Release Date: June 28th, 2018
Developer: ARIKA
Publisher: ARIKA
Platform: PS4
Format: Digital Only
Price: $39.99(Light Version), $59.99(Standard Version)
File Size: 1.8 GB
Fighting EX Layer is a 2D fighting game, and the spiritual successor to the Street Fighter EX series(and arguably to Fighting Layer). Fighting EX Layer also marks the return of an ARIKA developed game, the first one in years, and the first ARIKA developed(solo developed, anyway) fighting game in 18 years. It started out as an April Fools joke back in 2017, but eventually was revealed to be a real game in development.
Fighting EX Layer is launching with Online Versus, Local Versus, Training Mode, Expert Mode(combo challenges), and Kumite Mode(single player survival mode, accessible through the Training Mode).
UPDATE: As of July 26th, Fighting EX Layer now has an Arcade Mode! Take on 7 AI opponents, and get a high score!
Fighting EX Layer is a six button fighting game--three punches, and three kicks like in Street Fighter EX. Characters can chain their normal attacks together by pressing Light, Medium and then Heavy in succession. Press both Medium buttons to perform a universal overhead
Every character can also run by double tapping forward. This run/dash also has an important sub-mechanic, and that's dash momentum. You can cancel your run at any time by inputting a normal attack, and this causes your normal attacks to have sliding, forward momentum on both hit and on block. This can lead to advanced combos that you could otherwise not perform due to the pushback of normal attacks when in a standing state. Experiment with what links you can perform off of dash-assisted normals!
Do fighting game motions give you trouble? Can't reliably throw a fireball or do a dragon punch? Well, ARIKA's got you covered. By choosing "Progessive Input Mode", all special moves can be performed by inputting a single direction and a button press. Supers are done with two direction inputs and a button press! Though...for charge moves, you still gotta charge that direction and then release it. Sorry, Jack players.
For a quick look at the control scheme for PS4, plus a brief description of the base mechanics, here's this infographic:
Aside from the base mechanics, what really sets Fighting EX Layer apart from other fighting games on the market is the Gougi system. Similar in execution to the Gems from Street Fighter X Tekken, the Gougi system are decks of five "gems" that you equip before entering a battle. These gems grant passive effects, and sometimes active effects.
There are two types of Gougis: Blue Gougi, and Red Gougi. Blue Gougis give small, passive buffs to things like attack damage and movement speed, and Red Gougis give significant benefits to your character. These benefits can range from infinite super armor, invisibility, guard cancels, combo breakers, regenerating super meter, and much more!
Activating these Gougis during a battle requires set conditions to be met. Blue Gougis are generally easy to activate--like, build one bar of your super meter and one will activate. Red Gougis on the other hand, have more stringent conditions--like, getting knocked down 12 times over the course of the fight to activate one Red Gougi.
The Gougi Decks come pre-loaded, and there's no way to make your own custom Gougi Deck. There are 15 Gougi Decks in the game, but the Light Edition only comes with five decks(AGGRO, JUGGERNAUT, SHINOBI, INFINITY, and MIRACLE), with two of the other ten decks being free to use in a weekly rotation. Standard Edition owners get all 15 decks at their disposal! Below are all fifteen deck lists, and the effects of each individual Gougi of those decks.
There are 13 characters currently in Fighting EX Layer. One of those 13 is DLC. Both the Light and Standard Editions come with 12 characters, but the Standard Edition also comes with the 13th character. Check the quote for a brief snippet of the characters, plus their movelist!
FREE DLC:
PAID DLC:
There's a few pieces of DLC already listed. Two of them are colors DLC for the cast. One of them is a $9.99 DLC that gives each character six colors. The other is sets of Gold and Silver colors for each of the characters, but these are $4.99 per character.
There is also some additional DLC planned in the form of additional characters:
FUTURE DLC???
That's Pullum Purna, Vulcano Rosso, Area and Sharon, respectively. The word on the street(aka from Akira Nishitani, president of ARIKA) is that these characters will only be released if the game meets it's sales expectations. So, if you want to see these characters become a reality, do your part and support the game!
SKULLO-DREAM~!
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