[ Note ] = This article was originally a Message Board post.

Just got the new Arcadia (yeah, I know it's late but it's been hard to find this issue for some reason), and there's some shots along with character info and an interview. The good news is that it's S246 for the arcade, so there's a very good change it will come home to the PS2. Also, a ton of arcades (in Japan, at least) are familiar with S246 games, so it shouldn't be hard to find it. But the arcade release date hasn't even been set yet, so who knows when we'll actually see it in arcades (let alone at home). My guess is that it will be after Devil Kings X.

Anyway, the characters look pretty cool; so far I'm liking the designs for Saber and Archer the most. No pun intended, but Shiro really does look a bit like that kid from Castle Shikigami 2. Archer looks like Dante from DMC, but (dare I say it) cooler; he's got to be inspired by Dante. Rin looks like the typical Japanese cartoon chick with a skirt and long hair, and there's two other characters in the shots that no info was given on. One looks like somethng out of Shadow of Rome, and the other looks like something from the Lost Planet design team.

The graphics are what we've come to expect from recent titles on the S246/PS2 hardware, with the types of lighting and special effects seen in games like Devil May Cry 3, Devil Kings 2, Soul Calibur III, and Tekken 5. The environments shown look pretty dim, and it seems to be the theme of the game. Graphically, it's right on par with Mobile Suit Gundam Seed - Destiny: Federation VS Z.A.F.T. II. It looks nice.

Oh, and I found something else that looked interesting; it lists Cavia for production and 8ing for the development. At first, I thought it was just a typo (even Arcadia has them sometimes), but the logo also lists them among 8ing, Type-Moon, and Capcom. Good to see that they're still working with Capcom, you know, after all the shit they got for Beatdown...

I've seen a little more on the game recently, but I'm still wondering if it's going to play more like Melty Blood or an 8ing fighter. I hope it plays more like the latter; I love the Bloody Roar games. My local arcade claims they'll have the game on release, so I'm hyped. I'll be practicing everyday. This, together with the new Gundam and the new Devil Kings, will leave me broke!

The more I see of this game, the happier I am to see Capcom teaming up with 8ing, Cavia, and Type-Moon to make it. It looks like it's turning out well. The Bloody Roar games were really fun, and this game will probably be just as fun if it plays anything like them. It might be hard to touch on the uniqueness of Bloody Roar, but I think that on the other hand, it has the potential to appeal to the Melty Blood and Arcana Heart crowds. After the DreamCast's prime (post Street Fighter, Capcom VS SNK, and Gundam) we got a handful of obscure fighters made by oddball developers (one of which was Melty Blood); this game made me think of that.