You know, they could've just done a "Tekken 3" and made a Next Gen version of Paul who'd replace Paul's fighting style with their own quirks here and there. Be it a disciple of his, or a fan.
I was going to do a video on this, but this summarizes everything I wanted to put on that video. Its like After Tekken4 Paul became a joke character. Its like Soul Calibur's Mitsurugi getting beaten once with a gun and trained so hard that he beats that guy and now has the potential even to beat Soul Edge and Nightmare, but due to plot reasons he never fought Soul Edge or Nightmare, much like Paul not getting a a true victory.
@@thegatorhator6822 Tekken has always been goofy. The problem is that if you're not a Mishima in modern Tekken then you're not important, so go sit in the corner and do gag comedy skits instead of having a story of your own.
@@kevingriffith6011 "Tekken has always been goofy." Oh my summer child... You never played Tekken 1-2-4 in your life have you? hell I would even put T3 there in some capacity.
@@alperenayman620 Don't quote the ancient texts to me, witch, I was there when they were written. Back in the days where you had to wrestle with your Audio/Video/AUX cables to switch from your Playstation to your N64 because there was only one spot for it on the TV. There has *always* been a goofy side to Tekken. It's usually in the sideshows like the bears, Roger, Gon, Yoshimitsu, Paul and Law antics and the Mishimas inexplicably having a convenient volcano to throw their family members into. Has tekken gotten *more* goofy? Absolutely, because they tend to default to goofy for characters who don't have a spot in the current story, and tekken's roster just gets bigger and bigger... but don't act like tekken was ever some humorless monolith.
@@kevingriffith6011Are you freaking kidding me? it is like saying “Hey Tekken is so serious because Devil Kazuya is in” Just because there were some “goofy elements” in it that doesn’t mean these games had overall Goofy tone. Kangaroos, Raptors all of them had explanation and they were part of the main story “not like one day Roger Jr wanted to see his dad”. Which fighting game has 0 goofiness? every one of them has… but what we try to say here is something else; the tone original first 4 games and especially T1, 2 and 4 were entirely different. Many characters ‘ story did actually make sense in the lore. Now we got Lucky Chloes, Vampire girls, Androids with chainsaw arms 0 physics rule and full of comic relief endings. There is a level defines the “balance” if you pass that with goofy elements then overall tone turns into “goofy one” just like the games after T5 and before that Tekken had more serious tone and characters backstory handled better
That makes sense, when you think about it, since Paul and Ken Masters both sport a red gi, have blonde hair and are all-American. However, since he's become a joke after Tekken 4, that effectively makes him similar to Dan Hibiki now too.
@@thegatorhator6822 Still a good adaptation. Still doesnt change my opinion. Getting such high regard and respect from Heihachi, one of the worlds strongest fighter in the Tekken universe, is still badass.
@@garchompelago in the original few titles Paul had an on-going rivalry with Kazuya and in Tekken 3 he beats the base form of Ogre and technically won the Tournament. I heavily suspect before Jin was written into the plot the story trajectory for Tekken would have had Paul become the main character and end up beating Kazuya. I don't think the anime is a good adaption at all but I do think Paul is a badass and one of the strongest in the Tekken universe.
My headcanon when Tekken 4 came out was that Law defeated Paul in Tekken 3 and it turned out they had made bets. If Paul lost he'd have to put his hair down the next tournament. Paul was not happy.
Sometimes i wonder what fate can be worse - Paul becoming one of the comic relief - Yoshimitsu becoming the proof that they have 0 idea what to do with his story unless it's his sword going crazy again and hunting Bryan again and gives the story making to project Soul xD
Tekken 8 really made Paul looked like he was gona hav a role from his design and to the trailers it's like as if they know the problem with Paul but didn't do anything to change it
As soon as i rewatched the story mode thats where I know they’re aware of what the state of the characters, even Jin who is the central focus on T8 has problems with his character development.
Tbh here. Paul’s role in Tekken 8 at the very least was step up from the past 3 or four tekken games. I’m honestly just glad he’s finally in the story mode and the fact that he made it to the qualifying rounds in the tournament kinda does show he’s not a pushover. Tho it is true that there should have been interaction between him and Kazuya.
All they had to do was have a Paul vs True Devil Kazuya fight during the big all out war, Paul puts up a fair fight, jogs Kazuya's memory on the one dude who fought him to a draw who wasn't a Mishima, and have him stop holding back and wash Paul, he loses, but it's a respectful loss. But nope, joke scene with Law and Kuma, of course, it's been 20 years and those two gags have gotten stale, I'd honestly wish Paul to not even be in Tekken at this point rather than have him be not just a joke character, but joke character with a single fucking gag to his name.
11:21, while I do think Paul holding off Kazuya is a great idea, I do think Paul could’ve played some major role like being sort of a mentor to Jin that gave him the idea to think that “Power isn’t everything” line to reality, while Paul is all about wanting to be strongest in the universe, Paul would not throw away the people he care about like his Friendship with Marshall Law which serves as a perfect contrast to Kazuya’s idea of “A fight is about who’s left standing” and give their rivalry some depth and impact when they do end up fighting. That is also why I wish the tournament at the coliseum was longer than just the first matches, Jin could’ve fought Paul in the finals and have that interaction play.
Good idea as well. I'm a sucker for tournaments generally and I was hoping that all the matches would have been done. Paul and Jin is a golden idea as well SO MUCH POTENTIAL
This is what I'm thinking too. I'm so shocked right now because I have the same suggestions on how they can fix the storyline of Paul. Sad to see that Harada just wants Jin and Kazuya more in the story.
@@Weeknightyea, at first I did not bat an eye when I watched the story (which is mostly because I’m glad they are finally putting a lot more than they did in the past decade) but when I rewatched it, the story has a lot of missed opportunity that they could’ve done, they clearly tried with the story ofc but should’ve looked back at it and thought a lot of it more, with that being said Chapter 1 and 15 are the peak of Tekken 8 story.
I wish Kazuya actually interrupted Paul and Kuma’s fight after seeing Kuma in Heihachi’s getup, sending Kazuya into a frenzy and attacking Kuma which lead to Paul pulling Kazuya off of an unconscious Kuma that was about to be killed by Kazuya, leading to Paul and Kazuya going at it which he holds his own against his old rival by himself but in the end Kazuya would defeat Paul and would end up killing Paul, further establishing Kazuya as a massive threat in the story that everyone after seeing this and him nuking New York putting the fear of god into everyone.
@@Eyes-Scream0213Aye great minds think alike. Also funny thing is even Jin’s part of the story is kinda wasted opportunity too, like they have everything in motion, they clearly know what to do with Jin. *SPOILERS:* the first is him accepting his cursed heritage and wanting to live, the second is him confronting and taking account on his sins, which we all know at this point. They did his accepting the devil gene pretty well, but not the same thing can be said for him being accountable to what he did because no one (excluding Kazuya) called him out for what did, not the freakin UN and not even King who has the story involving Orphans he took in who got affected from the war. So when the story progresses to the part where it focuses on Jin accepting what he did and moving on, it just feels kinda flat.
I think that paul's fall from grace may be because the game focused more on jin as the "protagonist". Maybe paul was originally planned to be the hero of the story but was perhaps scrapped after jin was introduced.
The funny part about Paul in T8 is that they haven’t actually done anything to show that he isn’t just as strong as he’s always been. They even imply he’s at peak condition in t8, the best he’s ever been. They just made his luck increasingly bad and took him out of any plot because they’re not sure what to do with him
@@harrylane4 I mean, Paul also claims to be the strongest in the universe. Alsop him slacking is cost him the win in tekken 4, and lesser extent tekken 5.
@@jettskie1986 hence me saying a lesser extent. Paul having a brief window of time to fully get back in shape between four and five only served as a detriment to him during the latter .
humans fighters in tekken are with plot armors like seriously the mishimas are basically demi gods yet they're a$$es can be beaten by normal fighters. That's bs
@@philgamer9499 Honestly, if you're not a Mishima or somewhat related to them, you're essentially nothing. Even Asuka got shafted badly despite being somewhat related
Paul was my first character and it breaks my heart what they have done to him in the story. Law happens to be my second tekken journey followed by Lee and tekken 3 Jin. Yes, there is a difference. I just don't even acknowledge the story at this point.
I think Paul's treatment as comic relief goes way back. His T2 and T3 endings are comedic, and while his main rival is Kuma, he still is very damn high in the canon tier list. The issue is that Namco decided to focus on the Kazama/Mishima family drama, and not everyone can be involved, but he still is strong as hell.
Unpopular opinion but Paul was always written as the goofy badass like All Might and Takamura from Hajime no Ippo. Heck Paul and Takamura also did the same goofy shit where they draw their opponents face and put them on a brick wall/punching bag for them to punch but in Takamura's place it was Ippo's highschool bully but he did it for Ippo to punch. Heck all three of them have goofy hairstyles. They're crouching dumbasses hidden badasses.
@@fightingmedialounge519 You guys are seriously underestimating the Kumas/bears in general. The current iteration of Kuma II knows frickin electrics lmao
@@kyzertv8443 it's not so much underestestimating kumas strength, although his own canonical win was against a carries Paul, the issue is that kuma is explicitly written to be a joke character. So having him be the primary rival for Paul just makes the latter look like he's meant to be a glorified punchline.
I really, really, really REALLY hope that we are done with the Mishima storyline. For as much as I love this game it's character's (unless they're Mishimas) often get done dirty in the story department
The Problem is Producers see Tekken 4 as ''failure'' (Which absolutely is not!) and that caused some serious misunderstanding there... The Story, the Lore in Tekken 4 WAS AMAZING... it was the peak in the series. The problems with 4 were entirely different... So after that they believed that they said ''alright lets make Tekken goofier with dozens of more 'comedic elements'' ... Bring back Kangaroos, put characters like Lucky Chloe or an Android girl with chainsaw arms +++ just only comedic - funny endings which have nothing to do with the Lore and of course far more lightened tone background stories for every characters unless they are Mishima. Don't get me wrong I am all open for Goofy stuff... but there should be some balance... T4 was too serious I agree but T3 had the perfect balance... However after T5 They turned Tekken into Entirely Anime with Full of Goofy Elements
I liked your take on what Paul should've done in the story, but personally I think it would've been cooler to see him fight Kazuya before he achieved his true Devil form. Not sure when they could've worked it in the story, admittedly, but it would've been pretty awesome to see Paul go toe-to-toe with him and put up a good fight, maybe even winning. Kaz could still get Azazel's power later and do what he does, probably even beating Paul to show how things changed when he's at his full power. If anything it would've made for an interesting contrast and reinforced the idea that Kazuya "selling his soul" gets him power beyond most people while still paying Paul some respect
I’m ngl here tekken 8 did Paul way better than the past 3 tekken games. And I’m glad he’s actually in the story for the first time. I do think they could have given him a bigger role in the story but I can’t complain too much
The fact that Paul never tries to run the fade with Kaz or any Mishima is crazy. He calls himself the strongest but never focuses on proving it against the strongest family in the game.
@@andret3739 Jin lost to Hwoarang in the fifth tournament according to Hwoarang and his T6 story. Unfortunately, Jin went devil mode and clobbered Hwoarang.
@@irvinmorales1409That’s Exactly, what happened to Paul, when Kazuya, went Half Devil Mode, and Kazuya tossed Paul like a rag doll, in Tekken 1, semi finals.
its a shame how they never used those side characters like Paul, Law, King, Bruce, Eddy, Jack, Feng in the lore. and worse they either ruined them by makign them into joke or just abandoning their part of lore. those characters were meant to be serious, but Harada ruined them all just for sake of that japanese humor. it doesnt even look funny at all, it just looks tarded, what a shame hahah :D
I like how in TEKKEN 5 Asuka has a Yakuza costume with tatto and is mostly serious only ending is funny because of Jin but Harada says she has always been a comedy character just like Paul who in TEKKEN 1-4 was OP and always serious Kazuyas Rival oh and Asuka was suppose to be Devil Jin's rival so she could to turn Jin back to normal because she is a Kazama like her story and ending interaction showed but nah 😂
we can't let any other character get in the way of JIn's right to win due to being the "hero" whatever touranment he is in.....early tekkens was so much better
Ah man Paul, Tekken's iconic badass, that never got the justice he deserved and was always thrown under the bus. just like his fellow martial artist, Law.. i can understand joke characters like Ganryu and Kuma having this treatment, but i dont understand why they keep ruining serious characters.. Paul was supposed to be Tekkens tough guy and Law was Bruce Lee himself ffs. not only them, they also ruined Jack, gone is The terminator, made him a dumas toy. they humiliated Eddy the worst way possible, and now even Feng has been a joke. Idk why Harada keeps doing this, but only tards would laugh at this japanese humor, its not even funny, its just dumas like literally what these gen z kids call "cringe" hahah :D
But, the Paul you used representing Tk1-Tk4 in 0:10 is Tk5 Paul art. I was confused coming from someone that played OG Tekken 5 a lot. Great video though.
Despite the bad story Tekken 8 gets to its side characters, it’s still sold as the best fighting game. Harada whether you like him or not, simply shrugs off fan Suggestions (I think there are times he agreed to as such but sometimes the funny story does pay off to casuals than hardcore fans. ) and then Tekken competitions are Street Fighter and MK1, well sometimes they do well with fan suggestions it’s totally a mixed bag.
It is not like they can't write Paul to have awesome moments. The Tekken comics and anime show Paul to be a badass and acts as a mentor to Jin. Like you can tell that is the same Paul from the the first four games. I think writers are leaning way too hard on giving these characters too much comic relief moments than actually forwarding their stories.
Paul's always been an oaf, dude's ending in the first game is him punching out a wall with a poorly drawn picture of Kazuya on it, at his most serious in Tekken 4 he's still being called a fraud and initially has a ending that isn't serious at all until he returns to his roots. The main thing is that while he was a dumbass and never extremely serious like other characters, he wasn't a joke character, he's played off as more of the antithesis to Kazuya's personality, not sharp, kind of goofy, but with an unshakable heart. Tekken 5 onward is still technically the exact same character with the exact same personality quirks, but the main difference is that the flaws that made him a unique and likeable character before are now just a punchline, I don't mind him having a one off gag with Kuma, but making Kuma Paul's go to rival literally cemented his complete and utter degredation into irrelevency. The worst part about it is that the developers aren't forgetful, they remember shit from the first game and homage it in 8, they literally red herring us by implying Paul's involvement in the main story is beating Kazuya, when in actuality it's just a joke about him winning prize money for Law. I don't really care about joke characters, they're fine, I love Kuma and others like Roger Jr, but I started with T4 so the thematic whiplash I had when I went from maining Paul in Tekken 4 to maining Paul in Tekken 5 could've put me in god damn hospital. Their insistance on making once serious and very important characters utter jokes is frustrating and one of my main pet peeves about the series, ain't just Paul, I'd say Lee got it worse because he is literally a part of the god damn Mishima Clan until T4 and his involvement gets less and less relevent the further down the line you go until he's just kinda played for jokes in T7 and T8.
Both Paul and Law just kinda got turned into goofballs. Like sure they had humorous moments in the old games but they’re pretty much all wacky comic relief for the past few games. Still better writing than Azucena though lmao
I think after 4 came out and essentially fizzled, the creators had to sit down and think of where the story was gonna go: did they maintain this more grounded yet exaggerated world of martial arts and paternal turmoil or did they go complete clownshoes with chinese girls riding pandas fighting kpop robots? Its not only Paul who turned into a weirdo side character. Marshel Law was right up there with Paul in narrative signifigance yet now hestjust as much of a joke character as Paul, if not more since now hes a greedy sociopathic clown. Steve fell into the same category. Hell, what plot significance has Lei WuLong had in the last few games? I kinda like the new Paul. Hes this insane wrecking ball that everyone knows is extremely powerful so they try to steer clear away from him.
Gotta say even tho he's not the cool paul anymore, I think they actually succeeded at making him funny in tekken 8, idk what it is but Paul is so loveable with his hype man energy.
Harada get Paul away from Marshall and have him restore his true potential please? I'm sick of the comedic aspect between them! You had established Paul as being almost equal to Kazuya (Human form) and his return in 6 really made newcomers think of him as Dan Hibiki of Tekken. The guy was a hot head, but he actually had the strength power to back it up, but had respesct for his opponents after a fight and seemed to know even he had limits. This comedic direction has gone long enough and isn't funny, it's just pathetic!
I am 51 I have been a Paul main since T1, and T8 has literally 💩 on Paul. His hair, motorcycle, Burning fist, over the top boxy moves. Complete garbage. The awesome graphics don’t justify all the ridiculous game changes. Definitely thumbs 👎🏻.
If i had to remake tekken 8, I'd give paul a dramatic entry twice. First, when True Devil Kazuya appears in the battlefield. Alisa, fighting Jack-8 and is tired, Lily and Asuka help her but Jack 8 stands again and paul shows up beating jack 8 to death. At this scene, alisa tells him that Kazuya is coming. Paul would for his bike, ride it with maximum speed, riding off the cliff and throwing the bike towards kazuya. That would make kazuya fall on the ground and both fight and when paul is about to him, kazuya would fly away. 2nd entry is when Lars is about to knocked off by Kazuya. As kazuya is about to hit Lars with his true devil power, he receives a death fist from paul, and there goes another fight. And at this moment, Kazuya would be so pissed off with Paul that he would use his devil power to knock paul out. When paul struggles to get up and kazuya is about to kill him, Jin shows up and the story goes on as it is in Tekken 8. I wish Tekken franchise would have done justice with Paul as MK1 did with Johnny Cage
If you're enjoying it, keep pumping out the tekken content bro, im loving it and its getting you a lot of interaction. Im not big on the tekken story but themes go a long way with character appreciation.
@@Weeknight awesome man look forward too it. Have too play some when im back in new zealand bro. Im not the best though 😂 my sexy old man didnt make the roster and neither did Lei so im going through an identity crisis.
At first, I was disappointed that Thorgi made Dan Hibiki Paul's rival in his Tekken x Street Fighter roster, but I'm OK with it now because A. It would make Paul look cooler in contrast and B. The ending would be hilarious.
I'm fine with Paul's role in the story campaign (even if he should have had some uplifiting interaction with Jin as well or atleast got one getback match with Kazuya). What annoys me more is how his own character episode ending is still a lame joke and not something cool/reflective like Tekken 4, it's even more unnecessary when he's already used as comic relief in several other character episode endings.
*spoilers* Tekken: Bloodline shouldn't be canon because it's clearly based on Tekken 3 but Leroy Smith is in there. Also, Paul wouldn't lose to King lol.
Tekken characters are very one-dimensional. And Paul was a victim of it. But instead of the stoic warrior that people actually see him as, the developers forced his turn into a comical loser. Because he is not part of the main storyline, it will stay that way.
Its a shame how they ruined Paul, that ending on Tekken 4 was so badass. and not just Paul they did that to a lot of characters, especially in latest games with those character episodes. what a joke :)
Pauls Tekken 4 Ending somehow hit me really deep even as a child. From that point onward i always made sure to play him in each title of the series. I love the man!
I kinda wish Paul had story moments with Jin and Kazuya in T8 that Leeroy, a new character with history with the Mishimas, got. That or the Lars moment.
So you beat Tyson Fury and become the champion of the world and leave the ring. Tyson Fury then morphs in to True Tyson Fury and a fighter who was already defeated beats True Tyson Fury and then becomes the champion.
The Paul we knew rode off on his motorcycle after Tekken 4 😔. His brother, Peter took his place from Tekken 5 onwards
You know, they could've just done a "Tekken 3" and made a Next Gen version of Paul who'd replace Paul's fighting style with their own quirks here and there. Be it a disciple of his, or a fan.
Paul literally had the Jake Skywalker treatment. Very bad development Namco.
I was going to do a video on this, but this summarizes everything I wanted to put on that video. Its like After Tekken4 Paul became a joke character. Its like Soul Calibur's Mitsurugi getting beaten once with a gun and trained so hard that he beats that guy and now has the potential even to beat Soul Edge and Nightmare, but due to plot reasons he never fought Soul Edge or Nightmare, much like Paul not getting a a true victory.
And in Tekken 9, we'll get female Paul, Mary. A young blonde tall-haired teen with a chip on her shoulder
@@shyshadeofwater Why not Pauline or Paula?
Honestly not only paul but alot of characters seem to have gotten shitty treatment since after tekken 5
Story got alot more goofy and less serious (and more Jin and Kazuya focused)
@@thegatorhator6822 Tekken has always been goofy. The problem is that if you're not a Mishima in modern Tekken then you're not important, so go sit in the corner and do gag comedy skits instead of having a story of your own.
@@kevingriffith6011 "Tekken has always been goofy." Oh my summer child... You never played Tekken 1-2-4 in your life have you? hell I would even put T3 there in some capacity.
@@alperenayman620 Don't quote the ancient texts to me, witch, I was there when they were written. Back in the days where you had to wrestle with your Audio/Video/AUX cables to switch from your Playstation to your N64 because there was only one spot for it on the TV.
There has *always* been a goofy side to Tekken. It's usually in the sideshows like the bears, Roger, Gon, Yoshimitsu, Paul and Law antics and the Mishimas inexplicably having a convenient volcano to throw their family members into. Has tekken gotten *more* goofy? Absolutely, because they tend to default to goofy for characters who don't have a spot in the current story, and tekken's roster just gets bigger and bigger... but don't act like tekken was ever some humorless monolith.
@@kevingriffith6011Are you freaking kidding me? it is like saying “Hey Tekken is so serious because Devil Kazuya is in”
Just because there were some “goofy elements” in it that doesn’t mean these games had overall Goofy tone. Kangaroos, Raptors all of them had explanation and they were part of the main story “not like one day Roger Jr wanted to see his dad”.
Which fighting game has 0 goofiness? every one of them has… but what we try to say here is something else; the tone original first 4 games and especially T1, 2 and 4 were entirely different. Many characters ‘ story did actually make sense in the lore. Now we got Lucky Chloes, Vampire girls, Androids with chainsaw arms 0 physics rule and full of comic relief endings.
There is a level defines the “balance” if you pass that with goofy elements then overall tone turns into “goofy one” just like the games after T5 and before that Tekken had more serious tone and characters backstory handled better
Only Phoenix Jr. Will redeem! Tekken 9 next generation 10 years later!
Paul went from being the ken masters of tekken to the Dan hibiki
Ooft this one hurts lmao
That makes sense, when you think about it, since Paul and Ken Masters both sport a red gi, have blonde hair and are all-American. However, since he's become a joke after Tekken 4, that effectively makes him similar to Dan Hibiki now too.
Heihachi putting Paul in such high regards and respect is badass imo.
Aaaand non-canon
@@thegatorhator6822 Still a good adaptation. Still doesnt change my opinion. Getting such high regard and respect from Heihachi, one of the worlds strongest fighter in the Tekken universe, is still badass.
By being faced against Kuma
It’s actually canon in the Tekken6 scenario campaign if you choose Paul Heihachi respects him
@@garchompelago in the original few titles Paul had an on-going rivalry with Kazuya and in Tekken 3 he beats the base form of Ogre and technically won the Tournament. I heavily suspect before Jin was written into the plot the story trajectory for Tekken would have had Paul become the main character and end up beating Kazuya.
I don't think the anime is a good adaption at all but I do think Paul is a badass and one of the strongest in the Tekken universe.
The rise and fall of paul phoenix hair😔
My headcanon when Tekken 4 came out was that Law defeated Paul in Tekken 3 and it turned out they had made bets.
If Paul lost he'd have to put his hair down the next tournament. Paul was not happy.
Sometimes i wonder what fate can be worse
- Paul becoming one of the comic relief
- Yoshimitsu becoming the proof that they have 0 idea what to do with his story unless it's his sword going crazy again and hunting Bryan again and gives the story making to project Soul xD
Yeah, Yoshi is supposed to be the Robin Hood of the series and that did not last too long and Bryan eventually moved on.
Yeah, Yoshi is supposed to be the Robin Hood of the series and that did not last too long and Bryan eventually moved on.
Tekken 8 really made Paul looked like he was gona hav a role from his design and to the trailers it's like as if they know the problem with Paul but didn't do anything to change it
When they didn't bother to give him a special intro with Kazuya I knew he wasn't going to get any glory.
He shud rlly get one even if it comedic
As soon as i rewatched the story mode thats where I know they’re aware of what the state of the characters, even Jin who is the central focus on T8 has problems with his character development.
Tbh here. Paul’s role in Tekken 8 at the very least was step up from the past 3 or four tekken games. I’m honestly just glad he’s finally in the story mode and the fact that he made it to the qualifying rounds in the tournament kinda does show he’s not a pushover. Tho it is true that there should have been interaction between him and Kazuya.
All they had to do was have a Paul vs True Devil Kazuya fight during the big all out war, Paul puts up a fair fight, jogs Kazuya's memory on the one dude who fought him to a draw who wasn't a Mishima, and have him stop holding back and wash Paul, he loses, but it's a respectful loss.
But nope, joke scene with Law and Kuma, of course, it's been 20 years and those two gags have gotten stale, I'd honestly wish Paul to not even be in Tekken at this point rather than have him be not just a joke character, but joke character with a single fucking gag to his name.
11:21, while I do think Paul holding off Kazuya is a great idea, I do think Paul could’ve played some major role like being sort of a mentor to Jin that gave him the idea to think that “Power isn’t everything” line to reality, while Paul is all about wanting to be strongest in the universe, Paul would not throw away the people he care about like his Friendship with Marshall Law which serves as a perfect contrast to Kazuya’s idea of “A fight is about who’s left standing” and give their rivalry some depth and impact when they do end up fighting. That is also why I wish the tournament at the coliseum was longer than just the first matches, Jin could’ve fought Paul in the finals and have that interaction play.
Good idea as well. I'm a sucker for tournaments generally and I was hoping that all the matches would have been done. Paul and Jin is a golden idea as well
SO MUCH POTENTIAL
This is what I'm thinking too. I'm so shocked right now because I have the same suggestions on how they can fix the storyline of Paul.
Sad to see that Harada just wants Jin and Kazuya more in the story.
@@Weeknightyea, at first I did not bat an eye when I watched the story (which is mostly because I’m glad they are finally putting a lot more than they did in the past decade) but when I rewatched it, the story has a lot of missed opportunity that they could’ve done, they clearly tried with the story ofc but should’ve looked back at it and thought a lot of it more, with that being said Chapter 1 and 15 are the peak of Tekken 8 story.
I wish Kazuya actually interrupted Paul and Kuma’s fight after seeing Kuma in Heihachi’s getup, sending Kazuya into a frenzy and attacking Kuma which lead to Paul pulling Kazuya off of an unconscious Kuma that was about to be killed by Kazuya, leading to Paul and Kazuya going at it which he holds his own against his old rival by himself but in the end Kazuya would defeat Paul and would end up killing Paul, further establishing Kazuya as a massive threat in the story that everyone after seeing this and him nuking New York putting the fear of god into everyone.
@@Eyes-Scream0213Aye great minds think alike. Also funny thing is even Jin’s part of the story is kinda wasted opportunity too, like they have everything in motion, they clearly know what to do with Jin.
*SPOILERS:* the first is him accepting his cursed heritage and wanting to live, the second is him confronting and taking account on his sins, which we all know at this point. They did his accepting the devil gene pretty well, but not the same thing can be said for him being accountable to what he did because no one (excluding Kazuya) called him out for what did, not the freakin UN and not even King who has the story involving Orphans he took in who got affected from the war. So when the story progresses to the part where it focuses on Jin accepting what he did and moving on, it just feels kinda flat.
I think that paul's fall from grace may be because the game focused more on jin as the "protagonist". Maybe paul was originally planned to be the hero of the story but was perhaps scrapped after jin was introduced.
Y'know, I never thought of this. Although, Kazuya would've been the hero in 1, Kazuya and Paul were like rivals.
This is a cool perspective!
Yep but even in 3 and 4 he was treated with respect
I can see it. Paul being this borderline working class hero of humanity against devils. He also was Kazuya's primary rival before Jin.
@@thegatorhator6822 not really no. The rivalry was one sided. Lee was more of rival.
I think its obvious that Orge played dead and waited for Paul to leave to turn into True Orge. Paul had Orge that shook!
Ogre got shook by the obvious plot armor
Tekken 1 - 4 is the best Paul really
That Tekken 4 ending hits right in the feels
Tekken 3 Paul was ELITE 💯
@@Weeknight makes me want to tear up with how beautiful it was
I really miss Paul being a hard worker warrior of a fighter. His power is nothing to scoff at tho, his death fist just rocks them.
Paul slowly turned into the Dan of Tekken.
Paul’s Tekken 4 ending makes me cry every time. Paul rode off into the sunset to never be seen again. Tekken 5 - 8 Paul is disgrace personality wise.
TEKKEN 4 Paul ending is masterpiece.
The funny part about Paul in T8 is that they haven’t actually done anything to show that he isn’t just as strong as he’s always been. They even imply he’s at peak condition in t8, the best he’s ever been. They just made his luck increasingly bad and took him out of any plot because they’re not sure what to do with him
There's nothing really implying he's at his peak in 8.
@@fightingmedialounge519 Paul literally says he’s in the best condition of his life. He’s a blowhard but he’s not one to slack on his training
@@harrylane4 I mean, Paul also claims to be the strongest in the universe. Alsop him slacking is cost him the win in tekken 4, and lesser extent tekken 5.
@@fightingmedialounge519 Paul didn't slack in Tekken 5. His battle against Kuma in 5 leave him exhausted, forcing him not forfeit...
@@jettskie1986 hence me saying a lesser extent. Paul having a brief window of time to fully get back in shape between four and five only served as a detriment to him during the latter .
So to sum it up, he basically got the Knuckles treatment.
I felt similar about Hwoarang. He surpassed Baek's belt rank and has defeated Jin in T5 but is portrayed as weaker than base Jin in T8.
At least Hwoarang significantly helped Jin in Tekken 8.
humans fighters in tekken are with plot armors like seriously the mishimas are basically demi gods yet they're a$$es can be beaten by normal fighters. That's bs
@philgamer9499 same like in mortal kombat where gods are routinely beaten by mortals.
@@philgamer9499
Honestly, if you're not a Mishima or somewhat related to them, you're essentially nothing. Even Asuka got shafted badly despite being somewhat related
@@irvinmorales1409 well, welcome to Tekken
Paul was my first character and it breaks my heart what they have done to him in the story. Law happens to be my second tekken journey followed by Lee and tekken 3 Jin. Yes, there is a difference. I just don't even acknowledge the story at this point.
I think Paul's treatment as comic relief goes way back. His T2 and T3 endings are comedic, and while his main rival is Kuma, he still is very damn high in the canon tier list.
The issue is that Namco decided to focus on the Kazama/Mishima family drama, and not everyone can be involved, but he still is strong as hell.
Now I know what “KUMA! AGAIN?!” Is a reference to so thank you
Unpopular opinion but Paul was always written as the goofy badass like All Might and Takamura from Hajime no Ippo. Heck Paul and Takamura also did the same goofy shit where they draw their opponents face and put them on a brick wall/punching bag for them to punch but in Takamura's place it was Ippo's highschool bully but he did it for Ippo to punch. Heck all three of them have goofy hairstyles. They're crouching dumbasses hidden badasses.
Except those two characters are getting demoted to having rivalries with animals.
@@fightingmedialounge519 You guys are seriously underestimating the Kumas/bears in general. The current iteration of Kuma II knows frickin electrics lmao
@@kyzertv8443 it's not so much underestestimating kumas strength, although his own canonical win was against a carries Paul, the issue is that kuma is explicitly written to be a joke character. So having him be the primary rival for Paul just makes the latter look like he's meant to be a glorified punchline.
I really, really, really REALLY hope that we are done with the Mishima storyline. For as much as I love this game it's character's (unless they're Mishimas) often get done dirty in the story department
We got reina now
@@vikingfromnorth45 fuck i forgot about her
His Twin Brother Pol killed him when he rode off in Tekken 4, he is main Paul now in Tekken 5 and onwards
The Problem is Producers see Tekken 4 as ''failure'' (Which absolutely is not!) and that caused some serious misunderstanding there... The Story, the Lore in Tekken 4 WAS AMAZING... it was the peak in the series. The problems with 4 were entirely different... So after that they believed that they said ''alright lets make Tekken goofier with dozens of more 'comedic elements'' ... Bring back Kangaroos, put characters like Lucky Chloe or an Android girl with chainsaw arms +++ just only comedic - funny endings which have nothing to do with the Lore and of course far more lightened tone background stories for every characters unless they are Mishima.
Don't get me wrong I am all open for Goofy stuff... but there should be some balance... T4 was too serious I agree but T3 had the perfect balance... However after T5 They turned Tekken into Entirely Anime with Full of Goofy Elements
I liked your take on what Paul should've done in the story, but personally I think it would've been cooler to see him fight Kazuya before he achieved his true Devil form. Not sure when they could've worked it in the story, admittedly, but it would've been pretty awesome to see Paul go toe-to-toe with him and put up a good fight, maybe even winning. Kaz could still get Azazel's power later and do what he does, probably even beating Paul to show how things changed when he's at his full power. If anything it would've made for an interesting contrast and reinforced the idea that Kazuya "selling his soul" gets him power beyond most people while still paying Paul some respect
I’m ngl here tekken 8 did Paul way better than the past 3 tekken games. And I’m glad he’s actually in the story for the first time. I do think they could have given him a bigger role in the story but I can’t complain too much
The fact that Paul never tries to run the fade with Kaz or any Mishima is crazy.
He calls himself the strongest but never focuses on proving it against the strongest family in the game.
Because he knows the writers would never let a Mishima lose to a non Mishima
@@andret3739
Jin lost to Hwoarang in the fifth tournament according to Hwoarang and his T6 story. Unfortunately, Jin went devil mode and clobbered Hwoarang.
@@irvinmorales1409That’s Exactly, what happened to Paul, when Kazuya, went Half Devil Mode, and Kazuya tossed Paul like a rag doll, in Tekken 1, semi finals.
@@mrscaryman.955not really the same situation.
@@fightingmedialounge519 what do yu mean.
Paul was my favorite character from tekken 2 (my first tekken game) it was sad what happened to his story
Side note his debt was due to Law’s son Forrest crashing his bike
The true winner of the King of Iron Fist Tournament 3
Wrong
its a shame how they never used those side characters like Paul, Law, King, Bruce, Eddy, Jack, Feng in the lore. and worse they either ruined them by makign them into joke or just abandoning their part of lore. those characters were meant to be serious, but Harada ruined them all just for sake of that japanese humor. it doesnt even look funny at all, it just looks tarded, what a shame hahah :D
I like how in TEKKEN 5 Asuka has a Yakuza costume with tatto and is mostly serious only ending is funny because of Jin but Harada says she has always been a comedy character just like Paul who in TEKKEN 1-4 was OP and always serious Kazuyas Rival oh and Asuka was suppose to be Devil Jin's rival so she could to turn Jin back to normal because she is a Kazama like her story and ending interaction showed but nah 😂
Look how they massacred my boy
Nice take on tekken
we can't let any other character get in the way of JIn's right to win due to being the "hero" whatever touranment he is in.....early tekkens was so much better
The whole Tekken universe has gone very goofy and all the other characters seem less bad ass and less gritty.
3:55 pretty sure it's obvious that it's a reimagining of tekken 3
Ah man Paul, Tekken's iconic badass, that never got the justice he deserved and was always thrown under the bus. just like his fellow martial artist, Law.. i can understand joke characters like Ganryu and Kuma having this treatment, but i dont understand why they keep ruining serious characters.. Paul was supposed to be Tekkens tough guy and Law was Bruce Lee himself ffs. not only them, they also ruined Jack, gone is The terminator, made him a dumas toy. they humiliated Eddy the worst way possible, and now even Feng has been a joke. Idk why Harada keeps doing this, but only tards would laugh at this japanese humor, its not even funny, its just dumas like literally what these gen z kids call "cringe" hahah :D
To be fair tekken didn't have a story after tekken 4
honestly Marshall Law kinda has it worse
Not wrong, but considering Law has always "liked money", I think Pauls fall has been further
Paul Phoenix and Paulina/Karen Phoenix.
But, the Paul you used representing Tk1-Tk4 in 0:10 is Tk5 Paul art. I was confused coming from someone that played OG Tekken 5 a lot. Great video though.
Lmfao this is a really good point. Its just the image I thought represented peak Paul, but yes it is from TK5
I always tell people that Paul riding into the light was symbolic of the death of his career 😂.
What if he just has CTE? Kazuya and 2 bears has gotta take a toll on a fighter
Despite the bad story Tekken 8 gets to its side characters, it’s still sold as the best fighting game. Harada whether you like him or not, simply shrugs off fan Suggestions (I think there are times he agreed to as such but sometimes the funny story does pay off to casuals than hardcore fans. ) and then Tekken competitions are Street Fighter and MK1, well sometimes they do well with fan suggestions it’s totally a mixed bag.
It is not like they can't write Paul to have awesome moments. The Tekken comics and anime show Paul to be a badass and acts as a mentor to Jin. Like you can tell that is the same Paul from the the first four games. I think writers are leaning way too hard on giving these characters too much comic relief moments than actually forwarding their stories.
Paul's always been an oaf, dude's ending in the first game is him punching out a wall with a poorly drawn picture of Kazuya on it, at his most serious in Tekken 4 he's still being called a fraud and initially has a ending that isn't serious at all until he returns to his roots. The main thing is that while he was a dumbass and never extremely serious like other characters, he wasn't a joke character, he's played off as more of the antithesis to Kazuya's personality, not sharp, kind of goofy, but with an unshakable heart.
Tekken 5 onward is still technically the exact same character with the exact same personality quirks, but the main difference is that the flaws that made him a unique and likeable character before are now just a punchline, I don't mind him having a one off gag with Kuma, but making Kuma Paul's go to rival literally cemented his complete and utter degredation into irrelevency.
The worst part about it is that the developers aren't forgetful, they remember shit from the first game and homage it in 8, they literally red herring us by implying Paul's involvement in the main story is beating Kazuya, when in actuality it's just a joke about him winning prize money for Law.
I don't really care about joke characters, they're fine, I love Kuma and others like Roger Jr, but I started with T4 so the thematic whiplash I had when I went from maining Paul in Tekken 4 to maining Paul in Tekken 5 could've put me in god damn hospital. Their insistance on making once serious and very important characters utter jokes is frustrating and one of my main pet peeves about the series, ain't just Paul, I'd say Lee got it worse because he is literally a part of the god damn Mishima Clan until T4 and his involvement gets less and less relevent the further down the line you go until he's just kinda played for jokes in T7 and T8.
Both Paul and Law just kinda got turned into goofballs. Like sure they had humorous moments in the old games but they’re pretty much all wacky comic relief for the past few games.
Still better writing than Azucena though lmao
Is Paul Phoenix Replaced By Body Double Named Peter/Paul Phoenix Replacement Conspiracy Theory
I think after 4 came out and essentially fizzled, the creators had to sit down and think of where the story was gonna go: did they maintain this more grounded yet exaggerated world of martial arts and paternal turmoil or did they go complete clownshoes with chinese girls riding pandas fighting kpop robots?
Its not only Paul who turned into a weirdo side character. Marshel Law was right up there with Paul in narrative signifigance yet now hestjust as much of a joke character as Paul, if not more since now hes a greedy sociopathic clown. Steve fell into the same category. Hell, what plot significance has Lei WuLong had in the last few games?
I kinda like the new Paul. Hes this insane wrecking ball that everyone knows is extremely powerful so they try to steer clear away from him.
Bro was playing with dolls at the end lmao.
HAHAHA this thought actually went through my head as well
Gotta say even tho he's not the cool paul anymore, I think they actually succeeded at making him funny in tekken 8, idk what it is but Paul is so loveable with his hype man energy.
Harada get Paul away from Marshall and have him restore his true potential please? I'm sick of the comedic aspect between them! You had established Paul as being almost equal to Kazuya (Human form) and his return in 6 really made newcomers think of him as Dan Hibiki of Tekken. The guy was a hot head, but he actually had the strength power to back it up, but had respesct for his opponents after a fight and seemed to know even he had limits. This comedic direction has gone long enough and isn't funny, it's just pathetic!
I am 51 I have been a Paul main since T1, and T8 has literally 💩 on Paul. His hair, motorcycle, Burning fist, over the top boxy moves. Complete garbage. The awesome graphics don’t justify all the ridiculous game changes. Definitely thumbs 👎🏻.
If i had to remake tekken 8, I'd give paul a dramatic entry twice. First, when True Devil Kazuya appears in the battlefield. Alisa, fighting Jack-8 and is tired, Lily and Asuka help her but Jack 8 stands again and paul shows up beating jack 8 to death. At this scene, alisa tells him that Kazuya is coming. Paul would for his bike, ride it with maximum speed, riding off the cliff and throwing the bike towards kazuya. That would make kazuya fall on the ground and both fight and when paul is about to him, kazuya would fly away.
2nd entry is when Lars is about to knocked off by Kazuya. As kazuya is about to hit Lars with his true devil power, he receives a death fist from paul, and there goes another fight. And at this moment, Kazuya would be so pissed off with Paul that he would use his devil power to knock paul out. When paul struggles to get up and kazuya is about to kill him, Jin shows up and the story goes on as it is in Tekken 8.
I wish Tekken franchise would have done justice with Paul as MK1 did with Johnny Cage
If you're enjoying it, keep pumping out the tekken content bro, im loving it and its getting you a lot of interaction.
Im not big on the tekken story but themes go a long way with character appreciation.
Mork! I'm loving the game and I've always loved the lore, I plan to make a lot more ;)
@@Weeknight awesome man look forward too it. Have too play some when im back in new zealand bro. Im not the best though 😂 my sexy old man didnt make the roster and neither did Lei so im going through an identity crisis.
At first, I was disappointed that Thorgi made Dan Hibiki Paul's rival in his Tekken x Street Fighter roster, but I'm OK with it now because A. It would make Paul look cooler in contrast and B. The ending would be hilarious.
He looks like some old artist who made facial harmonization...
🤦🏼♂️
I'm fine with Paul's role in the story campaign (even if he should have had some uplifiting interaction with Jin as well or atleast got one getback match with Kazuya). What annoys me more is how his own character episode ending is still a lame joke and not something cool/reflective like Tekken 4, it's even more unnecessary when he's already used as comic relief in several other character episode endings.
I hope they put roger and mokujin in Tekken 8. Lame we have to buy Eddie Gordo & Lei. They're iconic characters that should always be playable
*spoilers* Tekken: Bloodline shouldn't be canon because it's clearly based on Tekken 3 but Leroy Smith is in there. Also, Paul wouldn't lose to King lol.
Crazy thing is that Paul functions as a fighter but he's lost his character self in Tekken 8 in the process it seems.
Tekken characters are very one-dimensional. And Paul was a victim of it. But instead of the stoic warrior that people actually see him as, the developers forced his turn into a comical loser. Because he is not part of the main storyline, it will stay that way.
Wished everyone just stopped taking semi-serious characters and turning them into parodies of themselves for comic relief. It always feels silly
Same with Law. He's become a goofy idiot. It's depressing how they disrespected the most iconic tribute to Bruce Lee.
Its a shame how they ruined Paul, that ending on Tekken 4 was so badass. and not just Paul they did that to a lot of characters, especially in latest games with those character episodes. what a joke :)
I feel like they missed an opportunity to give paul a sick all american mullet... But they chose to go with the karen instead.
Tekken loves giving us cool-ass characters and concepts, but doing barely anything with them.
I legit hate what was done to Paul, he’s been my main for a very long time.
every character could have a good story if they actually tried like bryan had an interestinf ending in tekken 4 but they stopped with that
Paul became a joke in Tekken 4 (or was it 5?) when he went crazy and started ranting and raving about aliens
Tekken 4 was the best version of Paul Phoenix hands down. He was cool and bit of a rebel. I don’t like this current version of him at all
The bad treatment towards Paul is because of Harada. Harada didn't create the Paul character Seichi Ichii did.
I don’t get the new Paul hate he’s literally the same as he’s always been lmfao sweaty nerds just always looking for something to hate on tbh
you cracking up is fucking amazing! The plug for the video of the start not so much tho
Tekken 8 Paul has been eating at Krispy Kreme too much.
And Heihachi isnt dead.
Pauls Tekken 4 Ending somehow hit me really deep even as a child. From that point onward i always made sure to play him in each title of the series. I love the man!
Lets be real, Tekken 4 was the last game in the series where the lore was taken seriously and had good writing.
you used tekken 5 paul image for representing paul from t1-t4
Pauls back story is disappointing given how dominant he is in the game even Law
Ppl dont Care Man, as long character is S tier and have quick executions
I kinda wish Paul had story moments with Jin and Kazuya in T8 that Leeroy, a new character with history with the Mishimas, got. That or the Lars moment.
I don't understand why they choose these corny and not funny character endings lol
Tekken 3 is his good years same as jin when he still use the Mishima style good old times
He should’ve had a Might Guy performance at end of 8
I hated tekken 4 at first because of Jin changing his moves and Paul changing his hair wtf happened
Let's be honest guys, the story writing has been utter trash since Tekken 5.
Who has Nina beat that makes you think that Xiaoyu can't be her?
So you beat Tyson Fury and become the champion of the world and leave the ring. Tyson Fury then morphs in to True Tyson Fury and a fighter who was already defeated beats True Tyson Fury and then becomes the champion.
Tekken 8 paul has heihachi's face. That's not Paul
paul has never won a matchup against traffic. unfortunate
Bruh, what did they do to his hair. They turned him into such a tool.
The rise (and Paul) of the Phoenix
They lost interest in him because he’s not a Mishima.
I always saw Paul as Chuck Norris
Dragonuv next pls
Change the title to Rise and Paul
Its not as bad as Lei Wulong 😔
Liked the video before even watching it man cuz the title rings true in so many ways.
I appreciate you