Tekken 8 is a game that wears its cultural influences on its sleeve, with many of the more recent characters being a direct result of the devs travelling to a part of the world in hopes of fairly representing the birthplace of a character’s martial art.
Fahkumram, the most recent addition to Tekken 8 at the time of writing, was a part of this process. He had already been implemented in T7, but the developers took a trip back to Thailand to have actual monks help design his Sak Yant, a traditional tattoo that represents his strength as a warrior and offers him spiritual protection.
And, in wanting to introduce a wholly new character to the series, Tekken 8’s devs have once again travelled to a different part of the world to help create Miary Zo, a Malagasy woman who practices Moraingy.
This martial art that started in Madagascar is relatively obscure, which is probably exactly why Tekken 8’s devs travelled straight there to learn about the history behind it so they could put it in the game.
Miary Zo makes waves as Tekken’s first African fighter
Though Tekken is a goofy franchise, it has always had a rich history rooted in real martial arts. Eddy Gordo being a Capoeira fighter was a huge deal when Tekken 3 came out for instance, and, even in the days before the complex motion capture we have today, his fighting style was massively influential. Eddy’s existence is a huge part of why so many people know about Capo despite it being a relatively niche martial art.
Tekken’s team is looking to do the same with Miary Zo. She’s confirmed to be a Moraingy practitioner, a martial art born from Madagascar. It’s a type of kickboxing that holds great cultural relevance to Malagasy history, with it being part of traditional rituals and celebrations. It’s as competitive as it is performative.
And, while we’ve yet to see any gameplay from Miary yet, her appearance and the look of her stage in Madagascar has already sent fans into a frenzy.
She was revealed in a teaser at the end of Armor King’s gameplay trailer, with the background showing a gorgeous African landscape dotted with homes, wildlife, locals, and ruins based on locales the developers actually explored.
Harada spoke about his journey to Madagascar across several Twitter posts, revealing that he explored ruins, looked through history dating back to 500 B.C., and immersed himself fully in the area’s culture in order to make sure Miary Zo was a fair representation.
“We didn’t just visit and stay there — we actually studied the local roots and history on-site, traveled from big cities to rural towns (not just the World Heritage sites), co-designed characters with the gaming community in Madagascar, had those designs reviewed and refined by the local community, and even cast voice actors from Madagascar,” Harada explained in a Twitter post, with him having more to say on the subject in a follow-up.
“We stayed on the island ourselves, studied traces and ruins related to their origins, and learned directly from local communities. Many Malagasy people and educators also gathered at the schools we visited, and we learned a great deal from those experiences as well.”
This level of dedication has resulted in an outpouring of love from fans in Africa, with them excited to see Madagascar represented in the game even if they aren’t Malagasy.
Africa also has a bustling fanbase for Tekken, with big tournaments like the Cape Town Showdown being big enough to be landmark spots for the Tekken World Tour. Strong placements there can earn competitors a trip to the TWT Finals to compete against the world’s best.
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