Quintet (company)

Quintet Co., Ltd. (株式会社クインテット, Kabushiki gaisha Kuintetto) was a Japanese video game developer, founded in April 1989. The company name is derived from musical terminology, as well as five elements of game design—planning, graphics, sound, programming and producing. Quintet was most active in the 1990s, when it had a strong relationship with Enix (now incorporated into Square Enix); the company was also a member of the GD-NET group of Sega Saturn developers. Quintet has not been active since the 2000s and are likely defunct.

Quintet Co., Ltd.
TypePublic
IndustryVideo games
FoundedApril 1989
HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
Key people
Tomoyoshi Miyazaki
Masaya Hashimoto
ProductsActRaiser
Soul Blazer
ActRaiser 2
Illusion of Gaia
Robotrek
Terranigma
Websitewww.quintet.co.jp (archived)

Company overview

The director and president of Quintet is Tomoyoshi Miyazaki, the scenario writer for the first three entries of Nihon Falcom's classic Ys series. Masaya Hashimoto, the main director, designer and programmer for those same Ys titles, is also a member. Thanks to the Ys connection, composer Yuzo Koshiro (also a Ys veteran) lent his talents to the score of the company's official inaugural title, ActRaiser, a soundtrack which has since been adapted for orchestra. Koshiro's sister, Ayano Koshiro, drew the character designs.

The later releases of Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia and Terranigma, known to fans as the "Soul Blazer Trilogy", established a defining feature of Quintet games — the strong, sometimes dark themes addressed in their titles. Quintet's games frequently revolve around a conflict between a being that brings destruction and a being that controls creation as symbols of duality. The world has two aspects which both oppose and complement each other, and everything in existence is built upon that relationship. Unflinching portrayals of the suffering and sacrifices that are a part of life set Quintet games apart, and have attracted many fans. However, around 2000, release of games that contained characteristic Quintet themes declined. Currently, the company appears to have been inactive since 2002.[1]

There was an active bulletin board on the official site until March 29, 2002 (the release date of the Game Boy Advance action RPG Magical Houshin, the counterpart to the GameCube title Battle Houshin, released as Mystic Heroes in North America). In response to angry comments from fans made impatient by the lack of news, Quintet staff posted: "As we cannot currently release any information, we will close this bulletin board." (現在は外部に提供できる情報がなく、また掲示板は閉鎖する, Genzai wa gaibu ni teikyō dekiru jōhō ga naku, mata keijiban wa heisa suru.) Afterward, the bulletin board was shut down. In March 2008, Quintet's website was also shut down.

Works developed
Year Title Publisher Platform(s)
1990 ActRaiser Enix Super Nintendo Entertainment System
1992 Soul Blazer Enix Super Nintendo Entertainment System
1993 ActRaiser 2 Enix Super Nintendo Entertainment System
1993 Illusion of Gaia Enix Super Nintendo Entertainment System
1994 Robotrek Enix Super Nintendo Entertainment System
1995 Terranigma Enix Super Nintendo Entertainment System
1997 The Granstream Saga[2] Sony Computer Entertainment PlayStation
1998 Solo Crisis Quintet Sega Saturn
1998 Code R[3] Quintet/Entertainment Software Publishing Sega Saturn
1999 Planet Laika[4] Enix PlayStation
1999 Brightis Sony Computer Entertainment PlayStation
1999 Shenmue[5] Sega Dreamcast
1999 Godzilla Generations: Maximum Impact Sega Dreamcast
2001 Simple 1500 Series vol.78 The Zeroyon D3 Publisher PlayStation
2002 Mystic Heroes Koei Game Boy Advance
2004 Inuyasha: The Secret of the Cursed Mask[6] Bandai PlayStation 2

References
  1. Szczepaniak, John (7 July 2011). "Falcom: Legacy of Ys". GamesTM (111): 152–159 [155]. Retrieved 2011-09-08. (cf. Szczepaniak, John (July 8, 2011). "History of Ys interviews". Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved 8 September 2011.)
  2. Scenario, developed by Shade
  3. Developed by Team Seven
  4. (co-developed with Zeque)
  5. Development support.
  6. co-developed with Kamui
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