Bookmark This Page; how ARIKA turned an April Fools joke into a great fighting game

Many of the people that created Street Fighter II left Capcom, and founded ARIKA. If you want to find out about how they teased a successor to Street Fighter EX then Bookmark This Page.

Teasing the next Street Fighter EX and Fighting Layer, part 1

Teasing the next Street Fighter EX and Fighting Layer, part 2

Teasing the next Street Fighter EX and Fighting Layer, part 3

Speculation on ARIKA's unnamed Street Fighter EX successor, part 1…

Speculation on ARIKA's unnamed Street Fighter EX successor, part 2…

Speculation on ARIKA's unnamed Street Fighter EX successor, part 3…

Speculation on ARIKA's unnamed Street Fighter EX successor, part 4…

Did you have a favorite ARIKA fighting game? Let me know about it in the comments section. As always if you enjoyed this blog, and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

Freeze frame, my poster collection, part 21…

I love fighting games of all kinds, and today I’d like to look at the posters for some of the rarer games. Everyone knows about the versus series between Marvel and Capcom. Arguably a better crossover was between Capcom and SNK. Who knows if those two worlds might come together again, especially now that a few Fatal Fury characters have popped up in Street Fighter 6.

One of the biggest posters I have is for Fighting EX Layer. It took forever to track down this poster. It’s a little rough around the edges but I love it. I think it was only available with the collectors edition of the game in Japan. However it is larger than regular posters, so this might have come from an actual arcade, making it even rarer than I thought.

I don’t want to get a copy of every fighting game poster that was ever made, but I am partial to rare fighting games. That was why I had to track down a copy of the Groove on Fight poster. I had talked about the Noise Factory series on the blog previously, which had art by the amazing Range Murata. I’m eager to see, and share what other rare fighting posters I can find on my searches.

This Rage of the Dragons poster had been on my bucket list for two decades. I've talked about the game before on the blog. I didn’t think I would ever find for less than $100 in any condition, let alone a good condition. This poster popped up on eBay one day with a buy it now price of $15. At first I thought it was one of those replica wall scrolls out of China. But I researched the seller and saw that he was selling off a bunch of old game items so it seemed legit. I bought it, and sure enough it was a genuine poster in great condition that I got for a steal. Now if I can luck out with a low priced Capcom Alien vs Predator poster (which currently goes for around $800) then I’ll be a happy man.

Do you have any posters for rare fighting games, or other games in general? I’d like to read about it in the comments section. As always if you would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!

30 years of Street Fighter, 30 Days of Characters; #25

Hokuto is one of the most interesting characters in the entire Street Fighter universe. In the span of 30 years she is possibly the most complex fighter ever designed. In canon she has actually played both the good and evil roles. Her true nature is only now being told. When she debuted in 1997 she appeared like a kyudoka, somebody that practiced traditional archery. She didn't have a bow and arrows but instead used her spirit force to shoot energy projectiles at opponents. It was a unique mix of classic aesthetic and modern fighting game character. Hokuto came from a cursed lineage, her older brother was Kairi, a fighter suffering from amnesia. Kairi posed a threat to himself and other people so Hokuto was tasked to bring him in or kill him trying. The latter of the two options came in the form of Bloody Hokuto. Her evil personae was much more dangerous and filled with the same murderous intent of Kairi. Hokuto and Bloody Hokuto shared a few similar moves however Bloody Hokuto had a few more lethal strikes including a dim mak or death strike. 

Hokuto was presented as a sympathetic character. She was a young, noble woman that had the bad fortune of having to track down her brother. Audiences knew that the evil energy coursing through her veins was making her do things she did not want to do. Just as Ryu, the star of the Street Fighter series, was battling the dark Hadou energy as well. The designers at ARIKA were actually keeping an important part of her story a secret for 20 years. Hokuto was indeed related to Kairi however they were step-siblings. Hokuto was an illegitimate child. She was trained as an assassin and had been planted into the clan with her memories erased. When the seal was broken she didn't become "Bloody Hokuto" but instead regressed into her true self. She was an assassin named Shirase.

Shirase debuted in Fighting EX Layer. She was a redesign with a mix of good and evil Hokuto elements. The black and white motif on her hair and costume were strong opposites. They were the literal yin and yang, the good and evil fighting within her. With her true potential unlocked would she be able to strike down her brother? Was she on track to be the first female boss in the Street Fighter universe? That was a strong possibility! Audiences were eager to see how the developers at ARIKA changed her relationship with Kairi and step-sister Nanase. At least I wanted to find out what happened next. I can't say I was as interested for how many of the other characters evolved over the years. What do you think? As always if you enjoyed this blog and would like to sponsor me please visit my Patreon page and consider donating each month, even as little as $1 would help make better blogs and even podcasts!