Dragon Quest, previously published as Dragon Warrior in North America until 2005, is a series of role-playing games created by Japanese game designer Yuji Horii, character designer Akira Toriyama, and composer Koichi Sugiyama and published by Square Enix. Since its inception, development of games in the series have been outsourced to a plethora of external companies until the tenth installment, with localized remakes and ports of later installments for the Nintendo DS, Nintendo 3DS, and Nintendo Switch being published by Nintendo outside of Japan. With its first game published in 1986, there are eleven main-series games, along with numerous spin-off games. In addition, there have been numerous manga, anime and novels published under the franchise, with nearly every game in the main series having a related adaptation.
The Brave series is a Japanese toy and anime franchise originally produced by Sunrise, Nagoya TV, Victor Entertainment and Tokyu Agency, originally created by Takara. The franchise ran from 1990s to 2000s, producing eight official series and several side media including Original Video Animations (OVAs), toys, and several memorabilia in Japan. It was one of Sunrise's most notable productions in the 90s, and its run played a key role in the reintroduction of the Super Robot genre to the Japanese mainstream.
Tenchu: Stealth Assassins is a 1998 stealth video game developed by Acquire for the PlayStation. The debut entry in the Tenchu series, it was published in Japan by Sony Music Entertainment Japan, and by Activision in the West. Following Rikimaru and Ayame of the Azuma ninja clan as they complete missions for their employer Lord Gohda in Sengoku-era Japan, the gameplay involves the player guiding their chosen character through missions, the aim being to remain undetected while either avoiding or quietly killing enemies.
Illusion was one of the adult video game brands of Japanese company I-One Co., Ltd. based in Yokohama. It is notable for developing eroge video games with 3D graphics. After launching as a new brand of Heart Electronics Industry in 1992, I-One Co., Ltd. was established in 1996. Interheart Co., Ltd. is an independent manufacturer from Heart Electronics Industry. The brand name is derived from the meaning of “visual entertainment”.
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.
Kamaitachi no Yoru, released in English as Banshee's Last Cry, is a visual novel developed and published by Chunsoft for the Super Famicom in 1994. The game is the second sound novel by Chunsoft and brought a myriad of other companies to develop similar games. The term "sound novel" was a registered trademark, but is regarded as a genre.
Acquire Corp. is a Japanese video game developer and publisher, mainly known for their Tenchu and Way of the Samurai series.
Hideki Sakamoto is a Japanese music composer, best known for his contributions in video games. He serves as the representative director of Noisycroak, a Tokyo-based sound design company focused on game soundtracks. Echochrome II holds the Guinness World Record for the longest single musical track in a video game, lasting 75 minutes and 7 seconds.
What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord? is a real-time strategy video game developed by Japan Studio and Acquire and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable. The game centers on creating mazes and monsters to help defend a demon lord from heroes seeking to capture him.
What Did I Do to Deserve This My Lord!? 2 " in Japan) is a real-time strategy video game developed by Japan Studio and Acquire and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation Portable. It is the sequel to What Did I Do to Deserve This, My Lord? and was followed up by No Heroes Allowed!.
Kowloon's Gate is a 1997 adventure video game published by Sony Music Entertainment. Released for the PlayStation in Japan, it is considered a cult hit.
The Legend of the Legendary Heroes is a Japanese light novel series by Takaya Kagami, with illustrations by Saori Toyota, which was published by Fujimi Shobo in Dragon Magazine from February 20, 2002 to October 20, 2006, and has 11 volumes. Its sequel, The Legend of the Great Legendary Heroes began publishing on October 20, 2007, and has been collected into 17 volumes. The series also has 2 spin-off series, The Legend of Legendary Heroes Anyway, a collection of short stories which ran from December 20, 2002 to June 20, 2007 and was compiled into 11 volumes, and The Legend of the Black Fallen Hero, which ran from December 20, 2007 to August 20, 2013 and was published in 8 volumes.
Maoyū: Maō Yūsha, also known as Maoyu, or Archenemy and Hero in English, is a Japanese light novel series by Mamare Touno that was initially posted in a play format on the textboard 2channel in 2009. Enterbrain published five main novels in the series, in addition to three side-story novels between 2010 and 2012, selling over 450,000 copies in total. It has received several manga adaptations. A 12-episode anime adaptation by Arms aired in Japan from January 5 to March 30, 2013. The series follows the exploits of a human hero and the queen of demons who join forces to bring peace and prosperity to their war-torn world.
The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is a 2013 role-playing video game developed by Nihon Falcom. The game is a part of the Trails series, itself a part of the larger The Legend of Heroes series. It was initially released in Japan for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita before being localized in English by Xseed Games in 2015.
Kizuna AI is a Japanese virtual YouTuber (VTuber) currently part of Kizuna AI Inc., a subsidiary of digital entertainment company Activ8. From her debut in 2016 until 2021, she was the most subscribed VTuber on YouTube, with more than 4 million subscribers across three YouTube channels, 1 million subscribers on Chinese video platform Bilibili. Kizuna AI posted her first YouTube video on her "A.I.Channel" on 29 November 2016. A second channel, "A.I.Games", was opened in March 2017 for gaming content, and a third, "A.I.Channel China", opened in June 2019 for a Chinese audience. After a live concert held on 24 February 2022, she went on indefinite hiatus.
Cautious Hero: The Hero Is Overpowered but Overly Cautious is a Japanese light novel series written by Light Tuchihi and illustrated by Saori Toyota. It began serialization online in June 2016 on the Kadokawa's novel publishing website Kakuyomu. It was then acquired by Fujimi Shobo, who published the first light novel volume in February 2017 under their Kadokawa Books imprint. Seven volumes have been released as of December 2019. The light novel series is licensed in North America by Yen Press. A manga adaptation with art by Koyuki was serialized in Fujimi Shobo's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Dragon Age from November 2018 to October 2022. It has been collected in six tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by White Fox aired from October to December 2019.
Roll Over and Die: I Will Fight for an Ordinary Life with My Love and Cursed Sword! is a Japanese light novel series written by kiki and illustrated by kinta. It began serialization as a web novel published on the user-generated novel publishing website Shōsetsuka ni Narō in January 2018. Micro Magazine later acquired the series, which began releasing it in print in July 2018 under their GC Novels imprint. The light novel has been licensed for an English-language release by Seven Seas Entertainment.
Aneko Yusagi (アネコユサギ) is a Japanese novelist.
The Exit 8 is a 2023 walking simulator video game developed and published by Japanese indie developer Kotake Create. The game revolves around the player walking through a Japanese metro station passageway, trying to spot inaccuracies to reach the exit of the station. The game was released on Steam on 29 November 2023 and was later released for Nintendo Switch on 17 April 2024 and for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 on 8 August 2024 under the publisher Playism. A virtual reality version co-developed and published by MyDearest Inc., dubbed The Exit 8 VR, released on 11 July 2024 for the Meta Quest 2, Pro and 3.
The Hero, also known as Loto in Japanese and Erdrick in English, is the protagonist of the 1988 video game Dragon Quest III. Unlike previous Dragon Quest protagonists, this Hero can be male or female, though fans criticized the lack of differences between the two gender options. They are the son of Ortega, who went missing after seeking out the villain Baramos. The Hero assumes this quest on their 16th birthday. The male Hero appears in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate as a playable character as part of a character called "Hero," alongside the heroes of Dragon Quest IV, Dragon Quest VIII, and Dragon Quest XI. They are a silent protagonist save for one line, which was not well-received by fans. The lack of differences between the male and female Hero received criticism as well, leading to efforts to improve this in Dragon Quest IV. The Hero has been identified as an iconic Hero, with multiple critics identifying their design as a foundational one, citing the protagonist of the light novel Maoyu as an example.
