Shack Chat: Which Tekken 8 character is your Day One main?

Bandai Namco has finally launched Tekken 8, ushering in a brand-new era of Good A** Tekken. We’re already set to jump in and throw down with players worldwide, but we’re going to need to figure out which of the 32 characters we’re kicking things off with.

That’s what this week’s Shack Chat is about! Following our recent Shacknews review and the launch of the game, each of the staff shares their picks for who we’re kicking off our Tekken 8 runs with first.

Question: Which Tekken 8 character is your Day One main?

King - Ozzie Mejia, Senior Grappler

There's part of me that really wants to try out Victor, and I probably will at some point. But the wrestling fan in me says I have to go back to King. I haven't forgotten that reveal trailer where he was busting people up with Pedigrees, Project Ciampas, and Diamond Cutters. And, of course, LARIAT! LARIAT! LARIAT! KOJIMA! (No, not that Kojima… here, Botchamania explains it better than I do.)

Time to step into the ring, brother!

Definitely not Kuma - TJ Denzer is not a bear in disguise

My main may look like Kuma, the bear, but I assure you that you are mistaken. My main is a normal fighter with normal fighter clothes, a normal fighter hat, and normal fighter claws… I mean hands. He might look like a large fuzzy animal, and I would argue that maybe you should be less judgmental. Sure, he uses attacks like Wind Bear Fist, and crouches down to get into the Hunting stance like Kuma, but maybe he’s just a fan of cool Tekken Force-serving fighters? All I know for sure is that I wouldn’t want to be on the other side of this very normal human fighter guy in a very normal fight for normal humans and not bears.

Kuma - Asif Khan, Shacknews CEO/EIC/EIEIO

If you give me an option to fight as a bear in a video game, I am going to do just that. Kuma and Panda are both great characters, but I went with Kuma for this Shack Chat. As a complete Tekken casual, I made this decision solely on the fact that Kuma is a bear and I like bears. Especially when bears are featured in fighting games.

Kuma - Bill Lavoy, Legend of Chernarus

I’m not into fighting games like some folks here, but I am interested in bears. Put a bear in a video game and you have my attention. Bears are rad.

That being said, nothing I read about Kuma sounded cool, but it’s irrelevant. Kuma is a bear and as such is the best character in Tekken 8, and the only logical choice for a fighter that I would main.

Jack-8 - Sam Chandler, Metal on the inside

What’s better than a big, burly fighter? A big, burly fighter clad in metal armor. You think you’re strong? Have you ever tried to push back on a machine that’s using a pneumatic pump? It can’t be done. The machine can’t be beaten. It’s the whole point of the Terminator series: the futility of man against the age of machines. But you know what’s better than man or machine? A combination of both. So, sign me up for Jack-8. The ultimate mix of man. Or perhaps he’s the ultimate machine? Either way, it’s freeing to know I’ve got my main locked in.

Panda - Donovan Erskine, My mom is better than me at Tekken

My lasting impression of the Tekken franchise is when my mother used to kick my ass when we’d play it during my childhood. I’m a better gamer than her now, so maybe Tekken 8 will be my chance to turn the tables and defeat her, using her own main! This somehow became the most personal Shack Chat I’ve ever written. I’m coming for you, mom.

Kuma - Steve Tyminski, Does a Bear do that in the woods?

Which Tekken 8 character is my day one main? There are three possible directions I could go with this question. I could go with King because who doesn’t like a guy who fights with a jaguar mask on. That concept fits the fun and craziness of Tekken. I could also go with Steve because it’s not too often that fighting games give me the chance to fight with a guy named after me. However, Tekken does allow you to fight as a bear so I think I have to go with Kuma. Fighting as a bear sounds pretty cool and usually in fighting games I trend to go with someone who has a slight gimmick. I use Kung Lao in Mortal Kombat because I love the idea of throwing his hat, and now I’m fighting with as Kuma the bear!

These are our Tekken 8 Day One mains, but who are yours? Let us know in the Shacknews Chatty comment section below!

Shack Staff

Shack Staff stories are a collective effort with multiple staff members contributing. Many of our lists often involve entires from several editors, and our weekly Shack Chat is something we all contribute to as a group.