Noriyuki Asakura is a Japanese composer and vocalist, best known for composing the soundtracks to the anime series Rurouni Kenshin and the video game franchises Tenchu and Way of the Samurai. He is well known for combining traditional Japanese music with elements of rock, jazz, and other world music. He established the music production studio Mega-Alpha in 2003, which composes for various types of media.
Tenchu is an action-adventure stealth video game series owned by Japanese game publisher FromSoftware, where the player assumes the role of a ninja in 16th-century feudal Japan. The first game in the series titled Tenchu: Stealth Assassins was developed by Japanese developer Acquire and published in 1998. Later games have also been developed by K2 LLC and FromSoftware. The current rightsholder to the series is FromSoftware who bought the rights from Activision in 2004.
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.
Demon's Souls is a 2009 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 3. It was released in Japan in February 2009, in North America by Atlus in October 2009, and in PAL territories by Namco Bandai Partners in June 2010. The game is referred to as a spiritual successor to FromSoftware's King's Field series.
The Japan Game Awards is the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's awards ceremony, which was created in 1996 as the CESA Awards. While it represents the Japanese video game industry, it is not limited to Japanese video games, but also includes international video games.
Dark Souls is a 2011 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Namco Bandai Games. A spiritual successor to FromSoftware's Demon's Souls, the game is the first in the Dark Souls series. The game takes place in the kingdom of Lordran, where players assume the role of a cursed undead character who escapes from the Northern Undead Asylum and begins a pilgrimage to discover the fate of their kind. A port for Windows featuring additional content, known as the Prepare to Die Edition, was released in August 2012. It was also released for consoles under the subtitle Artorias of the Abyss in October 2012.
Hidetaka Miyazaki is a Japanese video game director, designer, writer, and president of the game developer FromSoftware. He joined the company in 2004 and was a designer for the Armored Core series before receiving wider recognition for creating the Dark Souls series. Miyazaki was promoted to company president in 2014 and also serves as its representative director. Other similar games he has directed include Demon's Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro, and Elden Ring.
Dark Souls III is a 2016 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One. The third and final entry in the Dark Souls series, the game follows an unkindled character on a quest to prevent the end of the world. It is played in a third-person perspective, and players have access to various weapons, armour, magic, and consumables that they can use to fight their enemies. Hidetaka Miyazaki, the creator of the series, returned to direct the game after handing the development duties of Dark Souls II to others.
Dark Souls is a dark fantasy action role-playing game series developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Created by Hidetaka Miyazaki, the series began with the release of Dark Souls (2011) and has seen two sequels, Dark Souls II (2014) and Dark Souls III (2016). It has received critical acclaim, with its high level of difficulty being among its most discussed aspects, while the first Dark Souls is often cited as one of the greatest games of all time. The series had shipped over 37 million copies outside of Japan as of 2024. Other FromSoftware games, including Demon's Souls, Bloodborne, Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice, and Elden Ring, share several related concepts and led to the creation of the Soulslike subgenre.
Kadokawa Corporation, formerly Kadokawa Dwango Corporation, is a Japanese conglomerate based in Fujimi, Chiyoda, Tokyo.
Dark Souls III: The Ringed City is the second and last of the two downloadable content (DLC) packs for the 2016 action role-playing video game Dark Souls III. Released on March 27, 2017, the content pack was developed by FromSoftware and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment. It drew favorable reception from critics, with several seeing it as a fitting end to the Dark Souls series.
The bonfire is a place of rest and form of in-game checkpoint for the player character in the Dark Souls series of action role-playing games created by Hidetaka Miyazaki and Japanese developers FromSoftware. Making its debut in the 2011 video game Dark Souls and reappearing in its sequels, Dark Souls II and Dark Souls III, bonfires take the appearance of a pile of ash and bones pierced by a coiled sword and emitting an orange flame. Bonfires, which are scattered across many areas, serve as both a means to save in-game progress and as a utility area for leveling up, repairing gear, and replenishing a player's health, magic, and healing items, or "Estus Flasks". Resting at a bonfire will respawn most enemies, and, upon their death, players will return to the last one they previously used. According to Miyazaki, it was meant not only to serve utilitarian purposes but also be an area to relax in an otherwise harsh fantasy world.
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice is a 2019 action-adventure game developed by FromSoftware. It was released in Japan by FromSoftware and internationally by Activision for the PlayStation 4, Windows and Xbox One in March 2019 and for Stadia in October 2020.
Déraciné is a 2018 adventure game developed by FromSoftware and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation 4. The player takes the role of a fairy in an isolated boarding school who attempts to solve a mystery in virtual reality via the PlayStation VR headset. The game's development was led by Hidetaka Miyazaki, better known for creating the Dark Souls series. Déraciné was met with mixed reception.
Elden Ring is a 2022 action role-playing game developed by FromSoftware. It was directed by Hidetaka Miyazaki with worldbuilding provided by American fantasy writer George R. R. Martin. It was published for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S on February 25 in Japan by FromSoftware and internationally by Bandai Namco Entertainment. Set in the Lands Between, players control a customizable player character on a quest to repair the Elden Ring and become the new Elden Lord.
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.
A Soulslike is a subgenre of action role-playing games known for high difficulty level and emphasis on environmental storytelling, typically in a dark fantasy setting. It has its origin in Demon's Souls and the Dark Souls trilogy by FromSoftware, the themes and mechanics of which directly inspired several other games. The "Soulslike" name has been adopted by a number of critics and developers. However, there have also been questions whether it is a true genre or a collection of shared mechanics. A subset of these games, named Soulsborne, refers to most of the Soulslike games developed by FromSoftware.
ElviraYuki is a Spanish Twitch streamer, YouTuber and content creator known for playing with her feet on a dance pad, a type of game controller used for dance games.
Patches is a recurring character designed by Hidetaka Miyazaki and video game development studio FromSoftware. He is voiced by British actor William Vanderpuye, and, in Japanese, Naomi Kusumi. Appearing in most of their games starting from the 2008 Armored Core: For Answer, he has predominantly featured in games in the Soulsborne series, up to and including the 2022 open-world fantasy game Elden Ring. Bald and wearing trademark leather armor, he is usually a merchant who obtains his wares from looting corpses, including those of unsuspecting people he has fooled. His outlandishly cowardly personality and transparent ploys to kill the protagonist function as comic relief in the otherwise dark games. At times, Patches also becomes the player's ally, making him akin to a trickster. Patches has been described as a self-insert character for Miyazaki himself, who shares the tendency to spring traps on unsuspecting players, and only appears in games Miyazaki designed or directed. His similarity in design across games has led to theories that he can cross between dimensions. He has become widely popular amongst fans despite his constant attempts to mislead or sabotage the player.
Blighttown is a fictional underground location in the 2011 video game Dark Souls, created as part of the Dark Souls series by the game director Hidetaka Miyazaki and the development company FromSoftware. It is a swamp and settlement area that that both slows and poisons the player character and contains hostile, poisonous enemies. The location also contains the game boss named "Chaos Witch Quelaag" and her unnamed sister, who in the game's lore were mutated daughters of the Witch of Izalith who settled there and attempted to cure a plague that was infecting the residents there. Players must travel through Blighttown to activate one of two Bells of Awakening should they wish to progress through the game. Blighttown is part of a wider trope of poison swamp locations throughout various soulslike games produced by FromSoftware, such as other games of the Dark Souls series, Demon's Souls, and Elden Ring.
