The Story So Far — Kazuya Mishima

Kazuya Mishima is a fantastic character in the Tekken series. Not only has he progressed from likable, mistreated son to evil, fallen hero but he is also ranked as one of the best fighting characters in gaming history. This is due to his complex relationships with his family members, awesome combos, and ‘Devil’ persona.

He has appeared in every Tekken game to date, apart from Tekken 3, and is the son of billionaire Heihachi Mishima and father to Jin Kazama. Just as with many of the characters in this universe, Kazuya has a long and complex history in the Tekken series. Sit back and get ready. This is The Story So Far — Kazuya Mishima.

The Mishima family. From the left: Jinpachi, Heihachi, Kazuya & Jin.

Kazuya’s Intro

As we all know, Heihachi Mishima is the CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu; a massive conglomerate spanning the globe. Heihachi was not a very good father and was extremely tough on Kazuya, labeling the child ‘weak’ and ‘pathetic’ (at age 4!). That kind of parenting can screw up any kid’s childhood but this next part really takes the cake.

Apparently Heihachi decided that in order for his son to become a strong, worthy heir, he must survive a very traumatizing ordeal. Learning that Heihachi killed his mother, 5 year old Kazuya attempted to murder his father. Obviously unsuccessful in his efforts, Kazuya was thrown off a cliff by Heihachi. He was expected to not only survive the fall but climb back up on his own. Poor Kazuya would have been splattered all over the cliff base if he didn’t attract a dark, malevolent energy, known as the ‘Devil’ gene. It’s interesting to notice that the evil power appears a lot like the evil in Soul Edge. It was this power that allowed him to survive the ordeal and plan revenge against his father.

For 21 years, Kazuya traveled the globe taking part in countless martial arts tournaments. During this time, he becomes champion of every, single one. After decades of honing his skills, Kazuya is ready to face his father…

Kazuya and ‘Devil’: One in the same.

Tekken

A well traveled yet weary Kazuya has been fighting with the evil power inside him this entire time. The ‘Devil’ gene seems to encapsulate the worst aspects of his psyche, holding no remorse. At the same time, Kazuya still has many good qualities to him and hasn’t been completely corrupted, yet. This ‘nice’ side to him emerges as ‘Angel’. Get it? The literal Devil and Angel on Kazuya’s shoulders?

After hearing that his father is staging a fighting tournament with a prize of $1 million, Kazuya leaps at the chance to finally take revenge on Heihachi. Entering the King of Iron Fist tournament, Kazuya battles his way through every opponent that comes against him and eventually faces his father.

After a grueling fight, Kazuya emerges victorious and decides that the perfect revenge is Karma. Kazuya carries the limp, unconscious body of Heihachi to the same cliff he was thrown from as a child. Kazuya allows Heihachi to fall from his arms and smiles as the Mishima Zaibatsu becomes all his.

Kazuya’s ending FMV video for Tekken.

Tekken 2

After finally exacting burning revenge against Heihachi, the Mishima Zaibatsu is now under Kazuya’s control. Assuming that his father was dead, Kazuya spent the next two years running the global conglomerate. The problem is, however, that decades living with the ‘Devil’ gene inside him, Kazuya has become a corrupted evil man himself (worse than his father). Instead of righting all the wrongs implemented by Heihachi, Kazuya uses the Mishima Zaibatsu to engage in even more heinous acts.

Two years pass as Kazuya orders assassinations, extortion, arms dealing, and even orders genetic experiments on exotic creatures. This is when Roger the Kangaroo and Alex the Raptor are ‘born’. In order to attract undesirables and secure his greatness in the world, Kazuya’s ego drives him to announce the second King of Iron Fist Tournament. Appearing as if from nowhere, Heihachi returns to fight, stunning all combatants (especially Kazuya himself).

After learning that his father survived the battle from Tekken (and the subsequent fall), Kazuya steels himself while he waits for another chance to kill his father. The final battle ensues with Heihachi in top form (beating every other fighter before him). Once again, this is an intense and grueling fight but in the end, Heihachi emerges victorious. Once he has won, Heihachi decides that the world needs to be rid of his son (for his own selfish reasons of course) and decides to throw him into the mouth of an active volcano. Kazuya Mishima is dead… or is he?

     Heihachi’s ending FMV video for Tekken 2.

Tekken 3

Unbeknownst to many, Kazuya’s one weakness was his attraction to fellow Tekken 2 contestant, Jun Kazama. A bond eventually blossoms between the two, ill-fated lovers to the point where he fathered a son with her (fan favorite Jin Kazama). Tekken 3 is set 15 years after the previous tournament and while it doesn’t specifically include Kazuya as a playable character, his story is still a big part of the installment.

After Heihachi threw Kazuya into the volcano, his ‘Devil’ gene attempted to carry on half of its nature into the rest of the Mishima bloodline. Parts of this gene left Kazuya’s body and attempted to take over Jun and Kazuya’s unborn son. Jun was able to defeat the evil and was then able to deliver her child safely. However, 15 years later and in the present, Jun has suddenly gone missing, allowing the ‘Devil’ gene to come back for his target. There is more of his father to him than Jin would like to realize.

During the 15 years that Jin is growing up into a proficient fighter, Kazuya’s body had been retrieved (and revived) by the G Corporation, a rival genetics company to the Mishima Zaibatsu. Years of tests and experiments are carried out on Kazuya (with his permission) in order to fully understand the ‘Devil’ gene. It is also important to note that Tekken 3 is where Eddy Gordo learns that Kazuya is responsible for his father’s death. The plot thickens…

Eddy’s ending FMV video for Tekken 3.

Tekken 4

Six years after the events of Tekken 3, experiments are still being carried out on Kazuya in order to understand the ‘Devil’ gene but things go awry very quickly. As Heihachi learns that his son’s body was retrieved, he sends his own Tekken Force (the Mishima Zaibatsu Special Forces) to attack G Corporation. He wanted Kazuya’s body to carry out his own experiments on the ‘Devil’ gene but he wasn’t counting on his son still being alive! After violently killing most of the attackers and forcing the others to retreat, Kazuya swears revenge on his father once again.

Revenge is not Kazuya’s sole purpose this time around as his son, Jin, possesses the other half of the ‘Devil’ gene. After Heihachi announces the fourth King of Iron Fist tournament, Kazuya enters in order to defeat his father once and for all, and take back the gene that is rightfully his from his son.

Battling his way through to the final round of Tekken 4 allows Kazuya to face his father once again. He fights Heihachi with everything he has and eventually forces Heihachi to reveal where he is keeping Jin. You may think that Kazuya actually cares about his son at this point but we all know better. Leading Kazuya to Hon-Maru (a Mishima compound), Heihachi is blasted out of the compound by Kazuya’s/Devil’s psychic beam.

Using his powers to subconsciously taunt Jin through his coma, Kazuya is able to unleash ‘Devil’ Jin. Unfortunately for him, the rage possessed by ‘Devil’ Jin is much too powerful for either Kazuya or Heihachi to overcome, their deaths imminent. Suddenly, Jun Kazama (his mother) appears to Jin and it seems Jin’s ‘Angel’ side has a little more control. Due to the blood relation he shares with these two men, Jin allows them to live and promptly flies out of the compound. Big mistake…

Jin’s ending FMV video for Tekken 4.

Tekken 5

One of the first installments of the series to continue immediately after the ending of the previous tournament, Kazuya and Heihachi find themselves beaten by the younger Mishima generation. There’s no time for rest however.

A large army of Jack-4s assault Hon-Maru immediately after ‘Devil’ Jin makes his escape. The Jack-4s were sent by the G Corporation as a retaliation to the laboratory attacks by Tekken Force. It seems they have little use for Kazuya now that they are done with him and aim to take out the two generations of Mishimas in one hit.

For one of the few moments in their lives, the duo begin to fight the army of Jack-4s as true father and son but as the battle becomes unwinnable, Kazuya throws Heihachi to the wolves. He then spreads his ‘Devil’ wings and flies off into the night as the compound explodes. Heihachi Mishima is dead… or is he?

After this incident, Kazuya has yet another revenge target; the G Corporation. During this time, Jin has assumed control of the Mishima Zaibatsu and its vast fortune, due to his win in Tekken 4. The problem is that it seems corruption runs deep in this particular, dysfunctional family. Jin cannot control the evil inside him and uses his new empire to declare war on several nations. He is now vying for total, world domination (like his father and grandfather before him). Funnily enough, Jin announces the fifth King of Iron Fist tournament in order to weed out Heihachi and Kazuya, if they are still out there.

Kazuya decides to enter again to put an end to his son once and for all but is unsuccessful. However, even though he wasn’t able to win the tournament, Kazuya was able to track down those responsible for the G Corporation attack. He eliminates them all (violently I might add) and now becomes the shadowy leader of the G Corporation. No one is able to stop him in his own ambitions and now uses G Corporation to fight and stop Jin’s plans for global domination. We might think that Kazuya is back on the right path but we all know that he simply wants to be the most powerful man in the world.

Jin’s ending FMV video in Tekken 5.

Tekken 6

Succeeding with his plans of world domination, Jin has only one, major rival left; the G Corporation (still led by his estranged and psychotic father). The world is at constant war and public perception has moved towards the G Corporation’s (official) cause. Many believe the G Corporation to be a noble entity, trying to fight tyranny, but we all know the truth by now. Kazuya is using the corporation to fulfill his own selfish goals; killing Jin, retaking his half of the ‘Devil’ gene, and ruling the world himself.

Having lost more than once before to his son, Kazuya doesn’t take any chances. He places a very large bounty on Jin’s head for anyone that can take him in alive. Entering the sixth King of Iron Fist Tournament (again announced by Jin), Kazuya heads towards his destiny.

After a long and intense fight between the two ‘Devil’ genes, Kazuya emerges victorious, lifting a limp, unconscious Jin into the air as a sign. Kazuya smiles that famous smile and is back on track, at age 50-something…

Kazuya’s ending FMV video in Tekken 6.

Kazuya’s Conclusion

It’s easy to see why Kazuya has been named one of the best fighting characters in history (considering Tekken itself has had that honor multiple times). A tale rich in betrayal and intense family problems, Tekken 6 left fans wondering how much left of Kazuya’s tale there is to tell. With Kazuya back in charge of the Mishima Zaibatsu and the G Corporation, there is nothing left to stand in his way. When Tekken 7 is finally released on consoles, we hope to have our answers.

What is this Devil’s fate?

So what did you think? Was there anything I missed while explaining the complicated story of this character? Please leave a comment below to let me know!