Arika’s April Fools joke turned real game now has a real name that won’t surprise most fans: Fighting EX Layer. Arika is famous for developing the Street Fighter EX series and the arcade game Fighting Layer. The latter only saw release in Japan, and includes a boss fight against a shark.
The current character list will be familiar to Street Fighter EX fans, as they are using the most of the original characters first appeared from that franchise including Allen Snider, Garuda, Skullomania and a redesigned Hokuto, now known as Shirase.
Fighting EX Layer’s biggest difference is the「Gougi」system which functions like a loadout. These will trigger mid-match by fulfilling certain conditions. Think of Street Fighter’s V-Triggers, but wilder. Since these are loadouts, how you pick your「Gougi」will severely affect how you play a character, even if it is a mirror match of similar characters.
If you’re curious to see if all these randomness will work out or not, Arika will run an open beta on the PS4, right after PSX ends featuring six characters: Kairi, Garuda, Skullomania, Darun Mister, Allen Snider, and Shirase. Those attended PSX will get a head start as the game will be showcased there as well.