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Native name | 株式会社インテリジェントシステムズ |
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Romanized name | Kabushiki gaisha Interijento Shisutemuzu |
Company type | Kabushiki gaisha |
Industry | Video games |
Founded | 1983(As a division under Iwasaki Giken Kogyo.) December 1986(As a separate entity.) [1] |
Founder | Toru Narihiro |
Headquarters | Minami-ku, , Japan |
Number of locations | 2 (2020) |
Key people | |
Products |
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Number of employees | 197 (2024) |
Subsidiaries | Purejio Co., Ltd. (株式会社プレジオ) [2] |
Website | intsys intsys |
Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd. [a] is a Japanese video game developer best known for developing games published by Nintendo with the Fire Emblem , Paper Mario , WarioWare , and Wars video game series. Originally, the company was headquartered at the Nintendo Kyoto Research Center in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, [3] but later moved to a building near Nintendo's main headquarters in October 2013. [4] They were also responsible for the creation of various development hardware both first and 3rd party developers would use to make games for Nintendo systems, such as the IS Nitro Emulator, the official development kit for the Nintendo DS.
Intelligent Systems started when programmer Toru Narihiro was hired by Nintendo to port Famicom Disk System software to the standard ROM-cartridge format that was being used outside Japan on the NES. Similarly to the origins of HAL Laboratory, the team soon became an auxiliary program unit for Nintendo that provided system tools and hired people to program, fix, or port Nintendo-developed software. Much of the team's original work consists of minor contributions to larger games developed by Nintendo R&D1 and Nintendo EAD. [5]
Narihiro programmed his first video games, Famicom Wars and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light , towards the end of the Famicom's life cycle, although the game design, graphic design, and music was provided by the Nintendo R&D1 team. Because of Narihiro's success, Intelligent Systems began to hire graphic designers, programmers, and musicians to extend the company from an auxiliary–tool developer to a game development group. The company continued to develop new entries in the Wars and Fire Emblem franchises.
In 2000, Intelligent Systems produced Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64, which became a surprise hit, leading to five sequels. Three years later, the first entry in the WarioWare series was released on the Game Boy Advance, and it too became a successful series.
Not all games developed by Intelligent Systems are published by Nintendo. Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest (which was co-developed by Intelligent Systems) was published by Atlus in North America; Intelligent Systems also developed various Dragon Quest games, which were published by Square Enix.
Title | System | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|
Dragon Hopper | Virtual Boy | [11] |
Fire Emblem 64 | Nintendo 64DD | [12] |
Untitled Fire Emblem game | Wii | [13] |
Crashmo World | Wii U | [14] |
Gunpei Yokoi, sometimes transliterated as Gumpei Yokoi, was a Japanese toy maker and video game designer. As a long-time Nintendo employee, he was best known as creator of the Game & Watch handheld system, inventor of the cross-shaped Control Pad, the original designer of the Game Boy, and producer of a few long-running and critically acclaimed video game franchises such as Metroid and Kid Icarus.
Fire Emblem is a Japanese fantasy tactical role-playing game franchise developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. First produced and published for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990, the series currently consists of seventeen core entries and five spinoffs.
Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Famicom home video game console in 1996. It is the fourth installment of the Fire Emblem series, and the second to be developed for the platform. Genealogy of the Holy War takes place on the continent of Jugdral, split between eight countries founded by the Twelve Crusaders, an ancient group of soldiers who ended the rule of the ancient dragon Loptous with divine aid. In the present, a cult working to revive Loptous stirs up war among the countries. The story is told over two generations—the first generation follows the Grannvalian prince Sigurd, while the second follows his son Seliph as he works to defeat the cult and avenge his father. Gameplay follows the traditional Fire Emblem system of tactical battles taking place on grid-based maps, while adding the Weapon Triangle and Support systems, which directly impacted both gameplay and story.
The Wars series, also known as Famicom Wars and Advance Wars, is a series of military-themed turn-based strategy video games, predominantly developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. The series debuted in Japan in August of 1988 with the original Famicom Wars, followed by sequels on the Super Famicom and Game Boy. These early installments were released in Japan, with Advance Wars (2001) being the first to reach the North American and European markets. Advance Wars was released in the United States on September 10, 2001, but put on hold in Japan and Europe due to the September 11 attacks. Although released in Europe in January 2002, neither Game Boy Advance game was released in Japan until the Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2 compilation, which released for the Game Boy Advance on November 25, 2004. The success of Advance Wars in the West is frequently credited as a driving force for Nintendo bringing Intelligent Systems' franchise Fire Emblem outside of Japan, as both series share a similar tactical gameplay style.
WarioWare: Touched! is a minigame compilation party video game released by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. The fourth installment of the WarioWare series, and the first of three on the Nintendo DS, the game involves rapidly completing "microgames" — simple minigames lasting extremely short periods of time — as quickly as possible. The microgames are exclusively controlled with the Nintendo DS's touchscreen and microphone.
Tennis is a tennis video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer (Famicom). It was originally released in Japan in 1984, with an arcade game version titled VS. Tennis released for the Nintendo VS. System the same year, becoming a hit at Japanese and American arcades that year; it was the sixth top-performing arcade game of 1984 in the United States. Tennis is one of 17 launch games for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in North America and Europe. The game was re-released for the Game Boy as a launch game in North America.
Fire Emblem Gaiden is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Famicom. Released in March 1992, it is the second installment in the Fire Emblem series and the last to be developed for the Famicom. It builds upon the basic turn-based strategy gameplay of the previous title, while including new elements such as a navigable overworld. Set in the same world as its predecessor, Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, Gaiden follows the battles of two opposing armies on the continent of Valentia, which is torn apart by political strife involving the princess Celica and her childhood friend Alm.
Virtual Boy Wario Land is a 1995 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Virtual Boy. It stars Wario, who finds himself deep underground after stumbling upon a treasure-filled cave and must find his way back to the surface. Throughout the journey, the player explores and searches for items and power-ups while fighting enemies and defeating bosses. Wario has the ability to jump between the background and foreground at certain points, making use of Virtual Boy's stereoscopic 3D effect.
Nintendo Research & Development No. 1 Department was a division of Nintendo, and is its oldest development team. Its creation coincided with Nintendo's entry into the video game industry, and the original R&D1 was headed by Gunpei Yokoi. The developer has created several notable Nintendo series such as Donkey Kong, Mario, and Metroid.
Famicom Wars is a turn-based strategy video game developed by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer. It was released on August 12, 1988, in Japan. It was later re-released on Virtual Console. It is the first game in the Wars series.
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light is a 1990 tactical role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and Nintendo and published by Nintendo for the Family Computer. It is the first installment in the Fire Emblem series and was originally released in Japan. Set on the fictional continent of Archanea, the story follows the tale of Marth, prince of the kingdom of Altea, who is sent on a quest to reclaim his throne after being forced into exile by the evil sorcerer Gharnef and his dark master Medeus, the titular Shadow Dragon. Forming new alliances with neighboring kingdoms, Marth must gather a new army to help him retrieve the sacred sword Falchion and the Fire Emblem shield in order to defeat Gharnef and Medeus and save his kingdom. The gameplay revolves around turn-based battles on grid-based maps, with defeated units being subject to permanent death.
Fire Emblem: Thracia 776 is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Super Famicom; it was originally released through the Nintendo Power flash cartridge in 1999, then on a ROM cartridge the following year. It is the fifth installment in the Fire Emblem series, the third and last title to be developed for the Super Famicom, and the last home console Fire Emblem until the release of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance in 2005.
Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance (GBA) handheld video game console. It is the sixth entry in the Fire Emblem series, the first title produced for the system, and the first title to appear on a handheld console. It was released in Japan in March 2002.
Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem, known in Japan as Fire Emblem: Monshō no Nazo, is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo for the Super Famicom home video game console in 1994. It is the third installment of the Fire Emblem series, and the first to be developed for the Super Famicom. The story is divided into two parts: the first part is a retelling of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, while the second is an original story acting as a sequel to the first game. After defeating the sorcerer Gharnef and the Dark Dragon Medeus, peace is restored to Archanea and Marth restores his kingdom. His ally Hardin ascends to the throne of Archanea, but begins hostile military expansion across the continent, forcing Marth to confront his old friend and the force driving him. Gameplay follows the traditional Fire Emblem system of tactical battles taking place on grid-based maps.
Tose Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game development company based in Kyoto. It is mostly known for developing Nintendo's Game & Watch Gallery series, various Dragon Ball games, as well as other Nintendo products. Tose has developed or co-developed over 1,000 games since the company's inception in 1979, but is virtually never credited in the games themselves. Tose maintains a policy of having no creative input into the work they do, going so far as to refuse to put their names in the credits for most of the games they work on. As such, Tose has gained a reputation for being a "ghost developer".
Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a tactical role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the eleventh installment in the Fire Emblem series and a remake of the Famicom title Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light, the first entry in the series. It released in 2008 in Japan and Europe, and 2009 in North America and Australia.
Nintendo Software Planning & Development Division, commonly abbreviated as Nintendo SPD, was a Japanese research, planning and development division owned by Nintendo and housed inside the Nintendo Development Center in Kyoto, Japan. The division had two departments: Software Planning & Development Department, which primarily co-produced games with external developers; and Software Development & Design Department, which primarily developed experimental and system software. The division was created during a corporate restructuring in 2004, with the abolition of the Nintendo R&D1 and Nintendo R&D2 departments.
Yakuman (役満) is a 1989 mahjong video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy. It was released only in Japan as a launch title. It is the first entry in a series of first-party Japanese mahjong games on Nintendo systems, with sequels on the Famicom, Game Boy Advance, DS, Wii, Wii U, and 3DS.
Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld video game console in July 2010. It is the twelfth entry in the Fire Emblem series, and a remake of the Super Famicom title Fire Emblem: Mystery of the Emblem. The story is based on the original content from Mystery of the Emblem, while including a customizable Avatar as the main character alongside Marth, the protagonist of Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light. New Mystery of the Emblem also adapts the story content from the Satellaview title BS Fire Emblem into four additional story episodes dubbed the "New Archanea Chronicles".