Tekken 8’s Boxing Kangaroo Is Exactly Why I Love This Series

Like many major fighting game franchises, Tekken has always had a space for weird characters. Every major series has a few bizarre choices to go alongside the more standard genre archetypes, whether that be Street Fighter‘s puny Dan Hibiki or the horrifying Meat from Mortal Kombat. No franchise has perfected the strange character archetype quite like Tekken, however, going all the way back to their earliest titles.

The legendary fighting game series has gotten plenty of material out of strange character selections, especially once it starts incorporating wild animals or robotic creations. One of the most memorable of these is the family of boxing kangaroos who have appeared as playable characters in multiple entries, steadily evolving from a King clone into their own unique fighter with a strangely compelling domestic drama at the center of their story. With Roger Jr. set to return as part of Tekken 8‘s upcoming Season 3, fans of Tekken‘s weirder side can feel assured that one of the game’s best strange creations is making a comeback.

Tekken 8 Is Bringing Roger Jr. Back Into The Ring

The Tekken 8 Season 3 trailer showcases the next three fighters being added to the game over the course of the year. While return appearances for Kunimitsu and Bob are exciting for fans of the franchise, the inclusion of Roger Jr. is exactly the sort of thing I love most about the series. Roger Jr. is actually part of a long-running character arc across multiple Tekken titles, which has been building since Tekken 2 introduced his father, Roger, as a playable character. A genetically modified kangaroo created as part of Kazuya Mishima’s overarching plans for his own personal army, Roger’s natural strength and speed as an animal were amplified by a relatively human intelligence and a newfound talent for combat.

Although Roger was effectively written out of the series after the events of Tekken Tag Tournament, his wife took up his boxing gloves and — with their son, Roger Jr. in tow — became fighters in search of her missing husband. However, their discovery that Roger had more or less abandoned the family set up a plotline where Roger’s wife divorces him and the family struggles with their new status quo. It’s undeniably bizarre, and I love every part of it. While many of the story arcs in Tekken can range in tone from overly dramatic to strangely silly, none are quite as memorably bizarre as the one involving Roger’s family.

Their story has included infidelity, divorce, and regret — without ever losing sight of just how strange it is to root all of that domestic drama around a family of kangaroos who compete in fighting tournaments. Roger Jr.’s appearance in Tekken 8 seems to bring the pair back for a new generation, potentially searching once again for the patriarch of the family after his “disappearance” in Tekken Tag Tournament 2 — or just reentering the King of Iron Fist Tournament for another chance at the prize money. Either way, it’s an exciting development.

Tekken Is Best When It’s Weird

Tekken has always been an interesting contrast to something like Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter, or Virtua Fighter, not just in terms of gameplay but in presentation. The series has always thrived when it embraces the sheer absurdity of its worldbuilding and lore, going all the way back to Kazuya Mishima being thrown off the side of a mountain as a baby by his father. Some of the most memorable, strange additions to the series have always been the animal fighters. Bears, raptors, and more have appeared in the Tekken games as playable characters, with a campy silliness baked into their personal arcade campaigns that fits neatly into the similarly absurd world around them. Roger Jr., in particular, stands out as one of the best examples of this trend, with a combat style that mixes real-world forms like wrestling with silly touches like multiple jumping attacks or Roger Jr. throwing punches from his mother’s pouch. It’s a clever approach to fighting game mechanics that encourages new approaches to standard gameplay styles.

It’s overtly silly but played completely straight, which fits neatly into the overall absurdist world of Tekken. It’s one of the things that helps balance the game’s overarching narrative, making the melodramatic family drama of the Mishima line all the more ridiculous by contrast. On top of that, Roger Jr’s combat — especially in Tekken 6 — feels wholly unique from anything else in the game, utilizing tail attacks, headbutts, and flips. I have a soft spot for fighting games in general, with plenty of hours devoted to all of the major franchises. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t get a little extra excited whenever I play Tekken over the others, thanks to the inclusion of some of the genre’s most memorable, strange brawlers.

It gives Tekken an absurdist edge that takes the ridiculous nature of fighting video games and refuses to back away from it, making all the more absurd touches feel that much more in sync with one another. Is it really so hard to believe in the over-the-top intensity of the Mishima family drama when another story mode incorporates a kangaroo and raptor love triangle? Other franchises like Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat may go searching primarily for dramatic weight in their storytelling, but Tekken never lets you forget that sometimes, a kangaroo is just going to show up and punch you in the face.