapped to the four face buttons, with each one corresponding to a limb. If you press a button that uses the right arms, then the character will almost certainly strike with that arm, for example. Characters also have massive movelists -- for example, main character Kazuya has over 60 moves by ''Tekken 7'', and that's not even getting into characters like Yoshimtisu or Hwoarang, who have stances with their ''own'' dedicated movelists. This complexity has earned it many fans around the globe, and the series has a reputation for being one of the most challenging, technical yet highly rewarding fighting games a person can play.

* ''Tekken 5'' (UsefulNotes/{{Arcade|Game}}[=/=]UsefulNotes/PlayStation2) \\

* BadassGrandpa: Heihachi, Jinpachi, and Wang.
** Heihachi is old but not ''that'' old comparatively (in his 70s) and seems to be unusually strong anyway (in his 50s he survived being tossed off a cliff by Kazuya and only seemed to become progressively stronger since). Jinpachi is 108 years old but is backed by the strange spirit that is inhabiting his body, enabling him to fight at superhuman levels. However Wang is ''105'' and has nothing at all but technique and training keeping him in the ring. He first appeared in the series at age ''82''.
** Zig-zagged with Heihachi in ''Tag 2'' (albeit a non-canonical game), as he somehow regains his youth and reverts to more or less the age he had by ''Tekken 1''. His ending reveals that his scientist had developed a [[FountainOfYouth youth serum]]. He's back to his normal age in ''Tekken 7'', but still retains his younger voice actor, since his [[RealLifeWritesThePlot old voice actor]] [[ActorExistenceFailure has passed away]].
** Dr. Bosconovitch's ''Tag 2'' ending, if not taken with a grain of salt, reveals that ''any'' Mishima member who's not a Devil Gene carrier (i.e. Heihachi, Jinpachi, Lars) becomes progressively stronger with age. Well, either that or Bosconovitch is just curious as to how Lars might still have his hair when he reaches his 50's.
** Dr. Bosconovitch is himself this since he is a playable character after all (albeit PlayedForLaughs). How old he is is not precisely known but his hair is already white in ''2'', when Heihachi is still black-haired. Ditto with Sebastian.
** Season 3 of ''7'' introduces a new character, Leroy Smith, whose age is possibly around mid-50's to early-60's, and is an African-American practitioner of Wing Chun.

** The third has Eddy (against Mishima Zaibatsu), and Hwoarang and Jin (against Ogre).

** The sixth has Anna (against Nina), Armor King (against Marduk), Leo (against Kazuya), and Miguel (against Jin)
** The seventh currently has Eddy (against Kazuya) and Miguel (against Jin).

* TheRival: Hwoarang to Jin, Lili to Asuka, Kuma to Paul, Lee to Kazuya, King and Marduk, the members of the Mishima family to each other, Nina to Anna. The PlayerCharacter[=/=]sub-boss pairings of the earlier installments used to indicate this, but the idea was later scrapped.

** Prior to the concept of the Devil Gene (which appeared for the first time in ''4''), in the very two first games, Kazuya's Devil powers were in fact the doing of Devil, who at the time was a supernatural entity independent from Kazuya (as opposed to being simply a mutated Kaz, as seen in the more recent installments). When kid Kaz was dropped into the "Precipice of Fate" by Heihachi that day, he made a literal Faustian DealWithTheDevil, in order to both survive his fall and to gain power enabling him to exact {{Revenge}} on his father. Devil gave the power to Kaz, presumably as a mutation granting him inhuman powers, by the looks of it anyway, though it was never made wholly clear if this form was [[OneWingedAngel a mutation Devil gave to Kazuya for him to use]], or simply [[DemonicPossession Devil temporally taking over Kazuya's body]] [[GrandTheftMe and using it as a medium to manifest himself physically]], but whatever the case, Kaz didn't have complete control over his Devil form/power until ''4'' when he fully "assimilated" Devil into himself upon reuniting with a captured Jin in the Hon-Maru temple. Why is Devil's existence as his own character independent from Kaz important you ask? Well, for one, because Angel's role in the story was a force opposing Devil and trying to "save Kazuya's soul" (in ''Tekken 2'', anyway). As soon as Devil ceased to exist as a standalone character, so did Angel, since her sole purpose was to be Devil's enemy, and with him gone, there was no reason for her to continue existing in the story.

** Prior to the concept of the Devil Gene (which appeared for the first time in ''4''), in the very two first games, Kazuya's Devil powers were in fact the doing of Devil, who at the time was a supernatural entity independent from Kazuya (as opposed to being simply a mutated Kaz, as seen in the more recent installments). When kid Kaz was dropped into the "Precipice of Fate" by Heihachi that day, he made a literal Faustian DealWithTheDevil, in order to both survive his fall and to gain power enabling him to exact {{Revenge}} on his father. Devil gave the power to Kaz, presumably as a mutation granting him inhuman powers, by the looks of it anyway, but it was never made wholly clear if this form was a mutation Devil gave to Kazuya for him to use, or simply Devil temporally taking over Kazuya's body and using it as a medium to manifest himself physically, but whatever the case, Kaz didn't have complete control over his Devil form/power until ''4'' when he fully "assimilated" Devil into himself upon reuniting with a captured Jin in the Hon-Maru temple. Why is Devil's existence as his own character independent from Kaz important you ask? Well, for one, because Angel's role in the story was a force opposing Devil and trying to "save Kazuya's soul" (in ''Tekken 2'', anyway). As soon as Devil ceased to exist as a standalone character, so did Angel, since her sole purpose was to be Devil's enemy, and with him gone, there was no reason for her to continue existing in the story.
** And the reason explaining why Heihachi dropped Kazuya off a cliff? Up to ''5'' (as seen in Xiaoyu's ending in the fifth game) it was because Hei wanted Kaz to be strong enough to inherit his own position as ruler of the Mishima Zaibatsu (which is basically a global financial empire at this point, so whoever rules it gets to be one of the most important, influential men in the world). But ''7'' establishes that [[spoiler:Hei actually wanted to ''kill'' Kazuya before he became a demonic being like his mother. Kazuya's survival was NOT part of the plan]].
** And again, Heihachi adopts Lee Chaolan as another son of his own, in order to give a rival adoptive brother to Kazuya and hope said rivalry would groom the latter into a stronger person. Or that's how it was before ''7'' anyway.

** And the reason explaining why Heihachi dropped Kazuya off a cliff? Up to ''5'' (as seen in Xiaoyu's ending in the fifth game) it was because Hei wanted Kaz to be strong enough to inherit his own position as ruler of the Mishima Zaibatsu (which is basically a global financial empire at this point, so whoever rules it gets to be one of the most important, influential men in the world). But ''7'' establishes that Hei actually wanted to ''kill'' Kazuya before he became a demonic being like his mother. Kazuya's survival wasn't part of the plan.

** The Devil Gene's true origin has changed a lot in between games. The first time, it is explained to be a spontaneous mutation within Kazuya. The second time, Jinpachi is told to be case zero, thus [[TheRuntAtTheEnd skipping Heihachi and Lars]] in the process. The third time, Azazel is said to be the source, meaning that he and Jinpachi must be connected somehow. The fourth (and probably final) time, [[spoiler: it is revealed that Jinpachi is a RedHerring (his case is because of DemonicPossession); Kazumi is actually the true case zero, which explains why Heihachi and Lars do not inherit it.]]

** In the {{Dream Match|Game}} ''Tag'' games, Heihachi, Kazuya, Ogre/True Ogre, Jinpachi (in ''Tag 2''), and Jin all show up as selectable characters. The boss of the ''Tag'' games, Unknown, has never been knocked off. Heihachi/Jinpachi (as a team) and True Ogre also serve as sub-bosses under Unknown (and her neutral form [[spoiler:Jun]]) in ''Tag 2''.

** In the {{Dream Match|Game}} ''Tag'' games, Heihachi, Kazuya, Ogre/True Ogre, Jinpachi (in ''Tag 2''), and Jin all show up as selectable characters. The boss of the ''Tag'' games, Unknown, has never been knocked off. Heihachi/Jinpachi (as a team) and True Ogre also serve as sub-bosses under Unknown (and her neutral form [spoiler]Jun[/spoiler]) in ''Tag 2''.

** Heihachi has had to suffer this indignity twice. Kazuya defeats him in ''Tekken 1'' and he shows up in the sequel as a selectable character from the start. He wins that tournament and manages to maintain his status as boss through ''3'' (below Ogre) and into ''4'' where, despite being the canonical winner, is ambushed at Hon-Maru after the tournament ends and assumed killed. However he survived and canonically returns in ''6'' (his appearance in ''5'' is regarded as non-canon, although it is the only such example where the boss of a previous installment still had to be unlocked in his next appearance).

** Eddy/Christie have different throws, but their other moves are identical.

** Kuma Jr., King II, and Armor King II are, like the Jacks, identical copies of their deceased LegacyCharacter: Kuma Sr., King I, and Armor King II, respectively.

Released in 2001 for the arcades and 2002 for [=PS2=]. Completely reworks the graphics and character designs; a line can be drawn between this game and ''Tekken Tag Tournament'', so all future installments owe their art direction to ''Tekken 4''. The game introduces the concept of juggling due to the presence of walled arenas, which is retained in its successors, and FreeFloorFighting, which is not. Total playable characters: 23.

* EvilVsEvil: Kazuya vs. Heihachi, which evolved into Mishima Zaibatsu vs. G Corporation in ''6'' and ''7''.

** Kazuya, quite literally when Heihachi threw him off a cliff.
** Heihachi inverts this as a fallen villain when Kazuya pays him back. His reply? "You should have found a steeper cliff."
** Like his father, Jin has gone from primary good guy to even worse than those who came before him. [[SubvertedTrope Well, not really, as it turns out]].

[[caption-width-right:350:''The'' BigScrewedUpFamily.]] c

[[caption-width-right:350:''The'' BigScrewedUpFamily.]]

** Dr. Bosconovitch is himself this since he is a playable character after all (albeit PlayedForLaughs). How old he is is not precisely known but his hair is already white in ''2'', when Heihachi is still black-haired). Ditto with Sebastian.

** Other than Raven, 7 characters from ''6''[[note]]Baek, Bruce, Christie, Ganryu, Mokujin, Roger Jr., Wang[[/note]] currently don't appear in ''7''. The list used to be even larger; Bob, Devil Jin, Eddy, Jack, Jin, Kuma, Lee, Miguel, Nina, Panda, and Yoshimitsu didn't appear in the original release build of the game. Post-release DLC seasons saw the return of Lei, Anna, Marduk, Armor King, Julia, and Zafina.

* FixedFloorFighting: All battles are conducted in a flat plane, even when the surface suggests a ramp to stand higher/lower. The series tried to avert this in ''Tekken 4'', which featured several stages in uneven ground. It was poorly received and the game went back to stage one. On the other hand, ''Tekken 6'' introduced a different definition of "uneven" (see FreeFloorFighting below).

* GrandFinale: Zigzagged. ''Tekken 7'' isn't the final game in the series, but it does serve as the end of the Mishima Saga, which is to say the rivalry between Heihachi and Kazuya. [[spoiler:After learning all about the problems of the Mishima clan, the story mode culminates with Kazuya defeating Heihachi in a final battle and tossing him off a cliff into a lake of lava. TheStinger sets up future games, as it shows that Jin has recovered from his coma and is ready to take on his father one more time]].

** Azazel, on a grand scale. He is the source of the Devil Gene; without him, the series would not exist.

** Season 2 of ''Tekken 7'' will be headlined by Negan from ''Series/TheWalkingDead''. UnexpectedCharacter to the extreme.

* LaResistance:
** The world war precipitated by Jin in ''6'' creates a number of these in-story. Lars and other rebellious Tekken Force members are one example. Miguel is also the leader of another according to the Scenario Campaign.
** Lars is leading a different Resistance group in ''7'' with core members including himself, Alisa, Lee, and the Reporter. Their goal is to prevent both Mishima Zaibatsu and G Corporation from taking the still-comatose Jin away.

** It seems that this reason is why the roster is scaled down to a more manageable 30-ish in ''Tekken 7''. Harada said that ''Tag 2'''s monstrous roster keeps newbies from joining the series out of sheer fear of having to learn to use and combat that many characters. However, the plan seems to have been relaxed (if not abandoned) recently, with the Second Season of DLC increasing the character count to 46. The Season 3 DLC brings this up to 49.

*** This isn't to say that the male characters are left out. Most male characters who don't already have a [[WalkingShirtlessScene shirtless costume]] can be customized to have one. In addition, almost every male swim suit is as sexy as the ladies' - the overwhelming majority of younger guys ([[GrandmaWhatMassiveHotnessYouHave and even some of the older ones]]) wear nothing more than {{fundoshi}} or speedos.