There are few fighting game franchises with Tekken's longevity and consistent popularity. The series has sold over 50 million copies and even has a movie in the works! There isn't a fan of the fighting game genre that doesn't know about Tekken.
Design teams always try to balance all the characters in their roster but sometimes they come up short and make overpowered characters. Tekken is no exception to this rule. Throughout the years, Tekken has had a lot of broken characters, from being overpowered to being janky or outright unfair.
Updated September 10th, 2022, by Michael Llewellyn: The balance of fun and fairness must be a difficult task for developers when it comes to fighting games. Most fighting games have easy-to-pick-up mechanics with steep learning curves for those that want to master them. The Tekken series is a prime example of this. The strongest characters in Tekken aren't always about stats and powerful moves. There are characters like Law, whose Bruce Lee style is perfect for new players, then there are more complex fighters like Lei Wulong, a Jackie Chan type that uses Five-Form Kung Fu strictly for veterans.
However, there are always characters that can be exploited to get the win in a fight. For competitive players, these characters can be a nightmare, but for simple couch-co-op laughs, they can be great fun to use. This list is updated to include more fighters that can make a battle feel too one-sided.
13 Baek Doo San - Tekken 2
Sporting a ponytail that would make the villain from Karate Kid 3 proud, Baek Doo San is a Taekwondo fighter and one of the most lethal characters in Tekken 2. He functions as a sub-boss for Marshal Law and is unlocked as a selectable character when he's beaten.
He's also a nightmare to fight in multiplayer matches. He's similar to his student Hworang but simpler to use. He's a good choice for newbie players because they can spam the X and Circle buttons to trigger Baek's side steps into his rush and juggle combos making quick work of his opponents.
12 Noctis - Tekken 7
Arriving as DLC for Tekken 7 in 2018, Noctis is a guest character and the lead protagonist of Final Fantasy 15. He was a character that had almost god-like powers by the end of FF15, thanks to his superhuman speed and agility.
With the use of his sword, Noctis may have been a better fit for the Soul Calibur series. Nevertheless, he appeared on the Tekken 7 roster as one of the game's most lethal characters. Newbie players can spam Noctis' attacks and put together some dazzling combinations. However, experienced players can pull off a deadly combo, referred to as the "touch of death." As an allusion to Final Fantasy 15, the combo can deal 9999 damage. Considering most Tekken characters only have approximately 170 health, that's quite the overkill.
11 Eddy - Tekken 3
Anyone that remembers playing Tekken 3 in 1998 on the PS1 can still see the game's blueprint running deep into the series 25 years later. It was a big step up in visuals and animation from its predecessors. That animation lent itself to one of the series' most iconic Tekken characters Eddy Gordo.
Eddie's fighting style is the Brazilian martial art Capoeira. He hits low and from all angles with a dance-like moveset that side steps futile. He was also the go-to character for new players in couch co-op sessions. Eddy can pull off deadly combos just by bashing all the buttons, making him difficult to predict in a fight.
10 Leroy - Tekken 7
Leroy was one of the most anticipated characters to be released in the Tekken series. Players were excited as his character design didn't just make him look strong it made him look like the coolest character the franchise had seen in years. Unfortunately, players got more than they bargained for.
When he was initially released, he was busted. He was incredibly versatile, had a low execution barrier, and had some of the best moves every other character had but in one kit together. Before Leroy's nerf, he essentially ruined Tekken 7's tournaments during the first months of the game.
9 Ogre - Tekken 3
Hold onto that hat, Shrek Super Slam, because this Ogre is one of the most broken but powerful characters in the Tekken series. Boss characters tend to be too powerful, but it's an understatement just how broken Ogre was in Tekken 3.
His unbreakable grab, Waning Moon, had mind-blowingly fast frame data and could easily combo into a half bar of damage. Oh, and did we mention he had an unblockable one-hit K.O. move?
8 Dr. Boskonovitch & Gon - Tekken 3
There are a lot of wacky characters in fighting games, but few take the cake quite like Dr. Boskonovitch and Gon. No one expected Gon as a guest character, and unlocking the good doctor was so difficult many players never realized he was even in the game.
Both of these characters are in the "Trash Tier," so why are they considered broken? The two characters are similar to Yoda in Soul Calibur 4. They both could stand at heights that made some moves completely miss and severely limited their opponent's moves to deal damage. These two proved that characters don't always have to be overpowered to be broken.
7 Bob - Tekken 6
Many fighting games design characters that are easy for starting players to pick up. As was the case for Bob in Tekken 6, but unfortunately, the devs went a little too far with just how strong this character was.
Bob wasn't just incredibly T H I C C — he had easy combos, dealt incredible damage, and had ridiculous tools to pressure opponents. He topped the tier lists for Tekken 6 for a reason and is one of the defining characters of that game's meta.
6 Kazuya - Tekken 2
The side step in 3D fighting games is a regular mechanic these days, but that wasn't always the case. Back in Tekken 2, Kazuya was the only character that could use the "Mist Step" technique, giving him an incredibly unfair movement option. Other characters like Lei, Bruce, and Baek have side-step-like moves, but only as part of a combo.
Combine this with the massive damage, and he was an unstoppable powerhouse in the right hands. Tekken 2's Kazuya was also the perfect foil for Baek's near-unstoppable kicking combos, thanks to his mist step.
5 Jin - Tekken 4
Just Frame Laser Scraper. Those four words will send anyone that competed in Tekken 4 into an hour-long rant. This move allowed Jin to land unblockable combos and was incredibly easy to pull off.
Most tournaments for the game featured Jin dittos in the grand finals, where both players were only trying to see who could hit JFLS the fastest and the most times. It hurt Tekken 4 as a competitive title and made many players hate Jin forever.
4 Akuma - Tekken 7
Akuma is no stranger to being overpowered. He was the first fighting game character ever to be banned from tournaments. Unsurprisingly, when Akuma crossed over into the Tekken universe with its seventh installment, he brought along his overpowered nature.
Akuma is too powerful because he didn't play by all the Tekken ruleset. He still had most of his mechanics from Street Fighter, which gave him an unfair advantage over his opponents. Even after several nerfs, he still tops tier lists for the game.
3 Fakhumram - Tekken 7
Fakhumram enjoyed five months of unfettered competitive dominance in Tekken 7 when he was released as DLC. Players reported that many moves that should hit would pass through his arms or legs thanks to his unusual physique. So the developers had to fix his hurt boxes. Some players say he's still a bit too powerful after the nerfs.
2 Steve - Tekken 5
Steve is probably the strongest boxer in gaming, thanks to his appearance in Tekken 5 - sorry Little Mac! His sidestep with his natural sway as a character made him slippery and hard to hit, but that wasn't the only thing that made him powerful.
Once he dodged players, it took almost no effort to begin his mind-numbingly easy zero-death combo. If players missed an attack, all it took was a single sidestep, and they were dead, period.
1 King - Tekken 1
King isn't just a Luchador wrestler that fights in tournaments to get money for orphans — he's also absolutely broken in Tekken 1. How many fighting games have moves where it's better to be hit by them than block? Tekken 1's King can put blocking players into stun for so long that he could effortlessly beat them down.
Spamming this move with King was enough to win the game, but doesn't stop there. He could easily defeat players with two combos due to his high damage output. Not to mention just how many health throws he did in the original game. King is an absolute powerhouse in Tekken and the ultimate character in the series's premiere.