Jin Kazama

Jin Kazama
Tekken series character
First game	Tekken 3

Jin Kazama (風間 仁, Kazama Jin) is a fictional character in the Tekken fighting game series.

He is one of the most recognizable characters in the series, being featured on the packaging for the console version of each sequel following his introduction in Tekken 3. In addition, each canonical game in the series after his introduction has featured the result of Jin's endings as the primary focus of the plot, making him one of the most pivotal characters in the ongoing saga. In Gamest's 1997 Heroes Collection, Jin was voted as the staff's thirty-first favorite character. He shared the spot with three other characters, including Street Fighter characters, Charlie, and Yang.

Description

Appearance

Jin is a young Japanese man with black hair which spikes up in a distinctive pattern. On his left arm, he bears a mark that was branded onto his skin by the Devil . His most recurring outfits usually comprise of a karate gi or jumpsuit--both with some sort of flame design (the color of which is varied throughout the series, and has been customizable since Tekken 5). While Jin's gi costume usually consists only of trousers, gauntlets and footpads, in Tekken 4, he also wore the jacket of the gi openly, exposing his torso. Tekken 4 also introduced Jin's hooded jumpsuit, which he kept until Tekken 6. Also, in both Tekken 3, and Tekken Tag Tournament, players can select a Mishima High School uniform for Jin to fight in. In Tekken 6, he wears a long beige coat similar to the one that he wore in his ending in Tekken 5.

Character designer Yoshinari Mizushima has stated that Jin is one of his favorite characters due to the amount of time it took to design him.

Personality

Jin's feud with his other Mishima family members and the inner turmoil caused by his "Devil Gene" are consistent topics throughout the series. This struggle has formed somewhat of a "tragic hero" role around the character, punctuated by his very name, Jin, which means "benevolence" in native Japanese.

According to the profile provided by the Tekken 3 instruction booklet, Jin likes his mother's precepts and hates deception. Both values are demonstrated in his ending for Tekken 4: Jin resolves to kill Heihachi Mishima for betraying him, but soon changes his mind and tells Heihachi to "thank Jun Kazama for his life".

Story

Jin's first appearance was within Tekken 3, where he is introduced as a boy "claiming to be Heihachi's grandson". According to official canon, during the King of Iron Fist Tournament 2, Jun Kazama and Kazuya Mishima were intimate, and Jun found herself pregnant afterwards. Jun disappeared into a remote mountain location where she raised Jin and trained him in her Kazama-Style Self-Defense fighting arts. Some time after Jin's 15th birthday, Jun was attacked by Ogre and disappeared. Grieving the loss of his mother, Jin swore revenge. Jin was then taken in by his grandfather, Heihachi Mishima, who began to train him in Mishima-Based Karate.

Subsequent games follow the events of Jin's ending within Tekken 3. Jin's "Prologue" cinema in Tekken 4 shows that, after Heihachi's betrayal, Jin fell into a pit of self-hatred, despising everything related to the Mishimas. Locating a secluded dojo in Brisbane, Australia, he spent two years unlearning the Mishima style he had used up to that point and mastered "traditional" karate thanks to the help of the dojo master. Eventually, the rumors of a King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 began to surface and Jin set his sights on this new tournament.

Within Jin's Story Mode, before he can make it to the fight with Kazuya in the seventh round, he is surrounded by the Tekken Force, incapacitated, and chained up at Heihachi's private building in Hon-Maru. Later, Heihachi brings Kazuya to Hon-Maru, and, while Jin is chained, Kazuya attempts to awaken the Devil within Jin. As Jin begins transforming, he attacks and defeats his father. Next, Heihachi attempts to kill Jin and take his power for his own.

Again, based on subsequent Tekken games, Jin's ending is made the story's central focus, with Tekken 5's introduction sequence set only seconds afterward. G Corporation (the rival company to Heihachi's Mishima Zaibatsu) sends an army of Jack robots to kill Heihachi and Kazuya. The two cooperate briefly, but Kazuya betrays Heihachi. The Jacks self-detonate, destroying the Hon-Maru and apparently killing Heihachi. However, Hon-Maru was the location where Heihachi had sealed his father, Jinpachi Mishima, approximately three decades earlier. Jinpachi is freed when Hon-Maru was destroyed.

Jin's Story Mode Prologue states that, immediately after leaving Hon-Maru, Jin's own Devil Gene went berserk. Jin soon found himself awakening inside of an utterly destroyed forest, realizing that he was the cause of the destruction. After returning to Yakushima, he is plagued by recurring nightmares and realizes that it's only a matter of time before the Devil Gene completely takes over. From here, the story shifts to Devil Within.

As of March 2008, Namco has yet to produce an official English translation of the Tekken 6 storyline. However, according to fan-based translations, Jin has been revealed as the winner of The King of Iron Fist Tournament 5 and the new CEO of the Mishima Zaibatsu. However, instead of putting an end to the Zaibatsu, Jin has begun using the company for world conquest and declared war on several nations until the whole world itself is at war. Kazuya, meanwhile, has taken control of G Corporation and risen to become the Mishima Zaibatsu's only opponent, and has put a bounty on Jin's head, dead or alive, to stop him interfering with his own plans for world domination. Jin, having anticipated this, announces the King of Iron Fist Tournament 6 to rid himself of Kazuya and his enemies once and for all.

Other Roles

Devil Within (Tekken 5)

The optional minigame Devil Within, released in the console version of Tekken 5, chronicles Jin's actions during the two months between the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4 and the King of Iron Fist Tournament 5.

Devil Within Plot

After the King of Iron Fist Tournament 4, Jin searches for a way to rid himself of the Devil Gene, until he hears rumors that his mother is still alive. After traveling to a secret laboratory, he learns that it is not his mother held within, but Ogre. Jin, with great willpower, manages to defeat Ogre without use of his Devil transformation. However, with Ogre defeated, Jin is attacked by hundreds of Jack robots and becomes bathed in a white light. The light protects his mind from the Devil and puts him at peace, allowing him to fly away safely.

Namco × Capcom

Namco × Capcom for Playstation 2; note Jin Kazama in center

Jin is also featured in Namco × Capcom, where he joins forces with Ryu from Street Fighter and seeks to defeat Devil Kazuya.

Tekken (2009 film)

Jin will appear as the main protagonist of Dwight H. Little's 2009 film adaptation, and will be played by John Foo.

Jin's Endings

Tekken 3

Inside of an ancient temple, Jin defeats True Ogre, who explodes. Suddenly, the Tekken Force guns him down on Heihachi Mishima's orders. As Jin stubbornly clings to life, Heihachi shoots him in the head personally to finish him off. Heihachi walks away, but watches in shock as his soldiers go flying all around him. Heihachi slowly turns around to see Jin, now transformed into Devil Jin. Devil Jin charges into Heihachi, grabs him by the head, and slams him through a stone wall, bursting outside of the temple. As Heihachi prepares to get up, Devil Jin sprouts wings and dives into Heihachi again before taking off again and flying into the distance. Heihachi sits up and watches him fly away.

Tekken Tag Tournament

Having defeated his father, Kazuya, Jin prepares to finish him off, but everything flashes white for an instant and Jin stops in his tracks. Jin drops Kazuya to the floor and then falls to his knees, looking in horror as his hands shake uncontrollably.

Tekken 4

After defeating both Kazuya and Heihachi, Jin, sprouting wings, prepares to finish Heihachi. As he's about to deliver the final blow, he looks to the side and sees a vision of his mother, Jun. He tosses Heihachi to the side, tells him to thank Jun Kazama for being spared, and then turns away and bursts right through the Hon-Maru ceiling.

Tekken 5

Jin defeats Jinpachi Mishima, who then turns into dust while Jin watches him. The scene changes to show Jin wearing a long black trench coat walking into a building billed as the "Mishima Zaibatsu Throne Room", surrounded by thousands of suited underlings, who salute him. Jin then sits down upon the throne, crossing his legs and resting his chin on his fist. A moment later, Jin looks anxiously at the camera, smiles slightly, and prepares to act.

Fighting Style

In his early appearances, Jin's moves were a blend between both of his parents, Jun Kazama, and Kazuya Mishima--a combination of "Kazama-Style Self Defense" and "Mishima Fighting Karate". He fights in this style in both Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament. In Tekken 4, however, this style was discarded in favor of "traditional" karate. Canonically, the reason for this was to display his hatred for his Mishima kin. He still keeps his 2 basic throw moves, which includes the double head kick, which he shares with Kazuya.

According to Katsuhiro Harada (director of Tekken 5, Dark Resurrection, and Tekken 6), Jin's original fighting style was developed due to his status as Tekken 3's main character. The development team strove to make Jin the most balanced character within the game. Harada stated that Jin was his favorite character in Tekken 3 because of this.

Devil Jin

Devil Jin, who represents Jin Kazama as he would appear after succumbing to the effects of Devil Gene, was made a separate playable character in Tekken 5. He is the sub-boss for every character in Tekken 5 and Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection except for himself, Jin Kazama, Heihachi Mishima, Kazuya Mishima, Asuka Kazama, Hwoarang, Raven, and Wang Jinrei. He is unlocked as a playable character in Tekken 5 by either playing 200 matches in any mode or completing the Devil Within minigame. He also appears in Tekken 6.

Story

Devil Jin's story is identical to Jin's, up until Tekken 5 where he has a separate path in "Story Mode". This story deals with Devil Jin's attempts to defeat Jinpachi Mishima and absorb the Devil power from him. many say that jin is a hybrid between devil and angel.

Ending

Tekken 5

Devil Jin has defeated Jinpachi Mishima. Picking up Jinpachi's body, Devil Jin absorbs his power through his arm. Dropping Jinpachi to the ground, Devil Jin's muscles expand suddenly, bursting through both of his gauntlets. Devil Jin's horns grow longer, and he is covered with long fur. His power becomes so massive that it triggers a violent explosion, and Devil Jin stands in the center of it, howling.

Appearance

Devil Jin is nearly identical to Jin Kazama, save for his inhuman transformations and a change in clothing. In Tekken 3, Devil Jin simply bore tattoos over his face, sported altered glowing red eyes with changed pupils, and grew black wings used for flight. In subsequent games, however, the transformation has been expanded upon. In Tekken 4, there is a noticeable sequence to Jin's changes. As the transformation began, his body was surrounded by a purple haze, then the familiar tattoos formed on his chest and arms, and, finally, he grew two black wings from his back. This is as far as the sequence goes within that game, however, as Jin was stopped before his transformation was complete.

According to Tekken 5's story, Jin's transformation within that game recurred as a reaction to Jinpachi Mishima's return. Because of this, there is no visible transformation, and Devil Jin simply appears in his most advanced state to date. His new look includes horns, chains on his right arm, waist, and legs, and warped, talon-like fingers and a paır of gauntlets wıth spikes growing out of them. Like his father's Devil form, Jin also has a third eye upon his head used to fire a beam of energy at his opponents. However, like all characters within Tekken 5 and Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, Devil Jin can be customized with an assortment of physical changes. In Tekken 6, Devil Jin's appearance remains roughly unchanged. However, in actual gameplay, the chain on his waist must be purchased before it appears.

Fighting Style/Powers

Devil Jin is something of an amalgamation of several Tekken characters. His style incorporates moves from long-absent characters such as Devil, Angel, and Jun Kazama, and he also shares many moves with Kazuya Mishima, Heihachi Mishima, and Asuka Kazama. This style, in fact, is nearly identical to Jin's fighting style from Tekken 3 and Tekken Tag Tournament, which makes Devil Jin play as a sort-of "classic Jin". According to the canonical storyline, Jin unlearned the Mishima Fighting Karate style as one of the many ways to display his total hatred and disdain for his bloodline. Devil Jin, however, uses this fighting style with no such qualms.

In addition, Devil Jin can fly using the wings on his back and fire heat vision beams. In Hwoarang's epilogue, Devil Jin seems to wield the power of telekinesis to some degree to blow up Hwoarang's motorcycle (this is also shown in Devil Jin's extra win animation in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, which shows him using telekinesis to lift his opponent into the air while choking them).

However, despite his vast power, it seems that Jin's cousin, Asuka Kazama, can return Devil Jin to his human state simply by touching him, which can be seen in Asuka's Tekken 5 and Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection ending.