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 Arika
(Street Fighter EX series developer) used this April Fools day to
debut a gameplay video of a new fighting game engine they're working on,
featuring playable SFEX characters, Kairi, Garuda and Hokuto. Several years
back, Arika shared developmental footage of a SFEX-inspired reboot
(on Nintendo 3DS), but it turned out to be experimental only. However, it
seems Arika never
actually stopped development of their spiritual successor to Street
Fighter EX, and clearly hasn't forgotten about the
characters they own the rights to.
Details are very very scarce at the moment (and let's not forget it's
April Fools Day)... but let's take a look at the facts so far. The "April Fools" video obviously features real gameplay of
a visually polished game in development - experimental or not.
Arika's official Youtube channel uploaded the original video. Here it is
below:
Arika
followed this up by announcing their company's 20th anniversary, and then streaming their "fighting game project" for a full 2 hours,
further confirming
that this is indeed a living, breathing game, of sorts.
Furthermore, GODSGARDEN pro-player Ryota "Kazunoko" Inoue was
present on stream to try out the game. You can watch the full 2-hour stream archive,
below.
Notable gameplay
elements in Arika's new project, include: Cancelable super moves, a
sidestep mechanic, chain
combos, and walled stages. The working title of the game is Fighting EX
Layer, and
the project is still heavily in development.
[UPDATE]
Check out some
awesome new concept artwork of Kairi, Garuda & Hokuto, below.
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✔Webmaster
Comment:
You know I
gotta weigh in on this one.... So, the game obviously had to be partially real to make a gameplay video
in the first place. (This is why I didn't get / fall for the joke.) Also
Arika wouldn't purposely play with our emotions for no reason,
because fans have been asking for an Arika fighting game successor
for a long time now. I only wondered when Arika would decide to
reveal the game that they're actually working on. But of course,
it appears they "revealed" it in the very same
day. 
But how real is it? Only time will tell. Will Arika finally
be bold enough to reintroduce their exclusive characters in a
brand new
title of their own? Or will they end up working with Capcom once again
to produce something with Street Fighter characters and
Arika characters? Either scenario seems like a possibility at this point.
In case you were wondering, below are videos of the
"developmental footage" mentioned in the beginning of
the article. This was an experimental project for the Nintendo
3DS (but was seemingly scrapped). Interestingly, the 3DS project features some of the same mechanics found in the
more-polished version that Arika is now working on.
(Videos
courtesy of my friend ARIKAFGC
on Youtube.)
One thing's for sure... Arika has been successfully secretive about
their project (which is supposed to be the actual April Fools
joke, apparently). I still don't get the joke (because I refuse to
let Arika play with my emotions), but in any case,
I'm intrigued. Game title possibilities? ...Arika VS Capcom?
Arika Fighting All-Stars? Arika X Capcom EX Plus Alpha?
Either way, if it has Skullomania, Allen, D. Dark, Darun, Cracker Jack, Blaire,
Shadowgeist, and maybe a portion of the
Fighting Layer
gang... I'll certainly buy it DAY ONE. 
Of course, let's not forget it is actually April Fools. But this
"game" is undeniably real in some form - if it is
actually made by Arika. In any case, don't get your hopes up too
much just yet.
~F.Yagami / TFG Webmaster
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Of course, FightersGeneration.com
will keep you up to
date on any new information regarding this work-in-progress title by
Arika.
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(Apr.
4th, 2017)
