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Miguel Caballero Rojo
Miguel is a big guy and he likes to fight. That's pretty much it. He doesn't have any martial-arts training, isn't aligned with any of the game's families or factions, and seems motivated primarily by his enjoyment of punching people. Sure, at some point Jin Kazama tried to kill his sister for no discernible reason, but within the world of Tekken, finding a reason to be grumpy at the Mishima family is a bit like shooting devil-fish in a fragmentary techno-militarist barrel.
Choose this character if: You want the potential to defeat your opponent in one hit. Protip: in cases like this, potential and ability can be very different things.
Mokujin
Much like Combot, Mokujin isn't a character in its own right so much as a randomly cycling set of the other characters' movelists. The only substantial difference is that Combot changes movelists every fight (because he's technology, and has a small memory bank) whereas Mokujin changes every round (because it's magic, and can do whatever it likes).
Choose this character if: You fancy a stint as one of the only playable entries on our list of 28 of the most favorite videogame trees ever.
NANCY-MI847J
A colossal fighting robot with ten times the health of anyone else in the game. Technologically speaking, the console-exclusive NANCY-MI847J makes Jack, Combot, Alisa, and all the rest of Tekken's cybernetically-enhanced fighters look like one of those bins of loose power adapters and iPhone 3 covers that you'd find in the corner at Radio Shack. Practically speaking, don't expect to chuck out all your practice with the game's other characters just yet.
Choose this character if: You want to fight enemies, like a boss, and perform special moves, like a boss, and probably get beaten before too long, like a boss.
[EDIT]: This character hasn't been confirmed as playable.
Nina Williams
Brainwashed assassin and sometime CIA stooge, Nina's appearance dates back to the original Tekken. The only female character to appear in every game of the series, Nina commands a strong fandom who cite the characters's speed, intricate combos and intriguing backstory as key to her appeal. And yet, every game, less and less of the budget apparently goes toward poor Nina's costume, which by now is just purple paint and a few scraps of fabric.
Choose this character if: You think a woman who's pushing 50 should be able to dress and act how she damn well pleases. Surely the fact that the cryogenically-thawed Nina looks thirtysomething at best has nothing to do with your decision.
Panda
Linguists are unsure on the origin of the word Panda, meaning we can't tell you conclusively why Ling Xiaoyu chose to bestow this name upon her pet, best friend and bodyguard. The best guess we can come up with is that Panda, as you may have noticed, is indeed a panda. Apparently Kuma is in love with her, but we don't know enough about ursine crossbreeding to tell you whether that's sweet or gross.
Choose this character if: You want, for the very first time in your young and doubtless eventful life, to play Tekken as a Panda with their very own character slot, instead of just serving as a palette-swap for the longer-standing Kuma.
Paul Phoenix
The American Jujitsu fighter was originally positioned as a rival to Kazuya Mishima, which is appropriate enough as Kazuya was often compared to Street Fighter's Ryu and Paul Phoenix looks like if Street Fighter's Ken stuck his finger in an electrical socket. As the series evolved, though, Paul became less and less of a serious contender, now marked by never having managed to win a tournament.
Choose this character if: You're fighting Kuma and want to be as canonical as possible. According to series continuity, while Paul continues to pursue a fight with Kazuya, his only serious rival is now Old Man Mishima's pet bear.
Prototype-Jack
Technically a less advanced fighting robot than Jack-6, Prototype Jack (P-Jack to his friends) nonetheless presents a formidable challenge with gasoline for blood, explosive leg-mounted rocket boosters, and apparently no idea where this combination could lead in the wrong circumstances. His appearance dates back to the first two Tekken games, though only console players get to select him in TTT2.
Choose this character if: You like a man with strong arms. Look at those pythons. You could build yourself a Winnebago out of those things.
Raven
Little is known about Raven, which is great if you're trying to introduce an enigmatic character whose origins are shrouded in mystery or if it's Friday afternoon at Namco HQ and you can't be bothered writing a character bio. It's less useful if, say, you're trying to find anything to say about a character besides he looks a bit like that guy from that movie Rambo was in twenty years ago.
Choose this character if: You think ninja automatically means small and nimble. The plus-sized Raven's skill in Ninjutsu not only acquits the character well in-game, it sets the stage for several fairly bizarre exchanges with fellow shinobi Yoshimitsu.
Roger Jr
Among the ways Namco has chosen to depict the Mishima Zaibatsu's descent into amoral corporate greed, one of the more colorful is the revelation that the company has been experimenting on genetically-enhanced animal fighters. Roger Jr, who originally rode within his father's pouch (see above: genetic enhancement), is now not only a viable Iron Fist contender, he's also apparently capable of resolving domestic disputes and making a living for himself and his family. It should be mentioned that real-life vivisection almost never works out so well.
Choose this character if: You're looking forward to finally pitting Roger Jr against Alex and actually having the characters play differently.
Sergei Dragunov
Introduced in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection, the uber-Russian Dragunov is a member of the Spetsnaz whose storyline is, again, clouded in ambiguity. In this case, though, it seems to be more of a deliberate tease on Namco's part, with cutscenes not only hinting at further series developments but implying a backstory between Sergei and the tres-enigmatic Raven.
Choose this character if: You always, always equip the Sniper Rifle when playing an FPS, and have been waiting for the chance to do the same thing in a fighting game.
