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.

Story
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, giving birth to life, 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, Gleichgewicht was banished into the same world that Direno and Multute 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.

Characters
The game includes 12 playable characters alongside 1 unplayable boss. 6 of them (Junko, Takafumi, Yuta, Thomas, 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

Card: The Star

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

Stage: Shibuya Night Street. 20:00

At first sight, she 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. Beneath all this, however, is her dark past which involved her ex-boyfriend; Takafumi Sakamoto, who now doesn't care who lives and dies in his path, and with the awakening of the God of balance, she teams up with her friends to uncover the mysterious power of Gleichgewicht.


 * Takafumi Sakamoto

Card: The Moon

Voice Actors: Daisuke Ono (JP), Matthew Mercer (EN)

Stage: Desolate Forest. 00:00


 * Yuta Kawakami

Card: The Sun

Voice Actors: Ayumi Fujimura (JP), Erica Mendez (EN)

Stage: Ueno Park. 12:00


 * Thomas Ishtar

Card: The Magician

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

Stage: Science Fair. 10:00


 * Thade Torrien

Card: The Chariot

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

Stage: Industrie et Chance HQ. 14:00


 * Kiichi Kominatsu

Card: The Pope

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

Stage: St Mary's Cathedral. 13:00 Card: The Priestess
 * Sis. Stella Serizawa

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

Stage: St Mary's Cathedral. 13:00
 * Ysabella De Leon

Card: The Strength

Voice Actors: Miki Ito (JP), Nicole Karrer (EN)


 * Aika Sakakibara & Simpatico

Card: The Lovers

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


 * Sachiko Yumiya

Card: The Wheel of Fortune

Voice Actresses: Asami Seto (JP), Cassandra Lee (EN)


 * Abnu Dimtu

Card: The Tower

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


 * Arvid "Graveren" Steensen

Card: Death

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

Stage: Helvete Circle 18:06

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 evil overseas in order to witness the awakening of this "God", under the pretense that it would bring him closer to the "Lord of Darkness".

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.