Tekken 8 has revealed Panda for its roster, uploading a new gameplay trailer featuring Xiaoyu’s partner-in-crime! Read on to learn more about her new moves and more.
Tekken 8 Releases Panda Trailer
Panda Actually Pulls Off A Shooting Star
In a similar fashion to the previous Tekken games, Panda is revealed following her fellow bear combatant Kuma. She is both Ling Xiaoyu’s pet and bodyguard, upholding her duty of protecting Xiaoyu and staying by her side until the very end wherever it may end up being as they continue to search for Jin Kazama. Panda shares a mostly similar moveset to Kuma, as both bears were trained by the same master, Heihachi Mishima after all. While Panda was originally just a palette swap to Kuma and was only given her own character slot in Tekken Tag 2, both bears finally have their own exclusive moves adopted from their masters now which differentiate them from each other. From her gameplay trailer, Panda has adapted to doing more of her mistress’ habits and moves, as seen in her gameplay, intro, and win poses.
Being a fellow practitioner of the "Heihachi-Style Advanced Kuma Shinken" Panda uses a lot of similar moves to Kuma, and both bears actually shared the exact same moves and stances with the exception of their own Rage Arts in Tekken 7. In Tekken 8 however, they now have their own distinct differences, specifically with their Heat Smashes and certain Heat moves. When in Heat, Panda has access to Xiaoyu’s iconic "Shooting Star" move. While it’s not a perfect execution of the move, it works to her advantage as she transitions into her Bear Sit stance which is another layer of mind games that she can put the opponent in.
To add icing to the cake, Panda uses Xiaoyu’s "Storming Flower" move to finish off her Rage Art after spinning their opponent out of control. In her intro and outro, she mimics Xiaoyu’s poses and even tries to do an "Art of Phoenix" stance before falling to the ground after losing balance.
Tekken 8 Releases on January 26, 2024
Four Fighters Left To Show, Two Weeks Till Release
Tekken 8 has already confirmed its massive base roster of 34 characters months ago, and have already consistently put out trailers for their characters weekly leading up to the release. With two weeks left before the game’s release and four fighters left to reveal – namely Lee Chaolan, Alisa Bosconovich, Zafina, and Devil Jin – I am inclined to believe that two of these fighters will be revealed on the same day (Lee and Alisa) in a move harking back to their partnership in Tekken 6. Zafina would likely be shown in the final week and Devil Jin, easily the most identifiable of the bunch, would be revealed on the game’s launch.
