Toaplan

Template:Short description Template:Expand Japanese Template:Use mdy dates {{#invoke:Infobox|infobox}}Template:Template otherTemplate:Main other{{#invoke:Check for clobbered parameters|check|nested=1|template=Infobox company|cat=Template:Main other|name; company_name|logo; company_logo|logo_alt; alt|trade_name; trading_name|former_names; former_name|type; company_type|predecessors; predecessor|successors; successor|foundation; founded|founders; founder|defunct; dissolved|hq_location; location|hq_location_city; location_city|hq_location_country; location_country|num_locations; locations|areas_served; area_served|net_income; profit|net_income_year; profit_year|owners; owner |homepage; website }}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:Infobox company with unknown parameter "_VALUE_" | ignoreblank=y | alt | area_served | areas_served | assets | assets_year | aum | brands | company_logo | company_name | company_type | defunct | dissolved | divisions | embed | equity | equity_year | fate | footnotes | former_name | former_names | foundation | founded | founder | founders | genre | homepage | hq_location | hq_location_city | hq_location_country | incorporated | image | image_alt | image_caption | image_size | image_upright | income_year | industry | ISIN | key_people | location | location_city | location_country | locations | logo | logo_alt | logo_caption | logo_class | logo_size | logo_upright | members | members_year | module | name | native_name | native_name_lang | net_income | net_income_year | num_employees | num_employees_year | num_locations | num_locations_year | operating_income | owner | owners | parent | predecessor | predecessors | production | production_year | products | profit | profit_year | rating | ratio | revenue | revenue_year | romanized_name | services | subsid | successor | successors | traded_as | trade_name | trading_name | type | website| qid | fetchwikidata | suppressfields | noicon | nocat | demo | categories }}

Template:Nihongo foot was a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo. It was best known for its catalogue of scrolling shooters and other arcade video games. The company was founded in 1979 but its gaming division was established in 1984 by former Orca and Crux employees, who wanted to make games, after both companies declared bankruptcy. Their first shoot 'em up game, Tiger-Heli (1985) on arcades, was a success and helped establish Toaplan as a leading producer of shooting games throughout the 1980s and 1990s that would continue to characterize their output.

Though initially exclusive to arcades, they expanded with the Sega Genesis in 1990. The company ceased development of shoot 'em up projects before declaring bankruptcy in 1994. Several offshoot developers such as Eighting, Tamsoft, CAVE, Gazelle, and Takumi Corporation were formed prior to and after the closure, while former members later joined to other studios such as Bandai Namco Entertainment, Capcom, Square Enix and Taito. Toaplan has since earned recognition from critics, being called one of the greatest and most influential Japanese shoot 'em up developers and "master" of the scrolling shooter genre.<ref name="DDPr-TfeotJ"/><ref name="T30gvgttf-p2"/>

History

Template:Excessive citations Toaplan was established in April 1979 but its gaming division was established by former Orca and Crux members.<ref name="PSGv10"/><ref name="PCEFv3i2"/><ref name="B!MD7" /><ref name="G49"/><ref name="G60">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="B!MD14"/><ref name="AHoTi.ac"/><ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="TSCa"/><ref name="STGv4a"/><ref name="STGv4b"/><ref name="OZwgTU">Template:Cite podcast</ref><ref name="IGNit">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="GoGCVol2">Template:Cite book</ref> Performan was created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at Orca and Crux before both companies declared bankruptcy,<ref name="GM218"/><ref name="GM219"/><ref name="Mseed2"/><ref name="Mseed3"/> after which a group of employees from the two gaming divisions would go on to form Toaplan and among them were composers Masahiro Yuge and Tatsuya Uemura.<ref name="G49"/><ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="TSCa"/><ref name="STGv4a"/><ref name="STGv4b"/>

In 1992, Yoshiyuki Kiyomoto stepped down from his position as CEO at Toaplan, with Taizo Hayashi now serving as the company's president.<ref name="GM211"/><ref name="GM427"/> Toaplan provided consultance and advising to Raizing (now Eighting) during the development of Sorcer Striker, as well as licensing their arcade board to the company, since the president of the latter company previously served as an employee of the former.<ref name="STGv1"/><ref name="Fam1"/> Snow Bros. 2: With New Elves served as one of the final projects to be developed by Toaplan, as the company ceased development of shoot 'em up games before their closure.<ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="TSCb"/>

The company declared bankruptcy on March 31, 1994.<ref name="TSCb"/><ref name="GM472"/> Its closure led to the formation of several offshoot companies.<ref name="T:trafojgsgc"/><ref name="Wireframe13"/> Prior to Toaplan's closure in 1994, several former employees formed or were involved with multiple companies, many of which were dedicated to arcade shooters:<ref name="1993V-VTI"/><ref name="CONTINUEv6"/><ref name="Gpara.com"/><ref name="MA118"/><ref name="IGM8"/><ref name="TAoSwJI"/><ref name="SPOnG"/> Eighting, Tamsoft, CAVE, Gazelle, and Takumi (who continued development of Twin Cobra II after Toaplan's closure).

The rights to nearly every Toaplan IP are currently owned by Tatsujin, a Japanese company formed by Yuge.<ref name="Fam2"/><ref name="Tatsujin"/><ref name="Gamercafe1"/><ref name="exA-A"/><ref name="Gamercafe2"/><ref name="4G.net"/> In 2020, Japanese company M2 released every game by Toaplan (excluding Mahjong Sisters and Enma Daiō) for consoles in Japan.<ref name="Siliconera"/><ref name="Gematsu"/><ref name="HC"/><ref name="NLife"/> In August 2022, Tatsujin was acquired by Embracer Group for a retro gaming focused operative group.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2023, Tatsujin announced several new projects, such as Truxton Extreme,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Snow Bros. Wonderland<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> (both games being sequels to their respective series) and Amusement Arcade TOAPLAN, a compilation of 25 arcade games for smartphones.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> One of the titles from Tatsujin, Snow Bros. Wonderland, was released in 2024.<ref name="SBW">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Staff

Template:Excessive citations Various individuals have been important figures in the history of Toaplan:

• Masahiro Yuge – One of the six original team members and frequent composer.<ref name="PSGv10"/><ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="TSCa"/><ref name="STGv4a"/><ref name="STGv4b"/> Later worked at Takumi Corporation and Eighting on several projects.<ref name="AHoTi.ac"/>
• Tatsuya Uemura – One of the six original team members and frequent composer.<ref name="PSGv10"/><ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="TSCa"/><ref name="STGv4a"/><ref name="STGv4b"/> Later worked at Gazelle and Eighting on several projects.<ref name="AHoTi.ac"/>
• Toshiaki Tomizawa – Music composer for Demon's World, Zero Wing and Vimana.<ref name="PSGv10"/><ref name="STGv4b"/><ref name="TSCb"/> Co-founder of CAVE.<ref name="AHoTi.ac"/><ref name="IGM8"/>
• Osamu Ōta – Music composer for Wardner, Rally Bike and Twin Hawk.<ref name="PSGv10"/><ref name="STGv4b"/> Producer of Gekirindan at Taito.<ref name="AHoTi.ac"/>
• Toshiaki Ōta – One of the six original team members and head of software development.<ref name="PCEFv3i2"/><ref name="AHoTi.ac"/><ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="TSCa"/><ref name="STGv4a"/> Founder of Tamsoft.<ref name="AHoTi.ac"/><ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="STGv4a"/><ref name="Tamsoft"/>
• Naoki Ogiwara – Artist and designer for Truxton and Out Zone.<ref name="G49"/><ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="TSCb"/><ref name="STGv4b"/> Co-founder of CAVE.<ref name="AHoTi.ac"/><ref name="IGM8"/>
• Kōetsu Iwabuchi – Artist for Guardian and Twin Cobra.<ref name="G49"/> Later served as planning manager for Grind Stormer.<ref name="1993V-VTI"/>
• Yuko Tataka – Character designer for Truxton, Hellfire, Twin Hawk, Zero Wing and Fire Shark.<ref name="B!MD14"/><ref name="AHoTi.ac"/>
• Sanae Nitō – Character designer for Truxton, Hellfire, Twin Hawk, Zero Wing and Fire Shark.<ref name="B!MD14"/><ref name="AHoTi.ac"/>
• Tsuneki Ikeda – Programmer for Grind Stormer and Batsugun.<ref name="1993V-VTI"/><ref name="Gpara.com"/><ref name="MA118"/><ref name="SPOnG"/> Co-founder of CAVE.<ref name="AHoTi.ac"/><ref name="STGv4a"/><ref name="IGM8"/><ref name="SPOnG"/>
• Satoshi Kōyama – Programmer for Batsugun. Later worked at CAVE on several projects.<ref name="G196"/>
• Junya Inoue – Designer for Dogyuun, Knuckle Bash and Batsugun.<ref name="CONTINUEv6"/><ref name="TAoSwJI"/> Later worked at Gazelle and CAVE on several projects.<ref name="CONTINUEv6"/><ref name="TAoSwJI"/><ref name="PaVP-TXB"/>
• Yusuke Naora – Graphic designer for Grind Stormer. Later worked at Square Enix on several projects.<ref name="CONTINUEv6"/><ref name="IZM"/>
• Kenichi Takano – One of the six original team members and designer for Performan.<ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="TSCa"/><ref name="STGv4a"/> Co-founder of CAVE.<ref name="AHoTi.ac"/><ref name="STGv4a"/><ref name="IGM8"/><ref name="SPOnG"/>
• Yuichirō Nozawa – One of the six original team members and designer for Twin Hawk.<ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="TSCa"/><ref name="STGv4a"/>
• Atsushi Kawaguchi – One of the six original team members and artist for Demon's World.<ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="TSCa"/>
• Nanpei Kaneko – Designer for FixEight and Knuckle Bash.<ref name="CONTINUEv6"/><ref name="Wacom"/> Later worked as illustrator for Japanese magazines.<ref name="CONTINUEv6"/><ref name="Wacom"/>
• Tomonobu Kagawa – One of the three graphic artists for Truxton II.<ref name="KTa"/><ref name="KTb"/> Later worked at Taito on several projects.<ref name="KTc"/><ref name="Hatena"/>

Games

Developed

Year	Title	Original platform(s)	Publisher	Co-developer
1984	Jongō	Arcade	SNK	Template:N/A
1985	Performan	Arcade	Data East	Template:N/A
	Tiger-Heli	Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation	Taito, Romstar	Micronics (NES), Gazelle (PS1)
	Jongkyō	Arcade	Data East	Template:N/A
1986	Guardian	Arcade	Taito, Kitkorp	Template:N/A
	Slap Fight	Arcade, Amstrad CPC, Commodore 64, Thomson MO5, Thomson TO8, ZX Spectrum, Atari ST, Sega Mega Drive	Taito	Probe Software (CPC/ZXS), Imagine Software (C64), France Image Logiciel (MO5/TO8), Abersoft Limited (ST), M.N.M Software (SMD)
	Mahjong Sisters	Arcade	Toaplan	Template:N/A
1987	Flying Shark	Arcade, Commodore 64, ZX Spectrum, Amiga, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, Nintendo Entertainment System, MS-DOS, X68000, FM Towns	Taito, Romstar, Electrocoin	Catalyst Coders (C64), Graftgold (ZXS/CPC), Images Software (AGA/ST), Software Creations (C64/NES), Banana Development Corporation (DOS), Kaneko (X68K), Ving (FMT)
	Wardner	Arcade, Famicom Disk System, Sega Genesis	Taito	Daiei Seisakusho (FDS), Dragnet (SG)
	Twin Cobra	Arcade, PC Engine, NES, Sega Genesis, X68000, FM Towns, PlayStation	Taito, Romstar	A.I Company (PCE), Micronics (NES), Graphic Research (SG), Inter State (X68K), Ving (FMT), Gazelle (PS1)
1988	Rally Bike	Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System, X68000	Taito	Visco Corporation (NES), SPS (X68K)
	Truxton	Arcade, Sega Genesis, PC Engine	Taito, Midway	Sting Entertainment (PCE)
1989	Hellfire	Arcade, Sega Genesis, PC Engine Super CD-ROM²	Taito, U.S.A. Games	NCS Corporation (SG), NEC Avenue (PCE SCD-ROM²)
	Twin Hawk	Arcade, Sega Mega Drive, PC Engine, PC Engine CD-ROM²	Taito	Center Tech (PCE), NEC Avenue (PCE CD-ROM²)
	Demon's World	Arcade, PC Engine Super CD-ROM²	Taito, Catalina Games	NEC Avenue (PCE SCD-ROM²)
	Zero Wing	Arcade, Sega Mega Drive, PC Engine CD-ROM²	Namco, Williams Electronics	Template:N/A
	Fire Shark	Arcade, Sega Genesis	Toaplan, Romstar, Dooyong	Template:N/A
1990	Snow Bros.	Arcade, Game Boy, Nintendo Entertainment System, Sega Mega Drive	Toaplan, Romstar	Dual (GB), Soft House (NES)
	Out Zone	Arcade	Tecmo, Romstar, Toaplan	Template:N/A
1991	Teki Paki	Arcade	Tecmo, Honest Trading, Spacy	Template:N/A
	Vimana	Arcade	Tecmo, Toaplan	Template:N/A
	Ghox	Arcade	Taito	Template:N/A
1992	Pipi & Bibi's	Arcade	Toaplan, Nova Apparate	Template:N/A
	Truxton II	Arcade, FM Towns	Toaplan	Ving (FMT)
	FixEight	Arcade	Toaplan	Template:N/A
	Dogyuun	Arcade	Toaplan	Template:N/A
1993	Grind Stormer	Arcade, Sega Genesis	Toaplan	Tengen (SG)
	Knuckle Bash	Arcade	Toaplan, Atari Games	Template:N/A
	Enma Daiō	Arcade	Taito	Template:N/A
	Batsugun	Arcade, Sega Saturn	Toaplan, Taito, Unite Trading	Gazelle (SS)
1994	Snow Bros. 2: With New Elves	Arcade	Hanafram	Template:N/A

Published

Year	Title	Platform	Developer	Co-publisher	Template:Abbr
1990	MUSHA	Sega Genesis	Compile	Seismic	<ref name="SHE"/><ref name="GPro20"/>
1991	Snow Bros.	Nintendo Entertainment System	Soft House	Capcom	<ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="NESGames"/>

Cancelled

Title	Genre	Publisher(s)	Planned release date/Last year developed or mentioned	Notes/Reasons
Batsugun sequel	Shoot 'em up	Toaplan	1 May 2001	<ref name="MA12"/>
Untitled Sega System 1 game	Action	Sega	1 June 2009	<ref name="TFf25v9"/>
Dynamic Trial 7	Racing, vehicular combat	Toaplan	1 June 2009	<ref name="TFf25v9"/>
Teki Paki 2	Puzzle	Template:N/A	1 June 2009	<ref name="TFf25v9"/>
Genkai Chōsen Distopia	Action, hack and slash, platform	Template:N/A	1 June 2009	<ref name="TFf25v9"/><ref name="AGC2"/>
Tank da Don!!	Platform, run and gun	Template:N/A	27 October 2011	<ref name="TSCb"/>

External links

• Template:Official website Template:In lang