Koei Totally Explained

Everything about Koei totally explained

Koei Company, Limited (株式会社コーエー Kabushiki-gaisha Kōē), formerly 光栄 (Kōei)) is a Japanese video game publisher and developer founded in 1978. The company is best known for its historical simulation games based on the novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms, as well as simulation games based on historical events.
The company has also found mainstream success in a series of loosely historical action games, the flagship titles of which are Dynasty Warriors (真・三國無双 (Shin-Sangoku Musō)) and Samurai Warriors (戦国無双 (Sengoku Musō)), the Musō (無双) series. Koei also owns a division known as Ruby Party, which focuses in dating sim games.

History

Koei was established in July 1978 by Yoichi Erikawa and Keiko Erikawa. Mr. Erikawa was a student at Keio University, and when his family's rural dyestuffs business failed he decided to pursue his interest in programming. The company to this day is located in the town of Hiyoshi, Yokohama along with Mr. Erikawa's alma mater, and the company's name is simply a spoonerism of the school's. Kou Shibusawa and Eiji Fukuzawa, whose names are supposed to have made up the name of the company, don't really exist and are names used by the company to avoid giving credit to individual contributors, effectively acting as alter-egos for Mr. Erikawa.
   The company initially focused on personal computer sales and made-to-order business software. In 1983 it released Nobunaga's Ambition (信長の野望 Nobunaga no Yabo), a historical strategy game set during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. The game went on to receive numerous awards, and Koei produced several more such games set against the backdrop of world history, including Romance of the Three Kingdoms, set during the Three Kingdoms period of Chinese history, and Uncharted Waters (大航海時代 Dai Kōkai Jidai; lit. Great Navigation Era), set in Portugal during the Age of Exploration.
   In 1988, Koei established a North American subsidiary, Koei Corporation, in California. This subsidiary localized Koei games for export to all territories outside of Japan, as well as producing original games and concepts with the leadership of designer Stieg Hedlund, like Liberty or Death,, Gemfire and . After Hedlund's departure, this subsidiary ceased game development in 1995, focusing instead on localization, sales and marketing.
   A Canadian subsidiary, Koei Canada, Inc. was established in early 2001, and a European subsidiary, Koei Limited was established in early 2003 in Hertfordshire, United Kingdom. Koei also maintains subsidiaries in China, Korea, Taiwan and Lithuania. Recently, Koei created a Singapore branch for game development such as Sangokushi Online.
   Koei's Ruby Party division specializes on games labeled as Neoromance: GxB dating sims, usually with extra side-quests. Out of the three Neoromance series, the best known is Angelique, which has been in production since 1994. Harukanaru Toki no Naka De is a newer Neoromance hit, with many sequels and an anime TV series based on it. The newest game in the series, Kiniro no Corda, is gaining popularity partially because the manga series it was based on, has been recently licensed by Viz for English language publishing. It gaining more popularity though, and an anime TV series based on it began airing in October 2006 (External Link

). A sequel was also released on the Sony Playstation 2 in March 2007 (External Link

Games Created by Koei

Koei has built a large base of franchises, and have developed on various consoles and computers. Below is a list of game series developed by Koei.

Action games

An action/strategy game based on the Hundred Years' War between England and France. (For the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360).
Crimson Sea (initially released for Xbox in 2002, whereas its sequel was released for PlayStation 2 in 2004).
Destrega A unique 1 vs 1 fighter produced for the PlayStation system.
Dynasty Warriors 1 - 6 (as well as expansions 'Xtreme Legends' for 3 - 5, 'Empires' for 4 - 5, plus a Game Boy Advance, a Nintendo DS and two PlayStation Portable games) (真・三國無双 Shin-Sangoku Musō; spin-off of Romance of the Three Kingdoms).
For the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, it's based on the mechanics of Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors, only using the Mobile Suit Gundam franchise as its base. (ガンダム無双 Gundam Musō).
Heroes for the Nintendo GameCube and PlayStation 2.
Ni-Oh (PlayStation 3 game, movie tie-in).
Samurai Warriors 1 & 2 (as well as an Xtreme Legends expansion to both, and Empires expansion to 2, a PSP game, 'State of War' and for the Wii.) (戦国無双 Sengoku Musō).
Stop That Roach! Action/Puzzle game released in 1994 for Game Boy.
Warriors Orochi For the PlayStation 2, PSP, PC and Xbox 360, it's the first Koei crossover title, featuring characters from the Dynasty Warriors and Samurai Warriors games. (無双OROCHI).
WinBack Stealth game for Nintendo 64 and PlayStation 2.

History Simulation

Genghis Khan series.
Liberty or Death - Based on the American Revolutionary war.
Nobunaga's Ambition series - published on various platforms.
Romance of the Three Kingdoms I to XI released on the MSX, MSX2, NES, SNES, Genesis, PC-Engine CD-ROM, Sega Saturn, PS1, PS2 and PC - turn based strategy games
Strategy games

Bandit Kings of Ancient China released on the Nintendo Entertainment System, MS-DOS, Amiga, Macintosh, and PlayStation.
Gemfire - Medieval fantasy simulator.
L'Empereur Turn-based strategy game released on the Nintendo Entertainment System

Teitoku no Ketsudan (PTO: Pacific Theater of Operations in North America) Pacific War strategy games. � *

* � *

Kessen, Kessen II and Kessen III Real time strategy games for the PS2 set in Feudal Japan and China during the Three Kingdoms period.

, a strategy game set in Europe during World War II

Executive Series

Aerobiz - Airline business simulator series.

Top Management - Business simulator series.

Winning Post - Thoroughbred horse racing management and horse breeding simulator series.

Neoromance games

Angelique (アンジェリーク)

Harukanaru Toki no Naka de (遙かなる時空の中で, translates to From a Faraway Time)

Kiniro no Corda (金色のコルダ, translates to Golden Corda)

RPGs

Brandish (Super NES port)

(for Super NES) Also part of Rekoeition series

(西遊記 Saiyuki)

Sangokushi Eiketsuden, Sangokushi Koumeiden, Sangokushi Sousouden (as Tactical RPG)

(Release date is TBA as of 2006)

Opoona An upcoming title for Wii.

Sports games

G1 Jockey

Fatal Inertia

Music games

Gitaroo Man (As well as a PlayStation Portable version called Gitaroo Man Lives!)

Rekoeition

Ishin no Arashi First game of Rekoeition series.

Uncharted Waters (大航海時代 Dai Kōkai Jidai; lit. Great Navigation Era)

Taikou Risshiden （太閤立志伝）

Games published by Koei in Europe

Disgaea series

Atelier Iris series

Phantom Brave

Makai Kingdom

Further Information

Get more info on 'Koei'.

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