While we wait for Amusement Expo 2026 to get going in Las Vegas, there have been a few arcade happenings over in Japan to kick off the month, so now is as a good a time as ever to round those up. One of them is much bigger than the others, with the latter two being games that probably won’t come to locations outside the country, but are still worthy of some attention here. Let’s dive in:
Resident Evil 2/Biohazard RE:2 Arcade
Chief among the three titles here, we have an update on possibly most anticipated arcade game of the year, as it is soon to appear in Japan for the first time. Originally tested last year in the UK and US as Resident Evil 2: Dead Shot, Bandai Namco’s Biohazard RE:2 Arcade lightgun shooter was officially revealed at Tokyo Game Show 2025 to also be receiving some Japanese location tests sometime in Spring this year. Less than one week into the season, these have now been confirmed as part of one of Capcom’s Spotlight streams for the Resident Evil franchise and their other original IPs, alongside some further details on the game and an official website (which interestingly has an English language option – as Ted pointed out in the AH Discord, not every Japanese arcade game site gets that).
The Japanese location tests are scheduled to happen sometime later this month; the venues and exact dates are unknown at this point in time, but should be made clear very soon. Most of the marketing material out there indicates they should commence about a week away from now, however there is also a post from Bandai Namco that oddly states late March, so we shall just have to wait and see when it happens. Until then though, there is this new promotional trailer to check out, notably featuring the first footage of the three levels that were not yet implemented in the UK and US test builds (which had only two):
Overall the game is looking consistently great presentation-wise, easily being one of the most impressive arcade games of recent times. There were some qualms with its gameplay difficulty at the UK and US tests last year, where damage was often harshly dealt to the extent of taking health bars down from full to 20-10%, but hopefully that has been tweaked, or will be fixed through feedback from this test.
It will be very surprising if we see it at Amusement Expo this month, given Bandai Namco’s recent movements with their other games (GoldStorm Pirates didn’t make a Western trade show appearance until IAAPA 2024 after being tested in 2023), but we can always hope for a nice surprise.
Also, Bandai Namco’s arcade division is officially known as Bandai Namco Experiences, although when that might change on the website side, we’ll have to wait and see.
Cotton Rock With You
Next up is a game that has taken a surprisingly long route to releasing, and even now is still only in the location test stage. Some may recall that back at Tokyo Game Show 2023, Success announced a sequel to Cotton Rock ‘n’ Roll, which was initially due to release the following year for home platforms and arcades on both exA-Arcadia and Sega’s APM3 service in Japan. 2024 came and went with no further sign of the game, but it suddenly re-emerged at the 2025 Tokyo Game Show under its new name of Cotton Rock With You. It was then recently announced that this would be seeing tests in arcades, which commenced on APM3 cabinets at the end of February at Taito HEY in Akihabara and Mikado.
Unfortunately it has also now been confirmed that this won’t be gracing exA after all, meaning that the only arcade release it will receive is officially locked to Japan and APM3. Still, the home ports are supposed to be coming alongside it, meaning that this won’t have much/any exclusive content or quality upgrades like an exA version would’ve. HEY and Mikado got their early glimpse as part of that though, so they probably aren’t complaining. HEY have several gameplay streams up, including the one below:
It’s worth mentioning that exA do have plenty of other games in their pipeline besides giving this one a miss, so stay tuned for more information on those in our Amusement Expo coverage.
StarHorse Party
Finally, a title that isn’t in testing but has actually just released in Japan. Horse racing arcade games and Sega have been synonymous over there for decades, particularly after Derby Owners Club came around, and for a little while now the main representation of that has been the StarHorse series of medal games (effectively Japan’s ticket redemption for those unfamiliar). These are perhaps most famous for their gigantic, multi-seater setups (with the most recent even having recliners), something that Sega has now moved away from with this curious new spin-off, StarHorse Party.
As can be seen from the above photo, these pare things back considerably, using three smaller player stations back-to-back with a double sided main game monitor and big LED display between them. In keeping with this, the game itself has also been simplified, aiming more for a casual/family audience with the cutesy horses. The press release also mentions some new game modes, including a quiz-based one compered by someone resembling none other than Takenobu Mitsuyoshi. Though this kind of thing typically doesn’t leave Japan, it’s good to see some nice touches in it from Sega 🙂
That concludes this update on a few stories in the Japanese arcade scene; when Biohazard/Resident Evil 2: Arcade does go on test there later this month, we will be sure to provide more information as and when it becomes available. Which of the above games interest you most?
Discover more from Arcade Heroes
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
