Developer Obscura Vol. 1: Pony Canyon & Friends

[ArnoldRimmer83]

One possible name for the company that produced all these early ports and games is "micronics". BMF once noticed it was mentioned on the title screen of the Snes port of "Raiden Traid", and that game seems to have some of their trademark coding. Unfortunately it isn't 100% proof that it is their name, but I nevertheless have been going by it since.

Not much else I can really add to this thread. Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 3 (aka Kid Niki 3) is by far their greatest Famicom game. Still a bit glitchy, but its actually pretty playable, making me think Irem was more strict and threatened beat downs if they didn't sit down and learn to code the Famicom properly.

[Haoie]

They do something with anime too, I remember seeing in the credits of Steel Angel Kurumi their name.

[FurinkanianFrood]

PostPosted: Fri Oct 07, 2005 6:17 pm Post subject:
They do something with anime too

Of course they do. And they have been for a long time. They are a broadly involved JP media publishing company. I don't know how they would avoid dealing with anime related stuff.

I've seen them in loads of anime credits from the 80's forward. (I watch very little anime from before the late 70's or so).

They aren't the only broad based media company like that either.

A lot of people love Ghosts 'N' Goblins, and a lot of people don't think the first Mega Man is so great, so meh on that.

People love the GnG port on NES? As if they couldn't just play one of the better versions? I admit I didn't hate some of the games listed above as much as some do though.

FCI definitely published NES Ultima 4 here. You know that emblem with the red dot in the middle? All over the packaging. And I think they published 3 (Exodus) in both US and Japan.

I personally suspect some funky third party developed NES U4, but I would guess it was a different dev than U3 (exodus).

At the very least, I can assure you that NO ONE but Capcom and SNK made their respective games, like Capcom with Ghost 'n' Goblins and SNK with Ikari Warriors and Athena.

Eh, none of us were there . Could Capcom and SNK have had a couple crappy dev teams making stuff of that kind?

Of course.

Could they have had someone else do it? I think that's more likely, but unless you can find someone who actually was directly involved and can remember dumb little crap after 20 years it's hard to see. I think I would remember, but I wan't there.

they may have been responsible for the sound in the games

Hmmm. I don't know, but there are instances of companies just doing the sound work for a game.

I swear I have heard some of the music tracks in multiple (seemingly) unrelated RPGs. I can't remember where for instance, but I think the Meribia tune from Lunar:SSSC was used elsewhere..... Not that I am saying anyone did anything wrong necessarily. It may just be legit reuse.

Somewhere (I can't remember where) someone claimed that Compile is only associated with Sylphia (PCE game) because a related company did something with the music, and thus technically it is included in the exhaustive JP release lists as a Compile work.

Which brings me to another question.

I care enough to bother, but maybe someone could check out complete JP release lists (you know, on JP language sites...) for the above mention PonyCanyon-ish feeling games.

The general theory is that all these terribly coded games came from an independant development studio that Pony Canyon contracted to code most of their Famicom/NES games. This would explain why so many different companies had stuff developed by them early on.

Seems likely.

inefficient loading technique

Doesn't necessarily mean they were the same dev company. Never underestimate the laziness of programmers. Often someone just goes with the first functional code that they write or come across.

[GarrettCRW]

I care enough to bother, but maybe someone could check out complete JP release lists (you know, on JP language sites...) for the above mention PonyCanyon-ish feeling games.

This needs to be done as a general rule with Japanese systems and/or games. Let's face it: we ugly Americans have next to no contact with gamers in Japan, even when it comes to those of us who know the language. It's a bit annoying to me that a really fascinating subject like this is relegated to mere speculation because there's next to no communication with our (potential) friends in Japan.

[CRV]

This needs to be done as a general rule with Japanese systems and/or games. Let's face it: we ugly Americans have next to no contact with gamers in Japan, even when it comes to those of us who know the language. It's a bit annoying to me that a really fascinating subject like this is relegated to mere speculation because there's next to no communication with our (potential) friends in Japan.

Unfortunately, it probably is the language barrier that's the biggest problem. Also, there's the chance some just don't want to deal with foreigners.

Developer Table is one Japanese site that should be translated. I've run a lot of it myself through the Animelab.com translator.

[Wavelflack]

I care enough to bother, but maybe someone could check out complete JP release lists (you know, on JP language sites...) for the above mention PonyCanyon-ish feeling games.

This needs to be done as a general rule with Japanese systems and/or games. Let's face it: we ugly Americans have next to no contact with gamers in Japan, even when it comes to those of us who know the language. It's a bit annoying to me that a really fascinating subject like this is relegated to mere speculation because there's next to no communication with our (potential) friends in Japan.

Why would a superior, nuclear-armed American such as myself need to communicate with such a backward group of people?
Also, why do you "know the language"? Certainly there are more productive secondary languages you could concentrate on...

[CRV]

Update: We may be on to something. I was just looking at the in-game credits for Dr. Chaos and Phantom Fighter. Both say Marionette computer designed/produced them (with SRS doing game design/consulting). So, how do you think this bodes for the other games in question? Did Marionette do those other games, too? Anybody happen to have credits to any of those games?

[idrougge]

Ghostbusters is another possible suspect. It was published by Tokuma Shoten, who also published Exed Exes. It doesn't have the famous Pony Canyon load time but the game itself just has that feel. The music, graphics, and gameplay are vintage Pony Canyon. The game doesn't have the pause tone...because the music just sort of comes to a leisurely stop when you pause it. That's really the only way I can describe it. The current bleep or blip actually gets stuck for a couple seconds.

Running "strings" on the Japanese Ghostbusters ROM dump reveals this: ORIGINAL PROGRAM AND
CONCEPT @1984
ACTIVISION INC.
CODE FOR NINTENDO FAMILY
COMPUTER @1986 TOKUMA
SHOTEN PUBLISHING
CO.,LTD.
PROGRAMMED BY
WORKSS 1986

So, this game is by Workss. Hence the "SHOP WORKSS" cheat.
I should add that I also am in support of the Pony as publisher theory.
If you further want to investigate Ponyca, I suggest you turn to the MSX world, where they were also a big player.

Edit:
As for Tokuma Shoten, I believe that they had an in-house developer of sorts, called Technopolis Soft.

[CRV]

Running "strings" on the Japanese Ghostbusters ROM dump reveals this: ORIGINAL PROGRAM AND
CONCEPT @1984
ACTIVISION INC.
CODE FOR NINTENDO FAMILY
COMPUTER @1986 TOKUMA
SHOTEN PUBLISHING
CO.,LTD.
PROGRAMMED BY
WORKSS 1986

Interesting find. The US version says it was programmed by Bits. Since it was done in Japan, this must be Bits Laboratory (not Bits Studios, a British company). I wonder if there was a company name change.

[idrougge]

Isn't Breaktime by Opera house?

[CRV]

Isn't Breaktime by Opera house?

I says "Produced by Pony Canyon & Opera House." I've never heard of Opera House.

[idrougge]

I believe it was confirmed awhile back that the company who developed these games is just an anonymous third-party developer, not Pony Canyon themselves.

They developed all the games you listed, along with Commando (not Trojan), Victory Road, Athena, and Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 3, among other games. They improved somewhat by Kaiketsu Yanchamaru 3, but their lack of programming skill is evident in pretty much everything they made.

Here is what I have found out:
The programmer of Commando is Masamitsu Kobayashi. In the program code, he reveals that his next game is going to be "Captain Higemaru", which turns out to be Higemaru Makaijima. Only the NES version is seemingly programmed by Mr. Kobayashi, whereas the MSX version is done by "Lunarian", which just might be Lunarian Shintani (of Compile and Lunarball fame) doing some extra work. All the other staff is the same between the two platforms.
As for Mr. Kobayashi, he is credited with Mr. Do's wildride for MSX, which in turn is developed by Angel, which in turn is a Bandai company. The name Masamitsu Kobayashi shows up nearly twenty years later in Resident evil zero, which is yet another Capcom game.
http://www.mobygames.com/developer/s...operId,107442/

[CRV]

Allow me to throw another kink in things...Both Ultima: Exodus and Attack Animal Gakuen say they were produced by Newtopia Planning.

[CRV]

- I came across some credits for the Mega CD version of Wing Commander. Bits Laboratory was involved with it and the names match up with the Ghostbusters credits. Was Workss some early name of the company or was it a pseudonym? And were they involved with those other questionable games? IMO, Ghostbusters doesn't have the resemblance to Ikari Warriors or Super Pitfall I hoped it would.

[idrougge]

I also suspect that the NES version of Thexder could be by Bits lab. Both the programmers (Shôji Satô and Motoyuki Kanayama) are credited the aforementioned Ghostbusters, and Kanayama is also the programmer of Afterburner for PC Engine.

[idrougge]

There is a lot of correlation between the staff lists of Break time on the NES and Heroes of the lance on MSX. And even a little with Master of monsters for Megadrive, which is supposedly developed by ISCO.

[CRV]

There is a lot of correlation between the staff lists of Break time on the NES and Heroes of the lance on MSX. And even a little with Master of monsters for Megadrive, which is supposedly developed by ISCO.

It's why I think Pony Canyon had at least some sort of internal development team that might have worked mainly on personal computers like the MSX.

You mention Master of Monsters. The two names that stick out are Satoru Miki and Hiroyuki Fujiwara. They programmed a number of Pony Canyon games. It's my opinion that they left Pony Canyon (or whatever group this was) and joined ISCO.

[CRV]

I also suspect that the NES version of Thexder could be by Bits lab. Both the programmers (Shôji Satô and Motoyuki Kanayama) are credited the aforementioned Ghostbusters, and Kanayama is also the programmer of Afterburner for PC Engine.

Well then, they probably did it.

After looking at FC Thexder and Ghostbusters, I think they're out of the running for being the company responsible for Super Pitfall and Tiger-Heli. Neither have glitches, choppy animation, or that trademark pause tone.

[adaml]

I also suspect that the NES version of Thexder could be by Bits lab. Both the programmers (Shôji Satô and Motoyuki Kanayama) are credited the aforementioned Ghostbusters, and Kanayama is also the programmer of Afterburner for PC Engine.

Well then, they probably did it.

After looking at FC Thexder and Ghostbusters, I think they're out of the running for being the company responsible for Super Pitfall and Tiger-Heli. Neither have glitches, choppy animation, or that trademark pause tone.

I would tend to agree, but they do still have that Pony Canyon feel.

On a side note, am I the only one who thinks of Pony Canyon as some magical place where the ponies run free? I thought so.

[idrougge]

Ultima: Warriors of destiny was developed in the UK, so strike that one.

Ultima: Quest of the avatar and Ultima: Exodus are both Newtopia games, though.
However, Newtopia is not mentioned in the US version of Quest of the avatar. Instead, a company called Atelier Double is credited with "NES translation". Since Double is still in business, it is somewhat easier to find some info.

Double was founded in May 1986 when it was handed a Famicom development job by Ponyca. At the end of the year, it was turned into a real company and given its current name. They start developing for "Sega MSX2" by June 1988 and for Gameboy in July 1989. In June 1993 they start SFC development and PSX development starts in March 1995. Saturn development follows in April 1996. Unfortunately, their list of works cannot be reached, but there is one at Developer table.