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Shaheen (Arabic: شاهين Shahin, Japanese: シャヒーン Shahīn) is a character in the Tekken series who was introduced in Tekken 7 as one of the new playable characters.

Biography[]

Shaheen learned the art of fighting from a young age from his father. One day, thirteen years ago, Shaheen saved a boy his own age from an assassination attempt. This boy, Salim, would become his lifelong best friend.

After being saved, Salim told Shaheen he should used his skills to protect others. He took Shaheen by the hands and asked him to be a bodyguard for him. Shaheen was welcomed into Salim's household, who were a prominant family in the local area.

Salim and Shaheen eventually went their separate ways when they grew older. Shaheen enrolled in the army, where he was noted for his ability in one-on-one combat, and later became a member of a private military firm, specializing in the provision of security services. Salim, meanwhile, took over his family's oil company.[1]

One day, Shaheen got word that Salim had died suddenly under mysterious circumstances. In the postmortem, the death was listed as accidental; however, Shaheen suspected foul play when his friend's company was suddenly bought by G Corporation and the management - all family members - resigned.[4]

Shaheen began to investigate the matter, and pried information from a G Corp Executive in the Middle East. He discovered that G Corporation were indeed responsible for Salim's death. Shaheen went to Salim's family and told them all he knew of his death. The next day, as he was about to leave, Salim's brother, Zarif, came to him and gave him the family's treasured blade that Salim had always carried with him. Zarif asked Shaheen to finish what Salim could not. Shaheen vowed to fight G Corporation's tyranny.[1]

Personality[]

Shaheen appears to be a calm and collected individual with a strong sense of justice. He is also forgiving, believing that revenge is not the answer and that even people as diabolical as Kazuya deserve a second chance. He values pride, wealth, and respect, and also believes that one must stand up to tyranny and evil.

Appearance[]

Shaheen has brown eyes and a short, trimmed beard. In his primary appearance, he wears a long red and white checkered shemagh with a black agal; beneath this, his dark brown hair is worn in a short, layered style with a full fringe.

Outfits[]

Main article: Shaheen/Outfits

Story[]

Tekken 7[]

Tekken_7_Character_Episode_-_Shaheen

Tekken 7 Character Episode - Shaheen

Official Website Profile
Shaheen works for a private military company that specializes in protecting dignitaries. In the army he once belonged to, he was said to be unmatched in one-on-one combat.

One day, Shaheen's friend, the head of an oil company, died a mysterious death. His friend's death was treated as an accident, but after his death, the company, which had been owned by a single party, was quickly acquired by a huge company called G Corporation, and all the man’s relatives involved in its management were forced to step down one after another.

Shaheen, who was suspicious of the sudden and inexplicable events, started his own investigation.[5]

Official Website Profile (English) & Prologue
Shaheen works for a private military firm specializing in the provision of security services. During his time in the army, he earned a reputation as an expert in one-on-one combat.

One day, his friend and owner of a company involved in the oil industry died suddenly under mysterious circumstances. In the postmortem the death was listed as accidental, but Shaheen suspected foul play when his friend's company was suddenly bought by G Corporation and the management - all family members - resigned. He began to investigate the matter, and a relative of a close friend confided in him that a demonic man was pulling the strings at G Corp: Kazuya Mishima. Shaheen struggled to believe a real demon could exist, but his investigations revealed that Kazuya could be worse than any of hell's creations.

Shaheen was torn: Should he take revenge for his friend's death by destroying that demon, or not? Wracked with doubt, he embarked on a solo mission to infiltrate G Corp.[4]

Ending Description
Before Shaheen makes his decision to make peace with Kazuya instead of taking his revenge after defeating him, Kazuya refuses Shaheen's treaty, jumping off of G Corporation tower and transforming into his devil form to fly away, much to Shaheen's surprise. Realizing how diabolical Kazuya is, Shaheen vows to avenge his deceased friend by apprehending Kazuya the next time they meet again.

Tekken 8[]

TEKKEN_8_–_Shaheen_Reveal_&_Gameplay_Trailer

TEKKEN 8 – Shaheen Reveal & Gameplay Trailer

Official Website Profile (Japanese; US English)
Shaheen works for a private military firm and is investigating the mysterious death of his best friend. Utilizing his "peaceful" negotiation skills, he learns from an executive of the Middle East G Corp branch that the mastermind is none other than Kazuya Mishima. The wheel of fate must have been turning that day 13 years ago when, on the same day Shaheen lost his family, he saved Salim, a boy around the same age as him, from an assassin. It was the first time he had used the techniques his father had ingrained in him meant to bring down enemies to instead save another's life.

Afterwards, Salim told him, "You should use such skills to become a shield for those in need." Then he took Shaheen's hands and welcomed him as his bodyguard. Salim came from the most prominent family in the area, and they did not think twice about taking Shaheen under their wing after he saved their precious son.

Salim was bright and full of knowledge, while Shaheen excelled in fighting. The two grew up respecting one another, even as they followed their own paths. Salim became the head of an oil company, and Shaheen, a private military specialist.

Yet even if their two paths had diverged, they could still work side by side under the same desire to protect the wealth and pride of others... Or, that's how it should have been. Instead, Shaheen now returns home to deliver news of the confession he'd pried from the G Corp executive regarding Salim's death to his family. The next day, just as Shaheen is about to depart, Salim's younger brother, Zarif, approaches him.

"I want you to finish what my brother could not," Zarif says as he hands Shaheen a sword. It's his brother's treasured blade, one that Salim had carried with him wherever he went.

Shaheen draws the keepsake from its sheath. Looking into its polished surface, he makes a vow to never forgive G Corp's tyranny.[1]

Tekken_8_-_Shaheen_Character_Episode_Ending

Tekken 8 - Shaheen Character Episode Ending

Character Episode Prologue
Personal security specialist Shaheen received a request from a Monaco oil magnate to secretly protect his daughter from assassins sent by G Corporation.

The organization was well-known by him; he suspected their involvement in the death of the friend who bequeathed him his sword.

Just then, his client said she was joining The King of Iron Fist Tournament, held by G Corp's adversary, the Mishima Zaibatsu.

Shaheen decided that he too would join the tournament and headed to the arena with the sword of his late friend.

"Your designs end here, G Corporation scum!"

Ending Description
Shaheen is the winner of the King of Iron Fist Tournament, and both Asuka Kazama and Lili are cheering for his victory. Suddenly, an assassin from G Corporation aims at Lili with a sniper rifle to kill her. When Shaheen sees this from far away, he rushes towards Lili and blocks the bullet with his sheath. Then, he throws his sword at the assassin, neutralizing him in the process. Later, Lili cannot believe that she was being targeted by G Corporation, and Asuka is impressed about the way Shaheen risked his life to protect Lili. Shaheen then looks at the sheath that was damaged by the bullet as he walks with the girls, with Lili thinking of extending his bodyguard contract indefinitely, though Asuka disagrees on that part.

Summary of In-Game Events
Shaheen is among the participants of Kazuya's King of Iron Fist Tournament, being the winner of Africa/Middle East Block. Shaheen faces Sergei Dragunov, but the pair's fight is rendered null when the entire tournament is suspended following an attack by the United Nations and Yggdrasil. Shaheen would then be among the fighters that join Lars Alexandersson in defending Yakushima from G Corporation.

In the good ending, Shaheen is shown on a luxury boat in Paris, France, with fireworks in the sky.

Gameplay[]

Shaheen possesses a plethora of oppressive pokes and counter hit moves, as well as having above average combo damage on both walled and infinite stages. He also has good tracking moves, good oki, wall-carry, and whiff punishment. Finally, he has a low skill requirement, making him easy to pick up and effective even when players are under pressure.

Shaheen's weakness lies in his mediocre lows. Excluding slides, his lows do not deal much damage, are lacking in reach, and are only used to gain frame advantage. His slide can make opponents hesitate and crouch, but Shaheen needs to commit to a mixup. Also, since he is crouching before doing a slide, it leaves him vulnerable to mid pokes and launchers. This weakness cascades into him having a mediocre wall game since enemies won't have much incentive to duck. Finally, his grabs are, at best, only marginally above average.

All in all, Shaheen is a very effective character that possesses the tools needed to handle just about any situation.

Fighting Style[]

Shaheen fights using "Military-Style Martial Arts" (軍隊式格闘術 Guntai-shiki kakutō-jutsu?), more specifically, Close Quarters Combat (CQC). It consists of punches, hand thrusts, elbow strikes, kicks, and slides. It is also highly acrobatic, with somersaults, slides, and leg stomps that slams and grinds the opponent's body into the ground.

Moves[]

Quotes[]

Shaheen/Quotes

Character Relationships[]

  • Kazuya Mishima - The man who was responsible for the death of Shaheen's close friend, Salim. Shaheen and Kazuya fight in Shaheen's Tekken 7 Character Episode, and Shaheen defeats him. Though Shaheen decides to spare him and offers forgiveness, Kazuya transforms into his devil form and escapes. After seeing how dangerous Kazuya truly is, Shaheen vows to apprehend Kazuya and avenge his friend's death.
  • Father - Shaheen was taught fighting techniques by his father at a young age[1]
  • Salim - Shaheen's childhood best friend, and later his employer. Shaheen was investigating his death when he discovered G Corporation involved in foul play.
  • Zarif - Salim's younger brother. He gives Shaheen his family's sword and asks him to finish what Salim could not.
  • Emilie de Rochefort- Shaheen's serves as her bodyguard in his Tekken 8 character episode, during which he saves her from an assassination attempt by G Corporation.

Trivia[]

General:

  • The name Shaheen is from the Persian personal name Shahin, meaning 'royal white Falcon/Hawk'. This name is widespread in Iran and throughout the Arabian peninsula.[6]
    • Falcons/hawks seem to be a common theme around Shaheen, as his shoulder pad is modeled after one, and one of his customization items is also a Hawk. Additionally, his hopkick, Altair (u/f+4), is named after the star of the same name, which originates from the Arabic phrase النسر الطائر al-nasr al-ṭāʼir "the flying eagle".
  • Shaheen's concept art was first shown during August 2014, as Tekken producer Katsuhiro Harada asked fans to give feedback, as to prevent offense to the Arab community, most likely due to an incident regarding the Tekken Tag Tournament 2 stage, Modern Oasis.[7] He was designed by illustrator NINNIN, one of several character designers and illustrators employed to create character designs for Tekken 7, with help from community feedback on social media, particularly those from Saudi Arabia.
    • Shaheen received favorable feedback, despite fans criticizing his appearance being "overly flashy" and too similar to an Assassin's Creed character. His inclusion was announced at Harada's twitter on January 1, 2015 with a released picture of a newly designed Shaheen, dropping the "flashy" features.
    • The reveal also eventually led to Harada making a statement on his Twitter account regarding any criticism towards including a Saudi Arabian character in the Tekken series.[8]
  • Despite being from Saudi Arabia, Shaheen is voiced by a Lebanese voice actor from Lebanon. He is also for some reason voiced in Modern Standard Arabic, rather than one of the noticeably different-sounding Arabic dialects actually spoken by local residents of Saudi Arabia (such as Hijazi, Najdi or Gulf Arabic).
  • Some of Shaheen's moves[9] are named after stars which have names of Arabic origin such as Aldebaran (アルデバラン Arudebaran) (his 2+4 throw), Altair (アルタイル Arutairu) (u/f+4), Taurus (トゥルス Tourusu) (his b+1+2 punch parry, called Falcon Shield in English version), Elnath (エルナト Erunato) (f, F+4), and Spica (スピカ Supika) (his 1, 2 strings).
  • Shaheen is often compared to Street Fighter V's Rashid in terms of design, and some aspects of their stories and fighting styles. Both men are Arabic fighters with moves that have a focus on acrobatics.
    • Both men have friends who were killed under initially mysterious circumstances which serve as the inciting incident of their respective quests.
    • Shaheen's hopkick, Altair (u/f+4), also shares the name of Rashid's Critical Art and his Level 3 Super Art in Street Fighter 6.
  • Shaheen is represented by the letters "ARB" ("Arab") in the game files.
  • Shaheen's shemagh and agal can be knocked off by his opponent in battle.
  • A shared sentiment among the Japanese fanbase is that Shaheen resembles J-pop singer-songwriter Ken Hirai. It is even mentioned in "ZIP", a Japanese news show [10]
  • During the Rage Drive trailer, Shaheen's original rage drive was meant to be an enhanced version of his Rapid Strikes which could re-splat an opponent on the wall. This was later changed to be a new attack entirely.

Tekken 8

  • Prior to his official reveal, Shaheen was among the characters that were in the roster leak in July 2023.

Gallery[]

Main article: Shaheen/Gallery

References[]

Navigation[]

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