What is the Arcade Quest game mode in Tekken 8?
Tekken 8 has not one, but two story modes - one of which is in the form of the Arcade Quest. The first is all about continuing the larger Tekken story of Jin Kazama fighting to stop his father, but Arcade Quest makes you the protagonist. It’s great to get more bang for your buck, but what exactly is this new Arcade Quest story mode?
Does Tekken 8’s Arcade Quest have a story?
Click to enlargeArcade Quest is a separate story mode in Tekken 8 that sees you create a Mii-esque avatar to send into in-game arcades stacked with Tekken 8 cabinets. It’s a lovely little bit of nostalgia, evoking the times when avid fighting game fans would have to gather in these physical spaces to hone their skills and shove quarters into hungry machines.
Your goal is to prove you’re the best Tekken 8 player out there and climb the ranks of the various arcades so you can enter the big tournament. The story is so saccharine it borders on camp, especially with the chibi-like appearances of the avatars, but it’s less cinematic than the main narrative so your focus will mostly be on fighting and training.
Is Tekken 8’s Arcade Quest worth playing?
Click to enlargeIt’s a brilliant mode for beginners to Tekken, and fighting games generally. You start off by picking a character, then a friendly NPC named Max will give you helpful tutorials so that you can master their staple moves and strategies. You then take on NPC opponents at the various arcades you’ll unlock by progressing the story of Arcade Quest. Each fight displays the combos you just learned so you can practice them in real-time. You'll earn in-game currency to spend on customising your fighters and avatars by playing matches, and wins increase your rank with your chosen fighter.
Arcade Quet really pushes character customisation on you. Characters central to the story frequently mention it, and lots of the NPCs you’ll face off against have dripped out their fighters. It keeps things visually interesting and serves as useful inspiration for your own fighter designs. While veteran players may not have any need for tutorials, the ability to quickly earn in-game currency and experience another storyline should make at least one run-throughugh of Arcade Quest worthwhile.
Are all fighters in Arcade Quest?
Click to enlargeYou can use any fighter and swap characters at any time, but each will rank up independently. This not only gives Arcade Quest a lot of replay value, but challenges you to master each fighter in Tekken 8. Max’s tutorials teach the same strategies and types of move for each character, but with the inputs changed to match whichever fighter you’re using at the time, so you can use this mode to practice with all your favourites.
Once you’ve done a tutorial (they’re skippable, if you already know how to play or aren’t interested in training) Max will set some missions to be completed during fights in a specific arcade. These can range from simply pulling off a certain move or stringing together huge damage with complex combo chains. I nearly broke my controller trying to master Reina’s tornado, but hitting it in a real fight gave me a rush of ecstasy I couldn’t put into words.
I can see why Jin’s story is the one at the forefront of Tekken 8, but Arcade Quest isn’t one to be slept on. It’s the perfect entry point for newbies to the series, and returning players will still get a lot of value out of the increasingly challenging NPC fights, too.
For more Tekken 8, check out our review and see if you can crossplay with other platforms.
