exA-Arcadia has been busy lately, and as we’ll discuss today, they aren’t slowing down any time soon. We recently reported on their test for Vanguard Princess R (which is performing well), and now they have another fighter on test and a fighter available to pre-order. Let’s check them out.
Chaos Code Nemesis Experiment Testing
Also known as Chao Code NEXT, this sequel to F K Digital’s exciting fighter is now on test in Japan. I recall some naysayers claiming that Chaos Code EXA was going to be ported to consoles some time ago, but as of present, that still hasn’t happened. I did own that version for a time, where it did solidly at my location, but I sold it earlier this year so that I could grab another title.
The sequel, which is exclusive to arcades, features 16 characters, two game modes (Story & Training), 2 frames of input lag, improved graphics, and is designed “FOR FIGHTER FANS; Designed for the players – there are no modern shortcuts or compromises!” Where I’m not deep into the Fighting Game Community (FGC), I’m not sure what that is referring to.
FK Digital has been making a strong push to get players out for this, including posting the move lists online (H/T to Arcade Belgium for finding that)
https://x.com/FKD_CC/status/1915239370237632667
Axel City 2: The Final Storm Pre-Orders
We recently reported that Axel City 2: The Final Storm had recently been on test, while Vanguard Princess R opened up pre-orders – now, Axel City is also able to be pre-ordered. The original Axel City 2 came out in 2023, and by all reports I’ve heard (not just in Japan, but also here in the States – these are from 3rd parties who operate the game, I haven’t owned this particular one) is that it had been a high performer. In Japan, there were reports of it outearning Street Fighter VI: Type Arcade, which is not something that Capcom & Taito want to hear.
It’s popularity thus led to this major content update, which adds an additional 10 fighters, 6 stages, and additional balancing updates. For operators like me who are looking for something players can’t get at home, this one is also 100% exclusive, so you can’t get it on PC or console.
One other interesting option with this is that exA is offering an upgrade to existing AC2 owners, where you pay a fee, send in your AC2 cart, and you’ll get the new kit (updated cart as well as new artwork) back in return (slightly different from what is shown above). The game will be available next month.
Once both of these are available, that will bring the total number of fighting games available to arcades through the exA to 12, and of course there are many more fighters on the way, as we’ve seen from recent EVO events. Would you like to see your local arcade get some of these?
