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group=lower-alpha was a Japanese video game developer based in . 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, (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 in 1990. The company ceased development of shoot 'em up projects before declaring bankruptcy in 1994. Several offshoot developers such as , , 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, , and . 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.


History
Toaplan was established in April 1979 but its gaming division was established by former Orca and Crux members. was created by most of the same team that previously worked on several projects at Orca and Crux before both companies declared bankruptcy, 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.

In 1992, Yoshiyuki Kiyomoto stepped down from his position as CEO at Toaplan, with Taizo Hayashi now serving as the company's president. Toaplan provided consultance and advising to (now Eighting) during the development of , 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. 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.

The company declared on March 31, 1994. Its closure led to the formation of several offshoot companies. 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: Eighting, , 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. In 2020, Japanese company M2 released every game by Toaplan (excluding and Enma Daiō) for consoles in Japan. In August 2022, Tatsujin was acquired by for a retro gaming focused operative group. In 2023, Tatsujin announced several new projects, such as Truxton Extreme, Snow Bros. Wonderland (both games being sequels to their respective series) and Amusement Arcade TOAPLAN, a compilation of 25 arcade games for smartphones. One of the titles from Tatsujin, Snow Bros. Wonderland, was released in 2024.


Staff
Various individuals have been important figures in the history of Toaplan:

  • Masahiro Yuge – One of the six original team members and frequent composer. Later worked at Takumi Corporation and on several projects.
  • Tatsuya Uemura – One of the six original team members and frequent composer. Later worked at Gazelle and Eighting on several projects.
  • Toshiaki Tomizawa – Music composer for Demon's World, Zero Wing and Vimana. Co-founder of CAVE.
  • Osamu Ōta – Music composer for Wardner, Rally Bike and Twin Hawk. Producer of at .
  • Toshiaki Ōta – One of the six original team members and head of software development. Founder of .
  • Naoki Ogiwara – Artist and designer for Truxton and Out Zone. Co-founder of CAVE.
  • Kōetsu Iwabuchi – Artist for Guardian and Twin Cobra. Later served as planning manager for Grind Stormer.
  • Yuko Tataka – Character designer for Truxton, Hellfire, Twin Hawk, Zero Wing and Fire Shark.
  • Sanae Nitō – Character designer for Truxton, Hellfire, Twin Hawk, Zero Wing and Fire Shark.
  • Tsuneki Ikeda – Programmer for Grind Stormer and Batsugun. Co-founder of CAVE.
  • Satoshi Kōyama – Programmer for Batsugun. Later worked at CAVE on several projects.
  • – Designer for Dogyuun, Knuckle Bash and Batsugun. Later worked at Gazelle and CAVE on several projects.
  • – Graphic designer for Grind Stormer. Later worked at on several projects.
  • Kenichi Takano – One of the six original team members and designer for Performan. Co-founder of CAVE.
  • Yuichirō Nozawa – One of the six original team members and designer for Twin Hawk.
  • Atsushi Kawaguchi – One of the six original team members and artist for Demon's World.
  • Nanpei Kaneko – Designer for FixEight and Knuckle Bash. Later worked as illustrator for Japanese magazines.
  • Tomonobu Kagawa – One of the three graphic artists for Truxton II. Later worked at Taito on several projects.


Games

Developed
Arcade, Nintendo Entertainment System, PlayStation, Micronics (NES), Gazelle (PS1)
JongkyōArcadeData East
Arcade, , Commodore 64, Thomson MO5, Thomson TO8, , , Sega Mega DriveTaito (CPC/ZXS), (C64), France Image Logiciel (MO5/TO8), Abersoft Limited (ST), M.N.M Software (SMD)
ArcadeToaplan
WardnerArcade, Famicom Disk System, TaitoDaiei Seisakusho (FDS), Dragnet (SG)
Arcade, , NES, Sega Genesis, X68000, FM Towns, PlayStationTaito, RomstarA.I Company (PCE), Micronics (NES), Graphic Research (SG), Inter State (X68K), Ving (FMT), Gazelle (PS1)
TruxtonArcade, Sega Genesis, PC EngineTaito, Sting Entertainment (PCE)
Arcade, Sega Mega Drive, PC Engine, PC Engine CD-ROM²TaitoCenter Tech (PCE), NEC Avenue (PCE CD-ROM²)
Demon's WorldArcade, PC Engine Super CD-ROM²Taito, Catalina GamesNEC Avenue (PCE SCD-ROM²)
Arcade, Sega Mega Drive, PC Engine CD-ROM²,
Arcade, Sega GenesisToaplan, Romstar, Dooyong
Arcade, Romstar, Toaplan
VimanaArcadeTecmo, Toaplan
ArcadeTaito
Arcade, FM TownsToaplanVing (FMT)
ArcadeToaplan
ArcadeToaplan
ArcadeToaplan,
Enma DaiōArcadeTaito
Arcade, Toaplan, Taito, Unite TradingGazelle (SS)


Published


Cancelled
Batsugun sequelShoot 'em upToaplan1 May 2001
Untitled Sega System 1 gameAction1 June 2009
Dynamic Trial 7Racing, vehicular combatToaplan1 June 2009
Teki Paki 2Puzzle 1 June 2009
Genkai Chōsen DistopiaAction, hack and slash, platform 1 June 2009
Tank da Don!!Platform, run and gun 27 October 2011


Notes

External links

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