Tekken 8 is really hard. 

"Watch the video first" challenge: IMPOSSIBLE If the game is random, how did Yaz consistently get winning sidewalk whiff punishes? Makes you think. Anyways, **CORRECTIONS** - at 5:32, Arslan is likely not reading a mash. He's doing a high coverage move to beat downjab, flash duck, or stand block. He loses to sidewalk left or a quick button.

I really think the biggest takeaway from this is the same realization I heard you say a while ago: that you have to contest your opponent’s offense in this game. You cannot just block and watch what they do. Gotta press buttons. If you give them space to play freely, they will kill you. If your opponent is good, you must instill hesitation in them or you will not beat them.

What's really the hardest is keeping up with where the fk tournaments are even happening. Like Arslan ash played in a saudi tournament and that is like NOWHERE on my feed where I have a BUNCH of other Tekken 8 videos already cooked and served by the algorithm to me? Like BRUH!!!

The fact that Arslan even got out of the first 2 matches against Yaz shows his experience and will. I can't imagine just anyone getting out of those situations that was forced on him. Yaz seems so good with the way he played. I hope we'd see more matches soon!

To be honest that's how you play paul for like 20 years

Basically it’s the Respect or Disrespect mini game. The decision to do one or the other is an important skill that pro players have

I've found the transition from T7 to T8 extremely difficult, but after watching this, I think I may be starting to realise how this game is played. Great analysis!

I love how he says that he's not a pro at 25:37 and then immediately remembers that he went toe to toe with Knee and adds "-sitting in Saudi Arabria"

The "casino" comments were referencing the strength of heat as a mechanic to enforce multiple high reward (heal + dmg), weighted RPS'. So, when you show a non-heat situation where Paul makes a correct read and say "that's not casino gameplay, that's conditioning", it doesn't really address the concerns of the people calling the game a casino. Moreover, when the final round ends in a potential heat "casino" situation, you don't mention this at all. I wouldn't usually take issue with either of these occurrences, but it seems like you're trying to use this video to attack a strawman argument that people don't actually believe. Yes, conditioning and reads exist and can be made more consistent with proper pattern recognition. This does not disprove the existence of a heat "casino." Regardless, love the content and would love to see a dedicated video on this topic in the future 👍

Crazy how things changed in T8 from Arslan being possibly the bar none best in T7, to losing to knee, swe and yaz T8, not taking anything away from him, he’s freakishly good and so are the players I just mentioned.

I absolutely love how halfway through you're just "I didn't like all this forward movement cause of how Yaz has been playing, but Arslan is a better player than me and saw he wouldn't mash anymore". You are so beyond humble, and I cannot express how happy it makes me to have a teacher like you in the Tekken community. Sure you may not have won an Evo, but you realize that fact and acknowledge that there are some players who are just outright better. Thanks for being here Phi, you're a wonderful teacher and a pillar of the Tekken community. Cheers my friend

Great vid Phi. I would love to see more of these. I am currently struggling still with "playing Tekken 7" instead of focusing more on adapting to Tekken 8 so I found your analysis to be very insightful.

Taking what you said about anxiety and applying it there at the ending interactions, I think Arslan was scared to hit a button. I feel we have all been there as a player puts us in a situation after a few rounds, and we just hesitate and in hindsight we should have taken back control with buttons. Likewise, I think we have all been in the reverse where we realize that the player is too scared to press, so we can just go in and apply our 50/50 rent free.

The critical mistake: leaving Paul alive with rage

Love these professional match analysis

I know pros and other high level players have mixed feelings of T8 rn. But i will say this is more interesting to watch. I will also add that, if T8 is gonna have even HALF of T7s lifespan. The game will evolve and change in a very interesting way. And that is the most exciting thing about T8 for me personally both learning to get to high level and watching as much as i can. Im still a personal believer this game will be the best tekken of all time.

I really love these analysis videos that focus on some aspect of the game at a certain level of play. I feel like I learn a lot of interesting ways to approach Tekken from them, and they're always so worth rewatching.

Really good video. It really helps me understand the game better. I would love to see more like this from you!

Thank you for the analysis on the playstyle! Been struggling with defense in this game but forgot how much my defense changed in MK once I understood the down jab :)

As much as I like Arslan, losing with Azu to a Paul is pure joy to watch! Strongest in the UNIVERSE RAAAAAAH

You did such a good job on this video. I'm looking forward to more of these match analysis videos

This was excellent analysis man. Feel better soon!

This dude PhiDX sees and breaks down so many things in tekken. I could only imagine how savage he would be in sports doing the same thing with watching film.

Dude, you probably have some of the best tekken Content analysis on the platform right now Keep it up :)))

Great video, loved the analysis. Hope you cast more like this pointing out options, counters and great plays, really enjoyable watch.

So Yaz played a certain way but because he knows that Arslan will adjust and make counterplays, Yaz preemptively made counterplays for Arslan's counterplay?

I dont even play Tekken but videos like this are getting me to watch tournaments, thank you for your analysis

I love the way you break down these videos. Amazing stuff

I pefer the fast pace in T8 as a spectator. In T7, it was slow but it was still entertaining to watch pros break down each other's defenses and wait for the other to make a mistake. In T8, you have to go in with some sort of offensive threat, regardless of how insignificant it might seem, Just like how Yaz did. Even sidesteps feel more of an offensive move in T8. There was a comment from someone here that describes T8 perfectly. T7 is normal chess while T8 is speed chess. Hopefully Phi, we get to see you commentate on actual tournaments soon, you're probably the best play-play commentator in Tekken right now.

I love these coaching / match review videos. Please keep making these, I'm learning so much from them

Awesome breakdown. Love vids like this 😊

You honestly might be my new favourite content creator no lie. Your videos are mad entertaining and they're good for any situation. A lot of creators I watch are situational, if that makes sense, but you're a rare case of super fun, entertaining, and educational content all in one

Pokes does so much more damage than i thought :O Now i understand why they added recoverable health in the game

Great analysis into commentary on what type of game Tekken 8 is! What is sad is how it seems that T8 actually rewards mashers... which means there are lot more knowledge checks required to counter them. I haven't labbed many characters, but my instinct to balance this would be to give characters that have good optional string extensions that can go mid/low less good 50/50 moves out of neutral. This would reduce the pressure on an opponent to have to respect both neutral pressure (movement + timing game) and mash pressure (knowledge checks).

Great analysis. High level Tekken is so stressful. I only play(online) only on weekends because my brain can’t relax after several intense sets😂

Amazing analysis per usual my guy. Much appreciated and keep up the great work 🔥💯✊🏿

Aiming to cause anxiety is a cool mindset - paired with learning how they'll act when anxious . I've personally gotta balance that with recognizing when somethings working and sticking to it as long as it is lol, but definitely something to think about. Nice work as per usual.

More random or 50/50 choice doesnt mean its harder than t7.. It just mean u have to guess more and less play on reaction, not talking about balancing issue. Remember when kazuya got cd4 homing ? "Just block if u known its coming " i feel this way with t8 , less options select , billions of damage when u block with everyone has + frame on block , archétype are useless everyone as to rush down even if u play a defensive character sidestep are buffed af and its good , but a lot of time u cant even use it , backdash is nerfed af , so u have to press , less options doesnt mean its harder. ( I love this game a LOT but sometime i think people sleep on what make tekken a difficult game )

That was a really cool breakdown of a high level fight. It really makes me want to reach that level.

Thanks for the analysis, PhiDX. This was really educational. More of these in-depth, slow-mo reviews, please!

I love analysis videos like this. I like the cerebral approach to the videos bc I can learn the matchups and also get ideas and concepts to improve my game as well. More content like this plz! I wish u did MK1 as well lol 😂

Hey man, I never knew you existed until recently - but this play by play and the discussion of mind games is the most enjoyable analysis I've ever seen of any Tekken. Subscribed!

Hey Phi, hope you're feeling better

Ive been stuck on dragons dogma 2 lately but this video reminded me how much i love getting better at tekken and now im about to hop on lol

Beginner here, but I think I noticed Yaz wasnt doing korean back dash whenever he wanted to get space, but instead was just doing the classic back-back-down-back-back-down type of backdash cancel. Is korean back dash really necessary? I have been wondering if I should invest training time on it, or train something else.

Amazing analysis! Looking for more such video.

Yaz is a Chad playing Paul vs Ash using S+ tier character

Such a good video analysis You earned a subscriber

Good video dude!! Feel better soon and don’t get discouraged by the trolls

I really like the fact that T8 plays like this it's really aggressive and fun to watch. Watching T7 for past evos in my opinion was boring players would turtle up and the crowd would be bored waiting for the combo that would kill T8 it a lot more active and engaging and you can tell that this gameplay is in response to how the game was played in T7. I actually like the fact that top players like Arslan aren't winning all the time it makes the game unpredictable. It was really boring knowing that if there was a Tekken tournament and if Arslan or Knee was there that they would be the most likely to win. I like that basically everyone has a shot now.

insane Paul , i would love to watch more of that guy .

To me the SWL that got Arslan killed at 5:42 was a case of a no mixup mixup perhaps, because seconds earlier when Arslan did only one wr 3,2 Yaz immedietly tries to swl and arslan swr to mirror him. So maybe Arslan thought he wouldnt do the same thing twice? Or am i missing variables here?

Perfect takeaway, yes, in t8 you can't just wait around hoping your opponent makes a mistake and expose their timing more than you in trying to break your defense. You actually have to engage and that's good!

This may be a dumb question but when ur hard reading a high/grab should you be flash ducking by taping df? Just in case they do a low n u get the parry or just db?

I love that you shouted Trungy out. That's the homie, and he's 1000% right. Much of Tekken is mental.

Great review! Very informative and entertaining.

So happy to see side stepping ACTUALLY working unlike T7 🥺 it's so beautiful, THIS IS TEKKEN

Maybe the hardest modern fighting game, but lets ne honest, also the coolest and most fun one❤

I finished playing T7 about 2 years ago and was warrior rank barely, from then to now I’ve been playing MK and SF seriously trying to get good and learn all the ideas and concepts of fighting games and now upon doing the same with T8 I’ve reached mighty ruler with yoshi and beat people as high as kinshin several times, tekken 8 is hard but it’s significantly easier once you actually understand how fighting games work and are just patient. I’ve just made master rank in sf but need a couple months off due to hand tendon issues, can’t wait to see how far I can go with yoshi and raven in this game

Thank you for this deep in-depth analysis of two deathfists and a demoman

Two months in and we are all still trying to figure out what Tekken 8 is 😅

The way to defeat Pakistani Tekken is to mix a little crazy play with conventional play, and YAZ did this perfectly

Didn't know this tourney even happened, thanks for highlighting. I have another Paul to copy now. Appreciate the high level breakdown.

“It’s not gonna be a match analysis “ still giving me great tips 🤯🔥😂

Cheif's kiss on this run down. OUTSTANDING!

A lot of people don't know this so it should be noted that Paul actually has one of the best sidesteps in this game

For me, Paul (and Miguel in prev games) is a different mind game, because the more you deflate health bar to those guys, the worse it for you: demoman / deathfist mix becomes much dangerous, qcb 4 always on the table, d1+2 out of nowhere still exists. Most frightening thing from all of this, that it cost one of this missed moves and you lost the round. So in lead situation, personal "stopwatch" enabled to decide, whether you should push further, applying more frametraps for safety, or to stop offence completely, hoping for wiff-punishing of some panic moves. You never feel yourself confident, with this dude, he has such a good potential to win in "worst" situation

The heat burst and heat smash is essentially just a coin flip simulator, lowers the skill ceiling majorly.

21:45 I think Arslan chose that mid because it's also homing. Yaz had showed a few times before that he was willing to run up in Arslan's face, and then just side walk, so Arslan might have been calling that option out. 22:59 Ah, you picked up on it later 😂

You mentioned on the video: how was low parry weakened? Is that in comparison to T7?

I love your content man. Infinitely more helpful than any tier list or character guide. Knowing your character and moveset is only half the battle, mindset and tactics end up being the deciding factor when physical prowess is even just like IRL fighting.

17:34 why heat engager while wall blast at the same time does not heal gray health is it really a balancing feature?

Every match is worth reviewing when you review it 🐐

Love this breakdown. Ive been hearing players in the Tekken community have been complaining that that T8 is too easy. Its like people forget that pvp is about mind games and conditioning too.

I am excited for EVO Japan. So far tournament play has not been looking good but I am sure EVO Japan will look better. After that tournament we will have a good first solid base to discuss the state of the game for overall balance but also viewing experience of the highest lvl.

Also a point that should be made is using 2,1 as 10f punish for azu is bad. 1,2b lets you go into backturned and it wallsplats.1,1 goes into lib stance. 2,1 does little damage and gives just a slight frame advantage.

I hope you get to feeling better soon, Phi! Asthma sucks so much!

i really miss the back and forth in neutral at intermediate levels. I miss t7 blue ranks, basically lol

I am having a great time learning all the moves. Only playing against cpu for now.

Anyone can answer this. I bought the Razer Leverless a couple weeks back, been using default button mapping. For Kazuya specifically or Mishimas in general, are there any suggested bindings i should be aware of to utilize?

16:06 that low parry was just luck 🍀 and nervously. Oblivious no ona can see that. Amazing BTW

22:19 Some moves of Steve's are also minus in T7 (I think his d1 poke is punishable on hit) but now you can't punish it. Been fighting my ghost a lot and noticed I can't punish with wildman anymore.

this is so true you can win just playing poke and making other player makes mistake and take advantage of it.

Reeally, really, really good analysis.

Im only in garyu(hit shinryu for like 5 min) and people are learning if you heat burst and then heat smash that is depending on the character, trying for the low is worth it the 50/50. The parry was so clean to watch though 15:45

The fact that noone talks is regarding how to use the mchanics on yor favor, a d you explained amazing.

Good breakdown man.

Probably the best Tekken content to date still, doing God's work here. We are blessed.

24:30 the veritassium 37 youtube recommendation really wont quit

And that thumb nail is cold blooded hahahaha

Azucena: Who do you think you are to challenge the Coffee queen?! Paul: Yaaaazz girl! Yaaaaz~!

Maybe the best Tekken content right now. Keep up the great work

“Tekken is a game of anxiety” Holy shit I love that. Dragonov running 2 is a prime example of this philosophy imo. Every time I see that move I know what could be the outcome. It’s very possible to be steamrolled by the move. But there has also been matches where if I counter it in any way, they learn to stop doing it. Very interesting.

1:31 key to winning on T8 #pokeCity nice breakdown @PhiDX🤞🏾

The gameplay of Tekken 8 is very interesting! I don't like every character in the game and unfortunately Lei is gone, but I've found my potential new mains here and it also takes time to fully understand how to play Tekken 8 and games like Street Fighter 6 in the long run and in depth.

What noise cancelling are you using on your mic?

This analysis was 🔥

Can some one help why don’t some of your down moves don’t come out like Jin hell swipe it don’t come out sometimes and his down forward 2 will come out why is that is it cuz on my ps5 controller or is it me

Yaz does ws 1 but instead of going for the extension he goes low and people eat it up because of how much you can delay the extension

I tried asking this in the tekken discord but didn't get much help. Why do side switch grabs still side switch if the throw is teched? Shouldn't the reward for teching the throw be staying on the same side? The risk vs reward seems skewed to me. Especially since Yas was working very hard to keep Arland at the wall.