Treasure (company)
| |
Native name | 株式会社トレジャー |
---|---|
Romanized name | Kabushiki-gaisha Torejā |
Private | |
Industry | Video game industry |
Founded | June 19, 1992 |
Founder | Masato Maegawa[1] |
Headquarters | Tokyo, Japan |
Key people | Masato Maegawa (president)[1] |
Number of employees | 20–30[2] (2009) |
Website | treasure-inc.co.jp |
Treasure Co., Ltd.[lower-alpha 1] is a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo, founded by Masato Maegawa[1] on June 19, 1992,[3] initially composed of former Konami employees. Treasure is best known for classic-style action games that employ innovative gameplay systems. Their greatest commercial successes have been games like Wario World and Mischief Makers, but they are better known for their critical successes, such as Sin and Punishment, Gunstar Heroes, Dynamite Headdy, Alien Soldier, Guardian Heroes, Bangai-O, and Ikaruga. Their first released game was Gunstar Heroes, although McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure was developed first.
Treasure is a small, privately held company, consisting of around 30-40 members, though this number is somewhat misleading as they also employ independent contractors to assist development and sometimes partner with other companies like Sega, G.rev and Nintendo to increase the size of their teams. They have worked on many titles based on licenses, including Astro Boy, McDonald's, Bleach and Tiny Toon Adventures, as well as partnering with companies like Sega, Enix and Nintendo to produce original properties. They have produced a handful of games independently, most notably their arcade shooters, Ikaruga and Radiant Silvergun.
History
Before Treasure (1988-1992)
In 1988, due to the success of Technōs Japan's Double Dragon, Konami hired 7 employees for a new studio, to be called Star Team. Star Team was intended to develop beat-'em-up arcade games for Konami.
Treasure
For the first five years of Treasure, the company produced games exclusively for Sega consoles. According to a Treasure representative, their first game (Gunstar Heroes) was developed on the Sega Genesis for hardware performance reasons, and after that they continued developing for Sega consoles since their fan base consisted of owners of those consoles.[4]
Internal structure
Treasure does not have a rigid hierarchy. There are not designated "directors" from project to project; all directors also work as programmers, artists, or composers, and may work on other projects that they are not directing. There are, however, a handful of individuals who have frequently taken a greater leadership role with various teams more often than others. All of the individuals listed below were also founding members of the company.
- Masato Maegawa is the company's president, founder, and acts as executive producer for all games. Early on, he also directed games and worked as a programmer. The last game for which he performed a role other than executive producer was Mischief Makers.
- Hideyuki Suganami, usually credited as NAMI, led the development of several Treasure games, including Mischief Makers and Alien Soldier, and Sin and Punishment: Hoshi no Keishōsha. He left the company sometime after Sin and Punishment, but remains on good terms with the company, heading development of Gunstar Super Heroes on a contractual basis.
- Hiroshi Iuchi is a graphic designer specializing in background art. He left the company in the mid-'90s, but returned when he was offered the opportunity to assume a greater leadership role, specifically the chance to direct a shoot 'em up of his own design, Radiant Silvergun. He was the primary creative force behind the company's three genre shooters, Radiant Silvergun, Ikaruga, and Gradius V. He also composes music, which he did for Ikaruga. Following the cancellation of his fourth shooter, an unnamed Xbox 360 game, he left the company again to pursue self-employment, most recently collaborating with G.rev on shooter Strania and directing their handheld tank shooter Kokuga.
- Mitsuru Yaida or Yaiman is a programmer and key creative force behind many Treasure games, and has a particular interest in scrolling action games. He was the primary creative force behind Bangai-O and its sequels, and is frequently credited as Assistant Director on most games he works on because of his strong creative role. For much of the 2000s, he was a constant member of the company's handheld teams, creating games for the Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS.
- Tetsuhiko Kikuchi (credited as HAN in design roles) is an artist and character designer who had directed several Treasure games, including writing, directing, and creating much of the art for Guardian Heroes and its sequel. He also directed Yu Yu Hakusho: Makyo Toitsusen, Rakugaki Showtime, and the cancelled Tiny Toon Adventures: Defenders of the Universe. He left the company sometime in 2007 to pursue work as an independent contractor, but returned sometime around 2010-2011 for the XBLA release of Guardian Heroes. He worked on the title Code of Princess, which borrows heavily from Guardian Heroes.
- Norio Hanzawa (often credited as "NON") is the company's primary music composer. Although he used to share music duties with Katsuhiko Suzuki, who was credited as "Nazo²", he remains Treasure's only full-time composer, contributing music to more than 20 of Treasure's games.
Games developed
Title[5] | System | Release date | Publisher(s) | JP | NA | PAL | Notes | Ref(s) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gunstar Heroes | Sega Genesis | September 9, 1993 | Sega | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Game Gear | March 24, 1995 | Sega | Yes | No | No | Developed with M2 | ||
McDonald's Treasure Land Adventure | Sega Genesis | September 23, 1993 | Sega | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Dynamite Headdy | Sega Genesis | August 5, 1994 | Sega | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Game Gear | August 5, 1994 | Sega | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developed with Minato Giken | ||
Master System | 1995 | Sega / Tectoy | No | No | No | Developed with Minato Giken, Released in Brazil | ||
Yū Yū Hakusho: Makyō Tōitsusen | Sega Genesis | September 30, 1994 | Sega | Yes | No | No | Released in Brazil by Tectoy under the title YuYu Hakusho: Sunset Fighters | |
Alien Soldier | Sega Genesis | February 24, 1995 | Sega | Yes | Other | Yes | NA release was exclusive to Sega Channel | |
Light Crusader | Sega Genesis | May 25, 1995 | Sega | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Guardian Heroes | Sega Saturn | January 25, 1996 | Sega | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Xbox 360 | October 12, 2011 | Sega | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Mischief Makers | Nintendo 64 | June 27, 1997 | Enix / Nintendo | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Silhouette Mirage | Sega Saturn | September 10, 1997 | ESP | Yes | No | No | ||
PlayStation | July 23, 1998 | ESP / Working Designs | Yes | Yes | No | |||
Radiant Silvergun | Arcade | May 28, 1998 | Sega | Yes | No | No | ||
Sega Saturn | July 23, 1998 | ESP | Yes | No | No | |||
Xbox 360 | September 14, 2011 | Microsoft Studios | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Rakugaki Showtime | PlayStation | July 29, 1999 | Enix | Yes | No | No | ||
Bangai-O | Nintendo 64 | September 3, 1999 | ESP | Yes | No | No | ||
Dreamcast | December 9, 1999 | ESP / Conspiracy Entertainment / Swing! Entertainment | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Sin and Punishment | Nintendo 64 | November 21, 2000 | Nintendo | Yes | No | No | Developed with Nintendo | |
iQue Player | September 25, 2004 | Nintendo | No | No | No | Developed with Nintendo, released in China | ||
Silpheed: The Lost Planet | PlayStation 2 | September 21, 2000 | Capcom / Working Designs / Swing! Entertainment | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developed with Game Arts | |
Stretch Panic / Freak Out | PlayStation 2 | July 27, 2001 | Kadokawa Shoten / Conspiracy Entertainment / Swing! Entertainment | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Ikaruga | Arcade | December 20, 2001 | Sega | Yes | No | No | Developed with G.rev | |
Dreamcast | September 5, 2002 | ESP | Yes | No | No | |||
GameCube | January 16, 2003 | Infogrames | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Xbox 360 | April 9, 2008 | Treasure | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Microsoft Windows | February 18, 2014 | Treasure | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Nintendo Switch | May 29, 2018 | Nicalis / Pikii | Yes | Yes | Yes | |||
Tiny Toon Adventures: Buster's Bad Dream | Game Boy Advance | July 5, 2002 | Conspiracy Entertainment / Swing! Entertainment | No | Yes | Yes | ||
Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting! | Game Boy Advance | 2003 | ESP | Yes | No | No | ||
Wario World | GameCube | June 20, 2003 | Nintendo | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Dragon Drive: D-Masters Shot | GameCube | March 30, 2003 | Bandai | Yes | No | No | ||
Astro Boy: Omega Factor | Game Boy Advance | December 18, 2003 | Sega | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developed with Hitmaker | |
Gradius V | PlayStation 2 | July 22, 2004 | Konami | Yes | Yes | Yes | Developed with G.rev | |
Advance Guardian Heroes | Game Boy Advance | September 14, 2004 | Treasure / Ubisoft | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Gunstar Super Heroes | Game Boy Advance | October 6, 2005 | Sega | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Bleach: The Blade of Fate | Nintendo DS | January 26, 2006 | Sega | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Sega Ages 2500 Vol. 25: Gunstar Heroes Treasure Box | PlayStation 2 | February 23, 2006 | Sega | Yes | No | No | Developed with M2 | |
Bleach: Dark Souls | Nintendo DS | February 15, 2007 | Sega | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Bangai-O Spirits | Nintendo DS | March 19, 2008 | ESP / D3 Publisher / AFA Interactive | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Bleach: Versus Crusade | Wii | December 18, 2008 | Sega | Yes | No | No | ||
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor | Wii | October 29, 2009 | Nintendo | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Bangai-O HD: Missile Fury | Xbox 360 | May 4, 2011 | D3 Publisher | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
Gaist Crusher | Nintendo 3DS | December 5, 2013 | Capcom | Yes | No | No | ||
Gaist Crusher God | Nintendo 3DS | September 4, 2014 | Capcom | Yes | No | No |
Cancelled games
- Gun Beat (Arcade, cancelled 2000)
- Tiny Toon Adventures: Defenders of the Universe (GameCube & PlayStation 2, cancelled 2002)
Notes
References
- 1 2 3 "Treasure Trove". Retro Gamer. No. 8. Imagine Publishing. pp. 43–46.
- ↑ "Games The Way They Want: Catching Up With Treasure". Gamasutra.
- ↑ "Treasure Home Page - 会社概要" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-12-06.
- ↑ "The Treasure Interview". Maximum: The Video Game Magazine. No. 7. Emap International Limited. June 1996. pp. 108–9.
- ↑ "Treasure Home Page - 製品情報" (in Japanese). Retrieved 2007-12-06.
External links
- Treasure HomePage (in Japanese)