Smash Bros. DLC Fighter: Kazuya’s Moves Explained

Nintendo’s E3 Direct announced that the next DLC fighter for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate would be Tekken‘s Kazuya Mishima. Surprisingly, Kazuya is the first Tekken character in Smash, and director Masahiro Sakurai’s presentation made it clear that Smash is using its newest fighter to embody Tekken‘s gameplay as best it can. Consequently, Kazuya’s moves will reward Tekken players, but may necessitate exploration from Smash players.

Tekken is one of the quintessential arcade fighter games, alongside Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter. Developed by Bandai Namco, the series debuted in 1994. The most recent entry into the series, Tekken 7, came out in 2015. Its vast influence is reflected by the sheer number of spin-offs it has inspired, of which the most bizarre and relevant to Smash may be Pokémon’s Pokken Tournament.

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Kazuya Mishima is one of Tekken‘s main characters and has been playable in all mainline games except Tekken 3. He’s the son of Heihachi Mishima, a legendary fighter, and Kazumi Mishima, who carries the Devil Gene. Kazuya inherited this Devil Gene, which essentially creates a demonic parasite that takes over its host, dramatically altering their appearance and personality while giving them elevated power. At risk of spoilers, Kazuya is the only character in Tekken who’s able to consciously control his Devil counterpart.

Kazuya’s Moves in Smash Will Feel A Lot Like Tekken

The Smash team’s bold decisions with Kazuya’s moves are illuminated with this basic understanding of Tekken‘s and Kazuya’s histories. Kazuya’s moves can be divided into two broad categories: the Devil Kazuya moves which make up his special attacks and Final Smash, and the normal attacks which have been made to feel as much like Tekken as possible. Three of Kazuya’s four special moves – Devil Blaster, Devil Fist, and Heaven’s Door – are used by Devil Kazuya at some point in the series. Devil Blaster is a long-range beam attack which can hit multiple opponents, and Heaven’s Door can lead to heavy damage. The up special, Devil Wing, is a Smash weaponization of the wings Kazuya gains in Devil form. The presentation for Kazuya’s moves in Smash Bros. Ultimate can be found here:

Kazuya’s moves beyond his specials are extremely nuanced, even for Smash. Sakurai explained that the team attempted to import Kazuya’s martial arts moves from Tekken, but had to increase his speed and power because, compared to other Smash fighters, he felt relatively weak. Still, Kazuya’s moves preserve Tekken‘s feel, to the point where he may feel more comfortable for Tekken players than Smash players.

For non-special attacks, Kazuya’s moves in Smash Bros. Ultimate implement eight directions in the left control stick instead of Smash‘s standard four. These inputs can be strung together in specific combos to unleash specific moves. As in Tekken gameplay, Kazuya’s moves emphasize the importance of the combo. For example, Kazuya has a special throw, Gates of Hell, for which the input is down-forward, down, down-forward, grab. There’s also attacks using fellow fighting game Street Fighter’s Shoryuken command: forward, down, down-forward. The neutral is Crouch Dash, but players can combine it with the attack button for Wind God Fist. Fortunately, Smash has made the input window for these moves more forgiving than Tekken‘s single frame. Even Kazuya’s neutral attack – the 10 Hit Combo – requires players to hold or continually hit A for the move to reach its climax. If players leave a slight delay after the second punch, they’ll perform a Flash Punch Combo instead.

Kazuya also uses the Rage system, which debuted in Tekken 6. Rage works similarly in Smash and Tekken: when Kazuya reaches over 100% damage or is below 25% stamina, he will emit a red aura and attack for 1.1 times his normal power. Smash also nods to Tekken 7: Final Retribution‘s Rage Drives, adding a powerful move which can only be used during a Rage. The easiest way to instigate Rage Drive is with a grab.

Kazuya may prove to be one of the trickiest DLC fighters in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate to get ahold of. But, once mastered, he will prove an incredibly powerful fighter. Sakurai recommended not trying to remember every single move, but rather finding what works for the individual player. The DLC releases on June 29, 2021.

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