Pre-orders opened on 1 July 2023 for Dynamite Bomb!!, a new 2D anime-style fighting game made exclusively for arcades. Light Green Games, including staff with involvement in Dragon Ball FighterZ, developed the game with exA-Arcadia.
The design centres on chain combos, launchers and technical play, with defensive options intended to reward precision. I had a very early look at it back in 2021, while the footage below shows a later version of the game recorded in March.
Dynamite Bomb!! features
- 10 playable characters
- A claimed 0.5-frame input-lag response
- Chain combos and launchers
- Tech recovery and parries for defensive play
- A story mode with full voice acting for every character
- Arcade-exclusive development, with no console or PC release planned
- Support for both landscape and portrait, or TATE, display orientations
Built for low-latency arcade play
Dynamite Bomb!! runs on exA-Arcadia’s own platform engine, also used by games including Axel City 2. The engine is central to the game’s very low input-lag target. exA-Arcadia has also published several “how-to” videos, although those videos were available in Japanese at the time.
The standard gameplay window uses a 4:3 area. On a 16:9 display, the unused side panels show character artwork, creating a presentation similar to Samurai Shodown V Perfect. When the system is rotated into TATE mode, the layout changes to use the vertical screen space instead.
That orientation option is particularly useful for arcades running an exA system vertically for shoot-’em-ups. It is an unusual feature for a fighting game and gives operators more flexibility when configuring an arcade machine.
Ordering and software-kit pricing
The general ordering page for the software kit can be found here. The listed price was around US$1,550, placing it in a similar range to several other exA-Arcadia fighting games.
Customers in Japan and Europe could also order through local distributors. European buyers were directed to Red Sun Systems. For Australian operators and collectors assessing the wider hardware setup, RETROCADE’s arcade machine buying guide provides a useful starting point.
The release kit represents an important step for exA-Arcadia. Much of the platform’s catalogue had consisted of adaptations, sometimes with arcade-focused changes and additions. The platform’s low-latency approach can also make those versions the preferred way to play, even when a game originated elsewhere.
A new direction for exA-Arcadia
Original arcade games carry greater development cost and risk than adaptations, making them a difficult starting point for a new arcade platform. With Dynamite Bomb!!, exA-Arcadia is expanding into a fully exclusive fighter, followed soon by another exclusive project, Axel City 2.
P-47 Aces Mk. II may also qualify as a full exclusive in practical terms, given how substantially it differs from the original 1996 arcade game. For operators planning a dedicated fighting-game setup, comparing upright arcade cabinets and suitable arcade parts is the next step.
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