The Pocket Commander Returns: How Roger Jr. Keeps the Pressure On in TEKKEN 8

Roger Jr. has a ringside seat inside his mother’s pouch, but he’s part of the fight. She delivers most of the blows, and the joey gets his own animations as the pair work together. The Roger Jr. Starter Guide introduces a fighter built for close range, where simple inputs let players get straight to the important decision: whether to go low, strike mid, or grab an opponent who’s waiting to block. Season Pass 3 early access begins on November 12 in Europe, with individual purchase available from November 17.

Short Reach Makes Getting Close the First Challenge

Roger Jr.’s Commando Wrestling combines strikes, acrobatic attacks, and pro-wrestling throws. The developers describe him as a close-range specialist whose shorter reach can make quick exchanges difficult at a distance. Once he gets close, his stances give him several ways to pressure an opponent who would otherwise be comfortable waiting for an opening.

That’s a useful way to approach the starter guide. Learning how to get into a stance during a normal exchange will pay off sooner than memorising every follow-up. Start with a low and a throw you can recognise on sight. Once the opponent starts reacting to those, it’s easier to see why the guide gives you several ways to keep the exchange going.

Rocket Stance Is the Place to Start

Rocket Stance is central to Roger Jr.’s offence because he can enter it from relatively low-risk moves. It also simplifies the inputs for low attacks and throws such as Whirling Punishment and Uluru Hurricane Bomb. The point is to spend less time wrestling with the command and more time deciding what the opponent is likely to do.

Astronauts asks for a bigger commitment. The stance follows more substantial attacks and sends Roger Jr. leaping into his next move. Its options include follow-ups that retain the advantage on block, Heat Engagers, and an unbreakable throw. Rocket Stance gives a new player a repeatable way into the character’s offence; Astronauts is worth learning once you can spot the opportunities that let you use it.

Bobbin Dance Trades Heat Time for a Strong Mix-Up

During Heat, Roger Jr. gains access to moves that lead into Bobbin Dance. The stance presents a choice between an unblockable high and a mid that launches on hit. Ducking the high risks getting caught by the mid, while staying upright exposes the defender to the unblockable. There’s a cost for Roger Jr., too: these options use a substantial portion of his remaining Heat time.

His Heat Smash offers another route into pressure: it transitions into Astronauts and leaves him with the advantage even if it’s blocked. For a first practice session, it’s worth learning that transition separately from Bobbin Dance. One gives you a way to keep the initiative after a blocked Heat Smash; the other spends Heat on a specific read about how your opponent will defend.

Back After More Than a Decade Away

Roger Jr. first appeared in TEKKEN 5 and returns after more than a decade away, having last fought in TEKKEN TAG TOURNAMENT 2. His new story begins with a family argument that ends in the destruction of a G Corporation facility. Roger Jr. and his mother find themselves targeted in the ensuing manhunt and set out to deal with the corporation behind it. The developers carry that comic tone into his Rage Art, which takes the old gag of sending an opponent through the ceiling and extends it all the way to the moon.

Roger Jr. is the third playable addition in Season 3, following Kunimitsu and Bob, with Yujiro Hanma still to come. In mainland Spain, the early-access launch is scheduled for 00:00 CET on November 12. For anyone using the guide to prepare, the most useful starting point is also the simplest: learn one way into Rocket Stance, then practise making the opponent guess what comes next.