The Tekken series has strayed away from the continuity that kept it alive in its earlier years, but we still have enough evidence to determine which characters have been the strongest seen thus far. The series has a whole has been squarely focused on the Mishima clan and the beings they encounter when trying to further their own intentions.

Since the main characters and antagonists are the strongest, you can expect to find them here, but there are a few characters that have defied the status quo and rank high enough to surprise you. If you’re a newbie and want to know which characters represent ultimate power in the Tekken series, then check out this list to learn more.

Updated by Saim Cheeda on 28th March 2021: The Tekken series is on hiatus at present, which aligns with the franchise’s practice of taking long gaps between sequels. Due to the time spent without another game, fans have revisited past ones to satisfy their need for Tekken. With this comes an introspective look into which characters are the strongest ones out there. As the number of hours that players have devoted to the game have increased, it makes sense to offer these gamers more options to choose from if they want to pick the most powerful characters. With this in mind, this list has been updated with new names.

15 Feng Wei

Feng’s introduction to the series was based on his quest to become the greatest fighter in the world. He went so far as to kill his own master after the latter had scolded Feng for his brutal ways. Even when his goal of achieving the famed scroll turned out to be for naught, Feng continued his quest for power.

He’s been shown completing extraordinary feats of strength despite not having the boost in abilities like the Mishima clan. Feng has still been beaten by wiser masters like Wang Jinrei but his overall quality is almost second to none.

14 Yoshimitsu

One of the mainstays of the Tekken series, Yoshimitsu has been a mysterious figure at times for appearing as a mixture of alien and insect species. Regardless, he’s made good use of his sword and survived every tournament.

Thanks to his skills as a ninja, Yoshimitsu has managed to appear invisible at times, as well as accomplishing victory over empowered beings like Bryan Fury. He might not be in the elite level, but he’s very close to it.

13 Kuma

While considered as more of a joke character, Kuma has still had an impressive outing in the Tekken series. The only ones he hasn’t been able to beat are Paul and Jin, who happen to be top-tier characters. However, Kuma does have a victory over Paul, meaning he’s right up the ranks as well.

Having been Heihachi’s pet, Kuma has picked up on his master’s fighting skills and become a force to be reckoned with. It’s only his comedic role that’s denied him from cementing his place in the big leagues.

12 Wang Jinrei

He’s been old seemingly forever, but Wang Jinrei always reaches the end stages of the King of Iron Fist Tournament whenever he enters. In Tekken 2, he never lost, and drew Marshall Law instead; Tekken 5 had him lose to the eventual winner, Jin Kazama, and that too because Wang had become advanced in age by then.

Wang’s fighting style is one of tranquility; opponents underestimate him, only to be overcome by his timed shots. Wang never goes in for the kill, choosing to put his opponent down enough for them to admit defeat. Just imagine how unbeatable a young Wang Jinrei would’ve been.

11 Hwoarang

His barrage of kicks should be enough to tell you that there’s almost no going past Hwoarang’s all-out assault style. As far as feats go, he’s only ever lost to Devil Jin. He was able to beat Human Jin when the latter was vulnerable—and being overcome by the Devil gene—and thus has never actually lost to a regular person.

Still, you have to believe that Kazuya or Heihachi would probably be the kind of opponents who could beat Hwoarang, so he can’t rank all the way up there. However, being in the top-10 itself is immensely impressive considering the names Hwoarang finds himself in the company of. Due to his laser-focus to beat Jin, almost no one can beat Hwoarang fair and square.

10 Lars Alexandersson

Since Lars was the protagonist of Tekken 6, we never saw him lose to anyone. He ended up either stalemating or winning against Jin (the narration wasn’t clear) in the end and walked off toward another assignment.

The fact that he’s never lost to anyone gets him a position in the topmost rankings, but plot armor did do the trick for him here, so you can’t call Lars the best ever. Regardless, his fighting style speaks for itself, as Lars’ erratic offense looks impossible to read for everyone. His youthful rage only contributes to his attacks, making Lars a truly dangerous individual.

9 Paul Phoenix

He’s never had plot armor or any intrinsic powers, but Paul has beaten the best out there purely because of his skills. Tekken 3 saw Paul beat Ogre, and he should’ve been the rightful winner of the tournament, but Ogre turned into True Ogre before Paul came to know of this.

We don’t need to list any more Paul skills since Ogre was confirmed to be the greatest fighting monster who ever lived by that point; Paul not only beating him but also walking away unscathed proves he was the most superior human being of all-time. It’s a shame Tekken 5 onwards he’s been made to look like a joke, as Paul is on par with characters like Kazuya Mishima.

8 Kazumi Mishima

Having been the one to inject the devil gene into the Mishima bloodline, Kazumi is an easy addition to this list. She may have not been as powerful to defeat Heihachi, but the enduring devil gene inside of her has meant her son and grandson have continued to be fed from this power.

Kazumi also had her own fighting skills that made her a threat, even without the benefit of the devil gene. Being a karate master, she could take on the very best and emerge as the victor.

7 Heihachi Mishima

Heihachi’s source of powers remain wonky since we don’t know how he was able to beat Devil Kazumi and Devil Kazuya, despite not having the devil gene and Heihachi wanting that gene to become powerful. Yet, that doesn’t really matter seeing as Heihachi still has achieved those feats.

His total acceptance of his evilness has meant he’s been able to become more dangerous when wanting to achieve his mission. He beat Jinpachi and sealed his father away to die; Heihachi also killed his wife and son on fair grounds. There’s nothing this guy won’t be able to achieve when he puts his mind to it. He ranks here only because everyone above him has either beaten him or been proven to be more powerful.

6 Akuma

A character who transitioned from the Street Fighter series into the Tekken universe, Akuma instantly established himself in a class of his own. This was through his defeat of Heihachi, who had to fake his death to escape.

Akuma has the ability to transform himself into a being of higher power and was undefeated in Tekken 7, with his final clash with Kazuya left to the interpretation of the player. Not having a distinct martial arts style, Akuma is impossible to predict and combines this with his extreme power.

5 Kazuya Mishima

Before Tekken 7, we’d have ranked Kazuya lower than Heihachi, but the former’s victory in the game’s ending sealed it that Kazuya was more powerful than his father. Whenever Kazuya’s human form starts to lose, you can bank on the Devil to consume him and claim victory.

Even on his own, Kazuya has only ever been beaten by a handful of characters; this usually involves Kazuya’s inflated ego making him lose more than anything. No human character can hope to beat Kazuya definitively, and only supremely powerful beings stand a chance to fight the Devil. Like Heihachi, Kazuya’s total lack of morality has meant he’s brutally slain his opponents when needed – his father included.

4 True Ogre

Since Ogre had beaten every single supreme fighter in the world (except Paul), we can be certain that True Ogre eclipses everyone else. This being could breathe fire on his opponents and could fly as well. Even Paul would’ve lost to True Ogre, as there’s no way any mortal man had a chance against this creature.

Heihachi was out of his league with True Ogre and needed to manipulate Jin to do his dirty work in beating True Ogre. On paper, True Ogre should be able to beat Jin as well, and he only lost because of storyline purposes. Without any plot involved, True Ogre is supremely powerful, thanks to his mysterious abilities.

3 Jinpachi Mishima

The first of two bosses that made us rage quit a Tekken game, Jinpachi Mishima was a true beast when it came to fighting him. He had incredible powers, such as stunning the fighter into inertia, having a belly that could spit fireballs and an exterior that was almost impenetrable.

Till the game’s end, the true form of Jinpachi was never fought in the story, and this version had devilish horns along with the ability to fly. Gameplay wise, you always need specific fighters that can beat Jinpachi, otherwise the character always beats you. The mysterious devilish creature that consumed Jinpachi also enabled him to live without food for half a century, and it never reached its ultimate form.

2 Azazel

Now this being was just ridiculously powerful, and we hate him for it. Azazel not only made us rage quit, he probably made more than a few destroy their consoles out of frustration. We can’t even list the number of powers this being had; you can just imagine any power in the book and Azazel had it.

Even Jin’s victory over it was due to some plot device that saw him “punch” Azazel to its death, which was a lazy way to defeat him. Other than that punch, Azazel no-sold every other attack against him. He was so powerful that Azazel is one of the hated characters, as gamers didn’t have a fair chance when fighting him.

1 Jin Kazama

Lastly, we reach the guy who’s beaten every person/being ranked on this list. Jin Kazama is the unquestioned main character of the Tekken series, with this bringing him victory against every opponent he’s faced.

Chronologically, he beat True Ogre in Tekken 3, Kazuya and Heihachi Mishima at the same time in Tekken 4, Jinpachi Mishima in Tekken 5, and either stalemated or beat Lars in Tekken 6, before one-shotting Azazel of all beings at the end of that game. He’s been heavily protected by the plot, but that’s no excuse to deny Jin from the top spot. And if you don’t consider Jin to be the strongest, then Devil Jin definitely will step in and take in the title as the most powerful character in the Tekken universe.

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