What Happened To Paul Phoenix? - Why No One Plays Paul In TEKKEN 8

In todays Video I go over why Paul Phoenix has seen such a recent decline in popularity. If you guys enjoyed the video and want to see more stuff like this please consider subscribing or showing the video to a friend. It means the world :)
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[@VarsVerum]

Why does everyone think I invented the Why NO ONE Plays video format lol 😂

[@taylorherridge5000]

bruh who

[@darkbornelines4587]

That karen haircut destroyed this dude

[@Boogard]

I honestly believe it's more then that. I agree with the haircut deterring new players but I don't believe Paul mains who loved the character dropped him because of the hair. And clearly from these stats lots of people have dropped the character. Also from most newcomers I've talked to his hair before was pretty jarring as well lol

[@Xenoxion]

@@Boogard Nah, it's the Karen haircut.

[@kriscotd76]

His hair ain’t got shit to do with him not being played ..He has a simple neutral game ,and he can’t be flo chart like the other S tier characters.iv mained Paul since T2 and most of my wins come from the lack of experience people have against him because no one played him ..

[@breakr16]

@@Boogardnah. It’s really that simple. I think you are the only one that doesn’t think so. Lol

[@Tarheelheat]

Lol

[@chefv1deogame]

If we’re talking about who’s been forgotten, I feel like Asuka has been left behind by the devs. Gets nothing in the main story (has like no lines talking to Jin), gets nothing in her own story (it’s more about Lili) and her new mechanic only changes 3 moves.

[@Boogard]

Will definitely be making a video on her eventually

[@TheSinOficio1]

In fact his lack of flashiness it's what make me play Paul, I feel that he teach you more about the game because of his simplicity.

[@Nomdro]

This is the reason I picked him up, as my 1st tekken I was getting rolled playing Lili, she had way too much for me to try and keep track of, Paul was super straightforward and I'd figure I could learn more using a few tools instead.

[@knox7945]

I like the fact that he's just a dude without the flares and flash. Heres the rest of the Tekken cast doing all these flippy dippy stuff and now here comes Paul doing the honest and basic move that hits hard. Also, his lore back in T1-T3 makes him more awesome.

[@chefv1deogame]

There are only 3 things I dislike about TK8 Paul: his new hair, his lackluster Rage Art, and his lack of presence in the story mode. Aside from that, the reason why I stick with Paul is because his moves feel good to use and land.

[@flerphead]

Paul is an honest character in a dishonest game.

[@xQc_Enjoyer777]

TMM alt spotted.

[@syahrules]

Shaheen just joined the chat

[@flerphead]

​@@syahrulesI forgot he was a character.

[@crazy911wman]

​@@syahrules shaheen in tekken 8 is a monster. What are you talking about?

[@TimeWarrior14]

He was always honest. Even in T7. One thing that is fun with the character is to beat people's ass Old School style.

[@Boogard]

Let me know what you guys think about the video. I'm trying to improve my video essay format so any critism is very welcome, Cheers.

[@NintendoNoctis-ub8fo]

I like the captions

[@afrocrumble8721]

Nice video but you didn't really answer the question of why no one plays Paul. You came at it from your own point of view and easily dismissed "Paul's Hair" without delving too deeper why people think that Let me tell you that as an artist and veteran of Tekken. Paul's hair IS ICONIC and is a recognizable brand of Tekken. If you put a silhouette of each popular character in Tekken e.g: King, Yoshimitsu, Jin, Kazuya, Nina, Lars, Reina, Lili The outlines of their hair and poses would be instantly recognizable. Wonder why Josie, Gigas, Chloe are out of the game? Very Generic poses and forgettable silhouettes. Leroy and Claudio on the other hand have amazing designs and appeal. This is a little technical but human beings are pattern recognizing animals. The moment something feels... off... we can sense it. Maybe not consciously, but we def internalize it This 100% applies to casuals. When casuals pick up the game. As you say... they have to press "extra buttons" to get the hair back... but does Tekken tell you that? NO Even worse... you have to work for his Red Gi... the costume that's been his default clothes since Tekken 1. People who are returning or are new to the franchise will take one big look at Paul... and go... "LOL this doesn't make sense". AS CRAZY AS IT IS... I understand where they are coming from. Just as Josie who had bone crushing kickboxing moves but weeps and cries like a little girl... there is also a *disconnect* in seeing motorcycle badass karate man with the haircut of a grandma. It's this juxtaposition that "doesn't make sense". Casuals will play Kuma in his karate gi or go for the mexican wrestler with a leopard mask on because at least there is no imbalance in design. Great video though. Keep it up!

[@FFx16459]

@@afrocrumble8721great comment..I agree with the character selection screen. It is casuals that we”re talking about. I’m sure they might not even know about the costume selection. Or care to click each time.

[@davidgabay9398]

It was great! Keep going in that direction

[@TimeWarrior14]

I would like more Paul content :P

[@junlau780]

This vid drops legit after I faced 4 Paul's in a row lmao

[@kriscotd76]

Must be in the lower ranks ! Because in blue ranks and above,Paul’s are like seeing a unicorn

[@junlau780]

​@@kriscotd76yea I agree, it was mostly tenryu and shinryu the ones I fought. Never seen one at blue or above so far

[@lexunamzelaznog3871]

@@kriscotd76 let gonna try be that unicorn them

[@eldijablo]

It’s not just the hair, it’s his entire look. He looks like a hobo. If you’re a new player and you see Lars flying around with lightning everywhere, Jin and Kazuya transforming into demons, Bruce Lee lookalike flipping and kicking, King doing WWE moves etc. why would you go and pick the slow, lame homeless guy? This is coming from someone who always had Paul in his top 3 since Tekken 3

[@raginbull13]

Even when you want to customise him, he just looks like an old dude in costume.

[@TheRealRakim]

He looks like his clothes are too tight for him.

[@JustSendMeLocation]

He always had the hobo look, dirty gi, rides a bike, it’s not that at all it’s literally the HAIR and that’s it

[@OctopusH2O]

Lame homeless guy 😂😂😂😂

[@jkthegreat5687]

@@JustSendMeLocation Nah he looked rebellious in the older games Now he legit looks like a dirty ass crack addict

[@motherlandsrealiest5069]

Because Paul is the OG of Tekken.

[@cukkucake]

He’s been in every Tekken, not even any of the Mishimas can say that and they’re supposed to be the main characters

[@philgamer9499]

​@@cukkucake That's why harada should make Paul die in the next game

[@fuckthisstupidasshandleshit]

@@philgamer9499L take.

[@KingBongHogger]

They dropped his iconic slimjim hair for the "can I talk to your manager?" cut and isn't a very flashy character in a game full of people with fancy flips, powers or weapons. He's super easy to crush people, especially early on in ranks. You only half to press half the buttons to do the same, if not more, damage than most other characters

[@darklord9581]

Yeah I cough to players in lower rank and notice Paul does alot of damage. He also has a heat combo they used to that kept getting me caught in it but I heard they gonna nerf it in the next patch.

[@mariosmichael5116]

As a Paul main comming from Tekken 7 I agree that the biggest reaason is not the hair. The bigger reason is that Paul moveset doesn't cutting it for Tekken 8. It just not enough in turms of animation and new cool moves also its not flashy enough. When you pick other characters it feels they have supers and spamable stuff and paul feels too stiff and you have to work harder, cause you cannot spam almost anything.

[@rextek3715]

As a person that is completely new not only to tekken but fighting games in general, I'd say that it mostly is his design, not only his hair (although its probably its probably the main reason) but also his clothes. The reason I think that is because the first piece of advice you hear as a new player in picking out a character is "pick someone you think looks cool" or something along those lines, sure the way their gameplay looks and feels (as well as if their kit is good or not) matter but I think that first impresion was vital to me, and I would guess most other players. Finally I looked at him a bit recently and didnt love the customization options he had. I mostly also agree with all the other reasons you stated, but I stand by that being the main reason. I recently finished the story mode and that kinda made me interested in playing him, cause I found him pretty entertaining/cool in what little they show of him (also knowing the context helps, since i watched a story recap) I dont think I'll pick him up any time soon since I'm still struggling to be good with my main, and if/when I pick up another character I'd rather pick up one thats pretty op, just to get a taste of how easy it is.

[@saltgenerat0r]

I just think American characters don’t get picked😂

[@VDViktor]

to be fair customization in t8 is a55, period. Regardless of the character. Although i managed to make my mains look quite sick. There are ways to make Paul look cool still. Hotline Miami Biker cosplay on Paul's huge frame rocks

[@jkthegreat5687]

@@saltgenerat0rfym Nina getting picked all day

[@Xavier-ns2ic]

@@jkthegreat5687 Nina is Irish and middle of the pack in the pick rates as of the last usage charts

[@darklord9581]

lol I made Paul look like triple H in a suit during his “BEST FOR BUSINESS” era with Kane and the shield ☠️

[@derimeri21]

I was completle new to Tekken, Tekken 8 is my first game and I main Paul. Resoning is that my friend said that he is easy to understand, but very hard to play well with. So I took on the challenge, plus he is just a cool dude. I have most of his core moves down now, I still need to work on my fundimentals, low blocks and sidesteps. I'm taking it nice and slow, while sometimes I wish he was more flashy, the old hair makes up for it. Slow but steady progress. So yeah... I really love playing Paul and I'm not dropping him. Great video. You just earned a sub.

[@Nori2k2]

Cause hes too honest in a very dishonest game. Hes strong if he guesses right though

[@user-py8kj5ve4y]

Im pretty sure it's his hair. Sure, you can use customization or pick his classic outfit, but since we're early in t8, most of the people playing online are casuals, who probably don't bother thinking about alternate outfits and just pick who looks coolest

[@Boogard]

Idk almlst everyone I've seen in low ranks are using customization

[@user-py8kj5ve4y]

@@Boogard hmm true. Idk. I remember he was also low in the betas. I think if it was his gameplay then people would have at least tried him out in the day or two that the beta lasted before realizing that it's basically just t7 Paul again

[@burneraccountuser]

his previous hair was not flattering to me as a newcomer either...the dudes always looked like a cornball thats just his schtick

[@leinad2934]

His hair isn't THAT bad imo. Pretty sure it's mainly north Americans who find his hairstyle wacky, but Paul is also not popular in all the other regions.

[@liviekumori]

That's definitely wrong, you'll rarely see a character that's not customized on low and mid rankings

[@slavinplays4114]

Paul wrestled a bear once… no twice… okay a lot of times

[@Boogard]

Strongest in the universe 💪

[@watcherman222]

Canonically the only non-Mishima character to have won against the Mishimas.

[@fuckthisstupidasshandleshit]

@@watcherman222Akuma, Hwoarang, Ogre.

[@PCG117]

You have some really good points, great video

[@edwuano7]

i may just be getting old, and i never played paul but after this vid i'm considering picking him up. all the flashy stuff (which actually moved me away from devil jin) is a bit overwhelming and i've been looking at the roster for simplicity.

[@gatorrade1680]

I like his new style. It looks cool. He is a good character for (new) players, who want to learn the basics.

[@JustSendMeLocation]

His new style looks horrible

[@jkthegreat5687]

He looks anything BUT cool Your fashion style is in question right now…

[@oolongpantsu3437]

I love Paul he is my favorite character. I even represented him a little bit in a big local tournament. My man is struggling really really hard. His jab punishment and ws4 are a joke. His gimmick with the guard breaks has very dominant counterplay. Most other characters do guard passing way better than him amd are way more flexible. His damage can be super high but it can be pitiful too. Deathfist against some stances cant hit at all or will not hit clean. For example vs Kumas hunting bear stance. Try that out! His moves are not too reliable. Shoulder at the wall for a low slump unscaled hit will often miss if the axis is a little off. Most shocking is how shredder kicks tend to let you down after even a slight side step. I have in no other installment of the series witnessed shredders first kick hitting and the second missing afterwards. Paul struggles to find a good wallsplat from mids if the opponent is not pressed up against the wall. Paul also struggles to get in and earn some frames in a reliable way. You most likely will need to dash block into your opponents face at some point if they defend well beforehand. His 50/50 is non existing apart from some specific scenarios. F2 is not a viable way to enter heat through a punisher. The special animation means Paul is only +5 afterwards eith some space in between. That a waste of resources right there. ub2 was for some reason neutered to the point of being absolutely useless any capacity. qcf3 had a high execution combo route on ch that was taken away while introducing a clean hit range to qcf3. His unblockable deals way to low damage for what you need to do to make it land. The big man apart from a handful of tools Pauls strikes are super linear. and thats enough bitching for now. TL DR: BUFF PAUL

[@supersaiyankrillin1237]

8 is my first tekken and the only reason i stuck with Paul was because i had experience with him in the demo. Other characters look way more flashy and fun but it's such a chore to learn how to use a character in this game. I'd rather stick with death fist and a simple gameplan than lab for another 5 hours learning a new character

[@Boogard]

Respect sometimes simplicity is a great thing

[@shinrah7636]

Damn, u are my polar opposite, one reason im addicted of this game is theres so much to learn, after hitting garyu or shiryu on a character i move on to a new one to learn and start fresh (will took me 1-2days studying a new one), btw im garyu on paul, he's quite fun to play, i dont want to push higher for now but i can see myself hitting blue ranks easily using him. Paul heat mode + big guard breaks are so fun to use.

[@MianZubair-yj2sn]

​@@Boogard boogard I like Jun kazama Reina mishima ling xiaoyu lili rochefort asuka kazama but I play Jun more jun🕊 is my main in tekken 8

[@braccialefrancesco6933]

Want to know the fun part? Paul can also be labed to learn some pretty neat in dept stuf, like the triple truster, the 3-2 sway cancel deathfist as a combo ender. IS THANKS TO PAUL that i learned how the walls wortk, cos of the many interaction you can create. So cheerio

[@blackjam2683]

Paul is like a secondary character. People that do play him are specialist and probably most likely sitting in the higher purple rank and beyond. Tekken 8 has alot of flair and sparkle now and it makes people want to try newer character, therefore people who were Paul players in 7 are most likely trying newer characters and make switches. I was a Paul main in 7 but now Paul is my "Blowing off steam" pick.

[@davidgabay9398]

I played Paul in Tekken 3 and it felt very different in a way I couldn't put into words, this video does a good job of explaining it!

[@JohnGlow2]

I do think we might be selling short just how much a design or redesign impacts popularity though. I remember seeing a video about how Hwoarang is suddenly much more popular than he’s ever been, and he’s already a wildly popular character, and I honestly think it comes down to his appearance, being, imo, probably the best he’s looked in any game. He looks straight up like THEE main protagonist in T8. So Paul’s odd new design choice is definitely offputting for past Paul players and I can definitely see that being the case for newcomers too.

[@trenderbender1547]

Exactly, first thing that comes to mind is AK in Tekken 7. He became of the the most played characters strictly based on his visual design which is one of the best if not the best base outfit in T7 imo.

[@fuckthisstupidasshandleshit]

Hwoarang's new design is ass.

[@pascalschiele5233]

Great Video 💪🏼

[@braccialefrancesco6933]

Premise: i am a casual who enjoys the game. I am maybe one of the few who loved Paul, back in T7 i mained Jack, but Paul always had a special place in my heart. The haircut is yes a downgrade but, as stated in the video, you can equip the old outfit. More importantly few to none mentioned his personality (that damn smile) being goofy, but yet cracking you up and letting you feel his presence on the field with every voiceline. As i picked up Paul i loved him with his new stuff, definetly not as flashy as the other characters, but indeed gave me for the first time the feel to learn what frame data is, what moves should i use and stuff. In older tekken's i didn't care, in T7 with jack i simply went in "scrub" mode. I agree with everything, but one of the main points would be the Story mode. YOU CAN'T put that "i'll give him a good smack", dialogue with Law, and not even at least give me a chance to URYYYAAAA Kazuya's solar plexus. That alone almost killed my vibe. If the devs wanted him to be a legacy character, AND THE CLOWN of the group, make him at least a compelling one, not some random bozo wich he is not. But hey i still love to play him and will keep improving, and labbing what i can.

[@paytonturner1421]

I have played Paul in the betta of Tekken 8 and I played him when I got the game. I can say he's very cool and interesting to play gameplay wise and personality-wise something about him, just screens awesome dude! And I thought people were complaining about Eddy's haircut.

[@fede603]

I played a bit of Tekken 2 as a kid and that's been my only exposure with the franchise to date. I've been playing Tekken 8 for a few days now and I'm having so much fun with Paul. In a game where every other character is pulling off combos you'd see in an anime (I'm looking at you, Viktor), it feels bizarrely refreshing to play a somewhat basic character. Paul's simple and easy moveset helps a lot when getting into the game. It also feels incredibly satisfying when you land a deathfist. With that in mind, "OSU"

[@30year-oldboomer17]

Ok, absolute new guy here to tekken 8, have not touched T7 or any other game yet (though i do wanna play T7) I'll give some context as to why I picked Paul as my first character: Death fist. Is there any other character who just hits raw damage as hard as paul? NO. I saw a character with a "high on life" smile and saw that he had great fundamentals and picked him because I dont NEED to know how to KBD. I dont NEED to know how to do electrics. I dont NEED unique mechanics or flashy moves to get easy wins on my less experienced friends because all I need is 3 deathfists and a demoman and you die. as for the hair thing, i know you as a legacy guy have been saying "its not his hair there's something wrong here fundamentally" but i feel the hair is a big part of it, its part of the puzzle. I like paul so I looked him up on tekken wiki and found a character who started in this series as a man with fists so strong he rivaled the main characters. Now he's been left behind as a literal joke, getting into fights with bears, pandas, and never having any money. At least my man Ken from SF may be down in the dumps but they didnt turn his character into a sidelined useless fighter outside of in game. THAT feels wrong tldr: tekken newcomer picks paul for FAT fucking damage, gets upset that guy doesnt look like a guile ripoff anymore and isnt treated with respect

[@Madheim777]

makes sense. and Paul's deathfist damage was so brutal that it literally k.o. in 3 or 4 of them.

[@Nomdro]

I have fever dream memories of old tekken from my youth, and I remember Paul's ridiculous standing hair. So seeing his redesign is kinda jarring yeah, but his og skin/hair is still in game. So I don't see an issue with that, same as Eddie when he comes out. As a Tekken newbie I picked up Paul for a bit after getting overwhelmed with tryna play Lili. Just cause his kit is super straightforward and rewarding for mixing up your opponent. But it got boring kinda quick so I switched to Alisa. I'm sure Paul has a lot more depth, but surface level, he just death fist, demo man, and there's a lot more unique characters aside from strongest in the universe. Even though I do love Paul.

[@jacobe2891]

As a guy who picked up the game 2 days ago (destroyer rank atm), his running 2 (RKO) is a really satisfying combo finisher for me. It looks and feels cool, and it gives me some room to death fist punish a potential getup sweep.

[@Tekkenfan-tp1kz]

They gave him the ken treatment 😭

[@wesaaron6618]

I think it's a mix of multiple little annoyances with Paul. His kit has a lot of similar looking attacks, which makes it feel even more restrictive. His look lacks intimidation, nobody sees him as dangerous. The base haircut limits hats and headbands to the awful haircut since tekken couldn't be bothered to allow multiple hair types with head items. His customizations are very limited and don't help with his goober persona.

[@FreeAimDog]

wow, so the tekken series in 1 year older than me

[@paytonturner1421]

Also, Paul's new hairstyle, I thought I was all right but in customization I will try to get his original haircut for some of the costumes I make.

[@jeffhoogervorst3287]

with tekken 8 as my first tekken game, i scrolled trough every character in the game to figure out how each character plays, what the gameplans are like. how the combos feel on them. and generally if i would like to play them. looking at paul i saw a guy who's kinda in the middle of everything. i'm not picking him for being flashy. if i want that i'll rather play reina or lars. if i want to play as a huge dude with big punches i like to go over the top with jack. i mainly play Law & i just picked up Asuka/Steve since i am learning how the game actually plays out. Paul just doesn't stand out to me. luckily my friend who got me into tekken mains Paul so i see what he does otherwise i would never learn him. i am sorry if i said something wrong. this is purely my own opinion to reply to the question in the video how a complete new player looks at Paul.

[@sp00kdagul]

@2:34 I think thats it! I also use Paul a lot from the previous Tekken games along with the other legacy characters like King and Law. But as you mentioned, theres really nothing new in his kit that has immediate impact. The cool stuff happens when you are in heat and thats a really short period in a round. Unlike the other legacy characters gaining new kits and options: like Law with the nunchucks hitting even grounded targets, King now with a variety of super armor and the Jaguar Sprint and heck even nina gets a fucking gun. Then again, I think Paul isnt the be deisgne with new stuff in mind. I think hes supposed to be the "stanceless" or "non-install" character for beginners to learn.

[@professoremil]

Am I the only person who thinks Paul’s hair isn’t even that bad? He’s let his hair down before in previous games, it’s just parted differently this time. Not only that, but I also think people are only calling it the “Karen cut” because he’s blonde. I thought it looked a bit odd when I first saw it too, but I think that’s only because we’re so used to seeing the iconic hightop haircut. I’ve gotten used to his new look by now though and even think he looks kinda cute with it not being slicked up like usual. If his hair were the reason for his popularity dropping, then people would be putting aside Eddy as well for the exact same reason due to the Killmonger cut. And yet no one is doing that from what I’ve heard and seen.

[@yiannisv3573]

You are one of the extremely few who likes his hair. Google karen hair and you will see that same haircut. Now find one guy who has that hair (and does not look ridicoulous). He just doesn't look masculine. And his face when loading the game looks like shit too, like a homeless guy who is obsessed with his hair. His whole default design is a huge fail. Jeans with knee protectors and a rope..? What the fk is this.. I still play him in 8 as he's always been my favourite but damn

[@regyomallard3143]

I'm not a while fan of the 'Karen' name in general but its just how language changes. But that haircut is truly the 'Karen' cut, pressed and all.

[@professoremil]

@@regyomallard3143 Paul’s hair is straight and free-flowing, so no. You’re thinking of a permed haircut and he doesn’t have that at all actually. You can visually see the difference in-game because his hair is shoulder length and flows in the wind as he fights. If it was cut shorter and matted to his head then yeah, that would be the Karen cut through-and-through. 😅 Edit: I probably explained poorly, so in simpler terms, the “Karen” hair is basically a blonde pixie cut. Very key difference.

[@jkthegreat5687]

⁠@@professoremilthe pixie cut can vary in length dawg… Hair style generally have room for variation

[@Toeknee994L]

As someone that has been playing Paul for 20+ years, you're spot on with the feeling left behind. He still feels like the Paul I played with in Tekken 3 while all the other characters have evolved with the game systems. Why the hell would I charge a deathfist if I will get punished so fucking hard? Also lol at "thousands of people dropping the character because of the tiny head next to the health bar is a bit of a stretch"

[@trevienseager1755]

Man i main paul in this tekken and i couldnt put my finger on what was wrong with him. You are right, it feels like they really didnt do anything with him.

[@terrencepascual4137]

As someone who really jumped into Tekken at 8 and have played the others but never really picked a main because I was terrible at them. Paul really made me understand the game better than the two weeks I spent with King on T8 release. He's fun and his damage is amazing but yes I feel the same way. I wish I had cool flashy combos and shit. Thats why Im trying to learn some other characters too.

[@vashiquenaicker2810]

Been playing Paul for years. I thought I was the only one who felt this way. He just feels like tekken 7 Paul with heat.. Been contemplating for a few weeks to give other characters a shot. But it breaks my heart to leave my boy behind 😢. Any recommendations on a good character to use?

[@EliTheGleason]

As someone new to the series he seemed super cool, and then his story is hes just late to the tourney

[@ryanmacfarlane1831]

This is my first TEKKEN game and I picked Paul as my main. I saw main mans streak series with Paul and thought he must be pretty strong hahaha plus I found his and laws bit in the story mode absolutely hilarious. What I've found with paul is that I need to be really close to be effective and that a lot of my moves are very punishable. I just have such a hard time getting my opponents to respect me. The charge up moves are great but they have a really big wind up time. Paul also doesn't have many plus frame moves or strings which is difficult because when I tried playing other characters they had so many high/low/mid strings that could chip away. I also know I'm very much a beginner as well so I am still learning, practicing my punishes and checking frames etc but I do get wins much much easier with Victor who I played for a bit too see the hype. Pauls throw game is amazing, too the point where I think it might be the best in the game besides King. His crouch tackle mixups are fantastic and no one expects them. Overall I really enjot the big damage with paul and thats whats addictive for me, landing a launcher and ending the round is the best feeling but honestly, landing that launcher is still very challenging for me

[@ryanmacfarlane1831]

I found that with Paul my best bet is to bait a whiff punish or land a heat engager, obviously the only way to do this is get a good read on the opponent. Easier said than done for newbies

[@liviekumori]

He's really simple, but he hits as hard as a fucking truck. That makes him really appealing to me, though I just picked Xiaoyu and I'm not changing any soon lmao

[@MozartEstLa]

Much better video execution than Vars' incomprehensible ramblings

[@St4hlz]

I really do appreciate that they kept him more grounded to be honest. I used to main Kazuya and got really turned of by the whole devil look and lasers. The same with Jin. People may call it cool and flashy, but to me it just looks edgy and over the top. Paul staying Paul is something I'm very happy about as he seems more grounded in an increasingly ridiculous universe. Balance wise compared to the real big hitters his damage even seems lackluster. Yeah deathfist does a lot of dmg, but compare that to a full launcher from someone like Drag or Feng it's just not the same. Take away the fact that he doesn't have strings up his arse like Azu and other popular characters and suddenly it makes sense. In a game where defense is harder compared to flowcharting your opponents forever, it's just way easier to pick someone who will destroy people with much less requirement.

[@VoskiEdwards8744]

I love Paul and been playing him since tekken one! But you are 100% right its hard to keep up with the new players with basic Paul

[@tharnwow]

As a new player in Tekken , who plays Paul, i can say, that there is really a ton of annoying stuff with plus frames, that people do on other characters, while Paul has just simple buttons, no crazy flashy stuff to press

[@Bonzi77]

the moment i recreated his hair down look from t4 (using reina's hair) he suddenly felt way better to play. it sounds stupid or like i'm joking but i'm completely dead serious try it out some time. it just makes him feel like a more serious character

[@brentlee6616]

It’s like what tendo XI said in his video “what your tekken 8 main says about you”. He says phoenix players been playing the same thing for the last 2 decades plus.

[@Davidb5212]

Your videos are getting much better

[@Boogard]

Really appreciate it

[@supercloakedjr1674]

never been a paul main (considering learnin him tho cuz of a funny clip i saw, just to see if i can land it on someone) but i actually like his new hair! and his outfit looks sick too. apart from jin (he looks amazing here dont get me wrong but i love his tekken 4 outfit too much) i think every non-newcomer so far is having their best design yet in this game

[@Boogard]

I definitely think it's not as bad and people say it is. And yeah his outfit is really good

[@BeniBape]

I know I’m super late but you perfectly described why I didn’t like Paul. Now I haven’t played tekken for like 7 years tekken 8 is my first tekken and I was interested in Paul but when I played him he just didn’t feel right because he just felt boring but I’ve picked him up recently after playing drag for awhile and honestly he’s a breath of fresh air ngl so I think a legacy character kinda has a place in a game like this but hey I’m just a guy in warrior what do I know.

[@Brass_Heathen]

Yeah I feel like with all the changes coming with T8 mechanics and their decision to keep Paul classic Tekken that he really just comes off as old news. He honestly just feels like the default choice if you don't care who you want to play. As for making him rise in the popularity ranks? Just buff his damage 😅 works every time. 😂

[@Boogard]

Lol get ready for 150 damage combos 🤣 😂

[@TimeWarrior14]

Paul is the Ryu of Tekken. Both characters in my opinon needs to stay Legacy

[@blacklegsanji7108]

I'm a newish player who came into tekken during the end cycle of the game (like in 2022-23). Paul was one of the characters that i was drawn to. I think the reason he was popular previously was because he was easy and had big reward. Just look at how much damage death fist did in 7, especially on counter hit. Even if death fist gets harder to land in higher ranks, in lower ranks it was always fun to just throw the unblockable or a deathfist and take off 50-100% health. Other characters being strong don't matter In tekken 8 he's more well balanced compared to the rest of the roster and also tekken 7. Deathfist doesn't do nearly as much damage. The Unblockable doesn't work the same way. So there's less reason to pick Paul if you want that quick and easy reward. Further all other characters have been buffed in tekken, especiallly with heat. So almost everyone can do crazy damage and play as a "power" class.

[@Chris_7366]

I’ve been saying to make Paul’s 2 3 his new 10f punish

[@Boogard]

Good idea actually

[@Ninjabob568]

fully support this

[@TimeWarrior14]

Wait. 2,3 is guaranteed?

[@vaisenstv]

@@TimeWarrior14 only on counter hit.

[@Hau5test]

Vibing to the sonic music while I cook my lunch 🤘🏻😊

[@jewelsunniheartsfitnessanime]

Sonic mania music in background is a Win for this legend of Paul Phoenix

[@maximus0928]

Paul and asuka are my old reliables. Yeah both their looks got skewered but in a weird way it kind of fits their personalities

[@alvisenicoletti2927]

I'm a new player, this is actually my first fighting game (although I did mess around with Tekken 1 and 2 as a kid), but I still went with Paul... I'm at purple ranks and I don't feel like trying out any other character...

[@Boogard]

Respect paul is definitely still fun

[@cultured956]

Tekken 8 was my first tekken and I've only been playing Paul so far from february until now (I still play). The reason I like paul actually is that he is so simple, while everyone else is flashy. It feels badass to play a simple heavyhitter versus all these fancy characters. I think he might not be popular, because everyone else is just so cool? Think about how freaking cool all the tekken 8 chars are.

[@MDobs-ko8bp]

I'm a low tier where. I mained Paul and Yoshimitsu in every Tekken except Tekken 8. I went straight for Leroy. I just made it to Kinshin once I reach Tekken King I'm labbing Shaheen. Part of Paul attraction was he was like this character with tank controls, had good movement in neutral, but not too many moves that advanced him. He was difficult to win with at high level. It was a challenge. That challenge has been removed. Even in Tekken 7 compared to other characters if you just picked Paul up, it would still be easier to win with like Kaz or Jin or Lili, and so on..... The tech and challenge of Paul has been removed. Demo man used to be a real just just frame, ff2:1 used to be real. All Paul had was df2 and that's all he needed to be feared paired with his jabs that have very large hit box and d1 with very long range and being a 6 to 9 or up to down vertical mid. Now everything he has is good and it's just boring.

[@michaelpark4060]

As a first time player who picked paul this all makes sense. Initially I picked paul because I was told he’s an honest character that is good to learn tekken fundamentals with. That said, amongst the flashy characters, I’ve learned to love the simplicity of punching really hard 😤

[@LightningAlchemist13]

For me it's the back sway. I like Paul, Nina and Bryan but can't play them because my backdash is really just a reverse wavedash after years of playing Mishimas

[@BritbongZoomer]

I feel the exact way about Bryan in T8. Everyone is crazy as hell in this game but Bryan is just same old Bryan

[@MrZayJames]

I'm in North California we've got some heavy hitting Paul players here man ngl frustrating to deal with, but fun to play against nonetheless😅

[@CestJordan]

I’m a new player, I main Paul cause he’s a badass hard hitting biker dude. I like that he’s pretty straightforward, and few things feel better than hitting back to back death fists.

[@vaisenstv]

THIS. So much this. I've been a Paul main since forever and I've had the same feeling. I agree with you, I think it's because he is not flashy, nothing about him is. His main costume is meh, he doesn't have impressive gimmicks, etc. I still like him, but even other legacy characters like Law make me raise my eyebrow higher.

[@ZeroSleap]

Paul being Paul works great for me, having a character not become bonkers with new systems is also kinda nice. And comparing kazuya and Paul, well Pros play a lot more Paul than Kazuya for a reason

[@Nico-tz7ut]

jeah, paul plays extremely similar to t7 paul, theres not a lot to discover about the character. he feels like a t7 character in t8. he cant sustain pressure and be in your face all the time with + frames and strings like other characters. he relies on landing a ch or df2 or deathfist to do serious damage. he also doesnt have a easy approach tool like most of the characters like azucena wr3,2 or drag wr2. the character feels a bit out of place in the game.

[@runemaster-]

I'm one of those few people who mained only Paul and fell in love with the character since the old days (i started at Tekken 2). And in the older Tekken games, Paul was cool. He wasn't a goofy character. He beat Ogre, and his hair down in Tekken 4 looks super cool. He only started losing his brain in 5. So as a legacy Paul user, the one thing he lacks now is is coolness/ badassery image. In 5-7 he is stupid in the story / endings and I hated that, but at least in his gameplay, he still looks cool and badass. Now in 8, he is goofy even in gameplay. He smiles and while i like that but the smile isn't cool. The smile is goofy and more towards clownly smile. Plus the karen haircut. He doesnt show his seriousness/ love for martial art anymore. So the more reason people left him. Data agrees that NOBODY wants to play a clown. More so for newcomers. People wanna pick character that looks cool, and T8 Paul doesn't reflect that. Too much goofyness and clown aura even in gameplay, is what killed T8 Paul popularity. Visual attracts people and nobody is going to pick Paul if his new look is bad AND he also acts goofy in the gameplay. If Namco wants people to love Paul then they need to make Paul looks cool. That's just it. As a long time Paul fan of course I stayed loyal and even embraced his new look. As I showed on my art here, I tried to make him look cool with the new hair. twitter.com/dippypradipta/status/1743934664266662198 But I still kinda cringed everytime i see him doing the clown smile. Is asking a cool Paul design and attitude for Tekken 9 is too much to ask?

[@krzysiekj2522]

what's up with the subtitles? There are captcha available that are quite accurate.

[@Boogard]

I've just been experimenting with and without them

[@tristanherb49]

can you do a what happened to steve fox next?

[@JoyKazuhira]

i agree with the devs leaving him and just used for marketing. 1. in T7, you can control the pace with the f1+2 then check the opponents reaction to the next move df1. everyone has flashy moves now, some can even interrupt with just a heat engager. 2. theres not enough death in deathfist. they also changed the behavior of qcf3+4. 3. f4 and superman punch now is useless. f231 gone, no more free deathfist and rage art cancel comeback lmao. 4. wall carry qcf1 into 1 to ff21 not working anymore. his wake up 3 cant do counter hits anymore also his running tackle isnt even a thing now. 5. hair. that was my paul experience in T8. i main heihachi and playing paul for fun and stress relieve in T7. playing paul right now is just for players who has extensive matchup knowledge but for casuals like me, im not having fun anymore.

[@shinatoIV]

Paul reminds me of my dad and he's a chill ass dude

[@ShadowBlade79]

Paul's simplicity is the reason WHY I play Paul. I don't feel like I'm just hitting buttons at random and watching the screen explode. Paul, to me, is the Guile of Tekken. He's really only needed two moves to be successful over his career: Deathfist and Demo Man. The trick is figuring how to hit them consistently when everybody knows they're coming, and that's what makes him fun.

[@WackJack187]

Needs the tall paul hair

[@NhBleker]

It would’ve been nice if he got a special intro with Kazuya as opposed to Shaheen who didn’t deserve it. A special intro with Jin would’ve been cool as well.

[@keemorg3997]

As a new player (but has a bit of knowledge to the Tekken lore), I think Paul's arc was done. His sole appeal (at least from what I was able to gather from reading tekken wiki profiles) is being a contender in the Iron Fist Tournament. But the relevance of the tournament is decreasing as well (thanks to mishima bs of course).The more the tournament becomes insignificant, and so does Paul, I think.

[@Boogard]

Honestly they should find ways to make all the characters at least somewhat intresting in the story

[@cukkucake]

Haircut aside, I think he’s become less popular because of his defensive playstyle. Deathfist spam only carries you so far in ranks, and after that point you have to slow down and start playing defensively which I think turns a lot of new players off when they realize that. Personally, he’s one of my personal favorite characters to play, and from what I’ve seen from other legacy Paul players the majority of them agree that he’s a great character in Tekken 8

[@hand8007]

Something being easily change is no excuse for it. And you still see the hair every loading screen

[@GarrickJohnson-pc6ws]

Well I just started to play with Paul considering the fact that I can't play that well with kazuya I like Paul's basic technique I've gotten so used to that so people don't have to like him or pick him but I like him with his power and defense which still makes him a powerhouse fighter

[@Ninjabob568]

bruh idk was just wondering this. hes so much fun still.

[@hot-_-fries1254]

I plan on using Paul, he has good tools and plus moves on end.

[@houlines]

As a Paul player myself i have to agree with basically everything in this video i’ve been playing Paul for about 3 years so due to character loyalty i’ve stuck to basically all characters i played in Tekken 7 but as good as he is, he feels like a struggle to play with everyone being able to fly across the screen or hitting you from a football field away it’s been tough playing neutral and him not being flashy and cool doesn’t help his case. It also doesn’t help that Paul has been treated like a joke since Tekken 4 he hasn’t had anything interesting since then He’s gone from being the only one to rival the Mishimas in strength and the one to defeat Ogre to a Joke character. But despite all that Paul is still one of my favourites in the series along with King and Kuma so i’m always gonna stick to them no matter what and i seriously hope more people pick up Paul he’s fun and strong once you get over the weaknesses and he’s also a character which you can spend years learning cause he has combo routes with difficulty that rivals the Mishimas’ electric (QCF+1 pickup and Sway cancel into death fist at the wall)

[@Boogard]

Yeah here's hoping they do something more interesting with him in tekken 9 lol

[@Qcf2]

Paul player here since tekken 3, I totally agree with you, pauls feels really outdated, sure they gave him some new moves, but compare it to other characters in Tk8, he only feels like Tk7 season 5 addition. its really hard to use him especially now Ive reached blue rank. Its really very tiring to use him compare to ither tekken characters here in TK8, I only got him to blue rank thism week, compare it to my other main, Hwoarang, I can clearly see its much easier to rank up. I have also tried using other characters like Dragunov, Kazuya, Jin, King and Azucena, to test my theory, didnt get them to blue rank, but playing with them was a much easier experience compared to Paul

[@houlines]

Nah I completely agree with you Paul feels like a chore to play it’s hard to turtle in this game with so much focus on aggression. I got to Fujin with King yesterday and now trying to do the same with Paul it feels so difficult because of his defensive play style and with so many great long range moves that a lot of these characters have Paul is probably the most prone to being kept out and ironically as much as T8 is focused on aggression going in feels much more difficult with Paul than my other characters like King, Kuma, and Jack

[@TimeWarrior14]

I like that Paul isn't that different. We NEED a Legacy character. and Paul is still playing Legacy Tekken. I feel Tekken needs a reminder of where it started. I also feel Kazuya still is also Legacy. Paul,Bryan and Kazuya imo are 3 characters that needs to be like this

[@Zethisis25]

They just need to make the legacy characters faster. They are too slow for T8

[@DJFlamingO2]

I haven't played any part of the series intensively since Tekken 5. Paul was always my main character until then. So I naturally chose him again in Tekken 8 and immediately had fun with his fighting style again. I agree with your analysis. He's just too straightforward with his moves. The whole thing seems downright boring compared to many other characters. However, I also think that his iconic tower hairstyle should have been part of his P1 standard outfit. That would definitely have motivated some newcomers to try him out. 😉

[@benshadbolt1465]

I play Paul Phoenix in offline mode along with many others (Jun + Alisa are among them).

[@deanbrooks7297]

As a Paul player can’t tell you how much fun his wave dash is compared to Kazuya for instance however he really lacks in the combos department especially compared to Nina where you can get comboed for 30 mins after getting a crazy accidental launcher, why does everything she and Jin does launch?

[@gabrielpereiramendes3463]

#excelent Paul has been my main character since TK6. I am playing with him in TK8.

[@CaptainScorpio24]

i jumped from tekken 3 to tekken 8. i was a dr b champion in my childhood days in local game parlours . my next favourite was howrang, lee, gunjack , tru ogra , king ,, nina , anna, yoshimitsu paul least favourite were xiaou , julie and jin nvr played much and nvr won brayan was also good but difficult player

[@goldman2g547]

had a pockey paul for entire lifespan of tekken 7. wanted ro main him in 8, the single reason i didn't is the ub2 remova.l this move is a reason picked him up back then

[@cr1m5on43]

I’m a Lars main and I picked up Paul exclusively for the fact he slows the game down. I find myself thinking about too much what I have to do so Paul being simple and outdated lets me focus on what my opponent is doing. He is good but he definitely feels like he lacks stuff. Also great take and explanation, I couldn’t agree more.

[@Boogard]

Sometimes all you need is a simple character so you can focus on the game more

[@myv112]

Paul is the Garen of Tekken

[@Boogard]

perfectly said good to see another league player here

[@Lipto1337]

lol

[@viniciusdammski607]

funny that here in brazil he is the second most used, king being the most used one

[@shakibishfaq8627]

Faced quite a few Paul's in the last couple of days. Also Law after Law today.

[@decoy139]

The new design definitely sucks. But I tried Paul a little bit in the last half of the year of 7. And felt this “connection” in terms of movement (which sadly I don’t have with Feng yet😅) And his design from 7 (Road Warrior-like) and classic gi still rules. I hope our boy will get some nice threads in Tekken Shop🙏

[@decoy139]

But answering your question - if 8 was my first Tekken, most probably I would not pay attention to him at all

[@Guitar-Dog]

I miss df1b4 as my screw, he is a lot harder than in T7 hes not as heat intensive, bit like kazuya. He get demo man and deathfist and his 1,2 10f suuuucks Ff4 in wr3,2 was an ezpz beginner loop to do in T7 i think your right brother ❤❤

[@flerphead]

He has some good tools. Qcb4 is still good. He lost 2 good homing moves. In ub2 and b1(2). His df4 is way better now. Free b1 2 or f2 on ch. And only being -2. Ss3 not being -13 is good. His heatsmash is good. Df2 always good. Wallgame is good. A surprising amount of evasive moves. Like bf1, qcb1+2, df2, f 1+4. Good oki on fff2. Really Really good block punishment outside his jabs. His deep dash is good ws 1 2 and sway stuff is decent. But yeah in this hyper aggressive version of tekken he falls behind I feel.

[@crackcodes4014]

As Tekken pro player. Paul is my best character but I have to admit that It’s all about the frames.. Paul has the slowest or lowest frame attacks in tekken 8. While most characters has high + frames and speed which gives them the priority to hit you at first no matter what you do. The equation is simple. high + frame means priorty to hit first and punish.. Unfortunately, Paul was left behind by tekken developers.. It’s really frustrating when try to hit someone and he easly break through your attack .. %90 of his moves and combos are useless against other characters, you will get easily punished. Moreover, his attacks are easy to read. Paul has been wronged in Tekken