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Those anticipating the release of Tekken 8 have yet another character trailer to enjoy courtesy of Bandai Namco. Whereas the last couple of trailers showcased the two central rivals of the game, namely Kazuya and Jin, this one centers around series regular Paul Phoenix. This showboating martial artist has the honor of being one of the few characters who has appeared in every Tekken game since the first. We have known about Paul’s inevitable return in Tekken 8 ever since the game’s second major trailer. But with this new trailer, fans can get a closer look at what has changed and what has stayed the same.
The most immediately apparent change that fans will notice comes in the form of Paul’s new visual design. Traditionally, he has worn a red gi and sported a tall hi-top fade that has become practically synonymous with the character. Paul came to Tekken 7 with a different “Player 1” outfit, but his Tekken 8 redesign goes further by drooping down his hair. In a way, his new do echoes that of his “Player 2” outfit from Tekken 4, except that this one looks noticeably poofier.
How does Paul Phoenix fight in the Tekken 8 gameplay trailer?
In contrast to his bombastic personality, Paul’s fighting style has remained fairly bread-and-butter ever since his debut. For the most part, this remains true here, iconic ‘Death Fist’ and all, but his punches pack some more explosive power this time around, with certain ones even gaining a special wind aura. Alongside some new moves, Paul comes with a new ‘power-up’ mode of some sort as well as some more visual flair for his Rage Art.
Speaking of his Rage Art, Paul’s Tekken 8 trailer naturally concludes with it, which has a fun extra detail of him completely shredding his right sleeve with his buffed-up arm. And it seems that the sleeve stays shredded throughout the rest of the fight, another sign that Bandai Namco is upping the visual polish with this one.
