When it comes to “Hollywood crossovers” in video games, they can be hit or miss. Sometimes, Hollywood tries to make a video game based on a hit movie or franchise and “squeeze some extra money out of it.” Other times, celebrities will cameo or have big roles in video games to try and “bring extra attention” to it and have people come just for the celebrity. And then, there’s Tekken 8. They don’t have any celebrity cameos within the game itself, but for a special “The Story So Far” trailer, they decided to bring in the one and only Brian Cox to narrate everything that’s happened leading up to the new game. Why? Because they can.
If you don’t get the joke, Brian Cox was the star of the hit HBO series “Succession,” which focused on an overbearing and infinitely manipulative father figure, played by Brian Cox, trying to maintain his empire while his many children come after him. The “father/son relationship” of the series was a crux of many issues and episode dramas. So in many ways, Brian Cox is the perfect guy to narrate the “patricidal discourse” that is going on in this video game universe.
The irony here is that he does a good job explaining the games’ many stories pertaining to the intertwining fate of Heihachi Mishima, his son Kazuya, and Kazuya’s son Jin. Yes, even explaining what the Devil Gene is and why the Mishima clan is obsessed with throwing their family members off of cliffs. Honestly, it’s rather hilarious how well this all works.
Regardless, the video ends by pointing out a key thing. After the events of the last title, Kazuya’s power is overwhelming, and he’s bent on world domination. Jin is the only one who can stop him, and yet, as the previous story trailer for Tekken 8 showed, he’s having issues summoning his Devil Gene powers. So, will Jin be able to save the world? Or will Kazuya be the man who brings the world to his knees and rules it with the Iron Fist that he’s won in the past?
While the main story is about Jin and Kazuya, there are plenty of other characters and elements in play. One of whom is Jun Kazuma, Jin’s mother. She’s been gone from the games for a long time, and yet, she’s returned for this one. Will she try and save her son so he doesn’t continue the cycle of patricide? We’ll find out when the game releases later this month.
