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Sacnoth
renamed in 2002, was a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo. The company was founded in April 1997 by Hiroki Kikuta with funding from SNK; its staff, including Kikuta, were veterans of Square. While their first releases were the ''Dive Alert'' games for the Neo Geo Pocket Color (NGPC), the company was founded to produce ''Koudelka'', a role-playing video game for the PlayStation. The development of ''Koudelka'' was troubled due to creative differences between Kikuta and the rest of the staff, with Kikuta resigning as CEO following the game's release and being replaced by Jun Mihara. The company also released the NGPC game '' Faselei!''. Following ''Koudelka'', the company went on to develop the first game in the ''Shadow Hearts'' series. In 2002, Aruze acquired Sacnoth and renamed it to Nautilus. Under that name, the company developed two more ''Shadow Hearts'' games. As part of a larger reorganization within Aruze, Nautilus was renamed and exited the video game bus ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shadow Hearts (video Game)
''Shadow Hearts'' is a role-playing video game developed by Sacnoth for the PlayStation 2. Published in Japan by Universal Entertainment Corporation, Aruze in 2001, it was published internationally by Midway Games in the same year (North America) and 2002 (Europe). The titular first game in the ''Shadow Hearts'' series, it acts as a sequel to the 1999 video game ''Koudelka'', being set in the same world and featuring recurring characters. The story of ''Shadow Hearts'' is set in 1913 and follows Yuri Hyuga, a human with the ability to capture and transform into monsters, as he protects Alice Elliot from the machinations of an evil magician. During gameplay, the player controls Yuri as he explores various locations. During battle, a party of up to three characters can be controlled, with actions in battle relying on a timing-based system dubbed the Judgement Ring. The game's worldview combines alternate history with elements of Lovecraftian horror. Development began following the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Koudelka
is a role-playing video game developed by Sacnoth for the PlayStation. The game was published by SNK in Japan in 1999, and by Infogrames internationally in 2000. Set in the haunted Nemeton Monastery in Wales, the plot follows protagonists Koudelka Iasant, Edward Plunkett and Bishop James O'Flaherty as they uncover Nemeton's secrets and confront monsters created from its dark past. Its gameplay blends exploration and puzzle elements with turn-based battles waged on a grid. ''Koudelka'' was created by Hiroki Kikuta, a former employee of Square who formed Sacnoth with other Square staff members in 1997 to develop the game. Kikuta was its director, producer, writer and composer. The staff travelled to Wales for research, and all dialogue was spoken in English. The traditional turn-based battle system was created without Kikuta's involvement, due to staff disputes. The game, which saw moderate commercial success in Japan and received mixed reviews from critics worldwide, was the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dive Alert
''Dive Alert: Becky's Version'' and ''Dive Alert: Matt's Version'' are role-playing video games developed by Sacnoth for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. They were published by SNK in 1999 in Japan and 2000 in North America. Following the exploits of protagonists Becky and Matt as they complete missions on a flooded Earth to gain access to the remaining land of Terra, the gameplay involves the protagonist completing missions by fighting monsters and underwater crafts. The Japanese version is compatible with the console's Wireless Link adaptor for online Multiplayer video game, multiplayer matches, while the Western version is limited to use of the console's physical link cable. Sacnoth, a development partner for the console, produced the ''Dive Alert'' games in parallel with ''Koudelka'' for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. Staff included character designer Miyako Kato, co-composer Yoshitaka Hirota, and ''Koudelka'' staff member Satoru Yoshieda as director. ''Dive Alert'' was Sac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Faselei!
is a tactical role-playing game developed by Sacnoth for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. It was published by SNK in 1999 in Japan and 2000 in the United Kingdom. A prospective North American release was cancelled when the console was pulled from sale. Following the exploits of the titular mech-piloting mercenary group during a civil war, the gameplay focuses on combat using mechs, with actions determined by commands imputed using a pool of action points. The game was the last title developed by Sacnoth under SNK, and their last for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. It was directed and written by Matsuzo Machida, had character designs by Miyako Kato, and music by Yoshitaka Hirota. In contemporary and retrospective reviews, ''Faselei!'' saw praise for its gameplay and technical achievements. Several journalists have named it one of the platform's best titles. Machida, Kato and Hirota would later collaborate on Sacnoth's ''Shadow Hearts'' series. Gameplay ''Faselei!'' is a tactical role-playin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shadow Hearts
''Shadow Hearts'' is a series of role-playing video games, consisting of a trilogy of titles for the PlayStation 2 (PS2) and their predecessor ''Koudelka'' for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. The entire series was developed by Sacnoth (later Nautilus); ''Koudelka'' was published by SNK in 1999, while the ''Shadow Hearts'' trilogy were published by Universal Entertainment Corporation, Aruze from 2001 to 2005. Multiple other publishers handled the titles overseas. The ''Shadow Hearts'' chronology extends from the late 1890s to the 1920s, following different casts of characters caught in supernatural mysteries. The setting combines alternate history and cosmic horror, with real-world figures making appearances, and each title has multiple endings. Production of ''Koudelka'' began with the formation of Sacnoth in 1997 by Hiroki Kikuta and a number of other former Square (video game company), Square staff. Internal conflict between Kikuta and the developers eventually led to Ki ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hiroki Kikuta
is a Japanese video game composer and game designer. His major works are ''Secret of Mana'', ''Trials of Mana'', ''Soukaigi'', and ''Koudelka'', for which he also acted as producer and concept designer. He has composed music for seven other games, and worked as a concept designer in addition to composer for the unreleased MMORPG ''Chou Bukyo Taisen''. He became interested in music at an early age, but earned a degree in Religious Studies, Philosophy, and Cultural Anthropology from Kansai University. He spent the next few years working first as a manga illustrator, then as a composer for anime series, before coming to work for Square in 1991. After composing the soundtracks for his first three best-known works, he formed his own video game production company, Sacnoth, for which he was the president and CEO. After producing and composing ''Koudelka'' in 1999, he left to become a freelance composer. Since his departure he has formed his own record label, Norstrilia, through which he ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aruze
formerly known as and Universal, is a Japanese manufacturer of pachinko, slot machines, arcade games and other gaming products, and a publisher of video games. Aruze possesses licenses to both manufacture and distribute casino machines in the American states of Nevada, Mississippi and New Jersey. The company's corporate headquarters are in Tokyo. Aruze is also the licence holder of the video game franchise ''Shadow Hearts''. Up until February 18, 2012, the company owned approximately 21% of Wynn Resorts. On November 1, 2009, Aruze Corporation changed its name to Universal Entertainment Corporation due to financial difficulties. Universal Universal Lease Co., Ltd was established in December 1969. It later changed its name to Universal Ltd in Japan. Universal Distributing Company opened as an american subsidiary to sell video games direct to operators, and was later named Universal USA. They initially earned success with arcade video games that cloned popular arcade games. ''Sc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Square (video Game Company)
(also known under its American brand name SquareSoft) was a Japanese video game development studio and publisher. It was founded in 1986 by Masafumi Miyamoto, who spun off part of his father's electronics company Den-Yu-Sha. Among its early employees were Hironobu Sakaguchi, Hiromichi Tanaka, Akitoshi Kawazu, Koichi Ishii, Kazuko Shibuya, Nasir Gebelli and Nobuo Uematsu. After several other projects, all of these employees would work on ''Final Fantasy'', a 1987 game for the Nintendo Entertainment System which would bring commercial and critical success and launch a franchise of the same name. Later notable staff included Yoshinori Kitase, Takashi Tokita, Tetsuya Nomura, Yoko Shimomura and Yasumi Matsuno. Initially developing for PCs, then exclusively for Nintendo systems, Square broke with Nintendo in the 1990s to develop for Sony's in-development PlayStation. Their first PlayStation project, '' Final Fantasy VII'', was a worldwide success, going on to sell ten million units, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a same management being substantially controlled by same entity/group are called sister companies. The subsidiary can be a company (usually with limited liability) and may be a government- or state-owned enterprise. They are a common feature of modern business life, and most multinational corporations organize their operations in this way. Examples of holding companies are Berkshire Hathaway, Jefferies Financial Group, The Walt Disney Company, Warner Bros. Discovery, or Citigroup; as well as more focused companies such as IBM, Xerox, and Microsoft. These, and others, organize their businesses into national and functional subsidiaries, often with multiple levels of subsidiaries. Details Subsidiaries are separate, distinct legal entities f ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adventure Game
An adventure game is a video game genre in which the player assumes the role of a protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and/or Puzzle video game, puzzle-solving. The Video game genres, genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media, literature and film, encompassing a wide variety of literary genres. Many adventure games (List of text-based computer games, text and List of graphic adventure games, graphic) are designed for a single player, since this emphasis on story and character makes multiplayer design difficult. ''Colossal Cave Adventure'' is identified as the first such adventure game, first released in 1976, while other notable adventure game series include ''Zork'', ''King's Quest'', ''Monkey Island'', and ''Myst''. Initial adventure games developed in the 1970s and early 1980s were text-based, using text parsers to translate the player's input into commands. As personal computers became more powerful with better grap ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 (PS2) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on 4 March 2000, in North America on 26 October 2000, in Europe on 24 November 2000, and in Australia on 30 November 2000. It is the successor to the original PlayStation (console), PlayStation, as well as the second installment in the PlayStation brand of consoles. As a sixth generation of video game consoles, sixth-generation console, it competed with Nintendo's GameCube, and Microsoft's Xbox (console), Xbox. It is the List of best-selling game consoles, best-selling video game console of all time, having sold over 155 million units worldwide. Announced in 1999, Sony began developing the console after the immense success of its predecessor. The PS2 offered Backward compatibility, backward-compatibility for its predecessor's DualShock#DualShock, DualShock controller, as well as its games. The PlayStation 2 received widespread critical accla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Art Director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vision of an artistic production. In particular, they are in charge of its overall visual appearance and how it visual communication, communicates visually, stimulates moods, contrasts features, and psychologically appeals to a target audience. The art director makes decisions about visual elements, what artistic style (visual arts), style(s) to use, and when to use motion graphic design, motion. One of the biggest challenges art directors face is translating desired moods, messages, concepts, and underdeveloped ideas into imagery. In the brainstorming process, art directors, colleagues and clients explore ways the finished piece or scene could look. At times, the art director is responsible for solidifying the vision of the col ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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