Heihachi, Kazuya, and Devil Jin using Flash Punch combo. Note the differences in the appearance of the final strike.
Flash Punch Combo (閃光烈拳 Senkō Rekken?, "Glinting Fury Fists") is an attack used by the practitioners of the Mishima Style Fighting Karate. The attack consists of two jabs followed by a right punch that causes a knockdown.
Jinpachi also has his own variant of the Flash Punch Combo that only consists of the final two hits while Kazumi Mishima has a variant known as Burst Punch Combo.
Ogre and True Ogre can also perform the Flash Punch Combo in Tekken 3 to Tekken Tag Tournament, where it is slightly weaker but has faster recovery. Unfortunately, True Ogre would lose the ability to perform the attack in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, while Ogre's version is much weaker and all hits are high, and the last hit is only guaranteed on a counter hit. Jin Kazama in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, through Omen, can perform this move and other Mishima style attacks.
In Tekken 8 this attack is given a new animation and called the Flash Claw Combo in Devil Jin's move list. The effect and properties remain mostly unchanged, albeit with a higher knockback. Reina is also able to perform the Flash Punch Combo, although her version does not knock down but allows her to transition to Sentai though this transition can be cancelled with b.
In The Dark Awakens, Jin regains access to this attack when he reverts back to his Mishima-style Karate and during the final segment. Jin's version uses Heihachi's Flash Punch Combo and has a higher knockback, while True Devil Kazuya's variant has him summon crystals that home in and follow-up the third hit and deal chip damage.
Kazuya has an enhanced variant of this, known as Devil Break.
Description[]
The move is considered an exceptionally good 10-frame punish attack as the third hit is delayable while still being natural (rendering it as a hit-confirmable string). This means that the attack can be used to "check" an opponent in a situation where the player may be uncertain if there is a 10-frame gap without exposing themselves to punishment themselves as long as the opponent is in a state where they can be hit by a high attack. If the two jabs are successful, the third hit can be added after the confirmation and still connect.
Despite being formally listed as a mid, the last hit of the Flash Punch Combo would notably miss crouching small targets in Tekken 2 such as Jun Kazama or Wang Jinrei and was one of the "special highs" of the game. Since Tekken 3, the last hit became delayable and was now confirmable from the second hit. This property remained for all users except Heihachi in Tekken 6, where the last hit became blockable if delayed, and Ogre in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, where the last hit was not even natural unless on counter hit.
Additionally, the first two hits of the Flash Punch Combo were not a natural combo until Tekken 4. Also added in Tekken 4 was the last hit's ability to wall splat an opponent. Due to the strength of this, this property was removed in Tekken 6: Bloodline Rebellion, but only Heihachi's variant regained the property in Tekken 7.
Initially the move would only cause a basic knockdown but starting in Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection the move was given a somewhat unique knockdown effect where the victim would be thrown onto their back and slide across the ground briefly.
When Awakened Heihachi performs this move in Tekken 7's The Mishima Saga or as a boss in Treasure Battle, the last hit will be enhanced and will knock an opponent far away. Boss Devil Kazuya will replace this move with Devil Break.
In Tekken (Mobile), Kazuya's Flash Punch Combo became as one of his basic combo launchers in the game.
Trivia[]
- Initially, all its users shared the same animation when performing the move. Kazuya's animation was changed slightly in Tekken 4 due to his jab being changed, but he received a completely new animation for the entire string in Tekken 5. Similarly, Devil Jin also used the original animation before receiving an animation change in Tekken 6. Angel and Ogre's animations were also changed when they were reintroduced in Tekken Tag Tournament 2. As of Tekken 7, Heihachi is the only character left that still uses the original Flash Punch Combo animation. When Jin uses the attack in Tekken Tag Tournament 2, he reuses Heihachi's animation.