Paul Phoenix

Story

The fighting spirit was born in Paul Phoenix back in his childhood. As a kid, he used to watch Bear Killer Willy Williams — and that certainly affected all his following life.

Paul did not choose to get a proper job. He earned some money as a street fighter or a bouncer in clubs. But he followed this path not because of laziness! He had a deep idea in his mind of being the best fighter in the universe, so all Paul’s actions were dedicated to proving this fact — not to himself but to all other people on Earth.

This passion for martial arts helped Paul meet many prominent personalities. He often trained with his best friend Marshall Law and with Lee Chaolan.

The idea of his greatness got perfect support from Paul’s real results on the fighting grounds. The guy was undefeated and actively looked for new challenges. This experience waited for him at the King of Iron Fist Tournaments.

At the very first such event, Paul Phoenix was stopped by his long-time rival Kazuya Mishima. This failure could not demotivate Paul, and he started training even harder.

The Tekken 2 tournament was bitter again. Paul Phoenix believed in his chances to win, and defeating Kuma supported that mood quite nicely. But then, he was stopped by… a traffic jam in Japan. His fight against Kazuya did not happen this time.

For the next tournament, Paul inspired Forest Law to follow the same path of competition. After a few successful matches, Phoenix thought he was a winner — even Ogre seemed to be defeated. The fighter left the place, but then he discovered that Ogre just needed time to transform into an even scarier monster. Jin Kazama really defeated that creature and became the winner.

It felt like life wanted to teach Pal a lesson. Was it humbleness, perhaps? At the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, Paul Phoenix was stopped by an opponent he easily defeated before — Kuma. This experience made the guy return to the drawing board and reconsider his approach.

Nope, Paul Phoenix did not abandon his idea at all! At the fifth tournament, only physical exhaustion forced him to stop from progressing through the matches. Teaming up with Marshall Law and Steven Fox was Paul’s solution for Tekken 6. However badly the partners needed this victory (and prize money), they did not reach the top.

Participation in the Tekken tournaments has become an ever-ending story for Paul Phoenix. Has he realized that the fight itself is the goal, not a miraculous ultimate victory?

Personality

Well, what kind of personality do you expect from someone claiming to be the best, the toughest fighter in the universe? Yes, Paul is somewhat cocky, overconfident, and short-tempered. Any opportunity to prove his strength is good for him. But on the other hand, he is not evil at all; his intentions are whirling around dedication to martial arts and tournament victories.

With his friend, Marshall Law, Paul often coins ridiculous business ideas, they may not bring a lot of money but lead the guys to exciting adventures.

Playstyle

Paul has extremely damaging hits, and he is very effective in offense. His punches can easily break an opponent’s defense to let the player start wall combos or juggling. The strength may come at the cost of speed, so Paul should properly time his defense and feel moments for unleashing his attacks.

Appearance

For quite a long time, Paul was easily recognizable by his unique flat-top hair style. But in Tekken 8, we see a different (older?) version of this character, with hair down. In the newest game, Paul has a more mature face. He wears a leather jacket, jeans, and high boots.