5 Games Where The AI Cheats (For Real)

Sometimes when playing video games one can't help but look at the computer and say "YOU CHEATED!" 

Whether it’s because the challenge feels inherently unfair or you failed due to something silly, the thought has crossed everyone's mind at least once while playing games: "This game is cheating." While usually just a feeling, there is no denying that in some cases, it's the truth. But what about the games where the game truly does cheat—where the AI bends the rules specifically to ensure you don’t succeed?

The following are five games where that is exactly the case. These are titles we have encountered personally, and there is no denying the AI cheated.

Sonic Shuffle

For those who are unaware of Sonic Shuffle, it was a party game developed by SEGA and Hudson Soft—the developers behind Mario Party—and featured the main characters from the previously released Sonic Adventure. Following the typical virtual board game formula, players pick their favorite character, move through spaces, complete events, and score points to win. In Sonic Shuffle's case, points come from collecting Precious Stones hidden across each board. These are guarded by boss monsters that must be defeated to obtain them. In the end, the player who collects the most stones while completing other game challenges wins.

Although Sonic Shuffle is very much like Mario Party, the key differences come in a few different forms. First, players are not forced to move in one direction; backtracking is allowed and there are multiple paths to traverse. Some characters also have abilities that allow them to use spaces uniquely their own—such as Tails' fly space—and some can use special abilities to travel farther, like Sonic. Additionally, "choose your own adventure" event scenes can happen, RPG-like fights occur from time to time, and mini-games only start if someone lands on a mini-game space. While these differences help Sonic Shuffle stand out from other party games, none of them are what allow the AI to cheat.

(Image Credit: Sonic Retro)

That reputation comes from the game's unique Card System. Rather than rolling a die, Sonic Shuffle uses cards to move, with each player being given their own set at the beginning of the game. Each card has a number—for example, a 2 or a 5—and the number displayed is the maximum number of spaces one can move. Once a card is chosen, it is "rolled" like a die, with the resulting number being anywhere from 1 to that upper limit. A 5 card, for instance, could end up rolling anywhere from 1 to 5, but nothing more or less. The catch is that players can actually use other players' cards to move as well, but the opponents' hands are invisible. A human player draws blindly and could end up with anything; however, it is a completely different story for the AI, as it always knows what is in store.

The AI can see everyone's hands, and it will always pick the card it needs, when it needs it. Not only that, the computer will also "randomly" land on the required number every time. If a boss fight requires a 7 and you have an 8 card, the AI will take your 8 and ensure it lands on a 7. This happens time and again with no way to stop it. This makes Sonic Shuffle much more difficult than it should be, but thankfully, the AI isn't smart enough to plan ahead. You can "cheat" back by simply moving your character to the next Precious Stone location rather than the current one. Because Precious Stones always appear in the same order on each map, knowing the future allows you to outsmart the AI and come out ahead.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted (and Racing Games in General)

(Image Credit: EA)

For our next entry, we have to touch on one of the most dreaded features to ever grace video games: rubber banding. Our primary example is the popular Need for Speed: Most Wanted, though this phenomenon applies to many racing titles, including much of the Need for Speed series itself. Rubber banding is a system designed to keep AI opponents on track—literally. In racing games, a player is often required to be perfect, as even the smallest mistake can spell disaster. Taking a corner too tightly, sliding into the grass, hitting a wall, spinning out, or simply driving on the wrong part of the track can set you back by precious seconds. This is all a standard part of racing, and most simulators or arcade racers do not offer a catch-up mechanic to put you back in the running, unlike titles such as Mario Kart.

Of course, one way to win a race is to ensure you drive perfectly while letting the other racers make mistakes, including crashes you might have caused yourself. If you cut someone off to prevent them from passing, only to watch them fly off the track and hit a wall, you might think that is one less racer to worry about. As the rest of the pack blows past them, you assume they are out of the race—but thanks to rubber banding, that isn't always the case. An AI opponent who just dropped from 2nd to 15th place in a matter of seconds could be flying past you only moments later. The system resets the AI on the track, grants them a massive speed boost, and allows them to continue as if nothing ever happened. The original Need for Speed: Most Wanted is notorious for being one of the worst offenders of this mechanic.

(Image Credit: EA)

Due to the sheer strength of the rubber banding in Most Wanted, the majority of the race often feels like it doesn't even matter. While players must stay in the lead simply to avoid falling too far behind, the winner is usually only decided during the final stretch. Even if you feel you have a forty-second head start, you can still be passed the moment you approach the finish line. As someone who has played far too many racers, I cannot recount how many times I have lost a race by 0.01 seconds simply because the AI magically appeared beside me and floored it.

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne

Shin Megami Tensei III: Nocturne is a classic. Moving past the series' initial first-person dungeon-crawling roots, Nocturne featured a full 3D world and introduced players to the Press Turn Battle System, which would go on to become a series staple. Although games in the series are known for their difficulty, the thing that makes Shin Megami Tensei so great is the fact that there is no challenge that cannot be overcome. The battle system rewards players for hitting enemy weaknesses and landing critical hits, which results in extra turns. Conversely, if you hit an enemy with an attack they are resistant to, you lose a turn—but these same rules apply to the enemies as well.

Thanks to this system, the entire series places a massive focus on building teams around specific enemy types and bosses, utilizing plenty of buffs and debuffs to tip the scales. Additionally, the games ensure you have access to the exact tools you need, but it is up to the player to realize this and go out of their way to capture the necessary demons. Since nearly every enemy in the game can be recruited or used as a resource to fuse new party members, there is really no excuse for getting "stuck" other than being unprepared. If a boss takes you down easily, it is simply time to take a step back, reevaluate your current party, and try again.

So, why is Nocturne on this list? The answer is Mot. Mot is a boss fought later in the game that has the potential to be a complete nightmare. He possesses a skill called Beast Eye, which grants him extra turns, and he has the capability to use it repeatedly. This means Mot can effectively never end his turn, dishing out attacks indefinitely. Normally, this would be countered by bringing a party that can block or reflect his attacks—thereby ending his turn cycle—but that doesn't work here. Outside of Beast Eye, Mot’s favorite attack is Megidolaon, an "Almighty" elemental skill that cannot be blocked or resisted. In certain loops, your only choice is to watch Mot move and attack endlessly until your party is wiped out.

So how do you beat him?

Thankfully the above situation is an extreme that doesn't always happen. By simply leveling up and by using buffs and debuffs, one can take him down without too much trouble. This is fully a case of the AI cheating when it wants to cheat, and it seems to happen more often on harder difficulties. Otherwise, you should be fine.

TEKKEN

(Image Credit: Bandai Namco)

TEKKEN is a classic 3D fighting game that marked the start of a long-running series. While the game is played from a side-view perspective like other fighting titles, the world itself is fully 3D, allowing for sidestepping. Additionally, rather than using a typical control scheme, TEKKEN introduced specific buttons for each limb, allowing for greater control over a character's actions. Combos are created by alternating button presses based on the character's positioning and by inputting specific commands with the D-pad.

The system established in the original game served as the foundation for the entire TEKKEN series and is still used to this day. Of course, new features and mechanics have been added or altered over time, but the core of TEKKEN has remained the same. However, there is one major problem: the AI in the original game cheated, making it one of the most difficult titles to actually complete.

Many fighting games feature AI that puts the player at a disadvantage. Boss characters often have buffed health, take less damage, and hit harder; sometimes, they even remain in a special state or transformation for the entire fight. These situations are designed to challenge the player while still following the general rules of the game. Heihachi Mishima, on the other hand, does not follow those rules.

(Heihachi as seen in TEKKEN 8)

While "input reading" is a problem with every AI-controlled character in the original TEKKEN, Heihachi is the worst offender. The game flat-out reads the player's inputs and reacts the instant a command is given. If you press a punch button, the game doesn't just tell your character to punch—it simultaneously tells Heihachi that you are punching and that he should block. This applies to every single input, with Heihachi reacting instantly to everything you throw at him.

The only way to beat Heihachi is to beat him at his own game. Rather than being the aggressor, you must predict his movements and trick him into attacking first. If you manage to block his combo, you can then punish him just as he would punish you, eventually emerging victorious. It isn't easy, to say the least, but it is the only method that truly works.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories 

For the final game on our list, we're going with a title that fellow Netto's Game Room writer Sagi recommended. While I'm not a huge Yu-Gi-Oh! fan like others here on the site, there was a point in my life when I collected the cards and watched the anime. That being said, I never bothered playing the video games—except for one.

Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories is a game my cousin forgot at my house one day and never came back to reclaim. After it sat on my shelf for months, I finally decided to give it a try, and I was surprised. The game not only takes players back to ancient Egypt to follow Atem, but it also features a modern-day story where we are put in the shoes of Yugi. It honestly seemed really fun, and I was excited to give it a go, but I could never get far. Over the following months, I would try again and again, but I’d always lose and simply give up.

Back when I was a kid, I just chalked it up to bad luck or me not understanding how to play Yu-Gi-Oh! correctly, but it turns out neither was the case. In Forbidden Memories, the AI flat-out cheats.

If you are not familiar with Yu-Gi-Oh!, the only thing you really need to know for the sake of this article is that it is a card game. Players draw monsters, place them on the field, attack the opponent's monsters, and use Trap and Magic cards to aid them along the way. If a monster is defeated, the player's Life Points decrease, and if they hit zero, they lose. Players are usually at the mercy of the cards they draw, making the best of what they have to hopefully come out on top. While players must build their decks and prepare before matches, the AI can do whatever it wants.

In Forbidden Memories, the AI cheats in several ways. Aside from having access to far better cards than you, their decks are always stacked in one of several predetermined patterns. This ensures the AI is always favored and almost never draws a "dead" hand. Furthermore, the AI can always "see" your face-down cards (cards on the board that are hidden from the opponent) and will never attack with a monster that cannot win the fight.

To top it all off, let’s assume you manage to reach the final boss—though, let’s face it, most players quit long before then. You need to know that while your deck consists of 40 cards and you draw up to five each turn, the final boss—whom you must face after a gauntlet of several other fights with no way to save—has a hidden hand size of 20 cards. This means the final boss has access to half his deck at any given moment, while you only have access to an eighth. Good luck with that!

Sadly, the only way through Forbidden Memories is to brute-force it by grinding. You must play hundreds of free matches, stock up on the best cards, rely on the luck of the draw, and use every tactic in your arsenal. Just know that whatever you do, the AI will counter it, so you must be prepared for those counters as well. It is extremely "cheap" and remains one of the hardest games on the original PlayStation, but it is possible to finish it.

And that's our list of 5 Games Where The AI Cheats (For Real)! Of course there are many other games that could've been included on this list, but I chose five games that simply stood out to me. But what about you? Is there a game we didn't mention that should've been on this list? Let us know in the comments below!