Kazuya Mishima

Lore & Background

Kazuya Mishima's life is defined by betrayal and a hunger for power. As a child, he was thrown off a cliff by his father Heihachi, an act that set him on a path of revenge. He debuted as the protagonist of the first Tekken game, and served as the final boss of the original Tekken, fully embracing his dark side. Kazuya inherited the Devil Gene from his mother Kazumi, a demonic mutation that allows him to transform into Devil Kazuya. This form first appeared as a separate playable character in Tekken Tag Tournament, not Tekken 2, and its moveset integration as a transformation began in Tekken 5 and was fully integrated in Tekken 6. His rivalry with Heihachi concluded in Tekken 7, which was created as a conclusion for their struggle, though his relationship with his son Jin was left unresolved. Producer Katsuhiro Harada noted that Jin's mother Jun Kazama would be 'an important and essential element in talking about the story of Kazuya and Jin.'

In Their Own Story

Kazuya's story is one of a tragic cycle of violence within the Mishima family. After being thrown off a cliff by his father, he swore revenge and entered the King of Iron Fist Tournament. He defeated Heihachi in the first tournament, but by Tekken 2 he had become corrupted, serving as the penultimate boss. In later games, he sought more power, eventually coming into conflict with his own son, Jin. The final fight between Kazuya and Heihachi in Tekken 7 was described by Harada as a 'major milestone in the storyline,' ending in a fight to the death. Despite this, Kazuya's story continues, with his devil persona representing a common fantasy element that stands out due to its relation to his genes, most notably Jin's own devil. The parallelism between Kazuya and Jin's devils has been compared to the protagonists from Star Wars, Darth Vader and Luke Skywalker.

Reader's Guide

Kazuya's fighting style is Mishima Style Fighting Karate (Mishima-ryū Kenka Karate). According to producer Katsuhiro Harada, Kazuya is one of the most difficult characters for a player to control, but also fun due to how powerful he is. Harada felt that gamers who lose while playing as him feel ashamed. While fans often claimed Lars Alexandersson was the strongest tournament character, Harada denied this, believing the Mishimas were far more powerful. GameSpy noted that while Kazuya retained his previous moves in Tekken 5, new additions over-powered him to the point that players disliked using him. In the next game, he was given launcher moves which, despite making him stronger, could leave the player vulnerable. His devil form, Devil Kazuya, fights with a laser called Inferno (also known as Devil Blaster) through his staff, and a pair of wings were added later in production. He was made more powerful, with his ten-hit combo easily taking down enemies, leading Namco to balance his moves before release.

Did You Know?

• Kazuya's family name was taken from author Yukio Mishima, who was also used as a model for the character's physical appearance.
• Kazuya's devil persona was created to meet Namco's request for more unrealistic characters in Tekken, in contrast with the Virtua Fighter series.
• The devil form is said to be based on Go Nagai's manga Devilman, where main character Akira Fudo develops a similar appearance.
• Kazuya was voiced by Jōji Nakata in Tekken and Tekken 2; in the original Tekken Tag Tournament, he was voiced by Masanori Shinohara, who also voiced him in Tekken 4 and Tekken 5.
• Kazuya's final fight with Heihachi in Tekken 7 was described by Harada as a 'major milestone in the storyline' and ended in a fight to the death.

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