At a recent preview event at the start of December hosted by Bandai, I got to sit down with the final build of Tekken 8 to experience the story and arcade modes and to try out the its full cast. Overall, the latest entry is what you’d expect from a next-generation Tekken title, but one element of the fighter stuck out to me above all else—its use of AI.
AI always plays a key part in fighting games, and Bandai has already shown some interesting innovations in the past, like in Super Smash Bros. Wii U, where AI was attached to Amiibo, and the CPU would learn to fight against you and store the data on the figurine.
But the way Bandai is using AI technology in Tekken 8 puts it a cut above the rest. It’s not simply being used to make gameplay more unique but to make you a better player.
AI ghosts are the future of the FGC
For those unfamiliar, a ghost battle is a fight that sees you facing off against a CPU representing a certain player or dev. These ghost fighters are designed to mimic the fighting style of the chosen person and replicate it for others to test themselves against them.
In Tekken 8, though, Bandai is using AI to create the ultimate ghost opponent—you.
Through the use of technology, Tekken 8 will allow you to face off against an opponent that will slowly copy your style of play and mimic you over various battles, essentially creating an ultimate mirror match. How you play as a specific character against an AI will be mimicked perfectly, with the AI learning all your strengths and, most importantly, your weaknesses. So, for example, if you are using King, the CPU will learn how you play King.
Over time, if you show no signs of improvement, the AI will just be the best version of your current self. This forces you to improve your playstyle to beat the best current version of you, pushing you to grind to hone your skills and address any highlighted flaws in your gameplay. If you aren’t blocking much, then neither will your AI ghost. Of course, as you improve, the AI picks up and notices this and improves as well, making it an endless battle to reach the peak of your abilities.
Taking it for a spin
I was stunned by the use of the AI when playing as I watched my moves getting copied and used 1:1. The same combos, the same mannerisms: The more I played, the more perfectly the AI copied what I was doing, and I started to ask the question: What do I do against a perfect me?
At that moment, I had to come up with different combos and ways to beat my AI self. And then it hit me: This is the best learning tool ever created for a fighting game.
When it comes to getting better, players usually go online to play ranked, seek out a coach if they want to go pro, or try to watch and mimic other players through tutorials. While all these approaches can help you improve, they often won’t help you spot your flaws.
This method does, and straightforwardly so. The AI is so perfect that it copies your mistakes as well. You can spot it, learn from it, punish it, and add that extra bit to your game you didn’t have before. While I played against my perfect copy, I had no choice but to change up my style to beat it, and, in turn, I learned how easy it was to beat me on my current level. It taught me to improve and, in doing so, taught the AI opponent to do so too, until we were trading blows and trading combos and constantly improving.
Never did I think AI could be used to create the ultimate learning tool. Yet here we are. Not only did I come out of the preview event feeling like a better player than ever before, but I also came out with a deep understanding of how important AI can be as a teaching tool— when used correctly.
