It’s fair to say that Tekken 8 has had some serious ups and downs ever since its arrival early in 2024. While it started off as an incredibly hot title that boasted a great progression in the story, a deep roster, and refined mechanics, it soon became apparent that Bandai Namco was more interested in microtransactions and milking everything possible out of players instead of creating a fulfilling experience post-launch. Today, during the Bandai Namco Showcase, Michael Murray, the game’s producer, broke down the return of DLC fighter Fahkumram and what players can expect from him in the game, including his updated look.
For those who don’t remember, Fahkumram was part of the season pass for the 7th entry in the series, and the fighter was a part of Thailand’s military and was forced to do battle “under duress.” Today, we got to see more from his gameplay in the new title, including the great lengths that Tekken 8 went to make him feel even more authentic and unique.
For example, not only is he one of the tallest characters in the ring, but he also has “lightning scars” from an event he had when he was a child and an authentic Thailand-style tattoo that has multiple meanings, including strength and courage.
His fighting style is one that is based on Muay Thai, and to ensure that it looked like it should and the animations flowed like a real fighter would, Bandai Namco brought in a world champion Muay Thai practitioner and champion to highlight via motion capture how things should look, and the team adapted the fight animations from there. The martial artist gave his seal of approval for how things looked, so you can, at the very least, say that they did things right.
As for when you can get Fahkumram, he’ll first arrive via Early Access on July 7th. Then, his official release will be on July 10th/11th, depending on where you are in the world. Murray noted that Fahkumram is perfect for those who truly want to overwhelm their foes with single, powerful strikes instead of having to worry about whether they’re fast enough to take on certain foes. He even went so far as to state that Fahkumram is one of his favorite characters in the game.
That’s a bold claim, as many in the fanbase don’t like Fahkumram and feel that his DLC slot should’ve been given to a more deserving character.
