Jump to content

Toaplan

From Alfawiki
Toaplan
Company typePrivate
IndustryVideo games
PredecessorOrca, Crux
FoundedApril 1979; 47 years ago (1979-04)
FounderFormer staff of Orca and Crux
DefunctMarch 31, 1994 (1994-03-31)
FateBankruptcy; succeeded by multiple successor studios (Eighting, Tamsoft, CAVE, Gazelle, Takumi Corporation)
Headquarters
Tokyo
,
Japan
Area served
Japan
Key people
Yoshiyuki Kiyomoto (former CEO), Taizo Hayashi (former president), Masahiro Yuge, Tatsuya Uemura
ProductsScrolling shooter video games, arcade games
was a Tokyo-based Japanese video game developer known primarily for its portfolio of scrolling shooter titles and other arcade video game classics. Established in 1979, the company's gaming division was launched in 1984 by former staff of Orca and Crux, following those companies' bankruptcies. Their debut shoot 'em up, Tiger-Heli (1985), achieved commercial success and cemented Toaplan's reputation as a prominent creator of shooting games during the 1980s and 1990s.

Originally concentrating on arcade machines, Toaplan broadened its reach to the Sega Genesis platform by 1990. The company discontinued shoot 'em up production prior to filing for bankruptcy in 1994. Around this period, several successor studios such as Eighting, Tamsoft, CAVE, Gazelle, and Takumi Corporation were founded. Additionally, former team members transitioned to well-known companies including Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, Square Enix, and Taito. Toaplan is widely regarded as one of the most influential developers in the Japanese shoot 'em up scene and is often hailed as a "master" within the scrolling shooter genre.

History

Founded in April 1979, Toaplan's gaming division emerged from a group of ex-Orca and Crux employees.[1][2] The team responsible for Performan had previously been part of Orca and Crux before their insolvencies, which directly led to Toaplan’s establishment. Notable contributors included composers Masahiro Yuge and Tatsuya Uemura.

In 1992, Yoshiyuki Kiyomoto stepped down as CEO, with Taizo Hayashi taking over as president.[3] During this time, Toaplan provided advisory support to Raizing for the development of Sorcer Striker, also licensing arcade hardware to them due to overlapping leadership connections.[4] One of Toaplan’s last shoot 'em up projects was Snow Bros. 2: With New Elves before they ceased producing games in this genre.[5]

The company officially declared bankruptcy on March 31, 1994.[6] This closure led to the creation of multiple spin-off studios specializing in arcade shooters:[7] prominent among these were Eighting, Tamsoft, CAVE, Gazelle, and Takumi (which continued work on Twin Cobra II). Former employees also joined major industry players such as Bandai Namco and Capcom.

Currently, most rights to Toaplan's intellectual properties belong to Tatsujin, an entity founded by Masahiro Yuge.[8] In 2020, Japanese developer M2 reissued nearly all Toaplan titles (with exceptions for Mahjong Sisters and Enma Daiō) for contemporary consoles within Japan.[9] In August 2022, Tatsujin was acquired by the Embracer Group to bolster retro gaming projects.[10] Tatsujin has since announced new initiatives such as Truxton Extreme, Snow Bros. Wonderland, and Amusement Arcade TOAPLAN, a smartphone compilation featuring 25 arcade games.[11] The title Snow Bros. Wonderland was released in 2024.[12]

Staff

Prominent individuals associated with Toaplan include:

  • Masahiro Yuge – Among the original six members and frequent composer; later involved with Takumi Corporation and Eighting.
  • Tatsuya Uemura – Founding member and composer; subsequently contributed to projects at Gazelle and Eighting.
  • Toshiaki Tomizawa – Composer for Demon's World, Zero Wing, and Vimana; co-founded CAVE.
  • Osamu Ōta – Composed music for Wardner, Rally Bike, and Twin Hawk; produced Gekirindan at Taito.
  • Toshiaki Ōta – Original member who led software development; founder of Tamsoft.
  • Naoki Ogiwara – Artist and designer for Truxton and Out Zone; co-founder of CAVE.
  • Kōetsu Iwabuchi – Created artwork for Guardian and Twin Cobra; served as planning manager on Grind Stormer.
  • Yuko Tataka – Character designer on multiple titles including Truxton and Zero Wing.
  • Sanae Nitō – Character designer contributing to several Toaplan games.
  • Tsuneki Ikeda – Programmer for Grind Stormer and Batsugun; co-founder of CAVE.
  • Satoshi Kōyama – Programmer on Batsugun; later worked with CAVE.
  • Junya Inoue – Designer behind Dogyuun, Knuckle Bash, and Batsugun; later affiliated with Gazelle and CAVE.
  • Yusuke Naora – Graphic designer for Grind Stormer; subsequently joined Square Enix.
  • Kenichi Takano – Founding member and designer of Performan; co-founded CAVE.
  • Yuichirō Nozawa – Original member who designed for Twin Hawk.
  • Atsushi Kawaguchi – Original member responsible for art in Demon's World.
  • Nanpei Kaneko – Designed for titles like FixEight and Knuckle Bash; later became a magazine illustrator.
  • Tomonobu Kagawa – Graphic artist on Truxton II; later employed at Taito.

Developed

Year Title Initial platform(s) Publisher Co-developer
1984 Jongō Arcade SNK Template:N/A
1985 Performan Arcade Data East Template:N/A
Tiger-Heli Arcade, NES, Atari 7800 Taito, Romstar Micronics (NES), Plaion (7800)
Jongkyō Arcade Data East Template:N/A
1986 Guardian Arcade Taito, Kitkorp Template:N/A
Slap Fight Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Thomson MO5/TO8, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, Sega Mega Drive Taito Probe Software (CPC/ZXS), Imagine Software (C64), France Image Logiciel (MO5/TO8), Abersoft (ST), M.N.M Software (SMD)
Mahjong Sisters Arcade Toaplan Template:N/A
1987 Flying Shark Arcade, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, NES, MS-DOS, X68000, FM Towns Taito, Romstar, Electrocoin Catalyst Coders (C64), Graftgold (ZXS/CPC), Images Software (AGA/ST), Software Creations (C64/NES), Banana Development (DOS), Kaneko (X68K), Ving (FMT)
Wardner Arcade, Famicom Disk System, Sega Genesis Taito Daiei Seisakusho (FDS), Dragnet (SG)
Twin Cobra Arcade, PC Engine, NES, Sega Genesis, X68000, FM Towns Taito, Romstar A.I Company (PCE), Micronics (NES), Graphic Research (SG), Inter State (X68K), Ving (FMT)
1988 Rally Bike Arcade, NES, X68000 Taito Visco Corporation (NES), SPS (X68K)
Truxton Arcade, Sega Genesis, PC Engine Taito, Midway Sting Entertainment (PCE)
1989 Hellfire Arcade, Sega Genesis, PC Engine Super CD-ROM² Taito, U.S.A. Games NCS Corporation (SG), NEC Avenue (PCE SCD-ROM²)
Twin Hawk Arcade, Sega Mega Drive, PC Engine, PC Engine CD-ROM² Taito Center Tech (PCE), NEC Avenue (PCE CD-ROM²)
Demon's World Arcade, PC Engine Super CD-ROM² Taito, Catalina Games NEC Avenue (PCE SCD-ROM²)

|- |'Zero Wing' |'Arcade', 'Sega Mega Drive', 'PC Engine CD-ROM²' |'Namco', 'Williams Electronics' |'Template:N/A' |} |- |'Fire Shark' |'Arcade', 'Sega Genesis' |'Toaplan', 'Romstar', 'Dooyong' | |} |- !'1990' |'Snow Bros.' |'Arcade', 'Game Boy', 'NES', 'Sega Mega Drive' |'Toaplan', 'Romstar' |'Dual' ('GB'), 'Soft House' ('NES') |} |- !'1990' |'Out Zone' |'Arcade' |'Tecmo', 'Romstar', 'Toaplan' | |} |- !'1991' |'Teki Paki' |'Arcade' |'Tecmo', 'Honest Trading', 'Spacy' | |} |- !'1991' |'Vimana' |'Arcade' |'Tecmo', 'Toaplan' | |} |- !'1991' |'Ghox' |'Arcade' |'Taito' | |} |- !'1992' |'Pipi & Bibi's' |'Arcade' |'Toaplan', 'Nova Apparate' | |} |- !'1992' |'Truxton II' |'Arcade', 'FM Towns' |'Toaplan' |'Ving' ('FMT') |} |- !'1992' |'FixEight' |'Arcade' |'Toaplan' | |} |- !'1992' |'Dogyuun' |'Arcade' |'Toaplan' | |} |- !'1993' |'Grind Stormer' |'Arcade', 'Sega Genesis' |'Toaplan' |'Tengen' ('SG') |} |- !'1993' |'Knuckle Bash' |'Arcade' |'Toaplan', 'Atari Games' | |} |- !'1993' |'Enma Daiō' |'Arcade' |'Taito' | |} |- !'1993' |'Batsugun' |'Arcade', 'Sega Saturn' |'Toaplan', 'Taito', 'Unite Trading' |'Gazelle' ('SS') |} |- !'1994' |'Snow Bros. 2: With New Elves' |'Arcade' |'Hanafram' | |}


Published

Year Title Platform Developer Co-publisher
1990 MUSHA Sega Genesis Compile Seismic
1991 Snow Bros. Nintendo Entertainment System Soft House Capcom

Cancelled

Title Genre Publisher(s) Intended release date/Last known development year Comments/Reasons
Sequel to Batsugun Shoot 'em up Toaplan 1 May 2001
Untitled title for Sega System 1 Action Sega 1 June 2009
Dynamic Trial 7 Racing, vehicular combat Toaplan 1 June 2009
Teki Paki 2 Puzzle Template:N/A 1 June 2009
Genkai Chōsen Distopia Action, hack and slash, platformer Template:N/A 1 June 2009
Tank da Don!! Platform, run and gun Template:N/A 27 October 2011

External links

  1. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named PSGv10
  2. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named PCEFv3i2
  3. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named GM211
  4. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named STGv1
  5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TFf25v9
  6. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named TSCb
  7. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named T:trafojgsgc
  8. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Fam2
  9. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Siliconera
  10. ↑ Embracer Group acquisition news
  11. ↑ Project announcements
  12. ↑ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named SBW
Retrieved from "https://www.alfawiki.org/index.php?title=Toaplan&oldid=88358"