Three characters: Heihachi Mishima, Kazuya Mishima, and Marshall Law would come close, having been playable in seven installments.
While King and Kuma also have been playable in all the games but as two different characters, with King I and Kuma I being in first two games and King II and Kuma II being in remaining games. Only three characters have been playable in all eight main Tekken installments to date: Yoshimitsu, Nina Williams, and Paul Phoenix. In the story mode of the game, each character generally has their own personal reasons for entering the tournament and competing for the prize. A few characters have supernatural origin, such as Devil and Ogre, while animal characters like Kuma the bear and Roger the kangaroo provide comic relief. Players can choose from a diverse cast that hails from a variety of ethnic backgrounds and fighting styles.