There are a few new fighting games coming to arcades in the very near future, names you might know including Omen of Sorrow and Phantom Break Omnia. This news broke at the IAAPA 2023 trade show and this post serves as a part of that segmented coverage. In the past, I had thrown everything together in day posts, but it seems that people miss a lot when done that way. This year, I will keep it limited to each company. Click here for some general IAAPA 2023 coverage.
In this case, this post serves as the news center for exA-Arcadia. I’ve covered this company many times in the past and I operate two cabinets at my location. They have been heavy on ‘shmup’ style games but now are shifting focus to a different arcade favorite: the fighter. They didn’t have a booth at the show, but did have a cabinet at the AVS Companies booth. Let’s take a look:
Arcana Heart 3 Xtend
The Arcana Heart series is a fighter with anime art style and all of the characters are female. Way back in time, Andamiro USA had sold Arcana Heart 2 to arcades in the US, otherwise its a game that finds most of its fans in Japan. It also has a deep fighting system (that I won’t pretend to understand) and quite a roster of characters.
An exact release date was not given but it was stated that the game will ship by the end of the year. Stay tuned for news on when it is available to order.
Omen of Sorrow: Arising Chaos
Arcana Heart had been announced long ago but two new revelations came along at IAAPA. The first is Omen of Sorrow AC, a new version of a fighter that has been out for a few years. The first thing that jumped out at me on this game are the graphics – I would venture to say it has the best visuals of any game on the exA platform. There are other 3D looking fighters on exA, but this has more polish. The same can be said for how the fighting is handled. We didn’t have any moveset lists, so had to figure that part out via experimentation- and a little button mashing.
I have more video on this one but will post later after I get some other games out there. When this releases next year its also going to come with a fantastic price tag, coming in lower than other exA fighters (most of which have sold for around $1500 per kit). exA has just posted a new product page for Omen of Sorrow, here.
Phantom Breaker: Omnia
Another game that’s been around for a little bit, so it comes with a fanbase, is the series Phantom Breaker. Omnia is the latest edition, but I’d never played any of the titles before to comment on differences. As my first time playing though, it wasn’t difficult to learn. Each character appears to have a weapon (at least the ones I played), and they also have their own “Omnia Styles.” Those aren’t explained in-game aside from the squares you see in the thumbnail below.
It feels like a less complex Arcana Heart, although I’d give the graphical edge to Phantom. It blends 3D backgrounds with 2D characters (ala Marvel Vs. Capcom 2) but it’s all modernized and looks sleek. It also isn’t difficult to play, which from what I was told, is part of the ‘hook’ in this case.
This should release around the same time as Omen of Sorrow and at a similar price point. Find the product page for it, here.
Mystery Game
Just to throw this out as a tease, there is another fighting game in the works at exA that will be released next year that is tied to a big IP. That also doesn’t count another fighter that I played at Amusement Expo (it wasn’t at IAAPA however). I can’t say yet what the mystery game is, but it will certainly be the biggest name to ever grace the platform. That’s something that both players and operators should be able to get behind. The one I played at Amusement Expo will appeal more to hardcore players, so there will be a little something for everyone. Stay tuned.
What do you think about these additions to the exA and the arcade marketplace?
