Compile (publisher)

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Compile Co., Ltd
株式会社コンパイル
Former type Privately held limited company
Industry Video game industry
Fate Dissolved after bankruptcy
Predecessor(s) Programmers-3, Inc.
Successor(s) Compile Heart
Founded 7 April 1982 (1982-04-07)
Founder(s) Masamitsu Niitani
Defunct 2003
Headquarters Japan
Products Video games
Services Video game development

Compile Co., Ltd. (株式会社コンパイル Kabushikigaisha Konpairu) was a Japanese video game development limited company founded by Masamitsu Niitani. Established on 7 April 1982, the company's original name was Programmers-3, Inc.[citation needed]

Compile's catalog includes the shoot 'em ups Zanac (1986) and Aleste (1988); the role-playing video game Madou Monogatari (1989); and Madou Monogatari's puzzle video game spin-off, Puyo Puyo (1991).

After bankruptcy resulted in the company's dissolution in 2003,[citation needed] most of the company's remaining assets transferred to Aiky, a new company Niitani established in the previous year.[1] Exclusive rights to the Puyo Puyo franchise transferred to Sonic Team, with whom Compile had collaborated to bring Puyo Puyo to the Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, PlayStation in the late 1990s.[2] Compile completed their final game, Pochi to Nyaa (2003), shortly before the company dissolved, and Aiky published it later that year. D4 Enterprise later acquired Aiky's intellectual property.[citation needed]

For a few months before his retirement in December 2006, Niitani worked at Compile Heart (est. June 2006), a video game development and publishing company.

Compile Home Video/DVD

Compile also released a number of VHS tapes and later DVDs of their infamous Mega Boy series.

Video games developed by Compile

Title Year Genre Original platform(s)
Aleste 1988 Vertical shooter MSX
Aleste 2 1989 Vertical shooter MSX2
Aleste Gaiden Vertical shooter
Arle no Bouken: Mahou no Jyueru 2000 JRPG Game Boy Color
Blazing Lazers (GunHed) 1989 Vertical shooter PC Engine
Blitz Runner
C-So
E.I. - Exa Innova
Final Justice
Godzilla: Gojira-Kun
Golvellius 1987 MSX
Gorby no Pipeline Daisakusen 1991 Famicom, MSX2, FM Towns
Gun-Nac 1990 Vertical shooter Famicom
Guardic
Gulkave
Guru Logi Champ
The Guardian Legend
Hustle Chumy
Jagur 5
Lunar Ball
Madou Monogatari 1-2-3
Madou Monogatari A.R.S
Madō Monogatari: Hanamaru Daiyōchienji
Madou Monogatari
M.U.S.H.A. 1990 Mega Drive
Mystic Arts
Nazo Puyo
Nazo Puyo 2
Parlour Games
Power Strike Master System
Power Strike II Master System, Game Gear
Puyo Puyo Tsu
Puyo Puyo SUN
Puyo Puyo~n
Puyo Wars
Randar no Bouken 1989
Randar II: Revenge of Death 1989
Randar no Bouken III: Yami ni Miserareta Majuts...
Robo Aleste
Rogue Hearts Dungeon
RuneMaster
RuneMaster II
RuneMaster: War among Three Empires
Rude Breaker
Seirei Senshi Spriggan
Sonic Classics 1997 Mega Drive
Spriggan Mark 2
Super Aleste 1992 Vertical shooter
Super Nazo Puyo 2: Ruruu no Tetsuwan Hanjyouki
Super Nazo Puyo: Ruruu no Ruu
Tales of the Float Land
Wander Wonder
Zanac 1986
Conversions
Title Year Genre Platform(s) Original developer
Alien Crush
Borderline SG-1000
Championship Lode Runner
Choplifter
Devil's Crush
Ghostbusters Mega Drive
Jaki Crush
Lode Runner
R-Type Sega Mark III
Swing
Shadowrun Sega CD
Zanac Ex MSX2 Compile
Zanac X Zanac PlayStation Compile

Puyo Puyo

Compile debuted their most successful title, Puyo Puyo, on the MSX computer in 1991. Puyo Puyo is a falling-block puzzle game similar to Tetris (1984). 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, 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 their bankruptcy in 2002,[citation needed] thus allowing Sega to publish Puyo Puyo~n and Puyo Puyo BOX. Later Puyo Puyo games were developed by Sonic Team, who created Puyo Pop Fever.

Shoot 'em ups

Until 1993, Compile focused much of their development efforts on the shoot 'em up genre. In the 1990s, a few Compile personnel left the company to work for another video game development company, 8ing/Raizing (est. 1993). There they contributed to such games as Mahou Daisakusen (1993) and Battle Garegga (1996).

Some employees who stayed with Compile until its end reincorporated as MileStone in April 2003, and continued to develop new shooters.

Some of Compile's most famous shoot-'em-up games include:

Zanac
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 Parodius 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.
Aleste
Aleste was first released on the MSX2 and then ported to the 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
Gunhed (retitled Blazing Lazers for North America) was released in 1989 and soon became a showpiece for NEC's PC Engine console.
Spriggan
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.

Notes

  1. Incorporated 25 November 2002
  2. "Aiky". MobyGames. GameFly. Retrieved 26 October 2012. 

External links

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