Arsys Software

Arsys Software

Former type	Defunct
Industry	Video game industry
Founded	11 November 1985
Defunct	2001
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Osamu Nagano, Katsunori Yoshimura
Products	Wibarm Star Cruiser Air Combat Battle Zeque Den Gran Turismo
Revenue	¥3 million (2001)
Number of employees	3 (2001)
Website	English (Archived 2001) Japanese (Translated)

Arsys Software (アルシスソフトウェア), later known as Cyberhead (サイバーヘッド), was a Japanese video game software development company active from 1985 to 2001.

Overview

The company was founded as Arsys Software by former Technosoft staff members Osamu Nagano and Katsunori Yoshimura on 11 November 1985. They were primarily involved in PC game development, having previously created the original Thunder Force (a 1983 free-scrolling shooter game) and Plazma Line (a 1984 space racing game considered the first computer game with 3D polygon graphics) at Technosoft. In 1986, Arsys debuted with the 3D role-playing shooter Wibarm, followed by the free-roaming adventure game Reviver: The Real-Time Adventure in 1987 and the 3D first-person shooter role-playing game Star Cruiser in 1988. When Star Cruiser was released in 1988, the company only had two employees, which grew to a dozen employees by 1991, when development began on Star Cruiser 2; by 2001, the company had reduced to three employees.

In addition to its own products, they also ported games to Japanese computer platforms, such as Prince of Persia and several SystemSoft games. Their Prince of Persia port for the NEC PC-98 featured enhanced visuals, introducing the Prince's classic turban and vest look, and became the basis for later Prince of Persia ports and games by Riverhillsoft and Brøderbund. They also contributed to the development of several games from other companies, such as the 1992 combat flight simulator arcade game Air Combat and Sony Computer Entertainment's 1997 racing simulator Gran Turismo. They also released the chiptune video game music soundtrack album Arsys Best Selection (アルシス・ベストセレクション) in 1990. The company eventually closed down in 2001.

Notable releases

Wibarm

WiBArM
Developer(s)	Arsys Software
Publisher(s)	Arsys Software (Japan) Brøderbund (North America)
Designer(s)	Osamu Nagano Katsunori Yoshimura
Platforms	NEC PC-88, NEC PC-98, Sharp X1, Sharp MZ, FM-7, MS-DOS
Release date(s)	PC-88 FM-7 MS-DOS
Genre(s)	Third-person action RPG Run & gun shooter

File:WiBArm1a.jpg

The MS-DOS port of Wibarm (1986), an early role-playing shooter that combines shooter and role-playing game elements. Screenshot demonstrates early use of 3D polygon graphics, third-person perspective, and automap feature.

Wibarm (1986), stylized as WiBArM (ウィバーン), is an early role-playing shooter released by Arsys Software for the NEC PC-88 computer in Japan and ported to MS-DOS for Western release by Brøderbund. It combines run and gun shooter gameplay with role-playing video game elements, and was also the first action role-playing game to feature 3D polygonal graphics. In Wibarm, the player controls a transformable mecha robot that can shift between walking mode, a tank, and a flying jet. The viewpoint switches between several different perspectives: a 2D top-down perspective while flying, a side-scrolling view during on-foot outdoor exploration, a fully 3D polygonal third-person perspective inside buildings, and arena-style 2D shoot 'em up battles during boss encounters.

The game features a variety of weapons and equipment as well as an automap, and the player can upgrade equipment and earn experience to raise stats. In contrast to first-person RPGs at the time that were restricted to 90-degree movements, Wibarm's use of 3D polygons allows full 360-degree movement. It won the 1986 Game of the Year award from the Japanese computer game magazine Oh!MZ, later known as Oh!X.

Reviver

Reviver: The Real-Time Adventure, also known as Reviver (リバイバ), is an adventure game designed by Katsunori Yoshimura and released by Arsys Software in July 1987, for the NEC PC-88, FM-7, Sharp X1, Sharp MZ and MSX2 platforms. The sub-title, The Real-Time Adventure, is a reference to the game's introduction of a real-time persistent world, where time continues to elapse, day-night cycles adjust the brightness of the screen to indicate the time of day, and certain stores and non-player characters would only be available at certain times of the day. The game also gives players direct control over the player character. The game also features a fantasy story, full-colour 2D overhead scrolling graphics, and role-playing video game elements. It won the 1987 Game of the Year award from Japanese gaming magazine Oh!X.

Star Cruiser

Main article: Star Cruiser

Star Cruiser
Developer(s)	Arsys Software
Publisher(s)	Arsys Software (PC) Masaya (Mega Drive)
Designer(s)	Osamu Nagano Katsunori Yoshimura
Series	Star Cruiser
Platforms	NEC PC-88, NEC PC-98, Sharp X1, Sharp X68000, Sega Mega Drive
Release date(s)	PC-88 August 1988 X68000 1989 Mega Drive 1990
Genre(s)	Action role-playing game First-person shooter Space flight simulator

File:Star Cruiser screenshot.jpg

The Mega Drive port of Star Cruiser (1988), an early role-playing shooter that combined first-person shooter and role-playing game elements. Screenshot also demonstrates early use of 3D polygon graphics and automap feature.

Star Cruiser (スタークルーザー) was a first-person role-playing shooter released for the PC-88 in 1988. The game is considered innovative and ahead of its time, for being an early example of an action role-playing game with fully 3D polygonal graphics, combined with early first-person shooter gameplay, which would occasionally switch to space flight simulator gameplay when exploring the open-ended outer space with six degrees of freedom. All the backgrounds, objects and opponents in the game were rendered in 3D polygons, many years before they were widely adopted by the video game industry. The game also emphasized storytelling, with plot twists and extensive character dialogues, taking place in a futuristic science fiction setting.

It won the 1988 Game of the Year awards from the Japanese computer game magazines POPCOM and Oh!X. The game was later ported to the Sharp X68000 computer platform in 1989, and the Sega Mega Drive (Genesis) video game console in 1990. The game's sequel, Star Cruiser 2, was released in 1992, for the PC-9821 and FM Towns computers. Seven chiptune video game music soundtrack albums of both Star Cruiser games, composed by Toshiya Yamanaka, have been released from 1992 to 2008.

Air Combat and Gran Turismo

Main articles: Air Combat and Gran Turismo (video game)

The company contributed to the development of several games from other companies. These include Namco's 1992 combat flight simulator arcade game Air Combat and Sony Computer Entertainment's 1997 racing simulator Gran Turismo.

List of video games

The following games were developed by the company:

Title	Release	Platform(s)	Note(s)
WiBArM	August 1986 (Japan) August 1989 (North America)	PC-88, PC-98, X1, MZ, FM-7, MS-DOS	3D role-playing shooter. Won 1986 Game of the Year award from Oh!MZ (Oh!X) magazine.
Reviver: The Real-Time Adventure	July 1987	PC-88, FM-7, X1, MZ, MSX2	Free-roaming adventure game. Won 1987 Game of the Year award from Oh!X magazine.
Star Cruiser	August 1988	PC-88, PC-98, X1, X68000, Mega Drive	3D role-playing first-person shooter. Won 1988 Game of the Year awards from POPCOM and Oh!X magazines.
Cyber Armor Wer Dragon	September 1989	PC-88	Scrolling shooter action game.
Knight Arms: The Hyblid Framer	8 December 1989	X68000	3D shooter game. Won 1989 Game of the Year award from LOGiN and Oh!X magazines.
Tenka Touitsu	18 May 1990	X68000	Historical strategy video game. Port of SystemSoft game.
Blitzkrieg Toubu Sensen 1941-45	25 October 1991	X68000	Historical turn-based strategy.
Daisenryaku III '90	20 December 1991	X68000	Port of SystemSoft strategy game.
Spin Dizzy II	10 April 1992	PC-98, X68000	Port of Activision's Spindizzy Worlds.
Prince of Persia	20 July 1990	PC-98, SNES	Cinematic platformer. Enhanced port.
Air Combat	December 1992	Arcade	Combat flight simulator. Co-developed with Namco since June 1991.
Star Cruiser 2	2 December 1992	PC-98, FM Towns	3D first-person role-playing shooter.
Battle Zeque Den	15 July 1994	SNES	Beat 'em up action game.
Gran Turismo	23 December 1997	PlayStation	Racing simulator. Co-developed with Sony Computer Entertainment.
Galaxy Knights	July 2001	PC	Science fiction role-playing video game.

See also

• First person (video games)
• Masaya (company)
• Riverhillsoft
• Role-playing video game
  • Action role-playing game
  • History of Eastern role-playing video games
• Shooter game
  • First-person shooter
  • Shoot 'em up
  • Third-person shooter
• Technosoft

External links

• (Translated)