is a Japanese

video game developer A video game developer is a broad term for a software developer specializing in video game development – the process and related disciplines of creating video games. A game developer can range from one person who undertakes all tasks to a large ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

. It was formed in 1995 by former

Capcom is a Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. It has created a number of List of best-selling video game franchises, multi-million-selling game franchises, with its most commercially successful being ''Resident Evil' ...

employees, originally as ARMtech K.K, later named Arika. The name of the company is the reverse of the name of the company's founder,

Akira Nishitani , also known as "Nin-Nin" or simply "Pom G", is a Japanese game director, game designer and character designer. Nishitani started working for Capcom in 1986, where he became mostly known for designing ''Street Fighter II'' and ''Final Fight'' alo ...

, who along with

Akira Yasuda (born July 21, 1964) is a Japanese animator, character designer, game designer and mecha designer, who works under the pen name "Akiman". Yasuda is a former employee of the video game company Capcom (joining in 1985) and has worked on many Capcom g ...

, created ''

Street Fighter II is a fighting game developed by Capcom and originally released for arcades in 1991. It is the second installment in the ''Street Fighter'' series and the sequel to 1987's ''Street Fighter''. It is Capcom's fourteenth game to use the CP Syst ...

''. Arika's first game was ''

Street Fighter EX is a 2D head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN hardware in 1996. It is a spin-off of the ''Street Fighter'' series co-produced by Capcom with Arika and was the first ...

''. It was successful and was followed up with two updates (''Street Fighter EX +'' and ''EX + α''), and it's two sequels ''

Street Fighter EX2 is a 2D fighting game, head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics co-produced by Capcom and Arika and originally released in 1998 in video gaming, 1998 as a arcade game, coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN-2 hardware. It is the sequel to ...

'' and ''

Street Fighter EX3 is a 2D head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics, developed by Arika and published by Capcom. It is the third and final console installment in the ''Street Fighter EX'' series. The game was first released on March 4, 2000 in Japan and on Oct ...

''. In 2018, they released a spiritual successor to both ''Street Fighter EX'' and ''

Fighting Layer is a 3D fighting game developed by Arika and published by Namco. It was released exclusively in Japan in December 1998 and has never been released overseas or ported to any home consoles. A spiritual sequel, ''Fighting EX Layer'', was released ...

'' (published by

Namco was a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game and entertainment company, headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo. It held several international branches, including Namco America in Santa Clara, California, Namco Europe in London, Na ...

), titled ''

Fighting EX Layer ''Fighting EX Layer'' is a fighting video game developed by Arika. It is a spiritual successor to ''Fighting Layer'' and the ''Street Fighter EX'' series and features many of the same characters from the latter. The game was released for PlayStat ...

''. From 2019 to 2021, Arika collaborated with

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles. Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...

to create the battle royale games ''

Tetris 99 ' is an online version of the tile-matching video game ''Tetris'', developed by Arika, and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch in February 2019. The software is free, but only to Nintendo Switch Online subscribers. Incorporating element ...

'', ''

Super Mario Bros. 35 ''Super Mario Bros. 35'' was a 2020 online multiplayer platform game with battle royale elements. Developed by Arika and published by Nintendo, the game was part of the celebration of the 35th anniversary of ''Super Mario Bros.'' in 2020. I ...

'', and with

Bandai Namco also known as the Bandai Namco Group and generally Bandai Namco, is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, formed from the merger of Bandai and Namco on S ...

for ''

Pac-Man 99 is a maze video game with battle royale elements developed by Arika and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for the Nintendo Switch. It was released through the Nintendo Switch Online service on April 7, 2021. Part of its ''Pac-Man'' franc ...

''. Arika is also known for the '' Tetris: The Grand Master'' series, the ''

Dr. Mario ''Dr. Mario'' is a 1990 puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Entertainment System, Famicom, and Game Boy. It was produced by Gunpei Yokoi and designed by Takahiro Harada. The soundtrack was composed by Hirokazu ...

'' series, and the ''

Endless Ocean ''Endless Ocean'' (known as ''Forever Blue'' in Japan) is a scuba diving adventure game for the Wii. It is published by Nintendo and was developed by Arika, who also worked on their spiritual predecessor '' Everblue'', another scuba diving adve ...

'' series.

History

Arika was founded in November 1995. During the first month of its existence the company was focused strictly on research. In July 2011, a video from an Arika 3DS test project, called ''Fighting Sample'', was released, featuring Hokuto and Kairi from the ''Street Fighter EX'' series. Further screenshots were released, showing characters Blair, Doctrine Dark and Shadow Geist, but the project was later cancelled. Later in May 2016, another video showcasing Nanase, Allen, Darun and Skullomania was released as a sample test video, with no plans for a future release. In April 2017, ''Fighting EX Layer'', which seems to be the "evolution" of ''Fighting Sample'' was announced as a video for April Fools, and later confirmed to be actually a game in development. ''Fighting EX Layer'' is a spiritual successor to both ''

'' series and ''

'', an arcade-only fighting game by Arika. ''Tetris: The Grand Master 4: Masters of Round'' has been shown to be in development multiple times since as early as 2009. However, it was cancelled later on due to various reasons, including copyright infringements with regards to emulation and various fan-developed clones of ''TGM'', most notably ''Texmaster2009''. ''TGM4'' has been uncancelled again recently; ''The Grand Master 2015'' was announced and playtested in both Japan and the United States in June 2015. This playtest was not licensed by The Tetris Company. Not long after completion, a ''Tetris the Absolute: The Grand Master 2 PLUS'' port to the PlayStation 2 was shown to be in development. Due to unknown reasons, the port was not licensed and was never released.

Games developed

*''

'' (1996,

arcade Arcade most often refers to: * Arcade game, a coin-operated game machine ** Arcade cabinet, housing which holds an arcade game's hardware ** Arcade system board, a standardized printed circuit board * Amusement arcade, a place with arcade games * ...

) *''

Street Fighter EX Plus is a 2D head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN hardware in 1996. It is a spin-off of the ''Street Fighter'' series co-produced by Capcom with Arika and was the first gam ...

'' (1997, arcade) *''

Street Fighter EX Plus α is a 2D head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics, originally released as a coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN hardware in 1996. It is a spin-off of the ''Street Fighter'' series co-produced by Capcom with Arika and was the first ga ...

'' (1997,

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

) *''

'' (1998, arcade) *'' Tetris: The Grand Master'' (1998, arcade) *''

'' (1998, arcade) *''

Street Fighter EX2 Plus is a 2D head-to-head fighting game with 3D graphics co-produced by Capcom and Arika and originally released in 1998 as a coin-operated arcade game for the Sony ZN-2 hardware. It is the sequel to the original ''Street Fighter EX'', a 3D spin- ...

'' (early 1999, arcade and December 24, 1999, PlayStation) *''

'' (2000,

PlayStation 2 The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 3 ...

) *'' Tetris: The Grand Master 2 - The Absolute'' (2000, arcade) *''Tetris with Cardcaptor Sakura Eternal Heart'' (2000, PlayStation) *'' Everblue'' (2001, PlayStation 2) *''Technictix (テクニクティクス)'' (2001, PlayStation 2) *''

Technic Beat is an arcade music video game developed by Arika. It is a sequel to the PlayStation 2 game Technictix. The PlayStation 2 version of ''Technic Beat'' was published in North America by Mastiff. It was released in Japan in 2002 and the United ...

'' (2002, arcade) *'' Everblue 2'' (2002, PlayStation 2) *'' DoDonPachi Dai Ou Jou'' (2003, PlayStation 2) *''

Mega Man Network Transmission is a 2003 Action game, action-Platform game, platform video game developed by Arika and published by Capcom for the GameCube video game console. The game was first released in Japan on March 6, 2003, and in North America and PAL regions the follo ...

'' (2003,

GameCube The is a home video game console developed and released by Nintendo in Japan on September 14, 2001, in North America on November 18, 2001, and in PAL territories in 2002. It is the successor to the Nintendo 64 (1996), and predecessor of the Wii ...

) *'' The Nightmare of Druaga: Fushigino Dungeon'' (2004, PlayStation 2, collaborated with Chunsoft) *'' Tetris: The Grand Master 3 - Terror Instinct'' (2005, arcade) *''

Super Dragon Ball Z is a cel-shaded 3D fighting video game, based on the Japanese manga series ''Dragon Ball'' created by Akira Toriyama. It was released in Japanese (December 22, 2005) and European (2006) arcades running on System 256 hardware, and later for the P ...

'' (2005, arcade & PlayStation 2, collaborated with Crafts & Meister) *'' Tetris: The Grand Master Ace'' (2005,

Xbox 360 The Xbox 360 is a home video game console developed by Microsoft. As the successor to the original Xbox, it is the second console in the Xbox series. It competed with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation ...

) *''

Tsubasa Chronicle is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by the manga artist group Clamp. It takes place in the same fictional universe as many of Clamp's other manga series, most notably '' xxxHolic''. The plot follows how Sakura, the prin ...

'' (2005,

Nintendo DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo, released globally across 2004 and 2005. The DS, an initialism for "Developers' System" or "Dual Screen", introduced distinctive new features to handheld games: two LCD screens working in tan ...

) *''Jewelry Master'' (2006–2007,

Windows Windows is a group of several proprietary graphical operating system families developed and marketed by Microsoft. Each family caters to a certain sector of the computing industry. For example, Windows NT for consumers, Windows Server for serv ...

) *''

'' (2007,

Wii The Wii ( ) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released on November 19, 2006, in North America and in December 2006 for most other Regional lockout, regions of the world. It is Nintendo's fifth major ho ...

) *'' Ketsui Death Label'' (2008, Nintendo DS) *''

Dr. Mario Online Rx ''Dr. Mario Online Rx'', stylized as ' and released in PAL regions as ''Dr. Mario & Germ Buster'', is a puzzle video game starring Dr. Mario. It was one of the WiiWare launch games in Japan, Europe, and Australia, and was released on March 25, ...

'' (2008, Wii through

WiiWare WiiWare was a service that allowed Wii users to download games and applications specifically designed and developed for the Wii video game console made by Nintendo. These games and applications could only be purchased and downloaded from the Wii S ...

) *''

Dr. Mario Express ''Dr. Mario Express'', known in PAL regions as ''A Little Bit of... Dr. Mario'', is a ''Mario'' action puzzle video game published by Nintendo. The game was released as a DSiWare title for the Nintendo DSi platform. ''Dr. Mario Express'' was r ...

'' (2008,

Nintendo DSi The is a dual-screen handheld game console released by Nintendo. The console launched in Japan on November 1, 2008, and worldwide beginning in April 2009. It is the third iteration of the Nintendo DS, and its primary market rival is Sony In ...

through

DSiWare This is a list of games and applications, collectively known as DSiWare, for the Nintendo DSi handheld game console, available for download via the DSi Shop and unplayable on earlier DS models. An update released for the Nintendo 3DS in June 2011 ...

) *''Jewelry Master Twinkle'' (2009, Xbox 360 through

Xbox Live Indie Games Xbox Live Indie Games (XBLIG; previously called Xbox Live Community Games; XBLCG) are video games created by individual developers or small teams of developers released on Microsoft's Xbox Live Marketplace for the Xbox 360. The games were develope ...

) *''Aa Mujou Setsuna''/''Metal Torrent'' (2009/2010, Nintendo DSi through DSiWare) *'' Endless Ocean 2: Adventures of the Deep'' (2009/2010, Wii) *''Jewelry Master Twinkle Light'' (2010, Xbox 360 through Xbox Live Indie Games) *'' Bust-A-Move Universe'' (2011,

Nintendo 3DS The is a handheld game console produced by Nintendo. It was announced in March 2010 and unveiled at E3 2010 as the successor to the Nintendo DS. The system features backward compatibility with Nintendo DS video games. As an eighth-generatio ...

) *''

AR Games AR, Ar, or A&R may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Artists and repertoire Periodicals * ''Absolute Return + Alpha'', a hedge fund publication *''The Adelaide Review'', an Australian arts magazine * ''American Renaissance'' ( ...

'' (2011, Nintendo 3DS bundled with console) *'' 3D Classics Excitebike'' (2011, Nintendo 3DS through Nintendo 3DS eShop) *'' 3D Classics Xevious'' (2011, Nintendo 3DS through Nintendo 3DS eShop) *'' 3D Classics Urban Champion'' (2011, Nintendo 3DS through Nintendo 3DS eShop) *'' 3D Classics Twinbee'' (2011, Nintendo 3DS through Nintendo 3DS eShop) *'' 3D Classics Kirby Adventure'' (2011, Nintendo 3DS through Nintendo 3DS eShop) *'' 3D Classics Kid Icarus'' (2012, Nintendo 3DS through Nintendo 3DS eShop) *'' Tekken 3D: Prime Edition'' (2012, Nintendo 3DS) *'' Teddy Together'' (2013, Nintendo 3DS.

Bandai-Namco also known as the Bandai Namco Group and generally Bandai Namco, is a Japanese multinational holding company, production enterprise and entertainment conglomerate headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, formed from the merger of Bandai and Namco on S ...

) *''

Dr. Luigi ''Dr. Luigi'' is a 2013 puzzle video game developed by Arika and Nintendo SPD, and published by Nintendo for the Wii U console. It is the sixth game in the ''Dr. Mario'' series and is part of the larger ''Mario'' franchise. The player must cl ...

'' (2013,

Wii U The Wii U ( ) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo as the successor to the Wii. Released in late 2012, it is the first eighth-generation video game console and competed with Microsoft's Xbox One and Sony's PlayStation 4. The W ...

through Nintendo eShop) *'' Dr. Mario: Miracle Cure'' (2015, Nintendo 3DS through Nintendo eShop) *''

'' (2018,

PlayStation 4 The PlayStation 4 (PS4) is a home video game console developed by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Announced as the successor to the PlayStation 3 in February 2013, it was launched on November 15, 2013, in North America, November 29, 2013 in ...

, Windows) *''

'' (2019,

Nintendo Switch The is a hybrid video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. The console itself is a Tablet computer#Gaming tablet, tablet that can either be docking station, docked for use as a home video ...

through

Nintendo eShop The Nintendo eShop is a digital distribution service powered by the Nintendo Network for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS, and by a dedicated online infrastructure for the Nintendo Switch. Launched in June 2011 on the Nintendo 3DS, the eShop was en ...

) *''

'' (2020,

through

) *''

'' (2021,

through

) *'' Fighting EX Layer Another Dash'' (2021,

) *'' Chocobo GP'' (2022, Nintendo Switch)

References

External links

* {{Authority control Video game companies of Japan Video game development companies Video game publishers Video game companies established in 1995 Japanese companies established in 1995