Fighting EX Layer

Fighting EX Layer^[1] is an upcoming fighting game developed by Arika. The game, also known by its former working title Arika EX, features Arika's original characters, previously featured in their Street Fighter EX games, and is also a spiritual successor to both Street Fighter EX and the arcade game Fighting Layer.^[2] The game will be released in June 2018 as a PlayStation 4 exclusive. PC version and a physical release are also considered, if the PS4 sales go well enough.^[3]

Gameplay

The gameplay retains many of the mechanics from Arika's previous fighting games, such as Super Cancels, with the addition of running and the ability to sidestep. The fights take place in closed arenas, which also vary in size and width. Additionally, it features ground chain combos from L-M-H like in Street Fighter X Tekken, an auto combo and a simplified special/super command move input function known as Progressive, while Classic function retains its original special/super command move input function.

Fighting EX Layer also introduces Gougi boost, which contains every boost properties within the existing Gougi selections, granted the players this mechanic's various boost-ups.

The game contains Japanese voice work only, it will not feature a Story Mode (although a single-player mode is confirmed) and it will not support legacy controllers upon release.^[3]

Characters

Fighters	Debut
Allen Snider	Street Fighter EX
Blair Dame	Street Fighter EX
Darun Mister	Street Fighter EX
Doctrine Dark	Street Fighter EX
Garuda	Street Fighter EX (NPC boss)
Hokuto	Street Fighter EX
Jack	Street Fighter EX
Kairi	Street Fighter EX
Shadowgeist	Street Fighter EX2
Shirase (Bloody Hokuto)	Street Fighter EX
Skullomania	Street Fighter EX

Development

Fighting EX Layer is being developed by Japanese video game development studio Arika. The studio previously developed the Street Fighter EX series (which were published by Capcom) and the arcade game Fighting Layer which are spiritual predecessors to Fighting EX Layer.^[2] Following the release of Street Fighter EX3 in 2000, Capcom halted the series.^[2] Over the years, Arika pitched multiple ideas to Capcom for a new entry in the EX series, including a demo they created for a Nintendo 3DS game^[2] titled Fighting Sample. However, none of the pitches were successful.^[2]

Staff at Arika had been working on a 3D fighting game prototype to familiarise themselves with the Unreal Engine 4.^[4] They decided to record some footage of the then untitled prototype and release a trailer on April Fools' Day in 2017.^[4]^[5] The positive reaction from fans led Arika to turn the project into a full fledged game, which they officially confirmed was real at EVO 2017.^[4]^[6]^[7]

Arika is funding the development of the game itself.^[4] Arika's president Akira Nishitani remarked that the company had just enough funds to see the project through to completion without external help.^[2] While he viewed the game as a passion project for the studio, he said that his primary goal was to keep the company healthy financially.^[2] Nishitani noted that he was searching for potential partnerships with publishers and investors to secure additional funding, which would allow the development team to expand the game's scope and character roster.^[4]

The game's official title was announced in November 2017.^[2] A public beta featuring six playable characters was made available to download on 11 December 2017.^[2] The beta was available on the PlayStation 4 video game console and ran for two weeks.^[2] The developers used the beta to test online connectivity and gather player feedback.^[8]

Release

Fighting Layer EX will launch digitally for PlayStation 4 worldwide before the end of June 2018.^[3]

The standard edition of the game will cost $59.99, and include 15 Gougi decks and 12 characters as well as a playable version of Hokuto. A "Light" version including five Gougi decks and 12 characters will also be available for $39.99. Downloadable content will include "Type-A" and "Type-Gold" character color variations.^[3]

According to Arika, the game could also receive a physical release and a PC version via Steam if it does well.^[3]

Trivia

The game is the "evolution" of Fighting Sample, a 2011 project for the Nintendo 3DS that was one of many picthes that Arika presented to Capcom (as detailed above). The only footage shown of Fighting Sample were a gameplay video^[9] of Hokuto and Kairi, a group of screenshots^[10] featuring Blair, Shadowgeist and D. Dark, and another video^[11] showcasing Nanase, Allen, Darun and Skullomania.