2004 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Madden NFL 2005, NBA Live 2005, ESPN NBA 2K5, Tony Hawk's Underground 2, WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw, Doom 3, Dragon Quest VIII, Gran Turismo 4, Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas, Half-Life 2, Halo 2, Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater, Myst IV: Revelation, Ninja Gaiden, Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen/Emerald, Everybody's Golf 4, Prince of Persia: Warrior Within, and World of Warcraft. New intellectual properties included Fable, Far Cry, FlatOut, Killzone, Katamari Damacy, Monster Hunter, N, Red Dead Revolver, SingStar, and Sacred. The Nintendo DS was also launched that year.
1997 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Final Fantasy VII, Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, GoldenEye 007, Star Fox 64, Crash Bandicoot 2: Cortex Strikes Back, Quake II, Mega Man Legends, Riven, Tomb Raider II, Dark Rift, Tekken 3 and Virtua Striker 2, along with new titles such as Oddworld: Abe's Oddysee, Gran Turismo, Diablo, Grand Theft Auto and Fallout.
1995 saw many sequels and prequels in video games, such as Dragon Quest VI, Mega Man 7, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy's Kong Quest, and Tekken 2, along with new titles such as Mario's Picross, Battle Arena Toshinden, Chrono Trigger, Rayman, Twisted Metal, Star Wars: Dark Forces, Destruction Derby, Wipeout and Jumping Flash!
Knights of Xentar is an erotic role-playing video game published for MS-DOS compatible operating systems in North America by Megatech Software in 1995. It was originally published as Dragon Knight III (ドラゴンナイトIII) in Japan. It is part of the Dragon Knight series of games created by Japanese game developer ELF, who originally released the game for the NEC PC-9801 computer in 1991, followed by ports for the X68000 and PC Engine CD in 1992 and 1994. In addition to the regular version of the game, the PC port also has an "adult" version with more explicit nudity.
Powerful Pro Baseball, previously known as Jikkyō Powerful Pro Baseball, and eBASEBALL Powerful Pro Baseball and marketed internationally as Power Pros, is a Japanese baseball video game series created by Konami. It is known for its super deformed characters and fast-paced, yet deep, gameplay. Most games in the series are developed under license from Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) and the Japan Professional Baseball Players Association (JPBPA), allowing the use of team names, stadiums, colors, and players' names and likenesses. Six games in the series also feature licenses from Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA), two from the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO) and Korea Professional Baseball Players Association (KPBPA), and one from the World Baseball Classic.
Echo Night: Beyond, known in Japan as Nebula: Echo Night is a 2004 survival horror adventure video game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 2 console. Agetec published the game in North America, with the European release, by Indie Games, following in August 2005. It is the third game in the Echo Night series. While it shares common elements with Echo Night and Echo Night 2: The Lord of Nightmares, Beyond takes place in its own timeline.
King's Field is a 1994 action role-playing game developed and published by FromSoftware for the PlayStation. It was FromSoftware's debut video game project after developing business software for eight years, as well as the first game in what would become the King's Field series; this first title was only released in Japan, with the follow-up, King's Field II (1995) releasing globally as simply King's Field. In the game, the player navigates a vast underground labyrinth to discover the source of an invasion of monsters. Attacking and using spells are tied to a stamina meter, which is depleted with each action and must refill before the player can act again.
Shadow Tower is a 1998 action role-playing video game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation. The game was originally released in Japan by FromSoftware on June 25, 1998 and in North America by Agetec on November 23, 1999. Shadow Tower shares many similarities with the King's Field series of video games. A sequel, Shadow Tower Abyss, was released for the PlayStation 2 exclusively in Japan.
Shiren the Wanderer is a roguelike video game developed by Chunsoft for the Wii. It was released in Japan on June 5, 2008, and in North America on February 9, 2010. A PlayStation Portable version was released later in 2010, with a readjusted difficulty, a new infrastructure mode, and shorter loading times via the ability to install the game.
Surveillance Kanshisha is a 2002 adventure video game developed and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. Animated cutscenes was provided by Production I.G. It was not released outside Japan.
Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time is a Wii and Nintendo DS action role-playing game in the Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles series developed by Square Enix.
Echo Night is a 1998 adventure game developed by FromSoftware for the PlayStation. It is the first game in the Echo Night series, following up with the Japan-exclusive Echo Night 2: The Lord of Nightmares in 1999, and Echo Night: Beyond in 2004. A spinoff for the PlayStation Portable was included with Adventure Player, an adventure game creation tool, which was released in Japan on June 30, 2005.
Dragon Knight 4 (ドラゴンナイト４) is an erotic role-playing video game developed by ELF Corporation and released only in Japan for several platforms between 1994 and 1997. In 1994, the game first became available for PC MS-DOS, NEC PC-9801 and X68000, with a censored version ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1996 and later to the PC-FX, PlayStation and Sega Saturn in 1997. It was also adapted into illustrated novels and an anime miniseries.
Shadow Tower Abyss is a role-playing video game developed and published by FromSoftware for the PlayStation 2. The game is a sequel to Shadow Tower and features a number of genre and mechanical elements that can also be found in Demon's Souls and the King's Field series. Shadow Tower Abyss was announced on 22 August 2001 and released in Japan on 23 October 2003. An English version was being developed by Agetec, but the project was cancelled by Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA), its publisher, prior to completion. A fan translation was released in 2011.
Freedom Wars is a 2014 action role-playing video game developed by Dimps and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Vita. Set in the distant future where the majority of humankind is imprisoned in penal city-states known as Panopticons which wage war against one another, the game involves players cooperating to fight enemies and contribute towards their Panopticon. The game was one of the most successful first-party PlayStation Vita titles in Japan, achieving the second highest all-time opening sales for Vita software sold there.
The PlayStation TV, known in Japan and other parts of Asia as the PlayStation Vita TV or PS Vita TV, is a microconsole, and a non-handheld variant of the PlayStation Vita handheld game console. It was released in Japan on November 14, 2013, and Europe and Australia on November 14, 2014.
Valkyrie Profile or Valkyrie is a series of role-playing video games created by Masaki Norimoto and Yoshiharu Gotanda, primarily developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix. The series is notable for featuring elements from Norse mythology.
Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS in 2017. It is the fifteenth installment in the Fire Emblem series and a remake of the 1992 Famicom game Fire Emblem Gaiden, the second entry in the series. It follows dual protagonists Alm and Celica as they aim to bring an end to the war through opposite methods, with Alm fighting to resolve the war through battle, while Celica attempts to find a peaceful end through guidance from the Goddess Mila. Fire Emblem Echoes carries over the core gameplay mechanics of the Fire Emblem series while incorporating mechanics from Gaiden, like dungeon crawling.
Echo Night is a trilogy of Japanese adventure games developed by FromSoftware. The original Echo Night was first released in 1998 for the PlayStation. Two sequels were developed; Echo Night 2: The Lord of Nightmares for the PlayStation in Japan in 1999, and Echo Night: Beyond for the PlayStation 2 which released worldwide between 2004 and 2006. All the titles feature a protagonist called Richard pursuing a magical artifact and interacting with ghosts. Titles are played from a first-person perspective, and place a focus on puzzles and exploration.
