 A variant of the Nihon Falcom logo | |
Native name | 日本ファルコム株式会社 |
|---|---|
Romanized name | Nihon farukomu kabushiki kaisha |
| Company type | Public |
| TYO:3723 | |
| Industry | Video games |
| Founded | March 1981; 44 years ago (1981-03) |
| Founder | Masayuki Kato |
| Headquarters | Tachikawa,Japan |
Key people | Toshihiro Kondo (President) |
| Products | List of games |
Number of employees | 65 (2024[1]) |
| Website | www |
Nihon Falcom Corporation (日本ファルコム株式会社) is a Japanesevideo game developer, best known for theirYs,The Legend of Heroes, andTrails series. They are credited with pioneering theaction role-playing andJapanese role-playing game genres, as well as popularizing the use ofpersonal computers in Japan.
Nihon Falcom was founded by Masayuki Kato in 1981.[2] They are credited with laying the foundations for theaction role-playing andJapanese role-playing game genres.[3][4][5] The name Falcom came from theMillennium Falcon and the final "n" was changed to an "m" to fit naming trends of that time. The word Nihon, taken after one of the native names of Japan, was added to make it sound more complete.[6]
Falcom's first role-playing game (RPG) wasPanorama Toh, released for thePC-8801 in 1983 and created by Yoshio Kiya, who would go on to create theDragon Slayer andBrandish franchises. While its RPG elements were limited, lacking traditional statistical orleveling systems, the game featuredreal-time combat with a gun, bringing it close to the action RPG formula that Falcom would later be known for. Set on a desert island, the game'soverworld is presented as ahex grid and featured a day-night cycle. There were also indigenousnon-player characters (NPCs) who the player could choose to attack, have a conversation with, or give money for items, though NPCs could choose to run away with the money. In order to survive on the island, the player needs to find and consume rations, as every normal action consumeshit points. The island also has traps, which require calling for help and waiting for NPCs to help. The player could also be bit by snakes that poison and paralyze the player, requiring medicine to heal or calling for help from NPCs.[7]
Falcom eventually went on to create their flagship franchises, including theDragon Slayer,The Legend of Heroes andYs series. The originalDragon Slayer was responsible for setting the template for theaction role-playing genre.[8]Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu (1985) had more than 400,000 copies sold,[9] making it the best-sellingPC game up until that time.[10][failed verification]
While most of Falcom's games have been ported to variousvideo game consoles of all generations, they have only developed a few non-PCvideo games themselves.[11] The company's decision to develop mainly for PCs rather than consoles set them apart from their main rivals,Enix andSquare, but limited the company's popularity in theWestern world, thus limiting their growth potential in the 1990s.[4][12] By the early 2010s, theYs series was second only to theFinal Fantasy series as the largest Japanese role-playing game franchise in terms of the overall number of game releases.[13]
On July 17, 1991, Falcom co-founded a joint-venture withSega namedSega Falcom Inc. (株式会社セガ・ファルコム,Kabushiki-gaisha Sega Farukomu; also known asSega Falcom Co., Ltd.) which Sega owned 55% of and Falcom owned 45% of.[14] Its initial purpose was to develop CD-based games for Sega's consoles in hopes of helping Sega recover its share of the 16-bit console market.[15] A series of news sections regarding Sega Falcom titled "Sega Falcom News" (セガ・ファルコム通信,Sega Farukomu Tsūshin) ran in Beep! MegaDrive from its November 1991 issue[16] to its February 1994 issue.[17] Games developed by this company includePopful Mail for theMega-CD as well asLord Monarch: Tokoton Sentou Densetsu,Dragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes, andDragon Slayer: The Legend of Heroes II for theMega Drive. Toshihiro Kondo became president of the company in 2007, succeeding founder Masayuki Kato.[18]
Falcom was also a pioneer invideo game music, with their early soundtracks mostly composed bychiptune musiciansYuzo Koshiro and Mieko Ishikawa.[19][20][21][13]
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| Gagharv |
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