The King of Iron Fist Tournament has included everything from wooden dummies to boxing kangaroos.
We’ve ranked them from worst to best.
Tekkenhas always been a fun fighting game series with an awesome set of characters.
It had jaguar-headed wrestlers, lady assassins, robots, whacko ninjas, and a bear.
As we reachTekken 7s console release, Ive decided to rank the games cast from worst to best.
Ive done this withMortal KombatandStreet Fighter, and I almost died from doing this withKing of Fighters.
Before we start, lets go over the guidelines for the list:
OriginalTekkencharacters only.
Guest characters, such as Gon and Akuma, need not apply.
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Different forms of the same person all count as one entry.
Kazuya and Devil Kazuya are the same.
Ancient Ogre and True Ogre are the same.
Legacy characters count as separate entries.
There are two Kings, two Armor Kings, and two Kumas.
All the mainline Jacks count as one.
Theyre all basically the same character mentally anyway.
Prototype Jack is a separate entity.
Im counting anyone playable in the first sixTekkengames and the twoTekken Tag Tournamentgames.
Ill update the list to include theTekken 7cast sometime after its release.
As always, Im ranking these based on style, storyline, and personal preference.
Not over who has the better infinite combos and all that jazz.
Now lets get started!
Shes Xiaoyu best friend and…thats about it.
As a secondary Xiaoyu, Miharu doesnt add much.
Just goes to show that nobody inTekkenis 100% crap.
Hes a drone that broke away from what he was created to be.
So when you look at Prototype Jack, youre left with Jack without any of the substance.
His defining characteristic is that hes shoddy and falls apart.
Otherwise, hes just a drone.
That said, his metallic Clark Still appearance is totally sweet.
After the game, she falls into obscurity and only shows up in the non-canonTaggames.
HerTekken Tag Tournament 2update did at least add a little personality, and thats a plus.
Namely that Angel has a sinister and violent streak barely buried under her righteous demeanor.
That face she makes at Ogre during theTag 2intro sure is something.
When it comes to the original core cast, Michelles just so forgettable.
She has so little personality that her endings are a cure for insomnia.
Her saving grace is herTekken Tag Tournament 2ending.
Michelle and Julia become a mother/daughter luchadora tag team.
It goes with her use of the Perfect Plex, I guess.
They even got an iconic villain design out of it.
He mopes every once in a while as a break from being the most generic-looking mook in theTekkenseries.
Armor King is more of an inspiration than his own, fleshed-out character.
He convinces the first King to get off the sauce and get his life back together.
He trains the second King and acts as a mentor.
Hes a decent supporting character, but cant stand on his own.
And lets face it, even though Armor King looks utterly badass, theres that name.Armor King.
Its always hit me as a silly persona.
Like if Roman Reigns called himself Super John Cena.
PANDA
First appearance: Tekken 3
This series has a dancing panda bear on its roster.
No matter how you cut it, thats an amazing thing.
That should be celebrated.
Panda is, unfortunately, shoved into the background.
As another hanger-on of Ling Xiaoyu, Panda never gets to do anything of note.
When you compare Panda with Kuma, its not even close.
Her entire existence is about finding Eddy Gordo and why would you even do that?
In the end, I have to give him a low-ish ranking due to theTekken Forevercomic.
JUN KAZAMA
The release of the hit gameTekken 2gave us a huge cast of characters.
With the exception of maybe Baek, nobody was as boring as Jun Kazama.
Jun was justAce Ventura: Pet Detectivewith all the charisma sucked out.
And thus, they fridged her for the sequel to introduce new hero Jin Kazama.
Lemonade out of lemons for sure, but then Namco kept pressing on her disappearance.
Juns saving grace is the creation ofTekken Tagboss Unknown.
Originally meant to be Juns sister, the second installment simply introduced her as Juns dark counterpart.
Her helmeted look inTekken Tag Tournament 2wasnt bad either.
InTekken 6, she plays the part of the games Rose/Chizuru.
Shes the exotic and somewhat mysterious lady who acts as a window into the games big bad.
I dont know if shed feel welcome in later games, but well see.
Sumo wrestlers have such a uniform appearance compared to, say, professional wrestlers.
Back inTekken 2, they had a boxing kangaroo, but they treated it as a borderline normal thing.
Once we got Roger Jr., things became laughably cartoonish and rightfully so.
That said, Roger is still the star.
Even in all those silly endings, its Rogers nature as a self-centered pain magnet that carries everything.
Doesnt help that Roger Jr.s design was totally swiped from aClayFighter.
His appearances as an extension of the Roger family inTekken Tag Tournament 2was very welcome.
AZAZEL
Ah, Azazel.
Proving that when it comes to end bosses, bigger does not really mean better.
Hes more of an extension of Jin Kazamas angst.
Of the canon bosses, Azazel is definitely bottom of the barrel.
Otherwise, Gepetto is probably better off being in the background.
Hes the guy behind Roger, Alex, Jack, and Alisa, as well as Yoshimitsus spinny hand.
Hes got enough on his plate as a simple plot rig.
It isnt until its ending inTekken Tag Tournament 2that Combot really has an identity of its own.
Yet it turns out Violet does have some affection for it after all.
Its up to her to tame this crazy reality, even if she isnt up to it.
Ling isnt the worst character, but she can certainly be one of the more annoying ones.
KUMA I
Now, this is for thefirstKuma.
Kuma added a wonderful novelty to the series as a powerhouse bear with limited training in the martial arts.
The original Kuma stands on the gimmick and not much else.
Theres little in terms of story, and the personality isnt as pronounced as his kin.
But man, what a gimmick.
Heihachi has a bear to do his bidding.
Thats some high-concept fighting game design right there.
Forest, if anything, says a lot about the relationship between Marshall Law and Paul Phoenix.
ROGER
As I mentioned with Roger Jr., pops is the more entertaining one in the family.
Because when youre a boxing kangaroo in a video game, sanity goes right out the window.
KING I
Ah, that wonderful cliche of the luchador who fights for the orphans.
The alcoholism is a nice touch, too.
TIGER JACKSON
On one hand, Tiger doesnt have much going on as a character.
But really, the novelty is enough.
Keep on dancing, Tiger.
Then again, my interest in Lei Wulong doesnt go much further than his Chan-like attributes.
Yes, its cool that hes an action cop who does drunken boxing.
His ability to alter his fighting style is also novel.
Its just that the writers never seemed to have much more for him to do.
Hes more of a forgettable supporting character, just farting around in the background.
Maybe in the next game they should give him a sassy partner a la Chris Tucker.
JULIA CHANG
In the beginning, Julia Chang was nothing more than Michelle Chang with her underwear showing.
Julia finally turned a corner late in the series thanks to the non-canon games.
Jesus Christ, why did it take so many years for them to come up with that concept?!
A man who showed disgust towards King and hatred towards Marduk.
I always liked the way they worked the explanation.
Hes not only a threat to Marduk, but a threat to what King represents.
RAVEN
Man,Bladesure was a cool movie way back when, was it not?
Having your usual Hong Kong action cops and sexy assassin ladies isnt enough.
Now you have mysterious ninja agents monitoring stuff before they vanish into the shadows.
Why would you ever be a dick to Yoshimitsu?
What did Yoshimitsu ever do to you?
As Ill get to in a little bit, Jin Kazama was created as a champion of righteous revenge.
When he lost his way in later games, he ultimately created a replacement in Miguel.
TheTekkenmanga did a fantastic job with Miguel, throwing him into a rivalry with Bob.
The two slugged it out for miles like a Looney Toons smoke brawl.
Boy, didTekken 6have some sweet new characters.
Lili is the right balance of snobby and earnest.
Even before she integrated herself as Asukas rival, she had herDark Resurrectionending, which is perfect.
There are better late-stage fighters inTekkenlore, but Lilis self-entertained presence is definitely a welcome one.
LARS ALEXANDERSSON
Namco took a risk by basing their bigTekken 6story mode on a new character.
I mean,Mortal Kombatdid that twice with Shujinko and Taven and each one was a dud.
Not even his own father, Heihachi, was aware of his existence.
Despite how late into the series he appears, it also makes a lot of sense.
Yet its still in his nature to throw fists at dad, brother, and nephew.
He kind of has to because the Mishima war has escalated to a worldwide problem.
Lars escaped the curse, but not really.
MOKUJIN
Before there was Edge Master, Olcadan, Combot, and Charade, there was Mokujin.
Incredibly bizarre before pop culture fully embraced the sentient tree concept, Mokujin added an inspired challenge toTekken.
Mokujin has no fighting style of his own to use and is instead randomized in every match.
Outside of that, Mokujin tends to be too weird, even forTekkensometimes.
After all, he once existed as a mech for Pac Man to control.
She rocked inTekken 2and since then, shes only shown up in theTagseries.
Kunimitsu doesnt get nearly enough love.
Too bad she stopped showing up in the canon games.
Shed make a great wild card in the war between Yoshimitsu and Bryan Fury.
But most importantly, Wang had that heartbreaking ending inTekken 5.
Sorry, I have dust in my eye.
OGRE
Ogres introduction was a big deal.
The demonic kaiju is neat, but Ancient Ogre comes off as an emotionless force of nature.
Better than Ryu, better than Liu Kang, better than Kyo Kusanagi, maaaaaybe better than Terry Bogard.
Unfortunately, Jin then went in a bad direction.
I miss my mommy!
HWOARANG
Hwoarang is certainly a step up from his vanilla mentor Baek.
In fact, of all the next generation guys inTekken 3, he felt the freshest.
Hwoarang is almost like a commentary on how these fighting game tournaments escalate.
On the surface, hes a proud martial artist who just wants to be the best and prove himself.
Hes got a huge ego, but otherwise, hes fairly basic.
But then he has to go hunt down an Aztec god because his master is possibly dead.
He didnt sign on for this shit, but this is the life he lives.
Jinpachi was considered an honorable and good man, making his appearance inTekken 5a tragic, meta nightmare.
Despite his personality, he was turned into a demonic end boss because he had to be.
He put together the King of Iron Fist because he had to make everyone want to kill him.
The games narrative straight-up corrupted a man who didnt deserve it.
Jinpachi is also the best boss character inTekken.
Jins love interest wasnt the best either.
Finally, they sorted things out withTekken 5by introducing Juns niece, Asuka.
All the while, she needs to juggle that with confronting Feng Wei and dealing with that ever-so-annoying Lili.
CRAIG MARDUK
Craig Marduk is a ticking timebomb.
Hes also Bill Goldberg and Bob Sapp, but thats beside the point.
Hes a volatile human being easily swayed by the events surrounding him.
Marduks capable of great evil (especially that gross winpose against Anna Williams), but he isnt far-gone.
Thats not to say that Marduk is a saint.
But at least with King around, he has some level of self-control and direction in his life.
Without Kings influence, hed be self-destructing even harder.
Hes given this interesting origin story and then he just goes and slums it with Phoenix and the Laws.
Luckily, Steve is beaming with charm and style.
Hes an asskicker whos got confidence to spare, but remains a friendly and level-headed dude.
In a fictional fantasy world where robots can fight devils, why have just any Bruce Lee?
His familys curse isnt one of mortality, but finance.
NINA WILLIAMS
Ah, the eternal question: Nina or Anna?
Their relationship is very Batman/Joker.
Anna makes Nina more interesting by existing, but Anna would be nothing without Nina.
ANNA WILLIAMS
In the end, I have to go with Anna.
Ninas non-Anna stuff never really feels as gripping as their bizarre rivalry.
Feng Wei kind of already isTekkens version of Akuma, just without the fireballs and jumping uppercuts.
Again, just like Akuma.
Feng Wei could potentially respect you, but, by God, you certainly need to earn it.
SERGEI DRAGUNOV
In a way, Dragunov reminds me of Voldo fromSoulCalibur.
On paper, Dragunov should be a villain of the week.
Its a design that just screams megalomaniac.
Yet, hes not exactly a black and white force.
His targets tend to be Jin, Kazuya, and Azazel.
It does make me laugh a little that in his profile, his hobby is singing.
JACK
Design-wise, Jack is like if the Terminator was built with a rad exoskeleton instead of endoskeleton.
Then you give him the cliche killer-robot-with-a-heart-of-gold persona and you have a stew cooking.
Bobs so damn likable.
ALISA BOSCONOVITCH
Alisa really came out chainsaws blazing upon introduction.
For good reason, since shes a solid design that feels home in nearly every corner of theTekkenuniverse.
It helps that shes such a schizophrenic character.
Alisa is like the Terminators adorable daughter.
PAUL PHOENIX
Paul Phoenix begins the series as the Ken Masters to Kazuyas Ryu.
Even though the two barely have any interaction with each other, Paul works.
Hes a likable tough guy biker with a punch that can end any fight and break brick walls.
Unfortunately, afterTekken 4treated Paul with surprising sincerity, he became an outright joke.
HisTekken 6story made him look like a loser who needs to cheat so that make a quick buck.
YOSHIMITSU
You dont get more unorthodox than Yoshimitsu.
Hes a complete wildcard toTekkenwho sort of fits but sort of doesnt.
A Robin Hood ninja designed by Giger.
A warrior whose very namesake stretches back centuries to the days of fighting the Soul Edge.
Hes such a staple to that whole universe that even having oneTekkenwithout him would feel wrong.
His spinning, teleportation, bouncing around, and even self impalement makes him one of the craziest warriors.
Yoshimitsu really needs a spinoff game.
KAZUYA MISHIMA
Kazuya is the ultimate asshole.
He brushes off sentimentalism like it was specks of dust.
Its why the sccene where Jinpachi dies in his arms is so amazing.
Hes the ultimate anti-villain.
HEIHACHI MISHIMA
I dont see how someone cannot enjoy Heihachi Mishima.
But he does love his long-lost wife and his dopey pet bear, so he isnt all bad.
He is all badass, though.
Heihachi gives no shit about your medieval magic weapons.
KING II
After the first Armor King died, King II suddenly went on a fantastic character arc.
Damn straight King is a top name inTekken.
LEE CHAOLAN
I already spoiled this with myStreet Fighterlist.
The worstStreet Fighterguy is Lee, as is the bestTekkenguy.
He started off as an orphan Heihachi adopted and pretended to love just to piss off Kazuya.
But when Kazuya turned out to be evil, what then?
And so, Lee reinvented himself.
He built his own successful robotics company.
He waited years to mess with Heihachi and did so in a stylish if obvious disguise.
