Compile Co., Ltd. (株式会社コンパイル) was a Japanese video game company established on April 7, 1982, under the name Programmers-3. Founded by Masamitsu Niitani (otherwise known as Moo Niitani), they were famed for developing shooters and puzzle games such as Aleste and Puyo Puyo.
Compile filed for bankruptcy and disbanded in 2003, but the franchise rights was transferred to Aiky, founded by Compile's executive Masamitsu Niitani on November 25, 2002. Aiky published Compile's last game, completed before their collapse, Pochi and Nya. Aiky's site remained operational until 2007, where later it became a redirection site to Compile Station, a site owned by D4 Enterprise, Inc.
Following the bankruptcy of Compile, companies that spun off from the parent include Milestone Inc., which focuses on arcade shoot 'em ups. Yet another company, Compile Heart, hopes to revive the Compile brand name with the assistance of former Compile employees like Puyo Puyo creator "Moo" Niitani.
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Although they created games for many systems, they were noted for particularly strong support of the MSX and PC Engine, as well as a number of notable games on the NES and Sega Master System during 1980s and 1990s.
Compile created the Madou Monogatari franchise, which blossomed into their most famous puzzle game, Puyo Puyo, as well as vertical shooters (such as the Zanac and Aleste series) and countless other less successful games. Although they specialised in shoot 'em up and puzzle games, Compile created games in many genres across many platforms. In 1998, Compile and Sega worked together on the development of Puyo Puyo for the Dreamcast before porting it to the Nintendo 64 and PlayStation.
The rights of most of the Compile's video game titles are currently held by D4 Enterprise, Inc.
Puyo Puyo, first released for the MSX computer in 1991, is a falling block puzzle game similar to Tetris. The object of the game is to create groups of four or more "Puyos" of the same color as they fall from the top of the screen. This simple yet addictive concept was expanded on in a series of sequels over the course of two decades.
Puyo Puyo reached Europe and North America in the form of Dr. Robotnik's Mean Bean Machine for the SEGA Mega Drive/Genesis and Kirby's Avalanche for the NTSC Super Nintendo (Kirby's Ghost Trap in PAL region). However, the series unaltered appearance was Puyo Pop, a name for games that were released on the PC-Engine (TurboGrafx-16), Neo-Geo Pocket Color and for the Game Boy Advance.
As part of Compile's restructuring in 1998, the rights to Puyo Puyo was sold to Sega, but Compile's franchise right would remain until 2002-08. This allowed Sega to publish Puyo Puyo~n and Puyo Puyo BOX. Later Puyo Puyo games were developed by Sonic Team, who created Puyo Pop Fever.
Although Puyo Puyo was Compile's most successful franchise, they also built an impressive body of work in the shoot 'em up genre. After 1993, Compile focused on other genres, and a few of the company's staff went on to 8ing/Raizing to contribute to games such as Battle Garegga and Mahou Daisakusen. Others stayed with Compile til the end, and formed Milestone Inc. and continue to develop new shooters. Some of Compile's most famous games include:
First released on the MSX computer in 1986, Zanac combined fast action with an innovative AI system, which changes based on your style of play. Zanac received a true sequel, Zanac EX and an NES port. There was also a parody of Zanac called Gun*Nac, released by Nexoft for the NES in 1991. Similar to Konami's own Paradious games, Gun Nac brought humor to the gameplay of the original by replacing the enemies with carrot-throwing rabbits and letting the player purchase weapons in a fast food store at the end of each stage. In 2001, Compile released an updated version for the PlayStation titled Zanac X Zanac, which included an original sequel entitled Zanac Neo.
In many ways, Aleste, released in 1988, was a follow-up to Zanac. It was first released on the MSX2 and was ported to the Sega Master System. A sequel, Aleste 2, was also released for the MSX2. Musha Aleste (titled M.U.S.H.A. in the US) was released on the Mega Drive in 1990. The game takes place in a unique Japanese futuristic setting. Super Aleste came out in 1992 for the Super Famicom and was retitled Space Megaforce in North America. Aleste is now available on cellular phones, courtesy of Aiky.
Gunhed for the PC Engine (known as Blazing Lazers in the USA) was released in 1989 and soon became a showpiece for NEC's console.
Developed jointly by Compile and Naxat Soft under the common label Nazac, Seirei Senshi Spriggan and Spriggan Mark 2 were respectively released in 1991 and 1992 for the PC Engine CD-ROM system. Spriggan Mark 2 has the distinctive honour of being the only horizontal shooter from Compile.
Although they focused on shooters and Puyo Puyo games, Compile was quite prolific in other areas as well. Started in 1989, the Madō Monogatari games are simple role-playing dungeon crawlers featuring characters that would appear in Puyo Puyo games, such as Arle. Golvellius, which was released on the MSX as well as the Master System, is an action-adventure game. Rune Master is a board game style RPG. They also developed a series of influential pinball games, such as Alien Crush and Devil's Crush on the TurboGrafx-16 (PC Engine) system.[1]