Despite some issues at launch, Tekken 8 has grown to become a well-received entry to the longstanding Bandai Namco fighting series, keeping the franchise in the competition between its major competitors like Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. As a live service title, Tekken 8 has gone through numerous changes since its launch in January 2024, with new game mechanics, modes, balance changes, and new fighters making up the bulk of these additional features.
One of the most exciting forms of post-launch content for Tekken 8 is its new playable fighters. Among these, crossover characters from other franchises often draw the most hype and overall attention within the history of the franchise. There are still plenty of crossover characters that could come to Tekken 8 in the near future, and the addition of Like a Dragon's Kazuma Kiryu as a crossover fighter would be the right move for both franchises.
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Kazuma Kiryu in Tekken 8 Could Deliver Something That Many Fans Have Wanted For Some Time
Tekken 8 launched with a respectable 32 fighters in its base-game roster, largely covering the franchise's long list of iconic figures, with several post-launch playable fighters having been added over the past year. While Tekken 8 now boasts 37 playable fighters through post-launch addition, only one of these is a dedicated guest fighter from another franchise: Final Fantasy 16's Clive Rosfield, added in early 2025.
One of the most vocal criticisms of Tekken 8 is its slow adoption of crossover guest characters, especially compared to past entries to the franchise. It seems clear that Bandai Namco needs to pick up the pace of crossover additions in the very near future to keep fans satisfied. There are some obvious franchises and characters that would be perfect fits for the Tekken 8 roster, including Ryu Ga Gotoku's longstanding Yakuza franchise, now known as Like a Dragon.
While more recent entries to the Like a Dragon series have a focus on turn-based JRPG combat, the franchise firmly built itself on classic beat-em-up mechanics, making its integral characters obvious choices for crossovers with Japanese-made fighting games. The likes of new franchise face Ichiban Kasuga and the more longstanding Goro Majima could be excellent guest characters in their own right for Tekken 8, though it would be hard to match the prestige and recognizability of Kazuma Kiryu.
Like a Dragon's New Creative Direction Could Finally Make a Fighting Game Crossover Possible
As the major protagonist of the vast majority of mainline Like a Dragon games and even spinoffs, Kiryu still stands as the face of Like a Dragon in the eyes of many fans, renowned for his immense fighting skill and durability. Fans have wanted Kiryu to appear in the likes of Fortnite as well as many fighting games in the past, although original Like a Dragon producer Toshihiro Nagoshi was vocal in his hesitation to add Kiryu to games where he could potentially fight female characters.
Kiryu Kazuma has been a major protagonist in all but one mainline Like a Dragon title, while also starring in spin-off titles like The Man Who Erased His Name, Dead Souls, Ishin, and Kenzan.
Masayoshi Yokoyama has taken over the direction of the Like a Dragon franchise since Nagoshi's departure from RGG in 2021, and while there still seems to be hesitation about what kind of gameplay contexts Kiryu might be added to, it seems more likely than ever that the iconic character could appear in a fighting game. Most of Kiryu's story has now been told, with the character now nearing 60 years old and the franchise focusing on Ichiban Kasuga. Therefore, a crossover appearance of Kiryu in Tekken can now be seen more as a celebration of the character as opposed to a portrayal of his personality. Kiryu's legacy within the gaming industry is worth celebrating across other franchises, and Tekken 8 could finally deliver on more high-profile guest characters through the Like a Dragon figure, should the franchise's creators finally green-light such a move.
Tekken 8
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 90 /100 Critics Rec: 99%
- Released
- January 26, 2024
- ESRB
- t
- Developer(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment, Arika
- Publisher(s)
- Bandai Namco Entertainment
- Engine
- Unreal Engine 5
- Multiplayer
- Local Multiplayer, Online Multiplayer
- Cross-Platform Play
- PC, PS5 & Xbox Series X|S
WHERE TO PLAY
- Genre(s)
- Fighting
