Enix was a Japanese video game publishing company founded in September 1975 by Yasuhiro Fukushima. Initially a tabloid publisher named Eidansha Boshu Service Center, it ventured in 1982 into video game publishing for Japanese home computers such as the PC-8800 series, the X1 series, and the FM-7. Enix initially found games to release by holding contests for programming hobbyists and publishing the winners, with the first titles appearing in February 1983. Enix continued to hold contests and publish the winners through 1993. [1] When Enix moved into traditional publishing for video game consoles in 1985, it began with ports of two of its more successful games, Door Door (1983) and The Portopia Serial Murder Case (1983). From that point onward, Enix served as a publisher for both video games developed independently by other companies as well as for titles in franchises owned by Enix and created by licensed developers. Enix's flagship franchise was the Dragon Quest series of console games, developed primarily by Chunsoft; some of the games, such as Dragon Quest VII (2000), have sold millions of copies, and the series as a whole has sold over 85 million copies as of March 2022. [2] [3] [4] [ page needed ]
On April 1, 2003, Enix and Japanese video game developer and publisher Square merged to form Square Enix, with Enix legally absorbing Square. [5] Between 1985 and April 2003, Enix published 95 video games for 56 developers on 12 systems, 65 titles of which were exclusive to Japan. Only one game, King Arthur & the Knights of Justice (1995), was not released in Japan at all, with the remainder appearing in Japan as well as either the North American or PAL regions. Enix served as the Japanese publisher for all of the games released in that region that it was involved in with the exceptions of Paladin's Quest (1992) and Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen (1993), where it served solely as the North American publisher.
This list includes retail games published by Enix during its existence under that name after its transition from hobby programming contests to retail publishing in 1985. Only versions of the games that were published by Enix in at least some regions are included; some games have additional ports to other systems that were only published by Square Enix or other publishers. The release dates given are the earliest release of the game by Enix; some games may have been originally published earlier by other publishers in another region.
Symbol | Meaning |
---|---|
Yes | Published by Enix in this region |
SE | Published by Square Enix in this region |
Other | Published by a company unrelated to Enix in this region |
NP | Not published in this region |
Sword of Mana, originally released in Japan as Shin'yaku: Seiken Densetsu, is a 2003 action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and Brownie Brown and published by Square Enix and Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is an enhanced remake of the first game in the Mana series, the Game Boy game Seiken Densetsu: Final Fantasy Gaiden, which was released as Final Fantasy Adventure in North America and as Mystic Quest in Europe. Sword of Mana was the fifth release in the series. Set in a high fantasy universe, the game follows an unnamed hero and heroine as they seek to defeat the Dark Lord and defend the Mana Tree from enemies who wish to misuse its power.
Dragon Quest IV: Chapters of the Chosen, titled Dragon Warrior IV when initially localized to North America, is a role-playing video game, the fourth installment of the Dragon Quest video game series developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix, and the first of the Zenithian Trilogy. It was originally released for the Famicom on 11 February 1990 in Japan. A North American NES version followed in October 1992, and would be the last Dragon Quest game localized and published by Enix's Enix America Corporation subsidiary prior to its closure in November 1995, as well as the last Dragon Quest game to be localized into English prior to the localization of Dragon Warrior Monsters in December 1999. The game was remade by Heartbeat for the PlayStation, which eventually was available as an Ultimate Hits game. This was followed with a second remake developed by ArtePiazza for the Nintendo DS, released in Japan November 2007 and worldwide in September 2008. A version based on the Nintendo DS remake was released in 2014 for Android and iOS.
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.
Ogre Battle, sometimes referred to as Ogre Battle Saga (オウガバトルサーガ), is a series of five tactical role-playing and real-time strategy video games developed by Quest Corporation and is currently owned by Square Enix through Square's acquisition of Quest. There are five original games in the series, one of which has received a remake and a subsequent remaster.
World of Dragon Warrior: Torneko: The Last Hope is a role-playing video game for the PlayStation. The game was co-developed by Chunsoft and Matrix Software and published by Enix in both Japan and North America in 1999 and 2000 respectively. In Japan, the game was ported to the Game Boy Advance in 2001.
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.
Dragon Quest: Young Yangus and the Mysterious Dungeon is a prequel and spin-off to Dragon Quest VIII, developed by Cavia and published by Square Enix as part of the Mystery Dungeon series.
Dragon Warrior Monsters 2, known in Japan as Dragon Quest Monsters 2, is a role-playing video game published by Enix for the Game Boy Color. It is the second Dragon Warrior Monsters game for the Game Boy Color and features two different versions of the same game, Cobi's Journey and Tara's Adventure. Both games were remade in 2002 for the PlayStation in a compilation game called Dragon Quest Monsters 1+2 and released only in Japan. The Nintendo 3DS version combined both games into one and was released only in Japan in 2014 with the title Dragon Quest Monsters 2: Iru and Luca's Marvelous Mysterious Key. The 3DS version was later brought to iOS, Android on August 6, 2020, in Japan.
Crystal Defenders is a set of two tower defense video games developed and published by Square Enix. The games use the setting of Ivalice and design elements from Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, forming part of the wider Final Fantasy franchise. The games feature a selection of characters sporting Final Fantasy-based character classes, and play out tower defense scenarios against recurring series of monsters. The first game in the series is Crystal Guardians, which was released in three parts for Japanese mobile phones in 2008. It was adapted for iOS later that year as Square Enix's first game for the platform, and renamed Crystal Defenders. Under that name, the game was also released between 2009 and 2011 for Android, Xbox Live Arcade, WiiWare, and PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable via the PlayStation Store. It was re-released with graphical improvements for iOS as Crystal Defenders Plus in 2013. A sequel, Crystal Defenders: Vanguard Storm, was released for iOS in 2009.
Valkyrie Profile or Valkyrie is a series of role-playing video games created by Masaki Norimoto and Yoshiharu Gotanda, primarily developed by tri-Ace and published by Square Enix. The series is notable for featuring elements from Norse mythology.
Dragon Quest Builders is a sandbox action role-playing game developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Android, and iOS, and published by Nintendo for Nintendo Switch.
Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game development and localization company specializing in role-playing video games, visual novels and adventure games. The company was founded in 1984 as Chunsoft Co., Ltd. and merged with Spike in 2012. It is owned by Dwango.
Our first Epic Center developer focus zooms in on King Arthur & the Knights of Justice from Enix. Manley & Associates is breaking ground with this game as the first American developer of a major adventure for Enix.