Whether you like it or not, there’s no denying that fighting games have gotten a certain “trend” within them that they use to try and bolster attention from the gaming masses. It’s not just about having great visuals or a great gameplay system that can be easy to pick up and use. No, it’s also about having a roster of classic and unexpected characters. So when you need that “extra something” to make your fighting title pop, you try and get a crossover character. Tekken 8 doesn’t have that character yet, but there is one that some gamers apparently desire!
In the last entry of the series, the franchise brought in some seriously unexpected characters, like Negan and Noctis. But for the next entry? One fan asked if Nintendo’s own Kirby would be a possible candidate. For those who don’t get the “joke,” Super Smash Bros Ultimate brought in their first Tekken character via Kazuya and had his reveal trailer feature him throwing people off a cliff like his father had done to him. One of the characters he threw off? Kirby. Harada had some thoughts about this suggestion:
For the record, we’re pretty sure Nintendo wouldn’t make a “difficult deal” given their relationship with Bandai Namco. Remember that the company helped Nintendo with multiple versions of their beloved fighting game franchise. That undoubtedly led to Kazuya being brought into the DLC for the latest entry. But considering this more logically, Kirby being in Tekken 8 would be unique but not exactly feasible from a gameplay standpoint.
Think of it like this: look at the characters in the known roster for the upcoming Bandai Namco game, and tell us what you don’t see. Yeah, all the characters are human or, at the very least, humanoid-shaped. Kirby is not, and that would cause a problem in-game balance. Not to mention, while Kirby does have fighting moves when in the right title, they’re not exactly a martial art. Plus, his absorption ability would be very out of place should the crossover happen.
That’s not to say that Bandai Namco couldn’t make it look cool, but there are better options for crossover characters. It’s important to note that Bandai Namco hasn’t said there would be crossover characters, but they also haven’t said there wouldn’t be. All options are on the table until the final roster slot is filled.
You can find out how that roster plays when Tekken 8 arrives on January 26th.
