ACS Visual Entertainment LLC., also known as simply ACS, is an Imaginary What-if Japanese entertainment conglomerate, video game developer and publishing company headquartered in Minato, Tokyo. Beyond its video game business, the company also produces and distributes trading cards, light novels and arcade cabinets, among others. In the past, ACS has also distributed pachinko and slot machines up until leaving the pachislot business altogether in 2020. Currently, ACS is one of the largest gaming companies in the world in terms of revenue. Founded in 1967 as A.C.S. Manufacture Ltd., the company originally started out as a manufacturer of arcade attractions such as kiddie rides, toy cranes and coin pusher game, before later shifting their focus toward video game development. The company later officially changed its name to ACS Co., Ltd. in 1981, following this change, eventually renaming themselves once again into ACS Computer Entertainment LLC. in 1995, before later adopting its current name in 2006, in order to emphasize their new vision, expanding their horizons and producing other forms of media. ACS is best known for their various video game franchises, including Fighting Champions, Sentoki, Fight or Die, Code Chronos, Crisis Moon, Arkane Arena (a shared IP with SBEntertainment), Spunky the Squirrel, Blazin' Wheels, To the Beat and Half*Dead, among others. ACS also currently owns the publishing rights to the Bloody Roar franchise, after having bought the IP rights from Konami. ACS currently owns several development studios such as ACS Production Studios Tokyo, Osaka, Kobe and Nagoya, as well as Orange Soft (known for developing 2D fighting games), S•T•K Project (the team responsible for the Sentoki series), Digital Revolution (noted for their racing games) and Team Beats (ACS' rhythm game divison). ACS has also acquired several America-based development studios such as Hoodlum Softworks in 2007 (dissolved in 2010) and Headrush Games in 2016. ACS had previously served as the Japanese distributor for In-Verse games following the success of their crossover fighting game Cross Code: Project Ultimate Versus Battle. In exchange, In-Verse's subsidiary Shiny Star Games distributed some of ACS' games in European regions. As of recently, they have also embarked on a working relationship with SBEntertainment, with the two companies co-producing the Arkane Arena series of games, as well as Rósa: De Sangre Hermosa. ACS has also published licensed video games, having released games such as the Ring of Honor: Unchained series of wrestling games, based on the Ring of Honor professional wrestling promotion, as well as the Bellator: MMA Fury series, which was licensed by the MMA promotion Bellator MMA. In the past, ACS has also published various licensed sports games under the ACS Sports label. In 1999, ACS expanded their business model with the introduction of their light novel publishing imprint, DokiDoki Bunko (DDB). Ever since its inception in 1999, DokiDoki Bunko has since published hundreds of popular light novel titles.
The secret scrolls of Shinken-ryu tell of a forbidden method to unlock a fighter’s hidden spirit and grant them incredible power, albeit at the cost of their sanity. The method, known as “Yami” (闇; “darkness"), involves channelling one’s spiritual energy, or “ki” in a way that the equilibrium of yin and yang within the fighter’s spirit will be broken, allowing the dark, monstrous energy of the former to overtake the latter's natural and pure strength. Yami grants the user power above any human being, but when this power is abused, the dark energy would fully consume the fighter’s spirit, turning him or her into an unstoppable monster who only lives to fight and kill. Due to the dangers of abusing its power, for many years, the Yami method has been hidden amongst practicioners of the Shinken-ryu style. Not even the closest family members are told about it, and it was thought that the Yami method has been all but forgotten. During the climax of the second tournament, Ryuga once again reaches the final round of the tournament where he would face his brother Kabuto for the second time. The two fought a hard battle, exchanging blows one after another, and pulling off all of their absolute techniques. The battle ended with with both Ryuga and Kabuto within an inch of each other’s lives, with only one last finishing blow seperating them from victory. However, just as Ryuga was about to unleash the final blow, Kabuto, in a last-ditch effort, taps on the power of Yami, and in one fell swoop, proceeded to turn the tables and brutally beat down Ryuga, only stopping once his brother was unconscious, if not dead. Overwhelmed by Kabuto’s newfound power, Ryuga was forced to succumb to his injuries. Taking his loss against Kabuto in stride, Ryuga strived to train harder and harder in order to finally defeat the power of Yami without succumbing to the dark power himself. Around that time, a third World of Fighting tournament is announced, with a doubled prize pool from the previous tournament to attract more fighters from all around the world. However, to win the prize money is not Ryuga's goal. Instead, he joins the tournament in order to settle the score with his brother one last time.
