Tekken 8 Yoshimitsu Trailer Showcases New Gameplay

A month before its scheduled January 2024 release, Bandai Namco has revealed gameplay footage in the Tekken 8 Yoshimitsu trailer. This mechanised space ninja is one of the most iconic and eccentric fighters, and he’s set to “slice and dice the competition” with his unpredictable style and cursed sword when the next entry in the popular fighting series launches.

As a veteran presence spanning every Tekken game since 1994’s original, Yoshimitsu boasts one of the most unorthodox and slippery movesets in the franchise. And his recently debuted trailer shows he hasn’t lost his edge. Wielding the reddened cursed blade Yoshiru, Yoshimitsu fluidly mixes up hand-to-hand blows with wide, unpredictable sword strikes to constantly keep opponents guessing.

• True to form, Yoshimitsu’s sword provides extra range on attacks compared to other fighters. But it also serves unique defensive functions.
• By rapidly spinning Yoshiru over his head while crouching, Yoshimitsu can briefly take flight to evade lower attacks.
• He can also seamlessly transition into a seated meditation stance. This allows overhead attacks to harmlessly pass by, creating opportunities to counterattack.

So between his airborne evasion, elusive low stances, and quickly alternating slices with punches and kicks, Yoshimitsu looks to thoroughly disorient foes. Once he charges up his cursed blade to exude a dangerous red aura, his onslaught grows even more lethal.

Utterly Unique Amongst the Tekken Roster

Yoshimitsu’s continued reinvention is one of the reasons he remains so important to Tekken’s identity. Each redesign reflects the era the game is built in, but the core idea stays consistent: he is a wildcard who tests how far the combat engine can stretch. Tekken 8 pushes this even further by leaning into air mobility and stance transitions, which suggests Bandai Namco is using him as a showcase for the game’s expanded animation and hit reaction systems.

Yoshimitsu has always stood out from the rest of the Beat ‘Em Up’s lineup with his unpredictable moveset and appearance changes every game. Tekken 8 is no exception. This time, the bandana and chest apparatus-clad ninja cyborg channels a distinctly Insect-themed look.

In fittingly alien fashion, Yoshimitsu painfully contorts his body to avoid attacks in ways human fighters simply can’t. Channelling power to Yoshiru also allows him to skewer opponents with a rapid barrage of stabs. The trailer concludes with one final chilling move where the sword appears to feverishly consume the battered target in a flash of violent colours.

So while outrageous, Yoshimitsu’s fighting methodology follows a certain warped logic. By keeping opponents off balance with unusual evasive techniques and wildly fluctuating offensive rhythms, he creates constant openings to inflict blows. It’s a style perfectly distilled into his gameplay reveal.

And with the ninja’s roster debut going all the way back to 1994’s original game, developer Bandai Namco clearly recognises Yoshimitsu’s integral role delivering crazed charm and welcome gameplay variety to the hit 3D fighting series.

The roster is absolutely stacked this year, with returning faces such as Feng Wei and Raven. These days there seems to be a new character reveal each week but we’re not complaining.

So hardcore fans of the fighting series can likely expect the blade-wielding oddball’s latest refresh to inject some familiar chaotic energy into the franchise when Tekken 8 launches for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S and PC on January 26th next year.