1. Gameplay

2. Characters

3. Development

4. Reception

5. References

6. External links

iOS
(-α)
{{Video game release|WW|1 April 2019}}

Android
(-α)
{{Video game release|WW|1 April 2019}}

Fighting EX Layer is a fighting video game developed by Arika. It is a spiritual successor to Fighting Layer and the Street Fighter EX series, and features many of the same characters from the latter. The game was released for PlayStation 4 in June 2018, with ports for Microsoft Windows and Arcade released the following November. A mobile version of the game, titled Fighting EX Layer -α, was later released for iOS and Android devices in April 2019.

Gameplay

Characters

• Area{{ref|a|a}}
• Blair Dame
• Darun Mister
• Doctrine Dark
• Garuda
• Hayate
• Hokuto{{ref|b|b}}
• Jack
• Kairi
• Pullum Purna{{ref|a|a}}
• Sanane
• Shadow Geist
• Sharon{{ref|a|a}}
• Shirase
• Skullomania
• Terry Bogard{{ref|b|b}}{{ref|c|c}}
• Vulcano Rosso{{ref|a|a}}

Development

Staff at Arika had been working on a 3D fighting game prototype to familiarise themselves with Unreal Engine 4.^[1] They decided to record some footage of the then-untitled prototype and release a trailer on April Fools' Day in 2017.^[1] The positive reaction from fans led Arika to turn the project into a full-fledged game, which they officially confirmed at Evo 2017.^[1][3]

Arika self-funded the development of the game.^[1] Arika's president Akira Nishitani remarked that the company had just enough funds to see the project through to completion without external help.^[6] While he viewed the game as passion project for the studio, he said that his primary goal was to keep the company healthy financially.^[6] 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.^[1]

The game's official title was announced in November 2017.^[6] A public beta featuring six playable characters was made available to download on the PlayStation 4 on 11 December 2017 and ran for two weeks.^[6] The developers used the beta to test online connectivity and gather player feedback.

The game was released for PlayStation 4 on 28 June 2018. The game was available in two versions: A lower-priced “light” version of the game included twelve playable characters and five Gougi decks. The standard edition of the game included all of the content from the light version, along with the playable character Hokuto and ten additional Gougi decks. Later, the light version was phased out and the standard edition became the primary release. Arika also stated their intentions to add four more characters from Street Fighter EX as downloadable content if their first-month sales targets were met.^[3]

On 11 July 2018, Arika announced that a single-player Arcade Mode would be added to the game in a future update, along with additional Street Fighter EX characters Pullum Purna and Vulcano Rosso being added to the game for free.^[4] The Arcade Mode update was released two weeks later on 27 July.^[5] At Evo 2018, Arika announced Pullum and Rosso would be added in an update on 5 September, along with a further revision to the game's Arcade Mode, and that they would be developing a version of the game for arcades in collaboration with Taito. Arika also teased three more forthcoming characters: returning Street Fighter EX characters Sharon and Area, and guest fighter Terry Bogard from SNK's Fatal Fury and The King of Fighters series.^[6] Sharon and Terry were added to the game in March 2019, while Area is scheduled for inclusion in Q3 2019.^[7] On 27 September, Arika announced a port of the game for release on Microsoft Windows via Steam.^[8] Both the Arcade and Windows versions were released on 29 November, 2018.^[9] A version of the game for mobile phones, Fighting EX Layer -α, was released on 1 April 2019.^[10]

Reception

Heidi Kemps of GameSpot gave the game an 8/10 rating, praising the fighting mechanics and implementation of the Gougi system while criticizing the game's spotty netcode.^[12]

Chris Carter of Destructoid gave the game a 7/10, praising its colorful character design and naturally flowing combat but criticizing the small number of game modes and the roster's lack of diversity in terms of gameplay style. He was divided on the Gougi system which he found an intriguing idea but was worried about the fact that some Gougi decks were only available through DLC. Carter also felt Fighting EX Layer made a few concessions for beginners and was aimed primarily at seasoned fighting game fans.^[13]

The game was nominated for "Game, Original Fighting" at the National Academy of Video Game Trade Reviewers Awards.^[14]

References

External links

• {{Official website|http://www.arika.co.jp/product/fexl_hp/eng/fexl_eng.html}}

• Huangshen Beidou
• Huang Sheng-hsiung
• Huang Shi An
• Huang Shih-chao
• Huang Shih-cheng
• Huang Shih-chieh
• Huang Shih-chun
• Huang Shih-chung
• Huang Shih-Feng
• Huang Shih Hsu
• Huang Shihou
• Huang Shih-peng
• Huang Shih Tsai
• Huang Shijie
• Huang Shin-chieh
• Huangshi, Putian
• Huang Shisong
• Huangshi Town
• Huang Shixie
• Huang Shixu
• Huang Shizhuo
• Huang Shuang'an
• Huang Shu-kuang
• Huang Shun-hsing
• Huang Shuqin