Ancient (company)

Last updated
Ancient Corp.
Native name
株式会社エインシャント
Romanized name
Kabushiki gaisha Einshanto
Company type Private
Industry Video games
FoundedApril 1, 1990;35 years ago (1990-04-01) [1]
Founder Yuzo Koshiro [1]
Headquarters Hino, Tokyo, Japan [1]
Number of employees
15 [1]  (2018)
Website www.ancient.co.jp

Ancient Corp. [a] is a Japanese video game developer based in Hino, Tokyo. It was founded on April 1, 1990 by composer Yuzo Koshiro, Ayano Koshiro, and Tomo Koshiro. [1] [2] [3] The company is best known for its work on Streets of Rage 2 , Beyond Oasis , the Protect Me Knight/Gotta Protectors series, and the 8-bit versions of Sonic the Hedgehog .

Contents

Overview

The company was founded when Yuzo, who had worked on the sound for The Super Shinobi, received an inquiry from Sega asking if he could create the entire game. Yuzo was told that taking on the entire game would require a company-wide deal, so he founded the company. Initially, he invited Shinobu Hayashi, an acquaintance from a doujin PC software circle (who later worked on the development of Decathreat at Sega and joined Zenaworks after leaving Sega), to work as a programmer, and formed the company with Ayano, who was in charge of graphics, and four high school classmates. The company was run as a cottage industry (the company's representative was the mother of the Kodai siblings). The Game Gear version (known overseas as the Master System version) of Sonic the Hedgehog that they developed became a huge hit, and the profits were used to build the company's headquarters. [4]

Games

List of games developed by Ancient
YearTitlePublisherPlatform
1991 Sonic the Hedgehog Sega Master System, Game Gear
1992 Streets of Rage 2 [b] Sega Genesis
1993 ActRaiser 2 [c] Enix [d] Super Nintendo Entertainment System
1994 Beyond Oasis SegaSega Genesis
1996 The Legend of Oasis Sega Saturn
Vatlva JVC
1997 Sega Ages: Columns Arcade Collection Sega
1998 Sega Saturn de Hakken!! Tamagotchi Park Bandai
1999 Animetic Story Game 1: Cardcaptor Sakura [e] Arika PlayStation
2001 Car Battler Joe Natsume Inc. [f] Game Boy Advance
2004 Amazing Island Sega GameCube
Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo Atsumare!! Taikan Bo-bobo [g] Hudson Soft PlayStation 2
2006 Ueki no Hōsoku: Taosu ze Roberuto Jūdan!! [h] Bandai
Bleach: Hanatareshi Yabou [i] Sony Computer Entertainment
2007 Fuzion Frenzy 2 [g] Microsoft Game Studios Xbox 360
Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! Dream Hyper Battle! [j] Marvelous Entertainment PlayStation 2
2008 Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! Battle Arena [j] PlayStation Portable
2009 Katekyoo Hitman Reborn! Battle Arena 2 [j]
2010 Protect Me Knight Self-publishedXbox 360
Puchi Puchi Time [5] iOS
2014 Gotta Protectors Nintendo 3DS
2017Gotta Protectors: Amazon's Running Diet [6] Nintendo Entertainment System
2019 Gotta Protectors: Cart of Darkness [7] 8-4 [k] Nintendo Switch
2021Royal Anapoko Academy [8] Self-published
2025Earthion Limited Run Games [l] [9] Sega Genesis, Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Notes

  1. ↑ Japanese: 株式会社エインシャント, Hepburn: Kabushiki gaisha Einshanto
  2. ↑ Co-developed with Sega, Shout! Design Works, MNM Software, and H.I.C.
  3. ↑ Co-developed with Quintet
  4. ↑ Published by Ubisoft in Europe
  5. ↑ Co-developed with Arika
  6. ↑ Published by Victor Interactive Software in Japan
  7. 1 2 Co-developed with Hudson Soft
  8. ↑ Co-developed with Bandai
  9. ↑ Co-developed with Sony Computer Entertainment
  10. 1 2 3 Co-developed with Marvelous Entertainment
  11. ↑ Self-published by Ancient in Japan
  12. ↑ Ported to Windows, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S by Bitwave Games

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Kaisha annai | Kabushiki-gaisha Einshanto" 会社案内 | 株式会社エインシャント [Company Info | Ancient Corp.]. Ancient.co.jp (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2018-09-03. Retrieved 2018-12-10.
  2. ↑ Parish, Jeremy (2017-06-19). "Yuzo Koshiro: Legendary game composer, family business owner". Polygon. Retrieved 2 August 2017.
  3. ↑ "TNL Developer Spotlight: Ancient". The Next Level. 2003-03-11. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
  4. ↑ "『3D ベア・ナックルII』セガ 3D復刻プロジェクト注目作の顛末をオリジナル開発者と移植スタッフとが語らう【特別企画】". ファミ通.com (in Japanese). 2015-07-10. Retrieved 2025-10-22.
  5. ↑ "Puchi Puchi Time" . Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  6. ↑ Lopes, Gonçalo (September 11, 2017). "Check Out a New NES Game - Amazon's Running Diet". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on June 3, 2024. Retrieved August 16, 2025.
  7. ↑ Romano, Sal (2018-12-05). "Susume!! Mamotte Knight: Hime no Totsugeki Serenade announced for Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  8. ↑ Romano, Sal (2018-12-05). "Mamotte Knight developer Ancient Games announces RPG Royal Anapoko Academy for Switch". Gematsu. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  9. ↑ McFerran, Damien (2025-05-07). "Yuzo Koshiro's Earthion Confirmed For Switch, PS4, PS5 And Xbox Series X/S". Time Extension. Retrieved 16 August 2025.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.