ASCII Media Works is a Japanese publishing company, and the result of the merger between ASCII and MediaWorks on April 1, 2008 where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. [1] [2] MediaWorks began developing and publishing video games with their Super Famicom port of Emerald Dragon in July 1995. Since ASCII Media Works is a continuation of MediaWorks, the company includes the video games previously produced before the merger with ASCII on their official website for their video games. [3] Many of the video games have been adapted from light novels published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint such as Shakugan no Shana , Kino's Journey , and Spice and Wolf , among others.
Title | Developer(s) | Platform(s) | Original release | Region(s) released |
---|---|---|---|---|
Emerald Dragon | Alfa System, Glodia | Super Famicom, PC Engine | July 28, 1995 | JP |
Eternal Melody | MediaWorks | Sega Saturn, PlayStation | October 4, 1996 | JP |
AnEarth Fantasy Stories The First Volume | Hudson Soft, MediaWorks | Sega Saturn | March 28, 1997 | JP |
Yūkyū Gensokyō | Starlight Marry | Sega Saturn, PlayStation | July 18, 1997 | JP |
Yūkyū Gensokyō 2nd Album | Starlight Marry | Sega Saturn, PlayStation | February 26, 1998 | JP |
Ojō-sama Express | MediaWorks | Sega Saturn, PlayStation | July 1998 | JP |
Hoshi no Oka Gakuen Monogatari Gakuensai | Aterier Sai | PlayStation | October 22, 1998 | JP |
Yūkyū Gensokyō Ensemble | Starlight Marry | Sega Saturn, PlayStation | December 10, 1998 | JP |
Device Reign | Starlight Marry | Sega Saturn, PlayStation | February 25, 1999 | JP |
Yūkyū Gensokyō Ensemble 2 | Starlight Marry | Sega Saturn, PlayStation | March 4, 1999 | JP |
Yūkyū Gensokyō 3 Perpetual Blue | Starlight Marry | PlayStation, Dreamcast | December 22, 1999 | JP |
Dirt Champ Motocross No. 1 | Funcom | PlayStation | January 6, 2000 | JP |
Yūkyū Kumikyoku All Star Project | Starlight Marry | PlayStation | August 24, 2000 | JP |
Happy Lesson: First Lesson | Datam Polystar | Dreamcast | September 28, 2000 | JP |
Sister Princess | MediaWorks | PlayStation, Dreamcast | March 8, 2001 | JP |
Happy Lesson | Datam Polystar | Dreamcast | April 26, 2001 | JP |
Sister Princess: Pure Stories [3] | MediaWorks | PlayStation | December 13, 2001 | JP |
Sister Princess 2 | MediaWorks | PlayStation | March 20, 2003 | JP |
Kino's Journey: The Beautiful World | Tycoon | PlayStation 2 | July 17, 2003 | JP |
Sister Princess 2: Premium Fan Disc [3] | MediaWorks | PlayStation | November 13, 2003 | JP |
DearS [4] | Vridge | PlayStation 2 | June 24, 2004 | JP |
Futakoi [3] | MediaWorks | PlayStation 2 | December 9, 2004 | JP |
Futakoi Alternative: Koi to Shōjo to Machine Gun [4] | Vridge | PlayStation 2 | June 23, 2005 | JP |
Strawberry Marshmallow | MediaWorks | PlayStation 2 | August 11, 2005 | JP |
Futakoi-jima: Koi to Mizugi no Survival [3] | MediaWorks | PlayStation 2 | August 25, 2005 | JP |
Kino's Journey II: The Beautiful World | Tycoon | PlayStation 2 | December 1, 2005 | JP |
Shakugan no Shana [4] | Vridge | PlayStation 2 | March 23, 2006 | JP |
Kashimashi: Girl Meets Girl The First Summer Story [4] | Vridge | PlayStation 2 | March 30, 2006 | JP |
Strawberry Panic! Girls' School in Fullbloom [3] | MediaWorks | PlayStation 2 | August 24, 2006 | JP |
Nanatsuiro Drops Pure!! [4] | UNiSONSHIFT, Vridge | PlayStation 2 | September 20, 2007 | JP |
Title | Developer | Platform | Original release | Region(s) released |
---|---|---|---|---|
Sister Princess RePure | MediaWorks | Game Boy Advance | March 20, 2003 | JP |
Allison [3] [5] | Netchubiyori | Nintendo DS | December 7, 2006 | JP |
Inukami! feat. Animation [3] [5] | Netchubiyori | Nintendo DS | December 7, 2006 | JP |
Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu [3] [5] | Netchubiyori | Nintendo DS | January 11, 2007 | JP |
Shakugan no Shana DS [4] | Vridge | Nintendo DS | March 29, 2007 | JP |
Iriya no Sora, UFO no Natsu II [3] [5] | Netchubiyori | Nintendo DS | October 25, 2007 | JP |
Baccano! [3] [5] | Netchubiyori | Nintendo DS | February 28, 2008 | JP |
Title | Developer | Platform | Original release | Region(s) released |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Cosplay Hajimemashita [4] | Vridge | PlayStation 2 | September 25, 2008 | JP |
Title | Developer | Platform | Original release | Region(s) released |
---|---|---|---|---|
Nanatsuiro Drops DS: Touch de Hajimaru Hatsukoi Monogatari [3] | UNiSONSHIFT | Nintendo DS | May 15, 2008 | JP |
Spice and Wolf: Holo's and My One Year [3] [5] | Netchubiyori | Nintendo DS | June 26, 2008 | JP |
Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus [3] | Pegasus Japan | Nintendo DS | March 19, 2009 | JP |
Hoshizora Navi | AstroArts | Nintendo DS | March 26, 2009 | JP |
Spice and Wolf: The Wind that Spans the Sea [3] [5] | Netchubiyori | Nintendo DS | September 17, 2009 | JP |
Kamonohashi Kamo. Aimai Seikatsu no Susume [6] | San-X | Nintendo DS | December 3, 2009 | JP |
Dear Girl Stories Hibiki: Hibiki Tokkun Daisakusen! [3] | ASCII Media Works | Nintendo DS | December 17, 2009 | JP |
Nogizaka Haruka no Himitsu: Dōjinshi Hajimemashita [3] | Vridge | PlayStation Portable | February 26, 2010 | JP |
Marriage Royale: Prism Story [3] | Vridge | PlayStation Portable | April 28, 2010 | JP |
Durarara!! 3way Standoff [3] | Netchubiyori | PlayStation Portable | September 22, 2010 | JP |
Twinkle Crusaders GoGo! [3] | Lillian | PlayStation Portable | September 30, 2010 | JP |
Toaru Majutsu no Index [3] | Kadokawa Games | PlayStation Portable | January 27, 2011 | JP |
Dengeki Gakuen RPG: Cross of Venus Special [3] | Pegasus Japan | Nintendo DS | February 10, 2011 | JP |
Fish On [3] | Sims | Nintendo 3DS | June 9, 2011 | JP |
Durarara!! 3way Standoff -alley- [3] | Netchubiyori | PlayStation Portable | August 25, 2011 | JP |
Ro-Kyu-Bu! [3] | Vridge | PlayStation Portable | October 27, 2011 | JP |
Toaru Kagaku no Railgun [3] | Kadokawa Games | PlayStation Portable | December 8, 2011 | JP |
Let's Try Bass Fishing Fish On Next [3] | Sims | PlayStation Vita | March 29, 2012 | JP |
Koi to Senkyo to Chocolate Portable [3] | Kadokawa Games | PlayStation Portable | September 27, 2012 | JP |
Koi wa Rule ni Shibararenai! [3] | Vridge | PlayStation Portable | November 29, 2012 | JP |
Sakura-sō no Pet na Kanojo [3] | Netchubiyori | PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita | February 14, 2013 | JP |
Horizon in the Middle of Nowhere Portable [3] | Tenky | PlayStation Portable | April 25, 2013 | JP |
Ro-Kyu-Bu! Himitsu no Otoshimono [3] | Vridge | PlayStation Portable | June 20, 2013 | JP |
Golden Time: Vivid Memories [3] | Kadokawa Games | PlayStation Vita | March 27, 2014 | JP |
Ro-Kyu-Bu! Naisho no Shutter Chance [3] | Vridge | PlayStation Vita | March 27, 2014 | JP |
Durarara!! 3way Standoff -alley- V [3] | Netchubiyori | PlayStation Vita | June 19, 2014 | JP |
Love Live! School Idol Paradise [3] | Dingo | PlayStation Vita | August 28, 2014 | JP |
Durarara!! Relay [3] | Netchubiyori | PlayStation Vita | January 29, 2015 | JP |
Enix Corporation was a Japanese multimedia publisher who handled and oversaw video games, manga, guidebooks, and merchandise. It was founded in 1975 by Yasuhiro Fukushima as Eidansha Boshu Service Center, initially as a tabloid publisher and later attempting to branch into real estate management. Beginning in 1982, Enix began publishing video games. Three notable early collaborators were designers Yuji Horii and Koichi Nakamura, and composer Koichi Sugiyama. Horii, Nakamura and Sugiyama would all work on the 1986 role playing video game (RPG) Dragon Quest for the Family Computer; one of the earliest successful RPGs for consoles, it spawned a franchise of the same name which remains Enix's best-known product.
ASCII Corporation was a Japanese publishing company based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It became a subsidiary of Kadokawa Group Holdings in 2004, and merged with another Kadokawa subsidiary MediaWorks on April 1, 2008, becoming ASCII Media Works. The company published Monthly ASCII as the main publication. ASCII is best known for creating the Derby Stallion video game series, the MSX computer, and the RPG Maker line of programming software.
A light novel is a type of popular literature novel native to Japan, usually classified as young adult fiction targeting teens to twenties. The definition is very vague, and wide ranging.
Shakugan no Shana, also known simply as Shana (シャナ), is a Japanese light novel series written by Yashichiro Takahashi with illustrations by Noizi Ito. ASCII Media Works published 26 novels from November 2002 to November 2012 under their Dengeki Bunko imprint. The story focuses on Yuji Sakai, a high school boy who inadvertently becomes involved in an age-old conflict between forces of balance and imbalance in existence. In the process, he befriends a fighter for the balancing force and names her "Shana". The series incorporates fantasy and slice of life elements into its tale.
SETA Corporation was a Japanese computer gaming company, founded on October 1, 1985 and dissolved on February 9, 2009. SETA was headquartered in Kōtō, Tokyo, with a branch in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dengeki G's Magazine is a Japanese magazine published by ASCII Media Works and sold monthly on the thirtieth that primarily contains information on bishōjo games, but also includes an entire section on anime based on bishōjo games, and serializes manga and light novels based on such games. The "G's" in the title stands for "Gals" and "Games". The magazine is known for hosting reader participation games whose outcome is directly influenced by the people who read the magazine; such games include Sister Princess, and Strawberry Panic!. Dengeki G's Magazine first went on sale on 26 December 1992 with the February 1993 issue under the title Dengeki PC Engine, which changed to the current title in 2002. A special edition spin-off version called Dengeki G's Festival! is published in irregular intervals and each issue focuses on a specific bishōjo game. Four other special edition versions under the Festival! name are Dengeki G's Festival! Comic, Dengeki G's Festival! Deluxe, Dengeki G's Festival! Anime, and Dengeki Festival! Heaven. Dengeki G's Magazine's sister magazine is Dengeki Girl's Style, which publishes information on otome games, targeted towards females.
Little Busters! is a Japanese visual novel developed by Key. It was released on July 27, 2007 for Windows PCs and is rated for all ages. Little Busters! is Key's sixth game, along with other titles such as Kanon, Air, and Clannad. An adult version of the game titled Little Busters! Ecstasy was released on July 25, 2008 for Windows, unlike Kanon and Air, which were first released with adult content and then had later versions with such content removed. Ecstasy was later ported to the PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, PlayStation Vita, PlayStation 3, and Nintendo Switch with the adult content removed under the title Little Busters! Converted Edition. An English version for Windows was released on Steam in 2017. The story follows a group of childhood friends now attending high school called the Little Busters, as they decide to form a baseball team. Riki, who is diagnosed with narcolepsy, is tasked to recruit more girls in preparation for a baseball game, and he bonds with each of them on account of their internal conflicts. Meanwhile, Rin gets mysterious letters from her cat Lennon to complete various tasks to learn the "secret to this world".
A Certain Magical Index is a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura, which has been published by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko imprint since April 2004 in a total of three separate series. The first ran from April 2004 to October 2010, the second from March 2011 to July 2019, and the third from February 2020 to present.
Fortune Arterial is a Japanese adult visual novel, developed by August, released as a limited edition version on January 25, 2008 playable on Windows PCs as a DVD. Fortune Arterial is August's fifth game, preceded by other titles such as Tsuki wa Higashi ni Hi wa Nishi ni: Operation Sanctuary, and Yoake Mae yori Ruriiro na. A manga based on the story, drawn by Akane Sasaki, was serialized between the September 2007 and April 2008 issues of ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Magazine; the manga transferred to ASCII Media Works' Dengeki G's Festival! Comic in April 2008. A second manga started serialization in the November 2007 issue of Kadokawa Shoten's gaming magazine Comptiq, illustrated by Miki Kodama. A 12-episode anime adaptation produced by Zexcs and Feel aired in Japan between October and December 2010.
ASCII Media Works, formerly ASCII Media Works, Inc., is a Japanese publisher and brand company of Kadokawa Future Publishing headquartered in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku, Tokyo, Japan. It originally formed on April 1, 2008, as a result of a merger between ASCII Corporation and MediaWorks where MediaWorks legally absorbed ASCII. Despite this, the former president and CEO of ASCII, Kiyoshi Takano, became the first president and CEO of ASCII Media Works. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013.
Sora o Tobu, Mittsu no Hōhō. is a Japanese adult visual novel developed by La'cryma. It was released on July 25, 2008 for Windows as a limited edition DVD. The gameplay in Soramitsu follows a linear plot line, which offers pre-determined scenarios and courses of interaction, and focuses on the appeal of the female main characters.
MediaWorks, Inc. was a Japanese publishing company in the Kadokawa Group known for their Dengeki brand magazines and book labels. These included such well-known magazines as Dengeki Daioh, and Dengeki G's Magazine, along with MediaWorks' main light novel publishing imprint Dengeki Bunko. The company was merged with ASCII on April 1, 2008, and became ASCII Media Works. They mainly catered to the Japanese male otaku crowd, covering such topics as anime, light novels, manga, plastic modelling, and visual novels. However, MediaWorks had published three magazines targeted towards females—Comic Sylph, Dengeki Girl's Style, and Character Parfait—but each one was a special edition version of another magazine. MediaWorks ran yearly contests for original novel and manga submissions, such as the light novel Dengeki Novel Prize contest.
Kino's Journey —the Beautiful World—, shortened to Kino's Journey, is a Japanese light novel series written by Keiichi Sigsawa, with illustrations by Kouhaku Kuroboshi. The series follows a traveler named Kino and her talking motorcycle named Hermes, as they explore countries with unique customs and people around a mysterious world, only spending three days at each location. The series originally started serialization in volume five of MediaWorks' now-defunct light novel magazine Dengeki hp on March 17, 2000. The first volume of the series was published on July 10, 2000 by ASCII Media Works under their Dengeki Bunko publishing imprint. As of November 2020, 23 volumes have been published.
Ro-Kyu-Bu! is a Japanese light novel series written by Sagu Aoyama and illustrated by Tinkle. ASCII Media Works published 15 novels between February 2009 to July 2015. The series follows a high school freshman Subaru Hasegawa who becomes the coach of a grade school's girls' basketball team after his own basketball club is disbanded for a year due to a scandal. Three manga adaptations and three PlayStation Portable visual novel games were produced. A 12-episode anime television series, animated by Project No.9 and Studio Blanc, aired between July and September 2011. A 12-episode second season titled Ro-Kyu-Bu! SS, animated solely by Project No.9, aired between July and September 2013.
Accel World is a Japanese light novel series written by Reki Kawahara and illustrated by HiMA. The series began publication in ASCII Media Works' Dengeki Bunko imprint in February 2009 and is licensed in North America by Yen Press. Two manga series began serialization in Dengeki Bunko Magazine from May 2010, with another series beginning serialization in Dengeki Daioh in January 2013. An anime adaptation by Sunrise aired in Japan between April and September 2012. An English-language version began streaming on Viz Media's Neon Alley service in April 2013. Two video games were released for the PlayStation Portable and PlayStation 3 in September 2012, and January 2013, each containing an original video animation episode. An anime film titled Accel World: Infinite Burst featuring an original story by Kawahara premiered in Japan in July 2016.
Kadokawa Shoten (角川書店), formerly the Kadokawa Shoten Publishing Co., Ltd., is a Japanese publisher and division of Kadokawa Future Publishing based in Tokyo, Japan. It became an internal division of Kadokawa Corporation on October 1, 2013. Kadokawa publishes manga, light novels, manga anthology magazines such as Monthly Asuka and Monthly Shōnen Ace, and entertainment magazines such as Newtype. Since its founding, Kadokawa has expanded into the multimedia sector, namely in video games and in live-action and animated films.
Kadokawa Corporation, formerly Kadokawa Dwango Corporation, is a Japanese media conglomerate that was created as a result of the merger of the original Kadokawa Corporation and Dwango Co., Ltd. on October 1, 2014.
Arcana Heart is a 2006 fighting arcade game originally developed by Yuki Enterprise and published by Atrativa Japan. The first installment in the Arcana Heart series, the game features an original all-female cast of eleven young girls known as "Maidens", who possess the ability to communicate with beings from the Elemental world known as "Arcana", to avoid a catastrophic event taking place in Tokyo involving the reunification of both Earth and the Elemental world as one by the Ministry of Elemental Affairs. Its gameplay consists of one-on-one fights, with a main four-button configuration, featuring special and super techniques, as well as four playable modes.