A staple character from theTekkenfighting game series' roster, Nina Williams, has been confirmed to be returning forBandai Namco’supcomingTekken 8. The reveal occurredduring a showcaseheld during the Tekken World Tour 2022 Finals competition.
The Irish-born assassin has a long history in fighting game culture. She made her first appearance in the first Tekken back in 1994 on the originalPlayStationconsole and has been featured in every main-series game’s roster as well as several spinoffs, such as Tekken Advance and Tekken Tag Tournament 1 and 2.
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Unlike herwedding dress-clad character modelfrom the last entry in the series, the new trailer shows Nina decked out in a stylish blue evening gown layered with a black leather jacket and dark-tinted sunglasses. The gameplay action showcases her dual wielding pistols in addition to performing a variety of spinning and flipping kicks to her opponent.
In addition to bringing back an old standard character, the developers have also taken the opportunity of the e-sport competition to go into great detail about a new mechanic that will be used in the series' latest installment. Dubbed the Heat System, the developers have devoted the majority ofa 40-minute videoreleased Sunday to explaining mechanics, including how to use and counter it.
To sum up the very lengthy explanation, the Heat System sets characters into an “awakened” state that gives priority to certain types of attacks and opens up the possibility of unleashing some “smash” attacks. Entering the state, the character’s body will be covered in blue flames for a short time while a timer bar counts down. The bar only lasts for 10 seconds on its own, but the timer is extended with every attack that strikes or is blocked by an opponent, benefiting from an aggressive plays style. The mode can be entered using a variety of different moves for each character. “In a nutshell, the ‘Heat System’ is a ‘period of time that is overwhelmingly beneficial to the attacker’,” Game Director Kohei Ikeda described the new system.
Additionally, the developers have revealed a Rage System, which will bump up attack power once a character drops below a certain health threshold, and a health recovery gauge that will activage by hitting an opponent with an attack or making the opponent bock, similar to the red gauge that was included in Tekken Tag Tournament.
Afterbeing initially teasedduring aTekken 7update video in August of last year, the next installment in the series was officiallyannounced to be coming backthe following month. No release date or window has been put out by Bandai Namco, although the publisher has been diligent in continuing to keep fans' hype alive withperiodic trailer releases. “The development team members are really working hard every day, putting in all kinds of things and making adjustments, and we are really aggressively developing the game, so we will do our best so that you’re able to play it as soon as possible,” Ikeda addressed the fans.
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