King Still a Real Force in Tekken 8 Past Decades of Massive Popularity

King is one of the most iconic characters in fighting games, and perhaps even in gaming overall. The massive luchador wrestler with the jaguar mask cuts an unmistakable silhouette, and from the start of Tekken 8, the fear of King was right there. Hailed a “broken fighter” by many early on, patches didn’t do much to nerf the Mexican.

Even once the nerfs finally arrived to specifically target King’s biggest moves, players found a way to continue to dominate with him. At the time of writing, King is firmly an A-Tier fighter alongside other long-time fan favorites like Nina Williams, Jin Kazama, and Yoshimitsu. Given his legacy, King deserves this prominence.

Glorious King and his infusion of wrestling

In a game where the popular martial arts in the Far East took prominence for fighting styles and were key to the central characters, the infusion of the flair of Mexican wrestling offered a great mix to the equation in the very first Tekken game. The grappling and heavy hits made King a worthy adversary on any arcade run.

After all, wrestling is very popular in entertainment. The gravity-defying moves put on by those in the WWE, for example, make legends out of those stars. It’s why they only need four of them to promote each of what is now a three-game range of official WWE slot games at the best online casino. King’s moves certainly tap into that.

With the arrival of King II in Tekken III and Armour King later, King became a hot fan favorite. A staple of the series ever since, his popularity would naturally swing with his usability and power in-game. In Tekken 8, certainly due to how easy his move set is to deploy effectively, King was the fourth favorite on PC through the first month.

What makes King so mighty in Tekken 8?

There is the long-term impact of King being in the Tekken games. Anyone who has been around since the early days, like when he donned the famous costume with the snow leopard mask in T3, will likely have a good amount of entrenched familiarity with King. So, picking up a new game and entering with King certainly comes with an edge.

We know that he’s about grapples, getting in low and committing to the death roll, and even short fist combos or single kicks to make a big impact. Beyond the Rage and the Heat, he’s a slow fighter, so timing becomes very important. What helps is that, if you time it right, the rewards are a big dent to the health bar and often a downed opponent.

Along with King being fairly slow overall, his range isn’t as great as his hefty frame would suggest. So, there is a good amount of skill to using King effectively – even if hitting that top tier is a bit easier than with some other T8 fighters. He’s got a good poke attack, plenty of ways to punish, and can get his scariest grab combo going from low.

If you can learn the Rolling Death Cradle and time its latch to perfection, you’ll be able to do well with one of the most legendary and, currently, one of the strongest fighters in Tekken 8.