Despite the worldwide shut down, Exa-Arcadia has been keeping arcade news alive, and we’ve got another announcement to share. This comes on the heels of the latest story, that there are 200 Exa units out in arcades around the world.
Back in November of last year, Exa-Arcadia announced two new games that would be joining the roster: Super Princess Madelyn and a 2D fighter, Chaos Code. Today, the company issued a press release to announce that the latter game is available to pre-order and will be shipping this month* (with an asterisk that with shipping there may be delays due to the pandemic). Per the US rates, the cartridge only kit costs a few dollars short of $1500. This release is specially tailored for Exa-Arcadia arcade systems, which began shipping to Japanese arcades at the end of last year, and became available to the rest of the world this January.
To quote the release:
As the magnum opus of F K DIGITAL’s portfolio, CHAOS CODE: EXACT XENO ATTACK is the ultimate version of the popular fighter incorporating all content, superior controls, and 16 different costumes for all 16 characters from the series in a high paced 2D fighter that is now available for the first time to arcades outside of Japan. This conversion kit supports true 16:9 HD resolutions as well as a legacy 4:3 CRT monitor mode. In addition to English, Traditional Chinese and Korean language settings are also available. Prepare your location for a battle like no other. CHAOS CODE -EXACT XENO ATTACK- is shipping in April and available for pre-orders at the exA-Arcadia Shop or your local distributors.
Created in loving memory of Michael Lin, the producer of the CHAOS CODE series.
Chaos Code was first released to Japanese arcades back in 2011, with additional releases & updates finding their way to both the arcade and consoles including the PS3, PS4, and just a few weeks ago, the Nintendo Switch. It had not been officially available to arcades in places like the US during those times. The Exa version, as mentioned above, incorporates content from the original and New Sign of Catastrophe versions. This essentially creates the Ultimate Directors cut of the game, while supporting a variety of screen configurations that are common to arcades, as well as new language settings. This also marks the second fighter for the platform, following The Kung Fu Vs. Karate Champ.
I checked with Exa and also can include that this has been tailored and tested to “be faster than Nesica in input lag” and it also supports 4K arcade cabinets, running up to 4K/60FPS. Do note that both of these depend on the cabinet (I/O & screen being used; Japan doesn’t have 4K cabinets, 1080p or 720p being the most common).
Here’s a teaser trailer:
One thing to note is that FK Digital did announce that after March 31st, they would no longer be creating new games. As such, Chaos Code EXA is their final release (hence the “magnum opus” line of the PR) as far as things go at this point. The game development for CCEXA was completed by that date, all that needed to be done after the 31st involved QA.
As I’ve mentioned before, fighters have been in short supply in the West…this game is one in particular that Japanese arcades have been able to enjoy for a while, now it’s our turn. What do you think about this release?
I have an interest as long as there’s someone in my location who’s willing to host it. Otherwise I have to stick with the home port.
I know that there has been another AH reader in the Bay Area who has been asking locations to grab an Exa. I imagine if more players do the same, chances are that some place around there will pick it up 🙂
I’m hoping it’s the Player 2 bar because they just decided to expand their business beyond Appleton. However the shutdown has put their opening on hold, so I’ll have to wait and see what comes down the line.
D&B’s is still planned and I know their area is redemption and app titles, plus a few Raw Thrills titles. I seriously doubt EXA suits their bottom line, which is why I hope P2 gets something and builds real interest in the older arcade style community.