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The story behind Tekken 8's new Peruvian character, Azucena

18:00 | Tokyo (Japan) Jan. 10.

Azucena, a prominent mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter from Peru, was announced as the new character for Tekken 8 at international tournament EVO 2023, last August 2023. In January 26, worldwide players will meet the first Peruvian character for this popular game.

Peru has a quite strong Tekken community, and that is why Katsuhiro Harada, Tekken producer, decided to include Azucena in the new roster.

In the last episode of his talk & variety show via YouTube, Harada's Bar, Tekken producer shared the story behind the creation of Azucena.

Azucena Milagros Ortiz Castillo, known better as the "Coffee Queen," is beloved for her innocent personality and her fearless fighting style as an MMA champion.

The only daughter of the family who owns Ortiz Farm, a coffee plantation located 2000 meters above sea level, Azucena grew up observing her father's trade and dreamed of becoming the world's best coffee farmer. She studied business administration but her dream is to gain popularity for her family business.

In the game story, she uses her physical prowess earned from training at high attitudes to break into the American MMA scene and promotes her eponymous "Azucena Blend." Actually, her plan succeeded, and in her first year, Azucena rose to the top of the ranks as champion. All the while, she acted as a walking billboard for the Ortiz Farm, leading to a dramatic increase in the plantation's sales and popularity.

Now, she has another dream: The King of Iron Fist Tournament, the world's most popular fighting tournament in recent years. If she wins, Azucena will be that much closer to becoming best in the world.

Why Peru?

In South America, there has been a strong and longtime fanbase for Tekken players. In terms of population, Brazil takes a significant proportion but, in Peru, there are many top-tier Kazuya Mishima players (a popular character in the game).

Peru stands out as one of the top in South America, and at tournaments, Mishima players are incredibly strong, according to the last rankings.

Actually, Harada turned his attention to Peru before that trend. Tekken producer visited Lima during Collision 2017 tournament and, after that, he began studying about our country.

Also, this is not the first time Peruvian culture is included in games. He remembered that Xevious game helped people learn about Nazca Lines in Peru. And, nowadays, alpacas are popular in Japanese television, so he wanted to include them in sceneries.

In the game, the ruins found at the second floor is based on Machu Picchu.

How to create a foreign character?

"It's said that the people in Peru are very cheerful. There are quite a few optimists. Taking inspiration from there, we decided to make Azucena the ultimate optimist, a character who enjoys the battle," he added.

Harada's team started with her personality, which is a rare way of making a new character. Game developers usually decide fighting style first.

"I think she doesn't have darkness that is seen in other Tekken characters; rather, she's an oddly bright, optimistic character," he remarked.

Also, in the past game producers used to intentionally design some characters a bit more beginner-friendly. This time, every character is not hard to try playing. That is why players who can make bold moves might be strong with Azucena.

"I think Azucena is well-suited for players who can attack aggressively, and when defending, can boldly and confidently guard against opponents," Harada stated.