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How many franchise crossovers are we at now?

Okay, full disclosure: I know virtually nothing about Tekken. I have the utmost respect for it as a series for its place in the history of fighting games, but my actual hands-on experience with it don’t extend any further than a few button-mashy rounds on Tekken Tag in the arcade when I was a kid. Nevertheless, it seems someone at Nintendo cares about it a lot more than me, because its mascot character, Kazuya Mishima, is coming to Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.

During their E3 Direct presentation today, Nintendo revealed that the next character on the second DLC Fighter’s Pass is Kazuya Mishima of Tekken. Much like in his home game, Kazuya seems to have a strong emphasis on hand-to-hand combat rather than fantastical gimmicks, utilizing lots of strong and simple strikes and grapples, as well as Tekken‘s signature 10-hit combos. Or, well, I say “no fantastical gimmicks,” but for certain attacks, he activates his Devil Gene, transforming into a monstrous demonic form complete with wings and laser vision. Kazuya will also come with a Tekken-themed stage, featuring a cameo from another Tekken mainstay, Heihachi Mishima.

We’re starting with Smash! Kazuya from Tekken is joining Smash Ultimate, and he started the Direct by throwing Ganondorf’s body off a cliff. pic.twitter.com/a7Z9zqtU5N

— PLDH (@PLDHnet) June 15, 2021

No word yet on when Kazuya will be implemented into the game proper, but Super Smash Bros. Ultimate‘s director, Masahiro Sakurai, will be hosting a separate presentation detailing his moves and mechanics on June 28. With Kazuya’s addition, there is now only one slot left in Fighter’s Pass 2 to fill before character development on Super Smash Bros. Ultimate finally comes to an end. Hopefully, when it does, Sakurai can finally get a good night’s sleep. Heaven knows, he looks like he needs it.