Tekken 8: List of Reina moves causes confused screaming (no, you don’t have to memorize all that) 

A user’s introductory list for performing all of Reina’s moves in Tekken 8 has gone viral, causing a lot of confusion for those less familiar with the series, as well as shade at the expense of Tekken veterans for “deciphering hieroglyphs” and “memorizing bibles worth of combos.” But how complex are Tekken character commands really? 

Tekken 8 includes 32 playable characters, one of which is Reina, a brand-new addition to the line-up of fighters. Reina’s identity is shrouded in mystery, and all we know about her is that she is a student of Mishima Polytechnical School. She seems fixated on members of the Mishima bloodline, such as Jin Kazama and Kazuya Mishima. Reina uses the Mishima Style Fighting Karate and techniques used by Heihachi, such as Wind God Fist. 

X user @GreekGod88 recently posted an extensive visual cheat sheet for Reina’s moves and combos with the caption “If you wanna learn Reina Mishima in Tekken 8.” The image includes a list of button presses for Punishers and Pokes/Key moves etc. all broken down by category. It even includes specific combos and transitional moves from stances. Rena has 130 moves, which is not a large number for a Tekken character, but it sure does look mind-boggling when listed up in this way. 

This could be why the post has accumulated over 5,000 RPs and 25,000 likes at the time of writing, being memed in every way imaginable. The shock of a complicated diagram being presented in a way that suggests its suitable for Tekken newbies is probably what has inspired these stunned reactions. 

On the other hand, some heroes have provided simpler move lists for those struggling to wrap their head around things. One example is this beautifully minimalistic Yoshimitsu guide (seen below) that includes nothing but a left punch + right kick input. This command will launch an attack that’s relatively short-ranged, but extremely fast, which makes it a good intermediary technique to use when in a pinch. 

Obviously, the Reina and the Yoshimitsu cheat sheets are polar extremes, and the command list that can be found in Tekken’s practice mode introduces about 20 main techniques for each character. In other words, it’s not easy to learn, but it’s not incomprehensible either. As for combos, about 10 examples are listed, allowing you to play both Yoshimitsu and Reina with the same amount of depth if you try to replicate the moves. So, beginners don’t have to worry about memorizing cursed charts. 

Tekken 8 is available for the PC (Steam), PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.