Tekken 8 Reina: New character backstory & moves explained
The Purple Lightning strikes!
The Tekken 8 roster is full of characters old and new, with Bandai Namco giving fans plenty of both.
One of the brand new characters is Reina. But who is Tekken 8's Reina and what’s her playstyle?
We’re here to let you in on precisely who Reina is and what the mysterious new character is all about.
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Over on the official Bandai Namco website, Reina’s character description doesn’t reveal much. It describes Reina as "the mysterious fighter who uses lightning-quick moves to overwhelm anyone who dares face her".
"Other than the fact she’s a student of the Mishima Polytechnical School, everything else about her is shrouded in mystery," it adds.
Interesting, but not exactly helpful in telling us about her backstory. Fortunately for you, we’ve been doing some research.
Read on to find out everything there is to know about Reina in Tekken 8, including what her backstory is, who provides her voice, how to unlock her and what Reina’s moves and playstyle are.
Skip to the end of the page to watch a trailer to see Reina in action!
Who is Reina in Tekken 8? Backstory explained
**CONTAINS SPOILERS FOR TEKKEN 8**
Despite being shrouded in mystery when you first meet Reina in Tekken 8, her backstory is an interesting one, as it’s revealed that she is the illegitimate daughter of Heihachi Mishima.
She is trained in the Mishima Style Fighting Karate style, and can make use of her own devil form.
During her Character Episode, more is revealed about Reina’s backstory and how she’s come to appear in Tekken 8.
Her Character Episode Ending details how she is "the secret daughter of Heihachi Mishima" and attended the Mishima Polytechnical School.
"She loved and respected her father, whom she saw as a role model. But Heihachi vanished after his defeat by Kazuya Mishima.
"The now-headless Mishima Zaibatsu put on a new The King of Iron Fist Tournament in order to choose a new head of the organisation.
"Reina entered the tournament to take over the Mishima Zaibatsu, and carry on her father’s legacy.
"'I promise you, father. I’ll make the Mishima Zaibatsu mine.'"
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Who plays Reina in Tekken 8? Voice actor revealed
Reina in Tekken 8 is played by Japanese voice actress Asami Seto.
The characters in Tekken all speak their native language, so there is no English voice actor for the new purple and black-haired character.
Asami Seto has provided her voice acting chops to the likes of Jujutsu Kaisen (Nobara Kugisaki), Strike the Blood (Aiba Asagi) and many, many more anime series over the years.
She will voice Berengaria in the upcoming Vanillaware game Unicorn Overlord.
How to get Reina in Tekken 8
To play Reina's special Character Episode in Tekken 8, you need to unlock her. You unlock Reina's Character Episode by completing the Tekken 8 story mode: The Dark Awakens.
Fortunately, it shouldn’t take you too long to complete the story mode, with just a few hours of playtime required.
Completing the story mode will also show you much more of the mysterious new character – in which she plays a relatively major role.
You can play as Reina across the other game modes from the start, you just need to unlock her special Character Episode by completing The Dark Awakens.
Tekken 8 Reina moves and playstyle explained
Reina is a user of the Mishima Style Fighting Karate style that is used by many other fighters in the game.
Reina’s application, though, is quicker and more aggressive, helping ensure she has her own unique playstyle.
So different is her fighting style that Bandai Namco has officially listed it as 'Unknown'.
In terms of her move list, you can check out the image above for a handy selection of them.
When it comes to how to use Reina, you’ll probably find her a tricky character to master. Her lightning-quick and aggressive moves are a handful to use and to defend against.
Our advice? Head into the training modes to get used to her numerous stances and get to grips with how she moves, defends and attacks – as you should with any fighter in any fighting game, if you’re serious about improving your skills!
Tekken 8 Reina trailer
Bandai Namco released a nearly three-minute-long trailer which revealed Reina and showcased her move set, while teasing her backstory. You can check it out below:
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Authors
Toby Saunders is a freelance writer specialising in Video Game journalism. He has a wealth of experience in the field and is published on many different websites including PCGamesN, Nintendo Life and Pocket Tactics. He has a degree in Film Studies (he gets to write about Film and TV occasionally, too).
