Software:Suishō no Dragon

From HandWiki
Short description: 1986 video game
Suishō no Dragon
Developer(s)Square
Publisher(s)Square
Composer(s)Nobuo Uematsu
Platform(s)Family Computer Disk System
Release
  • JP: December 15, 1986
Genre(s)Adventure
Mode(s)Single-player

Suishō no Dragon (水晶の龍, suishō no doragon, lit. "The Quartz Dragon" or "Crystal Dragon") is a adventure game video game developed and published by Square for the Family Computer Disk System in Japan in 1986.

Gameplay

The game plays as a command-style adventure game. The game's interface resembles that of a point-and-click graphic adventure interface for a console.[1] The game made use of visual icons rather than text-based ones to represent various actions, and it featured a cursor that could be moved around the screen using the D-pad to click on the icons and examine parts of the scenery.[2][3][1]

Plot

The game is set in a science fiction setting, where the main character, Hugh, and his girlfriend Cynthia are traveling in space, but are attacked by a crystal dragon: Hugh escapes with the help of a mysterious woman, but Cynthia is kidnapped.[1] Hugh must find the dragon and save his girlfriend.[1]

Development

Many of the game's scenes involve animation, which was a specialty of Square, at the time, and Suishō no Dragon features a variety of drawings, particularly those of girls. Anime artist Gen Sato served as the character designer and illustrator on the staff, and Nippon Sunrise (currently Bandai Namco Filmworks) contributed to the animated parts of the game and also provided animated footage for the games commercial.[2][1] The year the game came out, 1986, saw the release of Famicom Disk System with cartridges three times the capacity of a ROM cassette and a storage equaling 1 megabyte, which many software developers including Square waited for and then took advantage of, causing the game to come out at the end of the year.[4]

Reception

In Famicom Hisshoubon (ja), one reviewer said the game was too difficult and that the quality of its graphics were unbalanced throughout the game. A second reviewer said that the game failed as adventure games require the story to be engaging and the games narrative had too many absurdities occur.[5]


The fake scene, detailed below, reportedly caused a spike in sales for the game.[1] The most iconic scene in the game is the frame where one of the heroines, Cynthia, is depicted standing with her arms spread outwards. This drawing inspired a famous fake game scene created by Family Computer Magazine (Famimaga); a prominent video game magazine published by Tokuma Shoten. The magazine explained that it was possible to start a game of yakyuken (野球拳, strip rock-paper-scissors) with Cynthia using a cheat, though this is not actually possible in the game.[1] An altered screenshot showing the heroine losing her clothes was included alongside the article. This was not done to fool readers, but to test whether the magazine's content was being copied by other game magazines. This fake scene developed popularity on its own, and many users were made aware of this scene even if they had never played the game before.[3]

This phenomenon is described in Kouta Hirano's gag manga, Susume!! Seigaku Dennou Kenkyūbu (進め!!聖学電脳研究部), which was serialized in the Famitsu game magazine. The game's fake sequence was also referenced in the credits of Hyperdimension Neptunia V.[1] Suishō no Dragon was adapted into a manga titled Susume!! Seigaku Dennou Kenkyuubu (進め！！静学電脳研究部, Shiawase no katachi), published in the Gamest Comics collection from April 1999, and drawn by Kouta Hirano.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 Kalata, Kurt (April 29, 2018). "Suishou no Dragon". Hard Core Gaming 101. http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/suishou-no-dragon/. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "水晶の龍 - SQUARE ENIX". Square Enix Japan. http://www.square-enix.com/jp/archive/suisho_no_dragon/. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "やーきゅーうー、すーるなら!? 「水晶の龍（ドラゴン）」". ITMedia. 2006-08-22. http://plusd.itmedia.co.jp/games/articles/0608/22/news023.html. 
  4. ↑ ゲイムマン (July 12, 2010). "ゲイムマンの「レトロゲームが大好きだ」：ファミコン初期のナイスボート「ミシシッピー殺人事件」 (1/3)". ITmedia. https://nlab.itmedia.co.jp/games/articles/1007/12/news010.html. 
  5. ↑ "Fami-Com Soft Scramble" (in Japanese). Famicom Hisshoubon (ja) (JICC) (16). February 6, 1987. 

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This lengthy approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
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