05/04/2021

My Very Own Favourite Developers


The gaming industry lives and dies by its developers indeed. I’ve talked a lot about my favourite games over the years, but I’ve never really given credit to their developers beyond the occasional impromptu shout-out at the turn of a paragraph. It’s time for a more substantial declaration of love; and so, dear fellow gamers, here is my own private paean to the developers that routinely rock my gaming world. 

 


Nihon Falcom: No surprise there, we all know I’m a complete Nihon Falcom wh*re. Bar the, erm, not exactly stellar Brandish, every single Nihon Falcom game I’ve played was an instant hit with me. I've rooted for Estelle and Joshua harder than for any other RPG couple, and Ys managed to become one of my favourite ARPG series with two instalments only. I like Nihon Falcom's breath-taking attention to detail, I love the fact that they take all the time they need to develop games yet keep their series running over literal decades, and I adore the unique atmosphere of their titles. Nihon Falcom games are timeless yet deeply original; they’re instant cult classics with a dark horse quality, if that makes sense. And my, I still deem the Silver Anniversary Edition of Ys: Memories of Celceta the best special edition to ever grace us collectors and the only special edition that I actually held onto when I transferred my precious collection from their bulky and old-fashioned plastic cases to their sleek and fancy Unikeep binders.

 


Kemco: Yeah, I friggin’ adore Kemco. From childhood favourite Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle to their endless stream of splendid budget RPGs, with detours to unexpected hidden gems such as Raging Loop, I’ve had a most fulfilling ride with Kemco over the years. Sometimes, I’m not too far from thinking that maybe Kemco RPGs are my true calling in gaming, and that I could be happy just playing them and nothing else. Of course, I won’t do that, because why would I still, the very fact that I can entertain the thought says a lot about the grip Kemco has on my gamer’s heart. I bought a dedicated SD card just to store the RPGs they were kind enough to release on the Switch, and I’d gladly purchase more, much more if could. In a nutshell: shut up and take my money, my sweet Kemco, and throw more games at me.

 


Compile Heart: I never, ever claimed to have good taste, neither in gaming nor in other areas. I like what I like if it happens to be fancy, then it’s mighty fine; if it happens to be tacky, then it’s mighty fine too. And well, my undying love for Compile Heart, a developer that’s been ridiculed at best and vilified at worst, is the very proof of my gaming instinct’s unruliness in all things taste. CH and I were off to a stellar start indeed, as I had an instant crush on their very first release; since then, every game of them I’ve played has delighted me. Hyperdimension Neptunia? One of my top 5 Vita RPG series, b*tch. Sorcery Saga? My very first Vita game, safely nested in my top 5 Favourite Roguelikes ever. The Moe FPDC? Heck, I squealed like a little girl when I learnt that Moero Crystal was coming to the Switch. The only thing Compile Heart could do to make me love them impossibly more would be to bring the Agarest and Death end re;Quest series to the Switch (wink wink, nudge nudge). 

 

 

Experience: A developer that specialises in one of my favourite subgenres under the RPG sun, and that rocks at it to boot why, of course I had to love those guys to pieces. Demon Gaze was one of my most fulfilling and memorable FPDC ride to date, and I have no doubt that their other FPDC will sweep me off my feet as well. I’m also really eager to tackle their Spirit Hunter series and see how they fare in the VN department. Ray Gigant’s heavy-duty emphasis on narrative showed that they harboured VN inclinations, and it’s great to see those inclinations turn into full-blown games rather than keep polluting perfectly good FPDCs.

 

 

Atlus: I discovered that iconic developer back in 2012, as their glory days were coming to a close and they were slowly retreating from developing games and refocusing on publishing. Now, am I sad that I missed their halcyon days, the time when their very name was the epitome of uniqueness, edginess and coolness? Well, not really. I can play and enjoy their games even though their prime is over and I certainly don’t shy away from doing just that. My brushes with the Persona and Etrian Odyssey series were deeply fulfilling already; and I’d be surprised if I didn’t end up loving their Trauma Center and Shin Megami Tensei series just as much. 

 


Sting Entertainment: When it comes to niche games and general originality, Sting can more than easily rival Atlus. They have a way of effortlessly delivering outlandish concepts in well-crafted packages, and most of their games are little hidden gems. Their Dept. Heaven series could give wet dreams to the most blasé RPG veteran, despite missing more entries than the original Star Wars saga. I sure as heck enjoyed pretty much every single game of theirs I’ve played Riviera, Dungeons Travelers 2, Hexyz Force, Utawarerumono, Pandora's Reflection, you name it and I’m pretty sure I’ll love all the games I still have to play. 

 

Honourable mentions:

 


Otomate: Okay, let’s get real here: I’ve played and enjoyed enough of Otomate’s input to acknowledge their importance in my gaming career. They're the king of the otome hill, and few can do the genre justice as masterfully as them; and I’m sure gonna keep purchasing their stuff upon release without the slightest shred of shame.

 

 

PQube: That London-based team is technically more a publisher than a developer; but as I own a substantial portion of their input already, I had to give them a hearty shout-out. There’s some juvenile energy and authentic passion in their frenzied release activity, and I can only commend them for bringing delightfully niche titles to our shores. I’ve played a couple of their offerings already, and I ended up loving them all so much so that I developed a pavlovian response that makes me hit the purchase button as soon as I see their name in a game’s description. 

 


Quintet: That crew has been dormant for so long that they're probably defunct by now heck, they've not released a game since the PS2 days. Their resume is far from being impressive, with only 16 games released between 1990 and 2004, most of them completely unknown. However, they created the so-called 'Soul Blazer Trilogy', which are arguably some of the most memorable ARPGs ever released on the SNES. Terranigma is an absolute cult classic of mine, a game that haunted me like few RPGs before and after it; and just for that, I had to tip my hat to that Sleeping Beauty of developers.


It goes without saying that I totally encourage you to share your own favourite developers in the comments, dear fellow gamers; as for me, I’ll see you soon with more gaming goodness. Take care!


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