Nintendo kicked off its E3 Direct with a Super Smash Bros. Ultimate DLC character kicks quite a bit — Kazuya from the Tekken series — and promised a full breakdown would follow just under two weeks later. Director Masahiro Sakurai finally gave said breakdown, detailing Kazuya’s unique Tekken-like mechanics, extensive move list, and his release date, which is June 29. He will be $5.99 and is included in the Fighters Pass Vol. 2.
While players only have to wait a day to start throwing characters into a volcano, Sakurai gave them an in-depth breakdown. He described Kazuya as a good comeback character because of his high attack power, which grows as he enters Rage Mode (a comeback mechanic introduced in Tekken 6) after taking enough damage. But being a character from a mostly projectile-free fighting game franchise, he has limited range and some slightly slower attacks as well. He’s also heavier and his default jump is not as high as other characters, but he can use his demonic powers to flap his wings to reach greater heights. His attacks also don’t have the hitstun effect because Tekken doesn’t have hitstun. While these changes may seem odd to some, they additions (as well as some Easter eggs and win poses) almost all there to pay respect to his Tekken lineage.
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That lineage is quite clear in the rest of the video as many of his moves are ripped almost wholesale and placed within the Nintendo platform fighter. Some even have the same exact inputs, advanced directional inputs and all. However, the team had to do some work to make sure he fit within the game as he was “surprisingly weak” at first. After some buffs, he looks to have his same combo-heavy brawler style. Sakurai warned that longer combos might get interrupted in multiplayer battles, but that it is up to players to decide when to go for long, damaging juggles that might be interrupted or quicker, weaker ones.
Sakurai also went into detail about the new Mishima Dojo stage that even has Heihachi, Kazuya’s father, in the background. It has no floating platforms and is more enclosed than normal as the walls and ceilings have to be busted before getting knockouts. The broken areas will eventually repair themselves, too. The DLC will also have 39 songs from the franchise, including eight new arrangements. And while not included, four Mii Fighter costumes will also be coming as DLC on June 29 for 75 cents each: Shantae from the Shantae games, white-haired old Dante from Devil May Cry, Dragonborn (or Dovahkiin) from Skyrim, and Lloyd from Tales of Symphonia.
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While the next full fighter is still a mystery, it will also be the last one for the game. The announcement won’t come for quite a while, but Sakurai said to expect it later this year.
