In a Dev Talk video the game director and the chief producer discuss everything related to the new character. The general reaction to Miary Zo is extremely polarized.
The Madagascan fighter Miary Zo joins TEKKEN 8 on Dec. 2 via Early Access and on Dec. 5 as the full release. The character is definitely ready to fight, and the key people from the development team want to share their ideas about this girl and her moveset.
Revealed back in August, during Evo Las Vegas 2025, Miary Zo caused both excitement and disappointment among TEKKEN players. On one side, people praised her design. On the opposite one, there were concerns about Season 2’s direction.
The split in these reactions got wider — even if Bandai Namco readjusted the girl’s face. The gameplay release strengthened this division. Can Harada’s explanation bring peace to the TEKKEN community?
TEKKEN 8 Dev Talk on Miary Zo: Video
This TEKKEN Talk was not a live stream, as Bandai Namco has made it a pre-announced premiere on their official YouTube channel. Here is the full Miary Zo Dev Talk video below.
There were no promotions of cosmetics, and Harada with Nakatsu dived into everything surrounding the creation of Miary Zo.
- They wanted to add an African fighter to the game and chose Madagaskar.
- The island has a dedicated TEKKEN community, with 22 official Dojo events for the TEKKEN World Tour 2024.
- For Miary Zo, the development team mixes local culture and fantasy elements. The girl represents Moraingy, a wide tradition of African martial arts. She uses moves inspired by wild animals of Madagascar.
- The character’s full name is Nomenjanahary Miary Zo Angianavalona. Miary Zo means “one who carries freedom”.
- The role of Ogre from TEKKEN 3 is important, but for this game, the fighting god took the form of a local deity guardian.
- The voice acting is by a 14-year-old first-time actor.
Round 2: Battle and Stage
Alongside the announced Concept & Design video, Bandai Namco Entertainment published Round 2 of the Dev Talk. It's about Battle & Stage.
The second part of the Miary Zo TEKKEN Talk is about her fighting style and moveset.
- Harada explains Moraingy as a social event and the use of animal moves as a local way to boost a fighter’s spirit and scare opponents.
- A launch kick from a wall, snake-like arm extensions, and the lemur-like tail in the Ogre-powered form named some of the key elements for Miary Zo in TEKKEN 8.
- The girl can be used by beginners as she covers essential TEKKEN fundamentals. At the same time, the Ogre-based actions are pretty complex.
In general, the developers share interesting details on the creative process within their team. The story of the chameleon curse really happened with the TEKKEN team.
Miary Zo in TEKKEN 8: The community’s excitement and disappointment
In a way, the release of Miary Zo carries an unnecessarily big role for TEKKEN 8.
First, the developers went pretty much astray with the release of Season 2. In terms of balance changes and general mechanics, the game’s new version left players frustrated. That was rolled back gradually, but people are still angry.
The release of Fahkumram did not make the situation better. As a “character no one wants”, the Muay Thai fighter wasn’t enough to change the community’s mood. Bandai Namco revealed Armor King way too early than usual — to please their players.
Miary Zo has to save the game when the hype around Armor King is settled. At least, she should change the general impression of Season 2. The “Waifu Ogre” meets her goal only partially.
- Some people are really excited about her unique concept: the use of the animals’ power. Miary Zo represents Madagascan culture. Sure, the girl is also pretty.
- As for disappointment, other people claim her design to be too artificially anime-like and her appearance to be too generic. The moveset features too many options, making Miary Zo rather difficult. Reportedly, she has a variety of plus-on-block mixups and excessive strings, which follows the basic issues of Season 2 instead of solving them.
One thing comforts even Miary Zo haters: Season 3 in TEKKEN 8 is coming soon after this Dev Talk video. The girl is the final DLC addition of the game’s year 2. The announcement may be connected to the TEKKEN World Tour 2025 Final, which happens from Jan. 30 to Feb. 1.
