Revisiting Growlanser: Atlus's Forgotten RPG Series

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The Growlanser series is a forgotten part of ATLUS history, yet is critical to shaping the iconic RPG developer we know today. To celebrate the recent release of Persona 5 Tactica (ATLUS's first new strategy RPG for over 10 years), I take a deep dive into the Growlanser franchise, it's developer Career Soft and some of the people behind this iconic franchise.
My Japanese understanding is minimal at the time of production so there may be some errors in my understanding of the Dengewki interview. If there are any errors, please let me know and I'll correct them!
Milla x (she/her)
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Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
1:27 The Origins of Career Soft (Langrisser)
5:40 Growlanser (PS1)
10:47 II: The Sense of Justice
13:59 III: The Dual Darkness
16:15 Growlanser: Densetsu no Isan / Growlanser Collection
17:38 Growlanser Generations (Working Designs Localisation)
22:02 IV: Wayfarer of Time (PS2)
25:09 IV: Wayfarer of the Time Return (Visual novel Fandisc)
26:31 Growlanser Series Drama CDs
27:27 V: Generations (Heritage of War)
32:55 VI: Precarious World
37:49 Career Soft start to move on (Devil Survivor)
41:03 Growlanser (2009)
44:13 Wayfarer of Time (PSP remake)
48:48 The demise of Career Soft
51:21 How the fans keep Growlanser alive
55:53 Growlanser's impact on ATLUS
58:45 Conclusion
01:01:08 Outro
Growlanser VI fan patch:
GitHub: github.com/Risae/Growlanser-6-English-Translation
Blog (outdated): growlanser6english.blogspot.com/
Want to support me? Check these links out!
Ko-fi: ko-fi.com/millasgameroom
My other links!
Podcast hub: podcasters.spotify.com/pod/sh...
Twitter: gamergalmilla
BlueSky: gamergalmilla.bsky.social
RU-vid: ru-vid.com
_______________________
Source List:
Growlanser.net fansite
Wikipedia (English & Japanese)
Megami Tensei Wiki
Megami Tensei Staff (Japanese)
MobyGames (for ATLUS staff)
VGMDB (for all composers)
Metacritic (English scores)
Gematsu
Satoshi Urishihara's personal blog (not linked cause it's NSFW)
Growlanser Gameplay & Trailers:
ATLUS USA's channel, Growlanser.net / Alvist Mave, many other small English & Japanese channels for gameplay
Growlanser Generations / Heritage of War limited edition unboxings:
Fin Ravens on RU-vid
Growlanser (PSP) and Return hardcoded sub videos:
Alvist Mave on RU-vid
ATLUS & Career Soft webpages, articles and interviews:
Dengeki PlayStation Interview: dengekionline.com/elem/000/000/952/952044/
Growlanser IV Localisation interview:
www.siliconera.com/behind-the-scenes-of-growlanser-the-wayfarer-of-times-localization/
2015 Localisation Interview with Nich Maragos & John Hardin:
www.godisageek.com/2015/04/atlus-interview-localisation-special/
Heritage of War Press Release by Rising Star Games:
www.gamesindustry.biz/growlanser-heritage-of-war-arrives-in-the-uk-this-june-magical-fairy-companion-and-all
Victor Ireland Comments:
2005 Gamespot interview:
www.gamespot.com/articles/qanda-victor-ireland-on-the-end-of-working-designs/1100-6141225/
ATLUS Not interested in Relicensing Growlanser II & III:
www.siliconera.com/growlanser-generations-unlikely-re-released-psn/
Vic’s last known public engagement with the gaming community (as of November 2023):
ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-i2v8D5DjI7k.html
Archive links for ATLUS's website:
web.archive.org/web/20020614203458/www.atlus.co.jp/employ/careersoft_company.html
web.archive.org/web/20021015084825/www.atlus.co.jp/employ/careersoft_stuff.html
ATLUS bankruptcy articles:
www.polygon.com/2013/6/27/4469788/atlus-at-risk-after-parent-company-announces-bankruptcy
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2013-09-18/sega-said-to-win-auction-to-buy-bankrupt-japan-gamemaker-index?leadSource=uverify%20wall
Music Credits:
Growlanser series soundtrack (all games)
Growlanser II & III Drama CD opening and endings
Devil Survivor (DS)
Unison Label Collections Respect, Alpha & Metamorphic (non-ATLUS OST)
Non-ATLUS & Career Soft content cited in video:
Steam (Aokana drama CD screenshot)
Cupipara & Weird Milky Season CD Eisuke Seki composed: VGMDB
Embracer Group article:
www.ign.com/articles/embattled-embracer-group-confirms-more-than-900-staff-laid-off-so-far-and-warns-of-more-to-come
Trailers & gameplay for the following non-ATLUS games sourced from RU-vid, in order of age since original release):
Langrisser (Warsong release)
Langrisser III
Langrisser V: The End of Legend
Brigandine: The Legend of Forseia
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story
SMT Nocturne (HD Remaster trailer)
Yggdra Union (Steam trailer)
Dragon Quest: Shonen Yangus to Fushigi no Dungeon
Demon's Souls (2009)
Tears to Tiara II: Heir of the Overlord
Summon Night 6: Lost Borders
Utawarerumono: Mask of Truth
Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle
Loop8: Summer of Gods

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Опубликовано:

18 ноя 2023

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Комментарии : 94

@millasgameroom 2 месяца назад

Update 03/05/2024 - for around 30 seconds after 32:55, the audio is slightly muffled. This is because I've used a new feature in YT's editor that can remove the copyrighted music (but keep voiceover and effects), meaning i can finally start earning money on this massive video! Thanks for understanding everyone :)

@princecarmon5674 7 месяцев назад

Satoshi Urushihara is underrated, his work needs to be talked about more.

@fumomofumosarum5893 7 месяцев назад

It looks clean AF, just really impressive and has this certain elegance and aesthetic to it.

@nicodalusong149 7 месяцев назад

Amen to that.

@bobbyjr.9559 7 месяцев назад

I 100% agree!! I been saying the same thing I love satoshi urushiharas work!

@tiagox3275 6 месяцев назад

Yes! It's so recognizable too. Once I learned of his work, it was hard not to notice it when running across his contributions in games, anime and manga.

@M0ssP1glet 2 месяца назад

He went absolutely buckwild with the costume design and I adore it, spikes and huge shoulder armor and ridiculous hats everywhere you look XD

@Jason-lw2nw 7 месяцев назад

I find Satoshi Urushihara's character designs so gorgeous. It's what drew me to the series at first. I've been playing 4 on my Vita and love it so far. Really great video! I enjoyed it a lot!

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

Thank you!

@fumomofumosarum5893 7 месяцев назад

Urushihara's art design is somehow timeless. It oozes the same quality and polish today as the day it was released...

@kidrobot. 7 месяцев назад

@@fumomofumosarum5893 nah

@renegaderaven3777 7 месяцев назад

The character design in these earlier games is immaculate. Really dig 80’s-90’s anime styles.

@AlvistMave 7 месяцев назад

Nice to see someone bringing up Growlanser Series.🤩😍 I appreciate your efforts💯 Great video!👍

@SuperOtakuKyo 7 месяцев назад

Thank you for your efforts with your Growlanser videos and the fansite.

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

You're very welcome! and thank you for helping to keep the legacy of this series alive!

@SuperOtakuKyo 7 месяцев назад

Discovered this series a in 2020 and is easily my favorite JRPG series. It is a miracle 4 of the mainline games got translated officially and probably would've gotten the first game translated for PS1 if Working Designs didn't run into issues with Playstation at the time which was seemingly blocked only because they had an issue with bundling a PS1 game with PS2 games.

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

yep it was it miracle, especially when compared to a lot of other strategy RPGs with dating sim elements (Sakura Wars, Summon Night). Thanks for watching!

@RwnEsper 7 месяцев назад

I really appreciate how much work you put into these videos! I didn't expect to see my favorite MegaTen spin-off (Devil Survivor) here, but it made me happy. Also, the pedigree explains a lot about why I loved DS so much! I have very limited direct experience with Growlanser, having only played a few hours of the US release of generations, but I always appreciated what I saw in terms of character design and storytelling.

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

if ever you have the time i defo recommend goingback to Generations - they've aged quite well by modern standards! And thank you for watching!

@Seekingtrue 7 месяцев назад

Growlanser 2 was a very satisfying game to play. The combat was way ahead of its time especially considering it was on the PS2. It had lots of cool ideas. Lots of cool little triggers on missions and the decisions you made greatly impacted the story like even minor ones. Growlanser 3 was a great tie-in to the worlds of 1 and 2. It sorta weakened how OP casters got by late-game of previous entries by breaking down a singular spell into a combo spell that had to be contributed to by 2 different casters. But it also meant you could disrupt enemies spells by targetting one of the pair of casters to prevent the combo spell. I still deeply cherish my PS2 copies of the game and replay the game pretty regularly.

@nicodalusong149 7 месяцев назад

I'm so glad someone is talking about Growlanser and more importantly, Urushihara-sensei.

@bizzle3115 6 месяцев назад

Growlanser 3 is one of my all time rpgs it was such a fresh game play

@Arcangel23XX 6 месяцев назад

I desperately want rereleases of these games (and localizations for 1&6). I don't even care if they're just ports, I want these games to be more accessible, I love this franchise and miss them dearly.

@xshizukari 6 месяцев назад

Absolutely loved your video, thank you very much for your hard work!

@crucibleraven 6 месяцев назад

I'm happy I found your channel 😊

@n3r0n3 7 месяцев назад

wow super well researched (and kinda colossal) video Milla! Brava!

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

Glad you liked it!!

@felkfolk 7 месяцев назад

I love Growlanser and I’m so happy someone is bringing more attention to it. Especially since everyone confuses it for Langrisser.

@nicodalusong149 7 месяцев назад

Well, can you blame them? Urushihara-sensei's art is very unique and easy to recognize. It's a boon to both series.

@felkfolk 7 месяцев назад

@@nicodalusong149 just a little bit, a RU-vidr was talking about DioField Chronicle and many people were saying in the comments it reminded them of Growlanser, myself included. Later on they did a full review of DC, and the RU-vidr end up talking about Langrisser instead based off what they “read in the comments”. Even if the art style is the same, that’s saying Dragonball Z is essentially Dragon Quest. They’re two separate entities. To clarify just a little more, the RU-vidr is very large or a big name, so the chances of them getting of glossing over 1000s of comments isn’t really valid.

@nicodalusong149 7 месяцев назад

@@felkfolk Then that's on the youtuber then for not doing proper research and just reading off of comments.

@felkfolk 7 месяцев назад

@@nicodalusong149 exactly my point.

@rchassereau2 7 месяцев назад

Agreed, this is your best video yet - well researched, well told, learned a lot about a series I've had zero interaction with since the Warsong days, so a great retrospective for me to catch, thank you!

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

You're very welcome!

@DS4__ 6 месяцев назад

Wow it made me very happy seeing such a high quality video on an obscure series like Growlanser. I've only played Langrisser 2 & 4 but I learned about Growlanser through them, although I haven't played one yet outside of watching some scenes & seeing the character designs which were very nice. I plan on playing the Growlanser games one day and I have a feeling I'd enjoy them even more than the Langrisser game! Subbed ^^

@luizkorynga 7 месяцев назад

39:31 This is wrong, they already had: Majin Tensei, Majin Tensei 2: Spiral Nemesis, Ronde & Another Bible

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

thanks for the correction!

@luizkorynga 7 месяцев назад

@millasgameroom Don't worry, I'm crazy and know the franchise inside and out

@ChuggaFreezeChie 7 месяцев назад

Awesome video, I am still hoping the series returns in some form in the future. I've only played 2,3, and 4 myself; but hoping to get around to the others soon.

@straypaper 7 месяцев назад

Woah I'm surprised there's something less known than the Dept. Heaven series

@BAIGAMING 7 месяцев назад

This is a really amazing video, there is so much detail and I liked learning more about CareerSoft and Working Designs. It's amazing how much of the merchandise you have too. Technically SMT did have a tactical RPG before Devil Survivor which was Majin Tensei 1 and its sequel Spiral Nemesis (not to be confused with Gurren Lagann) and it was published by Atlus. Majin Tensei really did feel like a very rough prototype for Devil Survivor.

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

Thanks for watching! I forgot about Majin Tensei, i'll have to check it out one of these days 👀

@Cynicz13 7 месяцев назад

Looking forward to watching this as probably one of only 1000? Growlanser fans in existence lol. I miss Career Soft and I really hope Atlus brings Growlanser back one day when everyone starts having urban fantasy fatigue.

@Falco.exe93 7 месяцев назад

Such a great video! +1 sub

@kingdongho571 7 месяцев назад

Zamn, I remember hearing about this game a good amount in the PSP/Vita days. Always wanted to give it a try because of its artstyle but never got around to it for some reason... Thanks RU-vid recommendations for the memories lol. Great vid!

@Morrocoy. 7 месяцев назад

Men how aren't you more popular? this video is so great, really like it, Grownlanser 4 is my favorite RPG on the PSP, if not one of my favorite RPGs of all time

@kidrobot. 7 месяцев назад

cuz they mostly cover only niche games

@thequincy_ 7 месяцев назад

39:31 While technically correct that SMT had no SPRGs, that isn't true for the MT franchise as a whole. One of MT og spin-offs was none other than a SPRG, Majin Tensei, which Atlus had developed first hand (for the most part). Now if those devs of early Atlus were still apart of modern Atlus, I don't know, but I'd likely say that Atlus had SRPG experience besides the newer members to that team. Great video nonethelesss!

@LordVex47 3 месяца назад

Brilliant stuff brosef!!

@LongTran-kp3kz 2 месяца назад

Ah, right. iirc, the 'Return' scenario details Crevanille's time in Growlanser 3's world after he disappeared in the game's original ending following the 'solo' ending where everyone only remembers he's gone and goes out to look for him. I FUCKING LOVE Growlanser 4 and i admit it was the only reason I got a PSP at the time and was so happy I could still get it on the vita via digital download. Man, wish they'd remaster and rerelease at least 4, if not the first four games..... So underrated... I have played G5 and... while it isn't as good as 3 or 4, but better than 2 imo... it's different, but not bad. Like, rough more than bad. It still 'felt' like a Growlanser game despite how different its presentation was. Also, I liked Korin. None of the heroines were as memorable as past games though.... Like, they were decent, but they were no Anette, Monika, Frayne, Alicia, or Diana.

@AlvistMave Месяц назад

To be more precise, the story where Crevaniel got stranded in the world of Growlanser 3 took place after the last battle of Growlanser 4 and before the original endings (all characters, not just the solo ending). In the next section, you can see the sequel to each ending if you load the clear save data from Growlanser 4 (PS2). And for the correction of 44:46 , “Return” contents were not incorporated in the psp version of Growlanser 4.

@LongTran-kp3kz Месяц назад

@@AlvistMave Oh yeah. I forgot about the epilogues! My bad. As for its relation, or lack thereof to the remake, yeah. I know. The events of 'Return' are no longer usable... well, in the 'Modified' and 'Dulkheim' routes anyway. They'd still be canon in the 'Original' route... only with more people dead and one extra familiar you can get an ending with.

@AzureRoxe 4 месяца назад

I'm amazed LANGRISSER got a remake, for both 1 AND 2, AND a mobile gacha, but none of the 6 Growlansers have gotten anything for such a long time. Also, anyone remember Langrisser Schwartz, the MMORPG they teased for years and then canceled? Also, fun fact, Satoshi Urushihara made a hentai.....with the exact same artstyle.

@backupschmliff1156 3 месяца назад

As a die-hard MegaTen fan since as far back as I can remember. I actually greatly prefer Growlanser to Devil Survivor. It's a fantastic series with an immaculate vibe.

@nweditor875 7 месяцев назад

Great video still plan on playing Growlanser IV at some point on PSP.

@sleepybeargaming324 7 месяцев назад

Growlanser series is one of my favorite, it's a shame they didn't continue the series....

@jeremyhall2727 6 месяцев назад

I bought the a used copy of the ps2 collection back in the day. I tested them & fell in love with it. I liked the story & combat in part 3 more then 2. But they both was fun games. I was shocked by how long they was. I really need to play yhe other games. Thank god for fan translations, mods, & hacks.

@AnimeSquirrel Месяц назад

Such an underrated artist.

@lloyd011721 7 месяцев назад

der langrisser(langrisser 2 for the snes) is in english, might be a fan translation but i love that version

@Silverman160Zero 7 месяцев назад

I first learned of Growlanser when I heard "To The End of Sorrow" in Gaming Broductions "Relaxing JRPG music" video. It stood out so much that I went to go find a rom and play Wayfarer of Time, keeping myself blind as to what it was. It was surprisingly a lot more fun than I initially thought. Also holy sht, I haven't heard someone else call the Devil Survivor MC Kazuya Minigeshi in a long time. I spent way too much time playing Devil Survivor Overclocked back then. Getting all the endings and fighting the secret boss. Even read the manga and heard the drama DVD of it. Looking back, I don't know what I was so drawn to it. I'm just surprised to hear that career soft moved on to make Devil Survivor. And now it saddens me to hear their last game was Overclocked. I hope they all found success in other works to this day. And thank you for making such a detailed and lengthy video on Growlanser. Must’ve been a lot to rework the script after you found that interview, but weaving it into the video helped a lot It certainly showed me just how lengthy and expansive it's history is. So thank you for all of it! Side-note: I had a friend WAY back then who's pfp was Crevanille. Didn't know at the time tho. So when I started playing Wayfarer of Time, I recognized and was surprised to see that face again.

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

You are very welcome :) thank you for watching and your comments!

@uppernimbus 7 месяцев назад

Hi Milla! Just subbed to your channel from our shared collab with Chicken Fillets. Looking forward to your videos~

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

Hello! I've subbed to you as well, looking forward to your videos too!

@uppernimbus 7 месяцев назад

@@millasgameroom Aww, thank you!

@johntan8343 Месяц назад

While being a big langrisser fan, I never got to play Growlanser. Used to think it's just an imitation of langrisser 😅

@Pitchfallis 6 месяцев назад

This was really insightful. You do a fantastic job of translating the similar human practices we all engage in, whether they are dressed up for either side of our political divides.

@eurobeatnights 7 месяцев назад

What is the song name that plays during "Conclusion" part? So beautiful!

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

It's Missing Memory from the Growlanser III Drama CD! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-w6kLArEibbU.html

@valroniclehre193 7 месяцев назад

If you like the character designs, there is a hentai by the same artist. It's english title is "Another Lady Innocent" and its quite good.

@ken878 7 месяцев назад

I got into growlanser when i saw the art for it in my local gamestop back then. It was the Generation one for the PS2. I didn't know they worked on Stella deus or Devil survivor 1 and 2.

@keto4366 4 месяца назад

I miss Langrisser

@xerontokyo 7 месяцев назад

Sadly Creative 1st Production focus on either mainline Shin Megami Tensei, Etrian Odyssey, other Megami Tensei spinoff titles like Devil Survivor or Devil Summoner. While Atlus did announce Tactica but that game was made by P-Studio a game studio focus on the Persona IP either mainline title or spinoffs. Even then there a lot of staffs members part of Career Soft integrated to Creative 1st Production, Shinjiro Takata is still there as lead production manager of Creative 1st Production who handles SMT mainline, Etrian, Megami Tensei spinoffs and other IPs., Fuma Yato, game designer recently did as Battle Planner for TMS FE, Yoh Hazuki who is a scenario writer did recently work on SMT V scenarios and event planner for Etrian Odyssey Nexus, Keuichi Yamatsuta another planner did Battle Planner for Soul Hackers 2, Tomohiko Matsuda recently programming work is TMS FE Encore and now part Overseas Business Promotion Team, Takayoshi Kawase did lead field designer for Soul Hackers 2, And lastly Yoshinori Asakura did as Lead Designer for SMT V most of these staffs work under 1st Production (SMT, Megami Tensei, Etrian Odyssey and other IPs) except Fuma Yato as they left Atlus after TMS FE. I think remasters possible if Takata have found an outsourcing studio/partner to work on it like how Yamai and Komori found ITL to work on Nocturne HD or Mutan to work on Etrian Odyssey Origins as 1st Production is busy working for now 3 titles (A SMT Satoshi Oyama game possibly SMT V Maniax/rerelease, Etrian Odyssey VI and An Eiji Ishida games.)

@charaznable8072 6 месяцев назад

I love this series the only thing I can think of recently that is kind of similar is DioField Chronicles.

@BasicSneedEducation 7 месяцев назад

Growlanser 1&2 are the best ones

@backupschmliff1156 3 месяца назад

39:26 Not to be that guy but the Majin Tensei trilogy as well as Devil Children: Messiah Riser were strategy RPGs way before Devil Survivor...

@megawarrior543 2 месяца назад

this video convinced me to import all 6 games.

@bloodhunterjosh1614 4 месяца назад

heritage of war is the 1st i played.

@megamanrulesall 6 месяцев назад

what is the game at the 9:50 & 10:10 mark?

@MrTheRz 7 месяцев назад

I totally forgot about this game. Loved playing this on my ps2. Now i know the title i can play it on emulator. Thanks!

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

You're very welcome, hope you enjoy revisiting them :)

@joaotiburcio945 7 месяцев назад

Honestly I would accept a modern Port of any Growlanser game because it has been so long and most Growlancer games are stuck on old consoles , yes they can be emulated but I believe the Devs deserve their money since there are not any games like this series.

@millasgameroom 7 месяцев назад

Definitely! Unfortunately as ATLUS have only recently embraced ports and remasters, it'll be a while before they get around to rereleasing Growlanser, but i believe it will happen at some point :) thanks for watching!

@AshleyRiot 4 месяца назад

Atlus didn’t make shit they just published the series. Also Working Designs wasn’t “respected”

@thelonesage3146 7 месяцев назад

Master of boobs? So his the reason I like chick with big boobs? Becusae I played Growlanser Dual Darkness when I was kid and one the villianess in the red....yeah it awoken somethings in me lol But it was afun game I like the art style really stood out to me, and the multiple options of dialouge. It had a great story and I would play it all over again if I could! (Imade a mistake it was dual darkness the one I played not generartions)

@muto7825 7 месяцев назад

So crazy that a series ran this long and has been buried (from a Western perspective)

@elobservadorobservante1605 7 месяцев назад

Hiroshi Fujioka? THAT Hiroshi Fukioka? Segata Sanshiro?

@Dzztzt 7 месяцев назад

I have Growlancer Generations fir the PS2.

@Aogami20 6 месяцев назад

PROTAGONIST WHINE CRUHZ. It's Wein Cruz, pronounced like wayne cruise, and it's a name spoken aloud in dialog constantly throughout the game. If you'd even listened to a single cutscene that would be obvious. =_= "They did away with equippable weapons and armor" - no they didn't. You can still buy and equip armor. The ring IS the weapon - it alters your stats, and it comes with three equipment slots of its own for gems.

@LordVex47 3 месяца назад

Do you think that spastic being a forbidden word has changed anything with how we view the word and/or mental disabilities in general as a society? I myself have mental disabilities but am increasingly worried about censorship for the sake of it. Needless to say though, it's never fun to be insulted or feel un-included, so I understand the sentiment of wanting to be careful about labeling others.

@millasgameroom 3 месяца назад

I think how people perceive the word "spastic" has changed, but not much of the underlying ableism. That's why i think the term would be removed in an official rerelease (especially as SEGA have become a lot more inclusive in recent years). Thanks for watching!

@LongTran-kp3kz 2 месяца назад

Man I LOVE the Growlanser series. still a shame we never got 1 or 6 though... especially since 6 was the much improved sequel to 5...

@newironside 7 месяцев назад

Ive never finished a Growlanser game, by the end everyone has so many special attacks that pause the battles so often it makes every map too long and boring. I was messing with codes to try and skip them but could never get it working.