Atlus: Difference between revisions

Content added Content deleted

Inline

Revision as of 18:34, 8 April 2014

Atlus is a videogame company that was founded in 1986. While not necessarily having the name-recognition of some larger companies, they have a huge number of quality products, both as a developer and a publisher, and often both at once. The Japanese HQ portion of the company is both a publisher and developer, the North American branch serves as a publisher and localization company that publishes more games than just what its parent company Atlus Japan develops and publishes; in the list of games below said games are listed with Atlus being the North American publisher.

For the record, a good number of their internally developed^[1] 21st-century games are freakin' hard, though good design means they usually avoid Fake Difficulty. Their American branch is also famous for the translation of their games: Woolseyism and Superlative Dubbing abound in games they publish. Atlus is also famous for first exposing North America to Nippon Ichi Software, having published Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure back in the Playstation 1 era, and later the first Disgaea game for Play Station 2. This led to NIS eventually branching out on their own, and to this day the companies share many staff amongst their translation and dubbing teams, as well as an amicable business relationship. In fact, NIS are the ones publishing Persona Trinity Soul, the anime based on the Atlus game.

Currently holds the dubious title of "That One Company", due to their joy at making gamers suffer. And we like it, dammit. Funnily enough, even some games they merely published and not developed can be Nintendo Hard, like Demon's Souls and the Disgaea games.

Also note the number of Widget Series below.

On October 1, 2010, Atlus merged with Index Holdings Or something, it isn't quite clear what's going on.

Tropes associated with Atlus

Cash Cow Franchise: The Persona Series, specifically Persona 3 and 4.
Friendly Rival: Nippon Ichi, in North America at least. The fact that many die-hard fans buy most of both companies' games probably helps them getting along.
Nintendo Hard: Atlus-developed games have a tendency to be quite hard. However, with Atlus USA, this doesn't always apply to games from other companies that it picks up for a Western release (not that Atlus USA hasn't localized hard games from other companies, which it definitely has).
That One Boss: We can't stress enough that they have their own page for it
Widget Series
Woolseyism: As Atlus USA doesn't develop anything itself, most of its publishing involves localizing Japanese games, which it does quite well.

Some of their titles (including externally developed games localized by Atlus USA) include:

~3D Dot Game Heroes~ (Publisher)¹
Arcana Heart (Publisher, first game)
Baroque (Publisher)²
Bonk (Co-developer, with Red Co.)
Catherine (Publisher/Developer)
Class of Heroes (Publisher)
Contact (North American Publisher)
Cubivore (North American Publisher)
The Dark Spire (North American Publisher)
Demons Souls (North American Publisher)¹
Dept Heaven series (Publisher)²
- Riviera the Promised Land
- Yggdra Union
  - Blaze Union
- Knights in The Nightmare
Disgaea (Published the first game in North America before NIS America was formed)
Dokapon Kingdom (North American Publisher)²
Don Pachi (Publisher)³
- Do Don Pachi (Publisher)³
Eternal Poison (Publisher)⁴
Etrian Odyssey (Publisher/Developer)
- Etrian Odyssey 2: Heroes of Lagaard
- Etrian Odyssey 3: The Drowned City
Growlanser (North American Publisher)
Hexyz Force (Publisher)²
Izuna (North American Publisher)
The King of Fighters XIII (North American Publisher)⁵
Lufia and the Ruins of Lore (North American Publisher)
Luminous Arc (North American Publisher)
- Luminous Arc 2 (North American Publisher)
Magna Carta (Publisher)
Maken X
Master of the Monster Lair (Publisher)
- My World My Way (Publisher)
Ogre Battle (Publisher, Play Station version)
Odin Sphere (Publisher)
Power Instinct (Publisher and developer for most games; Matrimelee was published by SNK Playmore)
Radiant Historia (Publisher/Developer)
Robopon
Rondo of Swords (Publisher)
R-Type Command (Publisher)⁶
Rule of Rose (Publisher)
Shin Megami Tensei series (Publisher/Developer)
- Shin Megami Tensei I
- Shin Megami Tensei II
- Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne
- Digital Devil Saga
- Persona 1
- Persona 2
- Persona 3
- Persona 4
- Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army
- Raidou Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon
- Devil Survivor
- Devil Survivor 2
- Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey
- Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible / Revelations: The Demon Slayer
- Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Book of X / Demikids: X Version
Sky Gunner
Snowboard Kids
Stella Deus the Gate of Eternity (publisher)
Steambot Chronicles (publisher)⁶
Summon Night (Published Swordcraft Story 1, 2 and Twin Age in North America)⁴
Super Robot Wars (Published Original Generation 1, 2, and Endless Frontier in North America)
Tail Concerto (Publisher)
Thousand Arms (Publisher)
Touch Detective (Publisher)
Trauma Center series (Publisher/Developer)
Xexyz (developer; published by Hudson Soft in the U.S.)

¹ - developed by From Software
² - developed by Sting Entertainment
³ - developed by CAVE
⁴ - developed by Flight-Plan
⁵ - developed by SNK Playmore
⁶ - developed by Irem

↑ Games published by Atlus USA but not developed by its parent company may not have this trait

[1] Games published by Atlus USA but not developed by its parent company may not have this trait

[1]

@@ Line 5: / Line 5: @@
 [[Atlus]] is a videogame company that was founded in 1986. While not necessarily having the name-recognition of some larger companies, they have a huge number of quality products, both as a developer and a publisher, and often both at once. The Japanese HQ portion of the company is both a publisher and developer, the North American branch serves as a publisher and localization company that publishes more games than just what its parent company Atlus Japan develops and publishes; in the list of games below said games are listed with Atlus being the North American publisher.
-For the record, a good number of their internally developed<ref>Games published by Atlus USA but not developed by its parent company may not have this trait</ref> 21st-century games are [[Nintendo Hard|freakin']] ''[[Nintendo Hard|hard]],'' though good design means they usually avoid [[Fake Difficulty]]. Their American branch is also famous for the translation of their games: [[Woolseyism]] and [[Superlative Dubbing]] abound in games they publish. Atlus is also famous for first exposing North America to [[Nippon Ichi Software]], having published ''[[Rhapsody a Musical Adventure|Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure]]'' back in the [[Play Station|Playstation 1 era]], and later the first ''[[Disgaea]]'' game for [[PS 2]]. This led to NIS eventually branching out on their own, and to this day the companies share many staff amongst their translation and dubbing teams, as well as an amicable business relationship. In fact, NIS are the ones publishing ''[[Persona Trinity Soul|Persona: Trinity Soul]]'', the anime based on the Atlus game.
+For the record, a good number of their internally developed<ref>Games published by Atlus USA but not developed by its parent company may not have this trait</ref> 21st-century games are [[Nintendo Hard|freakin']] ''[[Nintendo Hard|hard]],'' though good design means they usually avoid [[Fake Difficulty]]. Their American branch is also famous for the translation of their games: [[Woolseyism]] and [[Superlative Dubbing]] abound in games they publish. Atlus is also famous for first exposing North America to [[Nippon Ichi Software]], having published ''[[Rhapsody a Musical Adventure|Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure]]'' back in the [[Play Station|Playstation 1 era]], and later the first ''[[Disgaea]]'' game for [[Play Station 2]]. This led to NIS eventually branching out on their own, and to this day the companies share many staff amongst their translation and dubbing teams, as well as an amicable business relationship. In fact, NIS are the ones publishing ''[[Persona Trinity Soul]]'', the anime based on the Atlus game.
 Currently holds the dubious title of "[[That One Boss/Atlus|That One Company]]", due to their joy at [[Cold-Blooded Torture|making gamers suffer.]] And we [[Too Kinky to Torture|like it]], dammit. Funnily enough, even some games they merely published and not developed can be [[Nintendo Hard]], like ''[[Demons Souls|Demon's Souls]]'' and the ''[[Disgaea]]'' games.
@@ Line 25: / Line 25: @@
 * ''~3D Dot Game Heroes~'' (Publisher)<sup>1</sup>
-* ''[[Arcana Heart (Video Game)|Arcana Heart]]'' (Publisher, first game)
+* ''[[Arcana Heart]]'' (Publisher, first game)
-* ''[[Baroque (Video Game)|Baroque]]'' (Publisher)<sup>2</sup>
+* ''[[Baroque (video game)|Baroque]]'' (Publisher)<sup>2</sup>
 * ''Bonk'' (Co-developer, with Red Co.)
 * ''[[Catherine]]'' (Publisher/Developer)
 * ''[[Class of Heroes]]'' (Publisher)
-* ''[[Contact (Video Game)|Contact]]'' (North American Publisher)
+* ''[[Contact (video game)|Contact]]'' (North American Publisher)
-* ''[[Cubivore (Video Game)|Cubivore]]'' (North American Publisher)
+* ''[[Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest|Cubivore]]'' (North American Publisher)
 * ''[[The Dark Spire]]'' (North American Publisher)
 * ''[[Demons Souls]]'' (North American Publisher)<sup>1</sup>
-* ''[[Dept Heaven (Video Game)|Dept Heaven]]'' series (Publisher)<sup>2</sup>
+* ''[[Dept Heaven]]'' series (Publisher)<sup>2</sup>
-** ''[[Riviera the Promised Land (Video Game)|Riviera the Promised Land]]''
+** ''[[Riviera the Promised Land]]''
-** ''[[Yggdra Union (Video Game)|Yggdra Union]]''
+** ''[[Yggdra Union]]''
-*** ''[[Blaze Union (Video Game)|Blaze Union]]''
+*** ''[[Blaze Union]]''
-** ''[[Knights in The Nightmare (Video Game)|Knights in The Nightmare]]''
+** ''[[Knights in The Nightmare]]''
 * ''[[Disgaea]]'' (Published the first game in North America before [[Nippon Ichi|NIS America]] was formed)
 * ''[[Dokapon Kingdom]]'' (North American Publisher)<sup>2</sup>
@@ Line 44: / Line 44: @@
 ** ''[[Do Don Pachi]]'' (Publisher)<sup>3</sup>
 * ''[[Eternal Poison]]'' (Publisher)<sup>4</sup>
-* ''[[Etrian Odyssey (Video Game)|Etrian Odyssey]]'' (Publisher/Developer)
+* ''[[Etrian Odyssey]]'' (Publisher/Developer)
 ** ''Etrian Odyssey 2: Heroes of Lagaard''
 ** ''Etrian Odyssey 3: The Drowned City''
@@ Line 50: / Line 50: @@
 * ''[[Hexyz Force]]'' (Publisher)<sup>2</sup>
 * ''[[Izuna]]'' (North American Publisher)
-* ''[[The King of Fighters (Video Game)|The King of Fighters]] XIII'' ([http://www.atlus.com/kofxiii/ North American Publisher])<sup>5</sup>
+* ''[[The King of Fighters]] XIII'' ([http://www.atlus.com/kofxiii/ North American Publisher])<sup>5</sup>
 * ''[[Lufia]] and the Ruins of Lore'' (North American Publisher)
 * ''[[Luminous Arc]]'' (North American Publisher)
 ** ''[[Luminous Arc 2]]'' (North American Publisher)
 * ''[[Magna Carta]]'' (Publisher)
-* ''[[Maken X (Video Game)|Maken X]]''
+* ''[[Maken X]]''
 * ''[[Master of the Monster Lair]]'' (Publisher)
 ** ''[[My World My Way]]'' (Publisher)
@@ Line 61: / Line 61: @@
 * ''[[Odin Sphere]]'' (Publisher)
 * ''[[Power Instinct]]'' (Publisher and developer for most games; ''Matrimelee'' was published by [[SNK|SNK Playmore]])
-* ''[[Radiant Historia (Video Game)|Radiant Historia]]'' (Publisher/Developer)
+* ''[[Radiant Historia]]'' (Publisher/Developer)
-* ''[[Robopon (Video Game)|Robopon]]''
+* ''[[Robopon]]''
 * ''[[Rondo of Swords]]'' (Publisher)
-* ''[[R-Type (Video Game)|R-Type]] Command'' (Publisher)<sup>6</sup>
+* ''[[R-Type]] Command'' (Publisher)<sup>6</sup>
 * ''[[Rule of Rose]]'' (Publisher)
-* ''[[Shin Megami Tensei (Franchise)|Shin Megami Tensei]]'' series (Publisher/Developer)
+* ''[[Shin Megami Tensei]]'' series (Publisher/Developer)
-** ''[[Shin Megami Tensei I (Video Game)|Shin Megami Tensei I]]''
+** ''[[Shin Megami Tensei I]]''
-** ''[[Shin Megami Tensei II (Video Game)|Shin Megami Tensei II]]''
+** ''[[Shin Megami Tensei II]]''
-** ''[[Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne (Video Game)|Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne]]''
+** ''[[Shin Megami Tensei III Nocturne]]''
 ** ''[[Digital Devil Saga]]''
-** ''[[Persona (Video Game)|Persona 1]]''
+** ''[[Persona (video game)|Persona 1]]''
-** ''[[Persona 2 (Video Game)|Persona 2]]''
+** ''[[Persona 2]]''
-** ''[[Persona 3 (Video Game)|Persona 3]]''
+** ''[[Persona 3]]''
-** ''[[Persona 4 (Video Game)|Persona 4]]''
+** ''[[Persona 4]]''
 ** ''[[Raidou Kuzunoha vs. the Soulless Army]]''
 ** ''[[Raidou Kuzunoha VS King Abaddon]]''
-** ''[[Devil Survivor (Video Game)|Devil Survivor]]''
+** ''[[Devil Survivor]]''
-** ''[[Devil Survivor 2 (Video Game)|Devil Survivor 2]]''
+** ''[[Devil Survivor 2]]''
-** ''[[Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey (Video Game)|Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey]]''
+** ''[[Shin Megami Tensei Strange Journey]]''
 ** ''[[Last Bible|Megami Tensei Gaiden: Last Bible / Revelations: The Demon Slayer]]''
 ** ''Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children Book of X / Demikids: X Version''
 * ''[[Sky Gunner]]''
-* ''[[Snowboard Kids (Video Game)|Snowboard Kids]]''
+* ''[[Snowboard Kids]]''
 * ''[[Stella Deus the Gate of Eternity]]'' (publisher)
-* ''[[Steambot Chronicles (Video Game)|Steambot Chronicles]]'' (publisher)<sup>6</sup>
+* ''[[Steambot Chronicles]]'' (publisher)<sup>6</sup>
 * ''[[Summon Night]]'' (Published ''Swordcraft Story'' 1, 2 and ''Twin Age'' in North America)<sup>4</sup>
-* ''[[Super Robot Wars (Video Game)|Super Robot Wars]]'' (Published ''[[Super Robot Wars Original Generation|Original Generation]]'' 1, 2, and ''[[Endless Frontier]]'' in North America)
+* ''[[Super Robot Wars]]'' (Published ''[[Super Robot Wars Original Generation|Original Generation]]'' 1, 2, and ''[[Endless Frontier]]'' in North America)
-* ''[[Tail Concerto (Video Game)|Tail Concerto]]'' (Publisher)
+* ''[[Tail Concerto]]'' (Publisher)
 * ''[[Thousand Arms]]'' (Publisher)
 * ''[[Touch Detective]]'' (Publisher)
-* ''[[Trauma Center (Video Game)|Trauma Center]]'' series (Publisher/Developer)
+* ''[[Trauma Center (series)|Trauma Center]]'' series (Publisher/Developer)
-* ''[[Xexyz (Video Game)|Xexyz]]'' (developer; published by [[Hudson Soft]] in the U.S.)
+* ''[[Xexyz]]'' (developer; published by [[Hudson Soft]] in the U.S.)