Fighting EX Layer

• 1. Introduction

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  Fighting EX Layer is a 2018 fighting video game built and published by the Japanese studio Arika. On April Fools' Day in 2017, Arika posted online footage of an unnamed fighting game prototype. Staff had built it while experimenting with Unreal Engine 4. Nobody had announced a new project. Fans reacted well, and Arika turned that footage into a real game, confirmed publicly at the Evo 2017 tournament. The finished game became a spiritual successor to two earlier Arika titles. One was Fighting Layer from 1998; the other was the Street Fighter EX series, which ran from 1996 to 2000. It reused many of the same fighters. What convinced Arika to build a new entry in a series Capcom had shelved? How did Arika pay for the project without an outside publisher? And what happened to the roster and the finished game once players got their hands on it?

• 2. Combat Systems

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  Battles in Fighting EX Layer take place inside closed arenas that vary in size and width, rendered in a 2.5D environment. The game keeps two mechanics from Arika's earlier fighting titles, Super Cancels and juggling, while adding a new running mechanic on top of them. Fighters can also chain ground combos automatically through an auto-combo system, or switch to an optional Progressive mode that simplifies command inputs. A separate system called Gougi Boost hands out extra bonuses and enhancements mid-match, drawn from Gougi decks that players customize before a fight begins.

  Fighting EX Layer Another Dash, the Nintendo Switch port released in 2021, removes Gougi decks from the game entirely. In their place, it introduces five new mechanics: EX-Dash, EX-Arrow, EX-Illusion, Cancel Break, and Super Cancel. Each one costs one bar of the player's gauge to use. That gauge cost meant even the running mechanic and ground chains introduced years earlier now competed for the same limited resource.

• 3. The Roster

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  Thirteen playable characters shipped with Fighting EX Layer when it launched, and every one of them had appeared before in the Street Fighter EX series. The lineup included Allen Snider, Blair Dame, Darun Mister, Doctrine Dark, Garuda, Jack, Kairi, Sanane Suzuki, Shadow Geist, and Skullomania.

  A female version of Skullomania later became playable downloadable content in SNK Heroines: Tag Team Frenzy, a separate crossover fighting game. Costumes based on Fighting EX Layer's cast also appeared as additions inside Street Fighter V, carrying the character designs into Capcom's own series. Four more fighters joined later at no extra cost, and one further guest character arrived as a paid download, pushing the final roster to eighteen.

• 4. A Self-Funded Return

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  Capcom, the publisher behind the Street Fighter EX series, halted that series after Street Fighter EX3 released in 2000. Arika pitched Capcom multiple ideas for a new entry over the following years. One was a demo built for a Nintendo 3DS game, but none of the pitches succeeded.

  Arika's president, Akira Nishitani, said the studio funded Fighting EX Layer itself and had just barely enough money to finish the game without external help. He described the project as a passion project for the studio, but said his main priority was keeping the company financially healthy. He also said he was searching for potential partners among publishers and investors, hoping to expand the game's scope and roster. Whether that partner ever arrived would shape how far the roster could grow beyond its starting lineup.

• 5. Building The Release

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  Arika announced Fighting EX Layer's official title in November 2017. A public beta with six playable characters went live on PlayStation 4 on the 11th of December 2017 and ran for two weeks. Developers used it to test online connectivity and gather player feedback.

  The game reached PlayStation 4 on the 28th of June 2018, sold in two versions. A cheaper light edition offered twelve playable characters and five Gougi decks, while the standard edition added the fighter Hokuto plus ten more Gougi decks. Arika phased out the light version in February 2019, leaving the standard edition as the only release. The studio also said it would add four more Street Fighter EX characters as downloadable content if first-month sales hit its targets.

  On the 11th of July 2018, Arika announced a coming single-player Arcade Mode, alongside two free character additions, Pullum Purna and Vulcano Rosso. The Arcade Mode itself arrived two weeks later, on the 27th of July. At Evo 2018, Arika confirmed Pullum and Rosso would join the game on the 5th of September. The announcement also included a further revision to Arcade Mode and a new arcade version built in partnership with Taito. The studio also teased three more fighters. Sharon and Area were both returning from Street Fighter EX, while a guest character, Terry Bogard, came from SNK's Fatal Fury series. Sharon and Terry joined the game in March 2019, and Area followed the next July. On the 27th of September, Arika announced a Windows port through Steam. That port and a dedicated arcade version launched together on the 29th of November 2018. A pared-down mobile release, Fighting EX Layer -α, followed for iOS and Android on April Fools' Day 2019. By the time all those pieces were in place, critics had already begun weighing in on the finished game.

• 6. Critical Reception

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  Heidi Kemps of GameSpot scored Fighting EX Layer 8 out of 10. She praised its fighting mechanics and how the Gougi system was implemented, while criticizing spotty netcode.

  Chris Carter of Destructoid rated the game 7 out of 10. He praised its colorful character designs and naturally flowing combat. He criticized the small number of game modes and felt the roster lacked variety in gameplay style. Carter was divided on the Gougi system itself, calling it an intriguing idea while worrying that some Gougi decks were locked behind downloadable content. He also felt the game offered few concessions for newcomers, geared primarily toward seasoned fighting game fans.

  Fighting EX Layer was nominated for Game, Original Fighting at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards. Brawlout won the category instead, leaving Arika's self-funded fighter as a nominee rather than a winner in its one recorded shot at industry recognition.