The 2024 Evo tournament over the weekend was perhaps one of the most entertaining installments ever. New champions were crowned and new announcements were likewise aplenty. However, nobody was probably expecting Bandai Namco’s reveal of Heiachi Mishima as the third DLC character for Tekken 8. Nevertheless, what completely caught everyone off guard was the Nike Air Foamposite One “Kazuya Mishima.”
Based on franchise game director Katsuhiro Harada’s interaction with fans on social media after Tekken 7‘s ending, he hinted that Heihachi was indeed dead. However, the latest DLC trailer proves otherwise. As for why the American footwear and sports apparel brand is collaborating with Bandai Namco for Tekken 8, it’s extremely likely from Kazuya’s arcade ladder ending.
Spoilers ahead for those who have yet to pick up a copy and play! Near the end of the cinematic, double doors open behind Kazuya to showcase a huge collection of shoes as he says “anything and everything shall be mine!” As such, it makes a lot of sense why the Air Foamposite One “Kazuya Mishima” exists in real life.
Carrying the style code FQ9050-400, these kicks look devilishly dashing. It seems Nike also plans to release the official counterpart Air Foamposite One “Jin Kazama” (style code HF6367-001) at the same time. We’re looking at sometime this fall as the tentative date for the drops.
Sneakerhead attendees at EVO 2024 were in luck as geolocation tracking enabled them to purchase the Air Foamposite One “Kazuya Mishima” in advance via the SNKRS Stash feature of the official SNKRS app. The Nike x Tekken 8 tie-in also extends in-game as players can have their characters wear digital versions of the shoes.
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Images courtesy of Nike/Bandai Namco
