Top 10 Hardest Tekken Bosses

“Tekken” (1995)

Of the few times where Heihachi acted as the final boss, this is definitely where he was the most difficult. What’s funny is that it’s not even the character himself that makes the fight so difficult. The very first “Tekken” came out in 1995, and the controls haven’t aged well. The advancements in modern gaming and controls make the input delay painfully obvious, and it can potentially make you mess up combos. As for Grampa Mishima himself, Heihachi can make quick work of you in just a couple of moves. Not only do his punches deal a ton of damage, but many of his attacks are impossible to punish. The one move to watch out for? The Demon Uppercut. One hit with that will send you flying into the air, and all Heihachi needs to do after is land a basic combo. BAM! You’re done!

“Tekken Tag Tournament” (1999)

Unknown by herself is not all that difficult. She’s just a sexy, goopy version of Mokujin, a new character that can just randomly imitate any character’s moves. But what makes her a nightmare is her ghostly wolf-beast companion fighting alongside her. Thanks to this, Unknown can deal way more damage than a team of two normal characters. Not only that, she can regenerate health throughout the entire fight, only able to be KO’d once the red bar indicating health lost is fully depleted. This makes the fight feel like it goes on for an eternity, and it gives Unknown plenty of time to make a cheap comeback should you slack off for even a second.

“Tekken 2” (1995)

While “Tekken 2’s” controls were a significant improvement over its predecessor’s, it still didn’t make our fight with Kazuya any easier. (Again, that input delay.) Technical age aside, Kazuya’s fight is a tough two-parter. You’ll fight him in his normal state first, and he isn’t a joke. Kazuya’s AI is smart enough to recognize all the usual trappings, how to escape throws quickly, and will block most of your attacks without fail. Mix-ups will be your best friend here, and once you’ve won two rounds, things change. You’ll have to endure another two rounds with Kazuya, but against him in his Devil form. With his newfound powers, Kazuya can fire off laser beams from on the ground and even mid-air. Oh, and he doesn’t even need to hit you with the beam; just standing too close to him will damage you. Complete 90’s nonsense.

“Tekken Tag Tournament 2” (2011)

While Jun Kazama was the final boss in the first “Tekken Tag Tournament” as the mysterious Unknown, her appearance in the sequel is arguably much harder. Whereas the previous game only required you to win one round against her, “Tekken Tag Tournament 2” retains the standard ruleset: two rounds required to win. Jun doesn’t mess around here either. While some of her previous moves have been removed, her moveset in general has been expanded with a focus on chaining attacks together, some of them even being counterattacks. The fight only gets tougher when you win the first round. After one defeat, Jun transforms into Unknown and corrupts the dreamy background. Under this new form, she’ll utilize other moves such as a wind geyser and constructs made of slime. Oh, and throughout the fight she will regenerate lost health. So, yeah, Jin’s mother will smack the crap out of you.

“Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection” (2006)

Both versions of the ancient Mishima, in “Tekken 5” and its “Dark Resurrection”, are crazy hard in of themselves. However, we want to spotlight DR Jinpachi specifically for this list as he is way more aggressive here than in the original. Jinpachi comes with the same asinine tricks as he had before: the teleporting, the stomach fireball, everything. The thing that makes him harder in “Dark Resurrection” is the spamming. Good gawd, this guy spams a lot! Good luck trying to avoid those unblockable fireballs and anticipating his rushdowns.

“Tekken 7” (2017)

Whereas Kazumi is the tough boss for T7’s Arcade mode, Kazuya makes you work for the ending to Story mode. A regular fight with him just isn’t enough, though. For the grand finale, you will have to fight him as Heihachi. Yep, it’s time to break out those classic “Tekken” skills while the Mishima manchild gets to use the powers of flight, hellfire, and eye lasers to make quick work of you. And yes, every hit seems to do way more damage than what Heihachi can normally dish out, which itself is a lot compared to the rest of the cast. Unfair? In every way.

“Tekken 6” (2007)

At first, we weren’t going to include Nancy due to her being an impossible to beat bonus boss. But at the end of the day, a boss is a boss, and Nancy is the cheapest of the bunch. Upon throwing your first punch, you’ll notice that this goliath of a robot does not flinch. Your attacks cannot interrupt whatever it’s doing, and you’ll only take out an incredibly measly fraction of its health with one combo. Yeah, it's that strong. Plus, Nancy comes equipped with a bunch of unblockable moves, one of which can cut a hole in the ground and cause you to fall off the stage resulting in an instant defeat. It’s all total B-S, but being a bonus, optional boss is what keeps Nancy from the top spot.

“Tekken 7” (2017)

Is it really any surprise to see Akuma on the list? While Kazumi serves as the final boss in “Tekken 7’s” Arcade mode, you can sometimes face Akuma instead. And man, it’s almost like Bandai Namco ripped him straight out of “Street Fighter”! Akuma pulls all of the tricks in the book - the teleporting, the hadoukens, the Shoryuken, and even the ultimate move, Wrath of the Raging Demon. The fight against him in the main story mode is a different Akuma altogether. More projectiles, more rushdown, more damage resistance, it all makes him a nightmare. Honestly, mad props to those of you who managed to defeat him with a perfect ten stars.

“Tekken 8” (2024)

Look, we know Kazuya has cropped up three times on this list now, but this version of him is the most ruthless we’ve seen him. In “Tekken 8’s” story mode, the final fight against Kazuya goes on for an insanely long time, about two whole chapters. You fight him normal with half of the Devil Gene’s powers, then you fight him in Jin’s Angel form, and finally, some classic, good ass “Tekken”. However, he does not hold back. Kazuya can easily catch you in a lengthy combo, taking off a massive chunk of your health bar. Before you know, fight’s over, You Lose, Continue?. Hell naw. Walk away with what sanity remains if you have to.

“Tekken 6” (2007)

Even having been through the absolute bullshit employed by Akuma and Jinpachi, we’d still say Azazel is the hardest “Tekken” boss. Jinpachi is still beatable, and the main story fight against Akuma gives you your own unique powers to fight with. Azazel, on the other hand, requires you beat him through normal means while he gets to use a variety of asinine abilities. We’re talking super-armor, teleporting from the sky at random, summoning crystal spikes from the floor, sending bats that blend into the environment after you, and resisting most attacks. It’s also nearly impossible to launch him as he falls super quickly and does not flinch from most moves. You need to land consecutive hits to get him in the air. As if the preceding fight against Jin wasn’t bad enough, Azazel really made us steer clear of “Tekken 6”.


Which “Tekken” boss enraged you the most? Let us know down in the comments, and don’t forget to subscribe for more great videos everyday!