Arkane Arena

Arkane Arena is a 2.5D fighting game developed by SBE Tokyo and Orange Soft and published by SBEntertainment and ACS. Released in Arcades (System 203: Atlantis), Nintendo Switch, Playstation 4 and Steam.

Born as a 50-50 project between the two companies, Arkane Arena pits 12 characters designed by both companies' lead designers, all of whom are based on the Major Arcana, into a 2.5D airdash-type fighter. The game utilizes Epic Games' Unreal Engine 4, allowing for crisp high-resolution graphics.

Gameplay
Gameplay-wise, Arkane Arena can be categorized as an "anime fighter", or "airdasher". Similar to its cohorts, Guilty Gear, BlazBlue and Under Night In-Birth, Arkane Arena focuses on long strings of combos, stemming from its "Chain Cycle" system, which allows players to chain normal attacks together to create a combo, which they could then follw up with special moves or other techniques. Players can also perform air combos or dash while in midair

Arkane Arena uses five buttons. The first three serve as the standard Light, Middle and Heavy attack buttons, while the fourth button is dedicated to the "Arkane" attack, an individual ability that is unique with every character, and the fifth button is dedicated to the "Reflec" mechanic. Similar to the Reflector in Crisis Moon, a well-timed Reflec allows players to deflect the opponent's attacks, leaving them open to counterattack in the process. Each usage of Reflec costs a small sliver of the Arc meter (see below).

Each player has an Arc meter, which fills up as the player successfully performs attacks, and is split into three different levels. Unlike most fighting games, where each meter stock would grant the player acess to their super art on the spot, Arkane Arena's Arc meter works a bit more differently.

One meter stock would allow the players to perform an Arc Ace, which is an enhanced version of a characters' special moves. To perform an Arc Ace, one must perform the joystick/d-pad motion for the special move, plus the Arkane button. Several character have improved versions of their special moves as their Arc Ace, while others have completely unique Arc Aces.

Two meter stocks would allow players to perform an Unter-Arc Surge, which serve as the game's equivalent to super arts and deal large amounts of damage. Meanwhile, three meter stocks would allow the player to perform an Ober-Arc Surge, which are cinematic finishers that deal a huge amount of damage.

When the player has gained at least one Arc meter stock, the player can then enter Arc Burst mode, which allows players to freely pull off Arc Aces without cost, and perform Unter-Arc Surges without the two-stock requirement (Ober-Arc Surges still require three stocks), at the cost of the Arc meter draining rapidly. Arc Burst is performed by pressing all three attack buttons together, and can be used as a cancel while in the middle of a combo.

The Arc Burst trigger can also be performed while being attacked, which would then send the opponent flying toward a distance. This is called an Arc Crash. Arc Crashes performed by pressing all three attack buttons together while being attacked and cost one Arc meter stock, as opposed to burning the entire Arc meter. Arc Crashes are best performed during dire situations, when the player needs to escape from a potential match-ending combo.

There are 9 stages in normal gameplay, with 8 fights against the starting roster (matches 4 and 7 are against a "rival"), a boss fight against either Ookami (for good characters) or Kiichi (for evil/neutral characters), and the final boss fight against Gleichgewicht. By default, each stage is a two-out-of-three wins match composed of "strifes" (the announcer announces it as: When the Balance is Broken, 1st Encounter, Engage!).

Story
In the beginning, there were two Gods: Direno, who brought life to the world and created the concepts of order, kindness and love, and Multute, who created the concepts of darkness, death and deception. Eventually, a third God, Gleichgewicht, was created to serve as a guardian, keeping the balance between the two concepts that Direno and Multute had created. Direno and Multute were bitter enemies who disagreed with each others' ideals, and Gleichgewicht was thus forced to serve as the mediator.

After an incident in the realm of Gods that sparked a great war between Direno and Multute, all three of the Gods was banished into the same world that Direno and Multute had created, and the pieces of their spirit have been split into "Arkanes", supernatural entities that live within the souls of 21 individuals, each of them representing a card in the Major Arcana.

Eventually, it was revealed that, by sacrificing a certain amount of Arkanes, one is able to awaken one of the Gods, Gleichgewicht and use its power to either restore order to the world or bestow chaos upon it. However, the full power of Gleichgewicht can only be unlocked by sacrificing all 21 souls.

Among those 21 souls, only a handful are aware of their origin and what the power of the Gods meant for the world. Some studied to learn from them, others to defend the world...and others to dominate it.

One of these souls, Ysabella De Leon, got the news of the awakening of Gleichgewicht and sends the message to 11 other souls to determine the fate of the world.

Little did they know, however, that this "quest" to get this power is far more complex than even Ysabella could anticipate...

Characters
The game includes 12 playable characters alongside 1 unplayable boss. 6 of them (Junko, Ookami, Yuta, Soma, Thade, Kiichi) were designed and written by SBE while the other 6 (Stella, Ysabella, Aika/Simpatico, Sachika, Abnu, Graveren) were designed and written by ACS.

Playable Roster

 * Junko Tsukasa

Arkane: Estrella (The Star)

Voice Actresses: Miyuki Sawashiro (JP), Erica Lindbeck (EN)

Stage: Shibuya Night Street 20:00

At first sight, Junko Tsukasa looks like a typical delinquent hellbent in beating up whoever she likes. The truth, however, she's actually a caring and compassionate individual who delivers justice to those who harm the innocent. Outside of her work in vigilantism, she works as an instructor on Raoul's Dojo, the father of her best friend, Thomas Ishtar, as well his adopted daughter after her parents died in a train crash back in Britain. Her choice of clothing stemmed from an incident in her youth when she pursued a man who looked like a vicious criminal but was actually a survivor of the train crash who exposed dirty funding from the aid that was done for the survivors. With this event stuck in her life for a long time, she now decided that she won't care how she looks like, hence adopting the delinquent clothing.There's also her dark past which involved her ex-boyfriend; Reiji Ookami, who now doesn't care who lives and dies in his path. She changhed once a friend named Yuta convinced her in how dangerous the guy is, so she accepted with a huge risk. And now with the awakening of the God of balance, she teams up with her friends to uncover the mysterious power of Gleichgewicht.


 * Reiji Ookami

Arkane: Fenrir (The Moon)

Voice Actors: Yuichi Nakamura (JP), Billy Kametz (EN)

Stage: Desolate Forest 23:00

Rage and hatred are the words that describe the M.O of the merciless hunter known as Reiji Ookami. The roots of those traits came from a combination of poor family raising, merciless bullying in school and having the worst luck in general, it all culminated when he was left for dead on a school trip to the forest. Just as he was about to die, however, a pack of wolves came to in, when he suddenly felt a sudden surge of power flowing within him. His first use of such powers was to murder the group that abandoned him, leaving nothing more but a bloody mess. Just as he was about to continue his rampage, he was then adopted by a mysterious man who seemingly had great power to change things. Said man promised him that he will train him to ensure he gets justice on those who wrong people like him in which agreed. Now as an adult, he assassinates many targets he sees deserving to murder, all while yearning for his suffering to end, especially since his split from his former lover, Junko Tsukasa. News about the reawakening of a "God", however, will give Ookami a chance to fulfill his goals, no matter what it takes.


 * Yuta Kawakami

Arkane: Helios (The Sun)

Voice Actors: Daiki Yamashita (JP), Erica Mendez (EN)

Stage: Ueno Park 12:00

Yuta Kawakami, the plucky yet reckless 12-year-old boy from Katsura Academic School always yearn to do something meaningful in his life, but nothing came out of it because he was overshadowed by others. It all changed, however, when he defended a fellow student from bullies. This caught the interest of a hermit who approached him outside school and gave him an amulet, which is said to hold the power of the Greek titan Solar god, Helios, which turns him into a warrior who uses the power of the sun. Initially confused and afraid, a man known as Raoul Ishtar helped him overcome that fear of the unknown power and started to train with them who had some knowledge in spiritual control. His first meaningful action was befriending Junko, whose positive influence helped her abandon Ookami from his rampage. However, this action is only the beginning in what could be Yuta's growth in life as news of the reawakening of a "God" emerge from certain individuals.


 * Soma Ishtar

Arkane: Harriet (The Magician)

Voice Actors: Koki Uchiyama (JP), Khoi Dao (EN)

Stage: Science Fair 10:00

Born in Cambridge, England, Soma Ishtar is the son of famed traveler and martial artist, Raoul Ishtar. He adopted Junko Tsukasa when her parents "died' in a train accident, leading her to become an apprentice and a stepdaughter for Raoul in life, while Soma held a deep crush of her in spite of being his stepsister. Thomas, however, saw a different preference from martial arts, preferred the advancement in Technology in which according to him, it's the way to make the world even better than it is. Once he, Raoul and Junko moved to Japan, he began studying technologic and electronic sciences, all with a mixed bag of successes and failures. At 15 years old, he managed to build a revolutionary item like no other, a belt he calls "Bagato". Bagato is capable of creating objects from the energy and data formed from the data collected to the belt. The sheer power of this belt, however, will not compare to the power of a "God" that he, Junko and other seek about, which is also his chance to prove himself to her.


 * Thade Torrien

Arkane: Trueno (The Chariot)

Voice Actors: Jun Fukuyama (JP), Joe Zieja (EN)

Stage: Industrie et Chance HQ 14:00

The young French man knowm as Thadde Torrien works as the CEO of Industrie et Chance, a company dedicated to the construction of valuable vehicles and philanthropy. In spite of his playboy and somewhat dismissing attitude, he truly cares for the objective of his company, working hard every day to make their goals a reality. This pursuit, however, led him to develop carpal tunnel syndrome, forcing him to make use of wires and machines to work properly while his hands heal. A bigger issue would later emerge when his company is dragged to the mud by the media once rumors are spread which say that the company secretly funds terrorist groups around the world and hiring murderers to any critics of the company. Believing that this was caused by a former colleague of his, given that he was the first one to spread the rumors, he embarks on a quest of revenge against said colleague while being caught up at the same time with the reawakening of a "God" who may have connections to the man who betrayed him.


 * Kiichi Kominatsu

Arkane: Yousef (The Hierophant)

Voice Actors: Yuichirou Umehara (JP), Ray Chase (EN)

Stage: St Mary's Cathedral 13:00

Kiichi Kominatsu is a young Japanese man who's a devoted Catholic who spreads a message of love and kindness to not just Christians, but also other people of other religions as well. He's also the caretaker of the blind nun/Conclave agent, Stella Serizawa. Born from a family of converted Catholics, he initially found it difficult to gain the acceptance of other people, but in time, with his charm and benevolence, he managed to build his reputation in Japan as a man worth seeking. What little did the public know is that Kiichi is also part of a large group known as the Conclave, composed of various religions around the world who are dedicated to studying the origins and powers of the gods that created the 21 souls. They're under constant vigilance over the actions of two individuals who are said to be part of the 21 souls, and in many occassions, they attacked them. Kiichi himself is the man assigned to protect the group's interests in Japan, and now, he has to work harder now that the news of the reawakening of one of the gods reaches to him. Arkane: Maria (The High Priestess)
 * Sis. Stella Serizawa

Voice Actresses: LYNN (JP), Reba Burh (EN)

Stage: St Mary's Cathedral 13:00

The Conclave are a secretive group of Christian agents who are tasked to eliminate the religion's biggest enemies, while also living a double life as priests, nuns, evangelists and the like. Stella Serizawa was born from a half-Japanese, half-British family of retired Conclave agents, and as such, has been trained to become a Conclave agent herself a young age, practicing the art of gunslinging while also training to become a nun herself. When she was 8 years old, she was inflicted with a mysterious disease that deteriorated her eyesight. However, this did not slow Stella down, as she continued to practice gunslinging, using muscle reflexes and her other senses to shoot down any adversary in her path. Eventually, at the age of 20, Stella was officially declared a Conclave agent, with her first assignment being to fly to Japan to investigate the so-called reawakening of a "God", and to find out the true culprit behind it all.
 * Ysabella De Leon

Arkane: Guerrero (The Strength)

Voice Actors: Miki Ito (JP), Nicole Karrer (EN), Pre-recorded roars (Guerrero II)

Stage: De Leon Manor 19:30

Coming from a noble Spanish family with ties to the Conclave, Ysabella De Leon is one of the very few individuals with full knowledge of the 21 souls and who they are. The night before she was to celebrate her 18th birthday, her mansion was burned down by a mysterious man, killing the rest of her family save for herself. For the next fifteen years, Ysabella carried with her the physical and emotional scars of the incIdent, choosing to live the rest of her days alone as a spinster, with her pet lion, Guerrero as her only company. Despite her links to the 21 souls, she remained on the sidelines, not wanting any business to do with the rest. Until one day, hearing about the resurrection of a "God", and the involvement of one of the 21 souls, Reiji Ookami, in said resurrection plot, Ysabella decides to use her knowledge and assemble the rest of the 21 souls together, or at the very least, a fraction of them, in hopes that their combined power would allow them to stop the rebirth of said "God". But are there any ulterior motives to this plot? Only she knows for sure.
 * Aika Sakakibara & Simpatico

Arkane: Simpatico (The Lovers)

Voice Actors/Actresses: Risa Taneda (JP; Aika), Tomokazu Sugita (JP; Simpatico), Cristina Valenzuela (EN; Aika), Kyle Hebert (EN; Simpatico)

Stage: Spring Gardens 09:30

A shy but kind-hearted 16-year old girl, Aika Sakakibara has dedicated her heart and soul to saving nature and its natural beauty. She often spends most of her spare time taking care of her plants, feeding stray animals her spare lunch, and even doing charity work to save the trees, spending so much time with nature that she wasn't able to secure a love life of her own. Until one day, an anonymous "secret admirer" sent Aika a mysterious potted rose, supposedly as a gift, which turned out to be a sentient plantoid symbiote, which later ends up bonding with her by entering itself into her body. Surprisingly, the rose-like symbiote, who called itself "Simpatico", showed no signs of insidiousness, instead possessing a rather chivalrous demeanor, referring to Aika as his "girlfriend", a relationship that Aika did not agree with at first, before eventually warming up with the sleazy symbiote through time. As their relationship blossoms, Aika and Simpatico agree to search for answers; Aika wants to find out who sent her the potted plant in the in the first place, while Simpatico seeks to find the person who turned him into the way he is now.


 * Sachiko Yumiya

Arkane: Roulette (The Wheel of Fortune)

Voice Actresses: Azumi Asakura (JP), Cassandra Lee (EN)

Stage: Buona Notte Plaza 21:30

The sole heiress of the multi-million Yumiya Zaibatsu, Sachiko Yumiya had a very close relationship with her grandfather Rentaro, whom she would often bond with. Rentaro and Sachiko's favorite pastime was playing card games with each other, in hopes that she would inherit his infamous luck. This close bond came to an end when, after a poker night gone wrong, Rentaro lost all of the wealth and property he had earned throughout his life, leading to his fatal heart attack at the age of 72. Overcome with rage and sorrow, Sachiko decided to seek revenge for her fallen grandfather and buy back all of his wealth and property through the only way that she knows: gambling. At the tender age of 16, she became notorious amongst gamblers for her undefeated streak, and immense skill and luck in any game that she played, earning her the nickname of "Lady Luck". Eventually, she meets up with one "Ysabella De Leon", who offered her the chance to buy back all of the wealth and prperty of her grandfather, under one condition: she must use her skills, not for gambling, but for fighting 11 other individuals for it.


 * Abnu Dimtu

Arkane: Abnu Dimtu (The Tower)

Voice Actors: Ryota Takeuchi (JP), Jamieson Price (EN)

Stage: Sebet Babi 03:30

There have been many theories about what the stone-skinned giant creature named Abnu Dimtu exactly is. Some say he is a creation of an ancient Sumerian sorcerer, others say he was an alien who was exiled from his home planet and put into eternal slumber. Abnu came into public consciousness after a group of archaeologists discovered a giant statue inside an ancient Sumerian ruin, which was then taken to Japan for analysis. Hearing about this, two mysterious entities ransack the archaeological institue and utilize a forbidden spell that awakens Abnu and causes the statue to awaken and wreak havoc in its path, revealing that this giant statue is in fact a living creature, more specifically, a golem. As of now, there haven't been any further incidents regarding Abnu, but several sightings suggest that it, alongside the two mysterious men, await for an opportunity to crush everyone in its path.


 * Arvid "Graveren" Steensen

Arkane: Mayhem (Death)

Voice Actors: Hidenobu Kiuchi (JP), Andrew Russell (EN)

Stage: Helvete Circle 18:30

The early Norwegian black metal scene rose to infamy for its members' outspoken anti-Christian sentiment and being associated with various deaths and church burnings. A major fan of this period of time, Arvid Steensen, sought to revive the reign of evil, deception, and extreme metal domination in a world where "manufactured pop sh*t" is littering the charts. Alongside his own black metal band, Helvete, Arvid turned himself into the Savior of Darkness "Graveren", and began his reign of terror, burning down century-old churches around the country, and even kidnapped teenage women to use them as live sacrifices to the "Lord of Darkness". Hearing about the awakening of a certain "God", Graveren takes his reign of black metal domination overseas in order to witness the awakening of this "God", under the pretense that it would bring him closer to the "Lord of Darkness".

Bosses

 * Gleichgewicht

Arkane: Gleichgewicht (Judgment)

Voice Actors: Yuu Kobayashi (JP; Side of Light), Hiroki Tochi (JP; Side of Darkness), Laura Post (EN; Side of Light), Xander Mobus (EN; Side of Darkness)

Stage: Stairway to Heaven 0:00

Gleichgewicht is a God, the keeper of the balance between order and chaos in the world, and was created by by a conception between the two Originators: Direno, who brought life to the world and created the concepts order, kindness and love, and Multute, who created the concepts of darkness, death and deception. Gleichgewicht was created to serve as a guardian, keeping the balance between the two concepts that Direno and Multute had created. Direno and Multute were bitter enemies who disagreed with each others' ideals, and Gleichgewicht was thus forced to serve as the mediator. After an incident in the realm of Gods that sparked a great war between Direno and Multute, all three of the Gods were banished into the same world that they themselves had created, and the pieces of their spirit have been split within the souls of 21 individuals, each of them representing a card in the Major Arcana. By sacrificing a certain amount of souls, one can awaken Gleichgewicht and use its power to either restore order to the world or bestow chaos upon it. However, the full power of Gleichgewicht can only be unlocked by sacrificing all 21 souls.

Trivia

 * The Opening song in the Japanese version is Take Me Under by MAN WITH A MISSION while the one used in the overseas version is Remember the Enemy by DED.
 * The game's announcer is Rumiko Varnes.
 * Early promotional material of the game had Soma's name written as "Thomas" but because of the difficulty in pronouncing the 'th" sound in Japanese, it was eventually changed to Soma.

Subpages
Arkane Arena/Quotes

Arkane Arena/Soundtrack

Arkane Arena/Palettes