The ''Slayers'' video games are single-player

role-playing video game A role-playing video game (commonly referred to as simply a role-playing game or RPG, as well as a computer role-playing game or CRPG) is a video game genre where the player controls the actions of a character (or several party members) immers ...

adaptations of the

comic fantasy Fantasy comedy or comic fantasy is a subgenre of fantasy that is primarily humorous in intent and tone. Typically set in imaginary worlds, fantasy comedy often involves puns on and parodies of other works of fantasy. Literature The subgenre rose ...

light novel A light novel (, Hepburn: ''raito noberu'') is a style of young adult novel primarily targeting high school and middle school students. The term "light novel" is a ''wasei-eigo'', or a Japanese term formed from words in the English languag ...

manga Manga (Japanese: 漫画 ) are comics or graphic novels originating from Japan. Most manga conform to a style developed in Japan in the late 19th century, and the form has a long prehistory in earlier Japanese art. The term ''manga'' is u ...

and

anime is Traditional animation, hand-drawn and computer animation, computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japane ...

franchise ''

Slayers is a Japanese light novel series written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. The novels have been serialized in ''Dragon Magazine'' since 1989, before being published into individual volumes. They follow t ...

'', released exclusively in Japan between 1994 and 1998. There are two different 16-bit games released in 1994 and titled simply ''Slayers'' (including one for the Super Famicom), followed by three 32-bit console games: 1997's ''

Slayers Royal is a 1997 tactical role-playing game developed by Onion Egg and published by Kadokawa Shoten and Entertainment Software Publishing only in Japan. It was originally released for the Sega Saturn on July 25, 1997, and its PlayStation port by Japan ...

'', and 1998's ''

Slayers Royal 2 is a tactical role-playing game developed by Onion Egg and published by Entertainment Software Publishing and Kadokawa Shoten in 1998 for the Sega Saturn and in 1999 for the PlayStation, exclusively in Japan. It is a follow-up to 1997's ''Sl ...

'' and '' Slayers Wonderful''. The ''Royal'' series' titles are both

tactical role-playing game Tactical role-playing games (abbreviated TRPGs), also known as strategy role-playing games and in Japan as (both abbreviated SRPGs), are a video game genre that combines core elements of role-playing video games with those of tactical (turn-bas ...

s for the 32-bit consoles.

Role-playing games

''Slayers'' (PC98)

''Slayers'' (スレイヤーズ) was developed by AIC Spirits (additional development by Oniro and Studio Orphee, graphics by Studio Kuma) and published by

Banpresto (formerly Coreland Technology Inc.) was a Japanese video game developer and publisher headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. It had a branch in Hong Kong named Banpresto H.K., which was headquartered in the New Territories. Banpresto was a partly-own ...

for the

NEC PC-9801 The , commonly shortened to PC-98 or , is a lineup of Japanese 16-bit and 32-bit personal computers manufactured by NEC from 1982 to 2000. The platform established NEC's dominance in the Japanese personal computer market, and, by 1999, more th ...

on March 25, 1994. It was written by

Yōsuke Kuroda is a Japanese anime screenwriter from Mie Prefecture, Japan. He has his own studio enterprise, Studio Orphee. Kuroda is noted for his work on authoring the scenario, screenplay and story composition of the anime series ''Excel Saga'', ''Please ...

, art-designed by animator Masayuki Hiraoka, and composed by Shiori Ueno. In 1996, ''Slayers'' was ranked the best RPG on the system in ''

PC Engine Fan PC Engine Fan was a Japanese magazine dedicated to the PC Engine, published by Tokuma Shoten. It ran from 1988 to 1996. History The first issue of ''PC Engine Fan'' was published in late 1988. The magazine originated as a section in ''Family Compu ...

'' reader poll. ''Slayers'' is a first-person view

dungeon crawler A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinth environment (a "dungeon"), battling various monsters, avoiding traps, solving puzzles, and looting any treasure they may find. Video games an ...

role-playing video game in the tradition of ''

Wizardry ''Wizardry'' is a series of role-playing video games, developed by Sir-Tech, that were highly influential in the evolution of modern role-playing video games. The original ''Wizardry'' was a significant influence on early console role-playing g ...

''. Its story follows the adventures of

Lina Inverse is a fictional character and the main protagonist of the comic fantasy-themed light novel, manga and anime series ''Slayers''. Lina Inverse is a young yet very powerful sorceress travelling the world in search of adventure and treasure. Lina has b ...

and

Gourry Gabriev is a fictional character from the Japanese media franchise ''Slayers''. In it, he is a mighty yet dimwitted warrior who becomes a travelling companion and self-appointed guardian of the protagonist sorceress Lina Inverse. Despite being one of the ...

, aided by up to two additional

party A party is a gathering of people who have been invited by a host for the purposes of socializing, conversation, recreation, or as part of a festival or other commemoration or celebration of a special occasion. A party will often feature f ...

companions of the player's choosing (they can be

Naga the Serpent is a fictional character in the light novel, anime, manga, radio drama and game versions of Hajime Kanzaka's media franchise ''Slayers'', who was introduced in ''Dragon Magazine'' in 1990. She is also often known as Naga the White Serpent, which ...

, Zelgadiss Graywords, Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune, Philionel El Di Saillune, Lemmy Martin, and Meena, as well four original characters: Kim, Marin, Junon, and Lass) in the dungeons and other locations surrounding the city of Wilnan. The player directly controls only Lina and the characters do not level up. In Wilnan, the player can rest and heal the party, swap or revive characters, and visit stores.

''Slayers'' (SFC)

Developed by

BEC BEC may refer to: As an acronym House * Bapatla Engineering College * Basaveshwar Engineering College * Bengal Engineering College Curriculum * Business Environment and Concepts, a section of Uniform Certified Public Accountant Examination * Bus ...

and published by Banpresto for the

Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South Korea, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Euro ...

(SFC) in 1994.

''Slayers Wonderful''

Developed by TamTam and released by Banpresto for the

PlayStation is a video gaming brand that consists of five home video game consoles, two handhelds, a media center, and a smartphone, as well as an online service and multiple magazines. The brand is produced by Sony Interactive Entertainment, a divisi ...

in 1998.

Tactical role-playing games

''Slayers Royal''

Developed by Onion Egg and published by

Kadokawa Shoten , formerly , 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 su ...

and

Entertainment Software Publishing (ESP) was a Japanese video game publisher headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo. It was founded in 1997 as a publisher for games developed by the Game Developers Network (GD-NET). GD-NET, which included companies such as Treasure and Game Arts, was es ...

for the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

in 1997, and ported to the PlayStation by Japan Art Media in 1998.

''Slayers Royal 2''

Developed by Onion Egg and published by Kadokawa Shoten and Entertainment Software Publishing for the Sega Saturn in 1998 and for the PlayStation in 1999.

Crossover games

*''

Granblue Fantasy (Japanese:グランブルーファンタジー, Hepburn: ''Guranburū Fantajī)'' is a Japanese social-network game and role-playing video game developed by Cygames for Android, iOS and web browsers, which first released in Japan in March 2014 ...

'', a mobile role-playing game of which cast Lina, Naga, and Gourry joined in 2016. *''

Heroes Phantasia , also known as ''Heroes Fantasia'', is a role-playing video game developed by Witchcraft and published by Bandai Namco Games for the PlayStation Portable in 2012. It is a Japan-exclusive crossover game featuring characters from various 1990s a ...

'' (sometimes written as ''Heroes Fantasia''), a Japan-only role-playing video game developed by Banpresto and published for the

PlayStation Portable The PlayStation Portable (PSP) is a handheld game console developed and marketed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first released in Japan on December 12, 2004, in North America on March 24, 2005, and in PAL regions on September 1, 2005, ...

Bandai Namco Games is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational video game video game publisher, publisher headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo. Its international branches, Bandai Namco Entertainment America and Bandai Namco Entertainment Europe, are resp ...

in 2012, features the characters (both playable and non-playable) from the anime series ''

Slayers Revolution is a Japanese light novel series written by Hajime Kanzaka and illustrated by Rui Araizumi. The novels have been serialized in ''Dragon Magazine'' since 1989, before being published into individual volumes. They follow t ...

'' (as well as characters from nine other anime series). *''

Magical Battle Arena is a crossover third-person shooter game developed by Fly-System in 2008. The game features characters from '' Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha'', ''Magic Knight Rayearth'', ''Cardcaptor Sakura'', ''Slayers'', and ''Mahōjin Guru Guru''. Gameplay ' ...

'', a 2008 action

doujin game is software created by Japanese Fan-made, hobbyists or hobbyist groups (referred to as "dōjin circle, circles"), more for fun than for profit. The term includes digital , which are essentially the Japanese equivalent of Independent video game ...

featuring Lina, Naga, and the Lord of Nightmares as playable characters. *'' Valkyrie Anatomia: The Origin'' features Lina and Naga as playable characters since August 2018. *''

Tales of the Rays The ''Tales'' series is a franchise of fantasy role-playing video games published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco), and developed by its subsidiary, Namco Tales Studio until 2011 and presently by Bandai Namco Studios. First begun ...

'', an RPG mobile game that featured Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia as playable characters with Xellos as a boss character as well as a costume for Reid Hershel (''

Tales of Eternia , known as ''Tales of Destiny II'' in its original North America release, is an action role-playing game published by Namco as the third main title in their ''Tales'' series. Initially released for the PlayStation in November 2000 in Japan, an ...

''). Although she herself doesn't appear in the game, Naga appears as a costume for Natalia Luzu Kimlasca-Lanvaldear (''

Tales of the Abyss is an action role-playing game developed by Namco Tales Studio as the eighth main title in their '' Tales'' series in celebration of the series' 10th anniversary. Originally released for the PlayStation 2, the game was published by Namco in Japan ...

''). *''

Guardian Tales ''Guardian Tales'' is a 2020 action role-playing video game developed by Kong Studios and published by the South Korean publisher Kakao Games. The game initially soft-launched in parts of Southeast Asia on February 24, 2020 for iOS and Android ...

,'' a mobile action role-playing video game featured Lina, Gourry and Xellos as playable characters

References

External links

''Slayers'' licensees
at

MobyGames MobyGames is a commercial website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes nearly 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms. The site is supported by banner ads and a small ...

''Slayers'' (NEC PC-9801)
at

GameFAQs GameFAQs is a website that hosts FAQs and walkthroughs for video games. It was created in November 1995 by Jeff Veasey and was bought by CNET Networks in May 2003. It is currently owned by Fandom, Inc. since October 2022. The site has a databa ...

{{Bandai Namco franchises Banpresto games Fantasy video games Japan-exclusive video games Japanese role-playing video games

Slayers video games The ''Slayers'' video games are single-player role-playing video game adaptations of the comic fantasy light novel, manga and anime franchise ''Slayers'', released exclusively in Japan between 1994 and 1998. There are two different 16-bit games ...