Arika (アリカ) is a Japanese video game company founded by Akira Nishitani.* Initially created in 1995 under the name ARMtech K.K., the company is most famously associated with Street Fighter EX and Tetris: The Grand Master, offshoots of the respective franchises with their own spins on the mainline titles' gameplay. Arika has a primary focus on arcade games, such as the aforementioned (and infamously challenging and brutal) TGM series, though in more recent years they have shifted away from the struggling arcade scene in favor of ports and more experimental titles.
Although they have mostly flown under the radar since the 2010s, Arika saw a resurgence in the late 10's with the launch of Fighting EX Layer, a Creator-Driven Successor to Street Fighter EX featuring the games' original characters, as well as a series of Battle Royale Games for the Nintendo Switch's Nintendo Switch Online service based on classic video games, putting a massively multiplayer Player Versus Player twist on retro favorites. The 2020s saw the company tapped by Bandai Namco to aid in development of the (then) latest entry in their flagship fighting game series, Tekken 8.
With their resurgence also came a reputation — one acknowledged by Arika themselves — for the company unveiling their latest projects on April Fools' Day; Fighting EX Layer was first showcased on April 1st, 2017 (with vice president Ichiro Mihara having to clarify afterwards
that the game was a real thing that was indeed in development), its mobile and Switch ports were released on the same day in 2019 and 2021, and 2022 saw Arika reveal a proof of concept for Prayer to Death, a 1v1 mecha combat game in the vein of Virtual-ON, on April Fools'.
Notable games developed by Arika:
- The EX series:
- Street Fighter EX (1996, Arcade)
- Street Fighter EX Plus (1997, Arcade)
- Street Fighter EX Plus α (1997, PlayStation)
- Street Fighter EX2 (1998, Arcade)
- Street Fighter EX2 Plus (1999, Arcade, PlayStation)
- Fighting Layer (1998, Arcade)
- Street Fighter EX3 (2000, PlayStation 2)
- Fighting EX Layer (2018, PlayStation 4, PC)
- Fighting EX Layer -α (2019, iOS, Android)
- Fighting EX Layer: Another Dash (2021, Nintendo Switch)
- Tetris: The Grand Master series:
- Tetris: The Grand Master (1998, Arcade)
- Tetris: The Absolute - Grand Master 2 (2000, Arcade)
- Tetris: The Absolute - Grand Master 2 PLUS (2000, Arcade)
- Tetris with Cardcaptor Sakura - Eternal Heart (2000, PlayStation)
- Tetris: The Grand Master 3 - Terror-Instinct (2005, Arcade)
- Tetris: The Grand Master ACE (2006, Xbox 360)
- Tetris: The Grand Master 4 - The Masters of Round (Cancelled, Arcade)
- TGM2015 (Unknown, Arcade)
- Everblue series:
- Everblue (2001, PlayStation 2)
- Everblue 2 (2002, PlayStation 2)
- Endless Ocean series:
- Endless Ocean (2007, Nintendo Wii)
- Endless Ocean 2: Blue World (2009/2010, Nintendo Wii)
- Endless Ocean: Luminous (2024, Nintendo Switch)
- Dr. Mario series:
- Dr. Mario Online Rx (2008, Nintendo Wii via WiiWare)
- Dr. Mario Express (2008, Nintendo DSi)
- Dr. Luigi (2013, Wii U)
- Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure (2015, Nintendo 3DS)
- 3D Classics series:
- 3D Classics Excitebike (2011, Nintendo 3DS)
- 3D Classics Xevious (2011, Nintendo 3DS)
- 3D Classics Urban Champion (2011, Nintendo 3DS)
- 3D Classics TwinBee (2011, Nintendo 3DS)
- 3D Classics Kirby's Adventure (2011, Nintendo 3DS)
- 3D Classics Kid Icarus (2011, Nintendo 3DS)
- Tekken series:
- Tekken 3D: Prime Edition (2012, Nintendo 3DS, with Bandai Namco)
- Tekken 8 (2024, PlayStation 5 / Xbox Series X|S / PC, with Bandai Namco)
- The 99 series:
- Tetris 99 (2019, Nintendo Switch)
- Super Mario Bros. 35 (2020, Nintendo Switch) note
- Pac-Man 99 (2021, Nintendo Switch) note
Other games developed by Arika:
- Technetix (2001, PlayStation 2)
- DoDonPachi DaiOuJou (2002, PlayStation 2)
- Mega Man Network Transmission (2003, Nintendo GameCube)
- The Nightmare of Druaga: Fushigino Dungeon (2004, PlayStation 2, with Chunsoft)
- Super Dragon Ball Z (2005, Arcade, PlayStation 2)
- Tsubasa Chronicle (2005, Nintendo DS)
- Tsubasa Chronicle Vol.2 (2006, Nintendo DS)
- Jewelry Master (2006, PC)
- Jewelry Master Twinkle (2009, Xbox 360)
- Jewelry Master Twinkle Light (2010, Xbox 360)
- Ketsui: Death Label (2008, Nintendo DS)
- AR Games (2011, Nintendo 3DS)
- Bust-A-Move Universe (2011, Nintendo 3DS)
- Teddy Together (2013, Nintendo 3DS)
- Chocobo GP (2022, Nintendo Switch)
