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Kenji Ito
, also known by the nickname , is a Japanese video game composer and musician. He is best known for his work on the ''Mana'' and ''SaGa'' series, though he has worked on over 30 video games throughout his career as well as composed or arranged music for over 15 other albums, concerts, and plays. He learned to play several instruments at a young age, and joined Square directly out of college as a composer in 1990 at the advice of a professor. He worked there for over a decade, composing many of his best-known scores. In 2001, he left Square to become a freelance composer, but has since continued to collaborate with the company. Since leaving Square, Ito has composed soundtracks to over a dozen games, and has branched out into composition and production of music for plays and albums for other performers. Ito's work has been performed in a concert dedicated to his pieces as well as general video game music events, and he has played the piano in additional concerts. Pieces of his fro ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Square (video Game Company)
also known under its international brand name SquareSoft, was a Japanese video game developer and publisher. It was founded in 1986 by Masafumi Miyamoto, who spun off the computer game software division of Den-Yu-Sha, a power line construction company owned by his father. Among its early employees were designers Hironobu Sakaguchi, Hiromichi Tanaka, Akitoshi Kawazu, Koichi Ishii, artist Kazuko Shibuya, programmer Nasir Gebelli, and composer Nobuo Uematsu. Initially focusing on action games, the team saw popular success with the role-playing video game ''Final Fantasy'' in 1987, which would lead to the franchise of the same name being one of its flagship franchises. Later notable staff included directors Yoshinori Kitase and Takashi Tokita, designer and writer Yasumi Matsuno, artists Tetsuya Nomura and Yusuke Naora, and composers Yoko Shimomura and Masashi Hamauzu. Initially developing for PCs, then exclusively for Nintendo systems, Square cut ties with Nintendo in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Romancing SaGa
''Romancing SaGa'' is a 1992 role-playing video game developed and published by Square (video game company), Square for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Super Famicom. It is the fourth entry in the ''SaGa'' series. It was subsequently released for the WonderSwan, WonderSwan Color in 2001 and mobile phones in 2009. A remake for the PlayStation 2, subtitled ''Minstrel Song'' in Japan, was released in both Japan and North America in 2005 by Square Enix. A remaster of ''Minstrel Song'' was released worldwide in 2022 for Android (operating system), Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5 and Windows. The storyline follows eight different protagonists on quests through the world of Mardias, all culminating in a fight against the dark god Saruin. Gameplay features Nonlinear gameplay, nonlinear exploration of the game world, with the turn-based battles featuring group formations. As with other ''SaGa'' titles, there are no experience points and character attri ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dawn Of Mana
is a 2006 action-adventure game for the PlayStation 2. It was developed and published by Square Enix. It is the eighth game of the ''Mana'' series and the third entry in the ''World of Mana'' subseries, following the release of ''Children of Mana'' nine months prior and ''Friends of Mana'' two months prior. Set in a high fantasy universe, ''Dawn of Mana'' follows a young hero, Keldric, as he journeys to close a portal to a land of darkness that has been opened in the base of the Tree of Mana and is corrupting the world. While it contains some small role-playing elements, ''Dawn of Mana'' diverges from the prior two-dimensional action role-playing game titles of the series to focus directly on action-adventure gameplay in a full 3D world. Incorporating the Havok physics engine, the gameplay focuses on the player grabbing and throwing objects and monsters in order to startle enemies before attacking them with a sword and magic. Keldric grows more powerful as the player journeys ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Children Of Mana
''Children of Mana'' is a 2006 action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and Nex Entertainment and published by Square Enix and Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is a Spinoff (media), spin-off of the ''Mana (series), Mana'' series and the first entry in the ''World of Mana'' subseries. Set in a high fantasy universe, ''Children of Mana'' follows one of four young heroes as they combat an invasion of monsters and learn about the cataclysmic event that killed their families. While it reprises the action role-playing elements of previous ''Mana'' games, such as turns, rounds and time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time battle sequences, ''Children of Mana'' features an increased focus on Usability, user-friendliness. Unlike earlier ''Mana'' titles, ''Children'' is a heavily action-oriented dungeon crawler, in which the player progresses by completing randomly generated Level (video gaming), levels. Both the main plot and Quest (video gaming), side-quests require the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sword Of Mana
''Sword of Mana'', originally released in Japan as , 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. While incorporating gameplay elements from the original game and generally following the same plot, ''Sword of Mana'' has new gameplay mechanics and a much more involved story. It removes elements of the ''Final Fantasy'' series present in the original game as a marketing ploy, while adding in gameplay elements and artistic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Culdcept II
is a turn-based strategy video game for the Dreamcast released on 2001. It is the sequel to the Sega Saturn, Saturn title ''Culdcept (video game), Culdcept''. An enhanced version of the game, , was released for the PlayStation 2 on September 26, 2002. The expansion was marketed in North America as ''Culdcept'', and published by Interchannel, NEC Interchannel in December 2003. Plot The Goddess Culdra foresees that a powerful Cepter known as Geminigh will gain nearly infinite power, destroying all of creation. She sends Goligan, a talking cane who is her messenger, from her original world, Ruedo, to the player's world, in order to track down the Cepter who will become Geminigh and stop them. However, Goligan is unsuccessful, until he meets the player, in the form of a customized avatar. Sensing that the player has great power, Goligan teams up with them in order to track down the evil Cepter, stop them, and save the universe from destruction. Reception ''Culdcept Second'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chocobo (series)
The ''Chocobo'' series is part of the ''Final Fantasy'' franchise owned by Square Enix. A spin-off series meant to have more child and casual gamer appeal than the main games, it spans multiple genres, beginning with '' Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon'' in 1997. It features a recurring cast of characters designed by Toshiyuki Itahana and rendered in a more chibi style than traditional ''Final Fantasy'' games. They include Chocobo, the protagonist and a member of the fictional chocobo species of flightless birds; Mog, a moogle who is Chocobo's friend, Shirma, a white mage, and Croma, a black mage, among other recurring series characters. One of the most major genres within the series are Mystery Dungeon games, while it has also branched off into tabletop games. Its most recent entry is ''Chocobo GP'', a kart racing game released in 2022 for the Nintendo Switch. Games The first released ''Chocobo'' game was the 1997 '' Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon'' for PlayStation. It was followe ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chocobo's Dungeon 2
''Chocobo's Dungeon 2'' is a 1998 role-playing video game by Square for the PlayStation. It is the sequel to 1997's '' Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon''. Gameplay The player plays as Chocobo, navigating randomly-generated levels of mysterious dungeons to progress the story. The path to get through the maze is different every time a player goes through the same dungeon, but the same set of monsters will be encountered. Chocobo may have a partner character assisting him throughout the dungeon, which typically resolves in a boss fight. There are several partner characters, most of which will be recognizable to ''Final Fantasy'' veterans, including Cid; a young white mage girl, Shiroma; and Mog, a moogle. Though the game is an isometric 2D adventure, there are occasionally 3D cutscenes. In the start of the game, Chocobo is only able to carry a few items in his inventory. When he dies in a dungeon, all items in the inventory are lost. While progressing through the game, the player can ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chocobo Racing
''Chocobo Racing'' is a racing game developed and published by Square for the PlayStation, A spin-off of the ''Final Fantasy'' series and part of the ''Chocobo'' spin-off series. It was released in Japan in March 1999, followed by North America and Europe in August and October, respectively. The game's star and namesake is the Chocobo, with other figures from the ''Final Fantasy'' series, such as Mog the Moogle, the Black Mage, and Cid being part of the cast. Most of the game's soundtrack is composed using songs from previous ''Final Fantasy'' titles. As a formulaic kart racer, ''Chocobo Racing'' is often compared to ''Mario Kart'' and ''Crash Team Racing''. ''Chocobo Racing'' received generally average reviews, with critics citing its low quality in several aspects of gameplay. The game was later released in Japan alongside ''Chocobo Stallion'' and ''Dice de Chocobo'' as part of the ''Chocobo Collection''. The game was re-released individually as part of the PSone Books serie ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
SaGa Frontier
is a 1997 role-playing video game developed by Square (video game company), Square for the PlayStation (console), PlayStation. It is the seventh game in the ''SaGa (series), SaGa'' series, and the first to be released on the PlayStation. It is also the first in the series to be released under the ''SaGa'' brand outside Japan; previous overseas releases had used the ''Final Fantasy'' brand instead. A video game remaster, remastered version featuring additional characters, events and features was released on April 15, 2021 for Android (operating system), Android, iOS, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 and Windows. ''SaGa Frontier'' was developed by Square Production Team 2 with Akitoshi Kawazu as director and producer, Koichi Ishii as planning chief, Kenji Ito as composer, and Tomomi Kobayashi as illustrator. Square Production Team 2 included Kyoji Koizumi, Miwa Shoda, Kazuko Shibuya, and Minoru Akao. The musical score for ''SaGa Frontier'' was composed and arranged by Kenji Ito, who ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tobal No
is a 1996 fighting game developed by DreamFactory and published by Square for the PlayStation. The game's mechanics were designed with the aid of fighting game designer Seiichi Ishii, who previously contributed to ''Virtua Fighter'' and ''Tekken'', while all the characters were designed by Akira Toriyama. Packaged with both the North American and Japanese version of the game was a sampler disc featuring a pre-release playable demo of ''Final Fantasy VII'' and video previews of ''Final Fantasy Tactics'', '' Bushido Blade'', and ''SaGa Frontier''. ''Tobal No. 1'' received a mainly positive reception and was commercially popular in Japan. It was a cult hit in North America. The 1997 sequel, ''Tobal 2'', was never released in North America and Europe. Gameplay ''Tobal No. 1'' has a tournament mode, two player versus mode, practice mode, and the unique quest mode, all of which utilize the same fighting system. The game runs at up to a smooth 60 frames per second due to its lack of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hiroki Kikuta
is a Japanese 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 prod ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
