In response to fans asking for Final Fantasy 7’s Tifa Lockheart to joining Tekken 8 as a guest fighter, Katsuhiro Harada has jokingly explained how to unlock her.
The release of Tekken 8 has fans looking towards the future of the game, particularly as it pertains to DLC characters who may join the roster.
Fans are hoping the game follows in the footsteps of its predecessor by including guest characters. Tekken 7 allowed players to unlock the likes of The Walking Dead‘s Negan and Fatal Fury’s Geese Howard as DLC fighters, opening the door of lots of speculation.
Now, Tekken 8 producer and series legend Katsuhiro Harada is responding to player requests that Final Fantasy 7’s Tifa Lockheart be added to the game by trolling them on how to unlock her.
Harada explains how to bring Tifa to Tekken 8
In response to a Twitter user asking how to unlock Tifa in Tekken 8, Harada provided some hilarious instructions.
Harada suggests those who really want Tifa in Tekken 8 attempt to befriend Shinji Hashimoto, who served as a producer on both the original FF7 and Final Fantasy 7 Remake before leaving Square Enix in 2022.
After that, they’d still have to convince Tetsuya Nomura, director of Final Fantasy 7 Remake and creative director for Rebirth.
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Let me tell you how to Unlock.First, you need to become friends with Shinji Hashimoto-san, then if you can convince Tetsuya Nomura-san, then you can Unlock. https://t.co/P7fdhDryeu
— Katsuhiro Harada (@Harada_TEKKEN) February 18, 2024
Following further questions from fans on how they could help Tifa get into Tekken 8, Harada responded with a much longer (and more serious) tweet.
After explaining why online petitions and demonstrations in front of developer offices or shareholder meetings are unhelpful, or even counter-productive, Harada shared what does help: “old-fashioned letters by physical mail.”
Harada then discussed how receiving fan letters impacted him. Excluding some “counterproductive” letters “with razor blades in them,” he turned to positive, enthusiastic letters from fans around the world.
These letters have “a significant impact on the awareness of the development team, making it easier to talk about within the company and attracting the attention of management,” according to him.
This isn’t the first time Harada has responded to interest in Tifa joining Tekken. Earlier this year, he told a fan “We all know she is attractive and I understand that. But as yet we have not decided anything about guest characters etc,” which is consistent with previous statements on the matter.
It’ll probably be a while before we hear anything about guest characters for Tekken 8, so in the meantime, fans who really want Tifa to make the cut should get writing.