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Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada recently revealed some details about the creation of Azucena, one of the new additions to the Tekken 8 roster. He answered fan questions about the character in a video on his YouTube channel, Harada’s Bar.
When asked about the creation of Azucena, Harada discussed the popularity of Tekken in South America. While he acknowledged a large Brazilian fanbase, he also noted that Peru has a lot of players who love Kazuya Mishima. He also picked a Peruvian character thanks to an interest in the Nazca Lines. He claims they left an impression on him when they appeared in the classic Namco arcade game Xevious.
Harada explained that Azucena was designed in reverse to how Tekken characters are usually created. While normally the team start with a fighting style and build a character around it, for Azucena they started with her personality. After reading anthropological studies about national character, he discovered that Peruvians are considered cheerful and optimistic. This led to the creation of a happy-go-lucky character who is always dancing, which led to her fighting style. Harada also mentioned that the team did consider a character using Incan boxing, a style of boxing unique to the country.
Harada also discussed the positive reaction that adding characters from different countries to Tekken has brought. After a Peruvian fan’s message says their family celebrated Azucena’s inclusion, Harada says that he wished he’d announced her at a local event to see the live reaction. He also briefly mentioned how he’d heard that Peruvian news had covered her announcement. He compared this to newspapers in the Middle East and TV news in the Philippines reported on Shaheen and Josie Rizal’s Tekken 7 announcements.
The full video can be seen here:
Azucena is one of three new characters added to the base roster of Tekken 8. She is a coffee-loving Peruvian with an evasive, dance-like fighting style. The other new additions to the roster are Victor and Reina.
Tekken 8 will be released for PS5, PC and Xbox Series X/S on January 26, 2024.
