Final Fantasy VI, also known as Final Fantasy III from its initial North American release, is a 1994 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sixth main entry in the Final Fantasy series, the final to feature 2D sprite based graphics, and the first to be directed by someone other than series creator Hironobu Sakaguchi; the role was instead filled by Yoshinori Kitase and Hiroyuki Ito. Long-time collaborator Yoshitaka Amano returned as character designer and concept artist, while composer Nobuo Uematsu returned to compose the game's score, which has been released on several soundtrack albums.
Final Fantasy VII is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation console and the seventh main installment in the Final Fantasy series. Square published the game in Japan, and it was released in other regions by Sony Computer Entertainment, becoming the first game in the main series to have a PAL release. The game's story follows Cloud Strife, a mercenary who joins an eco-terrorist organization to stop a world-controlling megacorporation from using the planet's life essence as an energy source. Events send Cloud and his allies in pursuit of Sephiroth, a superhuman who seeks to wound the planet and harness its healing power to be reborn as a god. During their journey, Cloud bonds with his party members, including Aerith Gainsborough, who holds the secret to saving their world.
Final Fantasy IX is a 2000 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation video game console. It is the ninth game in the main Final Fantasy series. The plot focuses on a war between nations in a medieval fantasy world called Gaia. Players follow a thief named Zidane Tribal who kidnaps princess Garnet Til Alexandros XVII as part of a ploy by the neighboring nation of Lindblum. He joins Garnet and a growing cast of characters on a quest to take down her mother, Queen Brahne of Alexandria, who started the war.
A role-playing video game, a role-playing game (RPG) or computer role-playing game (CRPG), is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character immersed in some well-defined world, usually involving some form of character development by way of recording statistics. Many role-playing video games have origins in tabletop role-playing games and use much of the same terminology, settings, and game mechanics. Other major similarities with pen-and-paper games include developed story-telling and narrative elements, player character development, complexity, as well as replay value and immersion. The electronic medium removes the necessity for a gamemaster and increases combat resolution speed. RPGs have evolved from simple text-based console-window games into visually rich 3D experiences.
Alien Hominid is a run and gun video game developed by The Behemoth and first released as a Flash game on the multimedia website Newgrounds on August 7, 2002. It was originally developed in Adobe Flash by programmer and Newgrounds founder, Tom Fulp, and animator and artist, Dan Paladin. It has since been re-released in several expanded and enhanced iterations for home consoles and computers.
Tactical role-playing games, also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as simulation RPGs, are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical strategy video games. The formats of tactical RPGs are much like traditional tabletop role-playing games and strategy games in appearance, pacing, and rule structure. Likewise, early tabletop role-playing games are descended from skirmish wargames such as Chainmail, which were primarily concerned with combat.
Baten Kaitos: Eternal Wings and the Lost Ocean is a role-playing video game developed by Monolith Soft and tri-Crescendo and published by Namco for the GameCube. In it, the player assume the role of a "guardian spirit" – an unseen player avatar – who guides protagonist Kalas and his party of companions in an adventure across an aerial floating island-based kingdom in the clouds. The game is focused around the concept of "Magnus" – magical cards that capture the "essence" of items found in the in-game world. The concept is used as a plot device, for in-game item management, and as a basis for the card-themed battle system. The game was noted for its unique battle system, which included aspects of turn-based and action-based battle systems, collectible card games, and poker.
Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King is a role-playing video game developed by Level-5 and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. It was released in Japan in 2004, in North America in 2005 and PAL regions in 2006, making it the first main series installment released in the PAL region. It is the eighth installment of the Dragon Quest series and it is the first English version of a Dragon Quest game to drop the Dragon Warrior title. A version of the game for Android and iOS was released in Japan in December 2013, and worldwide in May 2014.
Touhou Project, also known simply as Touhou, is a bullet hell shoot 'em up video game series created by one-man independent Japanese doujin soft developer Team Shanghai Alice. Since 1995, the team's member, Jun'ya "ZUN" Ōta, has independently developed programming, graphics, writing, and music for the series, self-publishing 19 mainline games and 13 spin-offs as of October 2023. ZUN has also produced related print works and music albums, and collaborated with developer Twilight Frontier on seven additional official Touhou spin-offs, most being fighting games.
Dawn of Fantasy is a massively multiplayer online real-time strategy (MMORTS) game set in a medieval high fantasy setting. The game was developed by Canadian company Reverie World Studios for Microsoft Windows and released in 2011. An Xbox 360 version was initially planned but later cancelled.
Fancy Pants is a series of free side-scrolling Flash games created by American developer Brad Borne. Four worlds have been released so far. World 1 was released on March 14, 2006 and World 2 was released on January 9, 2008. After the 2009 Comic-Con, Borne announced he would officially start working on World 3. It was released on April 5, 2012. A console version developed by Borne and Over the Top Games was released by EA 2D for PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Arcade on April 19 and April 20, 2011, respectively. An iOS version developed by Chillingo, Over the Top Games and Borne Games was released on the Apple App Store on March 4, 2012. Some years later, Brad Borne made a fourth entry, Super Fancy Pants Adventure, and it implies in its ending scene after defeating the final boss that it is "To be continued". Two years after the release of the game, Brad posted World 4 on Newgrounds. World 4 was Super Fancy Pants Adventures, just ported to Adobe Flash. Right now, there are three parts of the game available on Brad Borne's website and two on Newgrounds.
Video games are a major industry in Japan, and the country is considered one of the most influential in video gaming. Japanese game development is often identified with the golden age of video games and the country is home to many notable video game companies such as Nintendo, Sega, Taito, Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, Square Enix, Konami, NEC, SNK, and formerly Sony Computer Entertainment. Japan is currently the third largest video game market in the world after China and the United States.
While the early history and distinctive traits of role-playing video games (RPGs) in East Asia have come from Japan, many video games have also arisen in China, developed in South Korea, and Taiwan.
Final Fantasy is a fantasy role-playing video game developed and published by Square in 1987. It is the first game in Square's Final Fantasy series, created by Hironobu Sakaguchi. Originally released for the NES, Final Fantasy was remade for several video game consoles and is frequently packaged with Final Fantasy II in video game collections. The first Final Fantasy story follows four youths called the Warriors of Light, who each carry one of their world's four elemental crystals which have been darkened by the four Elemental Fiends. Together, they quest to defeat these evil forces, restore light to the crystals, and save their world.
Evoland is a 2013 role-playing video game developed and published by Shiro Games. Evoland was first released for Microsoft Windows and OS X in April 2013, Android and iOS in February 2015 and Linux in March 2015.
Tetsuya Nomura is a Japanese video game artist, designer, producer, and director working for Square Enix. He was hired by Square initially as a monster designer for Final Fantasy V (1992), before being shifted towards secondary character designer alongside Yoshitaka Amano for Final Fantasy VI (1994). Final Fantasy VII (1997) had him working in the original story alongside Hironobu Sakaguchi, and marked his debut as the lead character designer, a capacity he would retain for several future installments of the series, as well as other Square Enix titles such as The Bouncer and The World Ends with You.
Ys vs. Trails in the Sky: Alternative Saga is a 2010 crossover fighting game by Nihon Falcom. Similar to the concept of Super Smash Bros. and Dissidia Final Fantasy, the game involves players choosing a character and participating in up to four-player fights against other characters sourced from Falcom's Ys and Trails role-playing game series. It was released only in Japan for the PlayStation Portable on July 29.
WorldBox is a sandbox game that was released in 2012 by Russian indie game developer Maxim Karpenko. The game allows the use of different elements to create, change, and destroy virtual worlds.
One Piece Odyssey is a 2023 role-playing video game developed by ILCA and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. A part of the One Piece franchise, it was released for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, and Xbox Series X/S. It is also set to release for Nintendo Switch in July 2024.
