WhenTekkendebuted in 1994, it was a fairly basic 3D fighter: it took the mechanics of Virtua Fighter and simplified them even further. But it wasn’t destined to play second fiddle for long: the series soon amassed a dedicated fanbase, not least because of its likable characters.
While the Mishima saga mostly centers on male members of the roster, the series has always had great female characters too. With their varied fighting styles and engaging story beats, the women of Tekken are a force to be reckoned with. Here are some of our favourites: one of them might just be your next main.
10Zafina
Debut: Tekken 6
Though she’s been part of the Tekken lore for a decade and a half, Zafina is still shrouded in mystery. All we really know about her is that she is ofMiddle Easterndescent, and was raised by an ancient clan that fights against evil. She was the first to see Azazel unleashed.
Shamanistic in her storyline, Zafina is a skilled striker and grappler in gameplay. She is quietly one of the most helpful characters from Tekken 6 onward, keeping Azazel contained and helping Jin purify his devil gene.
9Jun Kazama
Debut: Tekken 2
As far as theMishima sagagoes, no female character is more important than Jun. A wildlife protection officer, Jun is supposed to arrest Kazuya for his smuggling activities but ends up marrying him instead. The two have a son, Jin, who goes on to be the series protagonist.
Despite disappearing from the mainline series after her debut game, Jun remained a popular character - so much so that she received an expy in Asuka. She uses parry-based defensive martial arts, which she also passes on to her son. Jun fans finally got to celebrate her return with Tekken 8, where she was revealed to have been trapped in an astral plane all along.
8Christie Monteiro
Debut: Tekken 4
Like her mentor Eddy Gordo, Christie was originally disliked as a button-mashing main but garnered praise for her design and characterization. Her story is undeniably tragic, as her grandfather - the man who taught Eddy capoeira, who in turn taught her - struggles to survive amidst the Mishima conflict. Christie enters tournaments to pay for his medical treatment, though this ends in failure.
Outside of her story, however, Christie has a warm and welcoming nature. Bizarrely, she replaced Xiaoyu as Jin’s love interest in the 2009 live-action film, where she uses MMA, rather than capoeira.
7Reina Mishima
Debut: Tekken 8
There are some questions that Tekken fans will always ponder: Will Heihachi ever truly die in Tekken?Canhe die? And if he has so many children, both adopted and biological, why is he such a bad father? We don’t have the answers, but what we do know is that Reina is a kick-ass character andTekken 8’s immediate standout.
While she knows the Mishima fighting style, Reina is more than a Heihachi expy: she uses Taido to catch her opponents off guard. Her punk aesthetic and carefree attitude belie her inner turmoil, making her an interesting character. She’s also just plain fun to play as, striking a good balance between offence and defence.
6Asuka Kazama
Debut: Tekken 5
Asuka is the only member of the Mishima and Kazama clans who hasn’t been affected by family drama. Rather, she spends her time building up her dojo and squabbling with her rival Lili. A distant cousin of Jin’s, Asuka uses the same parry-based martial arts as Jun, though with an expanded move set.
Asuka is a quick character and has plenty ofgameplay gimmicks; she’s also likable due to her fiery energy. Given her fighting style, she’s great for taking opponents by surprise: her parry has an especially long window.
5Anna Williams
Debut: Tekken
Anna is the long-suffering younger sister of Nina Williams; asibling duowho debuted in the original Tekken. Just like their favourite cartoon pair, Tom and Jerry, the two are locked in constant conflict. Sadly for Anna, she usually emerges on the losing side - much like her preferred character, Tom.
Anna was trained in the same martial arts as her sister, but the two have different move sets. In contrast to Nina’s cold demeanour, Anna is more flirtatious: she was even ready to settle down in Tekken 7, but the wedding was called off when Nina gunned down her prospective groom. In Tekken 8, Anna uses a rocket launcher as a weapon: discretion is Nina’s strong suit, not hers.
4Ling Xiaoyu
Debut: Tekken 3
A Chinese student at Mishima Polytechnic, Xiaoyu was one of the most innovative characters in Tekken 3. Unlike the straightforward gameplay of returning characters or her love interest Jin - who at that point had Kazuya’s move set - Xiaoyu relies on different stances and explosive power to beat her opponents.
Xiaoyu was an outlier in fighting games at that point: she was representative of the kawaii aesthetic, which had yet to catch on outside of anime games. Xiaoyu went on to become a beloved character, being the protagonist of Tekken: Blood Vengeance and acting as Jin’s protector in Tekken 8.
3Lili Rochefort
Debut: Tekken Dark Resurrection
If elegance could be personified as a fighting game character, it would be Lili. The wealthy daughter of a Monegasque oil magnate, Lili defies her father’s wishes to keep her sheltered and sneaks out to fight in tournaments using self-taught martial arts.
Lili nurtures an increasingly friendly rivalry with Asuka Kazama, with the two first clashing in the fifth tournament. Although she usually loses the physical matchups, Lili always wins the war of words. She is bilingual, speaking English in Tekken DR and 6, before switching to French from Tag Tournament 2 onward.
2Julia Chang
It would be easier to list the things Juliaisn’t: she’s a scientist, conservationist, professional wrestler, archaeologist and streamer. She is also one of the series' female mainstays, having replaced Michelle in Tekken 3 and appearing consistently up till Tekken 7.
Julia has undergone minor redesigns throughout her series run. As she is Native American, the design team took feedback from Native American fans to avoid perpetuating harmful stereotypes. Though there were occasional flaws with her and Michelle’s characterization in the early games, Julia is proof that Tekken’s worldwide appeal is, in part, due to the diversity of its cast.
1Nina Williams
Unlike her easygoing sister Anna, Nina is cold and calculating. Alongside Paul Phoenix, she is one of the two permanent fixtures of Tekken, having appeared in every single game. Nina is the most interesting and well-developed female character in Tekken, because she is completely amoral. In a genre where most characters are divided into good and bad, Nina defies black-and-white characterization. Instead, she offers her services to the highest bidder.
A deadly mercenary, Nina repeatedly changes alliances throughout the series without so much as a smirk. The only sliver of mercy she ever shows is to her son Steve, whom she refuses to assassinate. Nina is well-rounded in her gameplay, able to dish out both quick strikes and extended throws.
