How to get the bad ending in Tekken 8

Tekken 8 offers players a high-octane thrill ride of a story where Jin takes center stage. Most players will earn the good ending when their journey concludes, but there’s a way to make the story end poorly for our heroes. Here’s how to get the bad ending in Tekken 8.

How to lose the final fight in Tekken 8

Before we go any further, I just want to say massive spoilers are ahead. If you’ve not beaten Story Mode yet, I strongly recommend you do so you can experience the Tekken story at its best. 

If you’ve beaten the campaign, open the story mode and choose Chapter 15: Strength and Conviction. There are several fights in this Chapter, and you must lose the final one. If you lose any before, you’ll have to repeat them. In my testing, I’m pretty sure there are no bonuses for losing any other battle.

Fight as usual until you reach the 2nd round after Jin gets his face smashed against the rock in the cutscene. This is the round you must lose if you want the bad ending. If you accidentally defeat Kazuya here, you’ll have to repeat the entire Chapter.

The issue with trying to get the bad ending is how much Jin auto-parries Kazuya’s attacks. I recommend holding down + forward and crouch-walking toward Kazuya for the entire fight to stop this. Crouching stops the auto-parry, and moving forward prevents you from blocking. When the battle ends, Kazuya and Jin exchange blows instead of the typical ‘You Lose’ screen, and the bad ending will play.

Which story ending is ‘canon’ in Tekken 8?

Once again, I’ll be delving into spoilers here, so consider yourself warned. We can’t say with absolute certainty, but it’s highly unlikely that the bad ending is canon. After all, we probably couldn’t have a Tekken 9 if Kazuya wins! Still, if you let Jin lose to Kazuya, you’re treated to a demonstration of how Mishimas deal with their enemies and a huge nod to iconic cutscenes in the previous games.

You also earn a unique Player Title, so even if you don’t care about the story, it’s well worth replaying the final Chapter. If you’re just finding your feet in Tekken 8, learning combos is cool, but fundamentals are far more important. If your defensive game needs some improvement, check out our guide on how to block and low parry.