Not sure if that baseball bat is cheating…
Tekken is one of the great fighting game series. Ok, Street Fighter might still be the gold standard, but since debuting in the arcades all the way back in 1994, the Namco franchise has gone on to be one of the most enduring beat-em-ups ever. One of the first wave of 3D fighters, the unique one-button-for-each-limb system really resonated with players, and made characters like Law, Paul and Yoshimitsu beloved gaming icons.
The most recent instalment, Tekken 7, hit consoles in 2017. Alongside the familiar cast, there have been several guest characters from other games, including Akuma form Street Fighter, Geese Howard from SNK’s The Art of Fighting, and Noctis Lucis Caelum from Final Fantasy XV.
Now however, the game is getting the first character from a different medium: Negan, the terrifying villain from The Walking Dead.
Negan first appeared in issue #100 of Robert Kirkman’s original comics series, and is played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan in the TV show. He’s known for his for his barbwire-covered baseball bat – normally, Tekken characters don’t have weapons, but Yoshimitsu’s always had his trusty sword, so Negan should have his bat.
The downloadable character will be available alongside five other new fighters as part of Tekken 7’s season 2 pass, which is “coming soon” according to Bandai Namco. The announcement was made by Tekken creator Katsuhiro Harada at fighting game tournament Evo, and was shown in concept-art form in a trailer, with classic Tekken characters Anna Williams and Lei Wulong also announced to be on their way.
Bandai Namco are no stranger to have multimedia guest stars in their fighting games. Soulcaliber II had Nintendo’s Zelda and Image Comics’ Spawn, and Soulcaliber IV featured Darth Vader and Yoda from Star Wars.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
