Wild Arms, also written as Wild ARMs, is a media franchise developed by Media.Vision and owned by Sony Computer Entertainment. The franchise consists of several role-playing video games and related media. Since the launch of the original Wild Arms title in 1996, the series has gone on to encompass several media, including toys, manga, mobile phone applications, and a 22-episode anime.
Star Ocean: The Second Story is an action role-playing video game developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix for the PlayStation. It is the second game in the Star Ocean series and the first game in the series to be released outside Japan, arriving in North America in June 1999 and Europe in April 2000, by Sony Computer Entertainment. Taking place in a science fantasy universe, the story centers around a young man named Claude C. Kenny, a cadet from a space-faring Earth organization who is stranded on an undeveloped, medieval-level planet. There, he meets several companions and must stop a plot from an evil organization that spans multiple worlds before finding his way home. The game was the basis of manga and anime adaptations.
Legend of Mana is a 1999 action role-playing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation. It is the fourth game in the Mana series, following 1995's Trials of Mana. Set in a high fantasy universe, the game follows an unnamed hero as they restore the land of Fa'Diel by creating the world around them and completing a number of interrelated quests in order to restore the Tree of Mana.
Revelations: Persona is a 1996 role-playing video game developed and published by Atlus. It is the first entry in the Persona series, itself a subseries of the Megami Tensei franchise, and the first role-playing entry in the series to be released in the west. Originally released for the PlayStation in 1996 in Japan and North America, the title was ported to Microsoft Windows in 1999. A port to the PlayStation Portable retitled Shin Megami Tensei: Persona was released in North America and Japan in 2009, and the following year in Europe. This port featured new cutscenes and a reworked English localization that was more faithful to the original Japanese release. The PlayStation version was also released for the PlayStation Classic on December 3, 2018 worldwide, marking the PlayStation version being released in Europe for the first time.
Breath of Fire III is a role-playing video game developed and published by Capcom originally for the PlayStation console as part of the Breath of Fire series. Initially released in Japan on September 11, 1997, the game was later released in North America and Europe in 1998. It is the first game in the franchise to feature three-dimensional graphics and voice acting. The title was developed by director Makoto Ikehara and features a unique jazz-inspired soundtrack by company composers Yoshino Aoki and Akari Kaida. On August 25, 2005, the game was ported and released for the PlayStation Portable handheld system in Japan, and was also released in Europe on February 3, 2006.
Final Fantasy VII is a role-playing video game by Square as the seventh installment in the Final Fantasy series. Released in 1997, the game sparked the release of a collection of media centered on the game entitled the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII. The music of the Final Fantasy VII series includes not only the soundtrack to the original game and its associated albums, but also the soundtracks and music albums released for the other titles in the collection. The first album produced was Final Fantasy VII Original Soundtrack, a compilation of all the music in the game. It was released as a soundtrack album on four CDs by DigiCube in 1997. A selection of tracks from the album was released in the single-disc Reunion Tracks by DigiCube the same year. Piano Collections Final Fantasy VII, an album featuring piano arrangements of pieces from the soundtrack, was released in 2003 by DigiCube, and Square Enix began reprinting all three albums in 2004. To date, these are the only released albums based on the original game's soundtrack, and were solely composed by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu; his role for the majority of subsequent albums has been filled by Masashi Hamauzu and Takeharu Ishimoto.
Tales of Rebirth is a Japanese action role-playing game published for the PlayStation 2. It is the sixth main entry of Namco's Tales series of video games. The game was developed by Namco Tales Studio and published by Namco Games. The game was released for the PlayStation 2 on December 16, 2004, and then later re-released on the PlayStation Portable on March 19, 2008. Rebirth, set in a world populated by humans (Huma) and beast people (Gajuma), follows the adventures of Veigue Lungberg, a human whose friend Claire Bennett is kidnapped by agents of Agarte, heir to the throne of the kingdom of Karegia. Setting out to rescue Claire, Veigue and those who join him becomes entangled in escalating racial conflicts consuming the land.
Grandia III is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 console. Originally released in Japan in August 2005, the game was released in English in North America in February 2006, and is the first main series Grandia title to not be released in Europe. Grandia III was re-released on the North American PlayStation 3 store on July 21, 2016. The game was designed by much of the key staff of previous games in the series and includes many features seen in its predecessors, including the battle system. Music for the game was provided by series veteran Noriyuki Iwadare, and features the opening theme song "In the Sky" performed by Japanese pop/rock artist Miz.
Growlanser III: The Dual Darkness is the third installment to the popular series Growlanser created by Career Soft and published by Atlus, as well as one of the two games released in the United States in Growlanser Generations. As the back cover of the game says, it takes players back to the time and planet where the series began, a world in which the sun's power is fading and the land is dying.
Growlanser II: The Sense of Justice is the second game of the Growlanser series of video games developed by Career Soft. It is the first game of the series to be a tactical role-playing game, but maintains several features from the first game, such as branching storylines and multiple endings. The series is often likened to the dating sim genre, as the player character will often be paired with a single NPC. As a direct sequel to the first Growlanser, nearly all of the characters seen in the first game make a returning appearance as both playable and non-playable characters.
The music of the video game Final Fantasy IV was composed by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu. The Final Fantasy IV Original Sound Version, a compilation of almost all of the music in the game, was released by Square Co./NTT Publishing, and subsequently re-released by NTT Publishing. It was released in North America by Tokyopop as Final Fantasy IV Official Soundtrack: Music from Final Fantasy Chronicles, with one additional track. It has since been re-released multiple times with slight changes as part of the Final Fantasy Finest Box and as Final Fantasy IV DS OST. An arranged album entitled Final Fantasy IV Celtic Moon, containing a selection of musical tracks from the game performed in the style of Celtic music by Máire Breatnach, was released by Square and later re-released by NTT Publishing. Additionally, a collection of piano arrangements composed by Nobuo Uematsu and played by Toshiyuki Mori titled Piano Collections Final Fantasy IV was released by NTT Publishing.
The music of the video game Final Fantasy IX was composed by regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu. It was his last exclusive Final Fantasy score. The Final Fantasy IX Original Soundtrack, a compilation of all music in the game, was originally released on four Compact Discs by DigiCube in 2000, and was re-released by Square Enix in 2004. A Best Of and arranged soundtrack album of musical tracks from the game entitled Final Fantasy IX: Uematsu's Best Selection was released in 2000 by Tokyopop Soundtrax. Final Fantasy IX Original Soundtrack PLUS, an album of music from the game's full motion videos and extra tracks, was released by DigiCube in 2000 and re-released in 2004, and a collection of piano arrangements of pieces from the original soundtrack arranged by Shirō Hamaguchi and performed by Louis Leerink was released as Piano Collections Final Fantasy IX in 2001.
Remember 11: The Age of Infinity is a visual novel video game developed by KID. It was originally released on March 18, 2004 for the PlayStation 2, and has later been ported to Microsoft Windows, PlayStation Portable, iOS, and Android. The game is the third entry in the Infinity series; it is preceded by Never 7 and Ever 17, and followed by the spin-off 12Riven and the reboot Code_18.
Growlanser: Heritage of War is a tactical role-playing video game for the PlayStation 2. It was developed by Career Soft, and published in Japan by Atlus in 2006. Atlus USA published the game in North America on September 18, 2007, and Rising Star Games released it in Europe on June 13, 2008.
Memories Off 5: Togireta Film is a Japanese romance visual novel developed by KID and published by CyberFront for the PlayStation 2 console. It was released on October 27, 2005, and is the fifth game in the Memories Off series. A port for the PlayStation Portable handheld developed and published by 5pb. was released on January 29, 2009. A sequel named Memories Off 5: Encore was released for the PlayStation 2 on July 12, 2007. Its PlayStation Portable port was released on September 17, 2009. The gameplay of Memories Off 5 follows linear plot line, which offers different pre-determined scenarios and events, and focuses on the appeal of the five female main characters.
Memories Off is a Japanese visual novel developed by KID originally released in Japan on September 30, 1999 for the PlayStation, and was later released for the PC, Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, and the PlayStation Portable. Subsequent versions incorporated new content not found in the original version, such as a second part of the story, Memories Off: Pure, originally released as a separate game for the Neo Geo Pocket Color on April 27, 2000. The gameplay in Memories Off follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the six female main characters.
SaGa is a series of science fiction role-playing video games produced by Square, now Square Enix. The series originated on the Game Boy in 1989 as the creation of Akitoshi Kawazu. It has since continued across multiple platforms, from the Super Nintendo Entertainment System to the PlayStation 2, and like the Final Fantasy series, the story in each SaGa game is independent of its counterparts. The music of the SaGa series consists of musical scores and arranged albums from various composers. Some of these composers have created soundtracks and pieces for other Square Enix franchises including the Final Fantasy series and Mana series. The SaGa series is divided up between the original series, released as the Final Fantasy Legend series in North America, the Romancing SaGa series, the SaGa Frontier series, and Unlimited SaGa.
The Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles video game series consists of Crystal Chronicles, a spin-off of the main Final Fantasy series, its sequels My Life as a King and My Life as a Darklord, and their spin-offs, Ring of Fates, Echoes of Time and The Crystal Bearers. Crystal Chronicles, Ring of Fates, and Echoes of Time have had released soundtrack albums to date, and Crystal Chronicles and Ring of Fates each have an associated single. Kumi Tanioka is the main composer for the series, having composed the three released soundtracks as well as the music for My Life as a King and My Life as a Darklord. Hidenori Iwasaki is filling that role for The Crystal Bearers. Nobuo Uematsu, the main composer for the regular Final Fantasy series, contributed one track to the Ring of Fates soundtrack. Yae and Donna Burke sang the Japanese and English versions of the theme song for Crystal Chronicles, respectively, while Aiko sang the theme song for Ring of Fates.
The music of the video game Final Fantasy XIII was composed by Masashi Hamauzu. Former regular series composer Nobuo Uematsu did not contribute any pieces to the soundtrack. Music from the game has been released in several albums. The main soundtrack album, Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack, was released on four Compact Discs in 2010 by Square Enix, the developers and producers of the game. Selections from the soundtrack have been released on two gramophone record albums, W/F: Music from Final Fantasy XIII and W/F: Music from Final Fantasy XIII Gentle Reveries, both in 2010 by Square Enix. An album of arranged pieces from the soundtrack, Final Fantasy XIII Original Soundtrack -PLUS-, was also released by Square Enix in 2010, as was an album of piano arrangements, Piano Collection Final Fantasy XIII. The theme song for the Japanese version of the game, "Kimi ga Iru Kara", was released as a single by For Life Music in 2009.
Tales of Phantasia is an action role-playing video game developed by Wolf Team and published by Namco for the Super Famicom. Originally released only in Japan in December 1995, it is the first title in the Tales series. It was later ported to a number of other platforms, including a Japan-exclusive version for the PlayStation in December 1998 and a Game Boy Advance version published by Namco in Japan in August 2003 and later published by Nintendo in North America and Europe in March 2006, which marked the first time the game was officially available in English. A PlayStation Portable remake known as Tales of Phantasia Full Voice Edition followed in September 2006, featuring full voice acting during story scenes, which was later included with further enhancements as part of Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon X in June 2010. The game's producers have given it the characteristic genre name Legendary RPG beginning with the PlayStation version, with the Full Voice Edition given the moniker Legendary RPG Embellished with Voices. An unofficial fan translation of the original Super Famicom version was released on February 12, 2001 by Dejap.
