For Tokyo Game Show 2023, Bandai Namco invited us out to Japan to talk more about Tekken 8 and its various new features leading up to the release on January 26, 2024. This time, the Tekken 8 Arcade Quest takes center stage and we got all the details you need to know about it.
There will be a Tekken 8 Closed Beta Test (CBT) happening on October 20-23, 2023 for PS5, Xbox Series S|X, and Steam. You can register for it starting tonight at 10 p.m. JST (9 p.m. PHT) until October 11 at 4 p.m. JST (3 p.m. PHT).
What is Tekken 8 Arcade Quest?
The Tekken 8 Arcade Quest is the best way to touch virtual grass and socialize for players. It’s a virtual space where you can interact with other players using personalized avatars. From here, you can jump into matches or other modes of play. There will be 4 areas overall but only 2 will be available in the CBT.
The social aspect is one of the main focuses of the Arcade Lounge. You can communicate with other players through text chat or expressive emotes. You’ll also be able to go up to each other’s profiles and view their ranks, stats, etc.
Battle area
The name is self-explanatory in itself but what makes this area more exciting is its presentation. The developers recreated the atmosphere of famous arcades around the world for players to reminisce and truly feel the authentic Tekken experience when it had its beginnings in the golden age of arcade machines.
You can walk up to a machine, sit down, and choose to play with other players in a ranked match. Don’t worry, the matchmaking system will make sure that it pairs you with players of the same skill level in order to make the competition as fair as possible. The rank will depend on which character is selected.
If you want to have a more “peaceful” or chaotic time, you can just use the Quick Match option. This doesn’t affect your ranks at all and it just pairs you with anyone in the lobby regardless of their skill level.
However, if you want to just kick back and relax, you can just spectate other matches. Just like the old arcade days when you see a match going on in the machines or perhaps there’s a really skilled player, you can watch from the back.
Super Ghost Battle
While this has been a part of previous entries in the franchise, the version of Tekken 8 incorporates AI learning to make sure that the data is as accurate as possible. The ghost version of yourself learns everything from your gameplay. Each character will have a specific ghost for them.
When you’re playing with other people, you can look at their ghosts and play with them, and vice versa. The most dedicated Tekken 8 players can use this to their advantage in order to see what type of moves their opponents make in order to make the right gameplay adjustments.
Customization
In Tekken 8, there’s a lot of customization to lose yourself in. You can curate the looks of both your characters and avatars. There are a wide selection of hairstyles and clothing options to choose from. Both the Deluxe and Ultimate editions will include exclusive skins to show off for extra bragging rights.
Additionally, you can also customize the UI elements such as title, rank, and even the health gauge itself. Unfortunately, these options won’t be available in the upcoming CBT but they will be accessible by launch.
Tekken Ball
Tekken is not just a game of punching and kicking each other. It’s a franchise that is not afraid to get goofy. For Tekken 8, Tekken Ball is making a return.
Imagine a normal Tekken match but instead of attacking the opponent directly to damage them, you’ll be using a ball to do so. It’s chaotic, hilarious, and so much fun.
Tekken 8 Quality of life changes
Previous Closed Network Tests have already been conducted for Tekken 8. This has provided the developers with tons of valuable player data and feedback.
Previous CNTs had 16 playable characters. For the upcoming CBT, 3 more will be added (Azucena, Raven, and Feng) to make it 19 in total. 6 out of the 16 total stages will be available to check out with Ortiz Farm being the latest one that’s included.
The all-new Heat System has been a major talking point for Tekken 8 due to its immense potential for aggressive play. Staying true to the promise to keep it as balanced as possible, the developers have made a few more tweaks to help avoid extended punishment for players who match up against experienced veterans. This includes making the back dash more fluid, more options to work with for heat dash and heat bursts, and more.
As for the Special Style, more functionality has been added to make it a bit more viable and less limiting. New move options have been integrated with directional buttons for more flexibility.
And for those who think that Tekken 8 can get too visually noisy, the developers have made sure to improve visibility in matches. There are now options to either turn up or tone down gameplay effects.