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Summary
- Vanillaware started with Princess Crown and faced challenges, but their signature 2D RPGs became hits across generations.
- Kumatanchi, Grand Knights History show diversity in Vanillaware's portfolio, while Odin Sphere and Dragon's Crown shine for their gameplay.
- Unicorn Overlord is a new ambitious addition to Vanillaware's lineup, showcasing deep turn-based battles in a gorgeous fantasy world.
Vanillaware, the Japanese studio headed by writer and designer George Kamitani, was founded under difficult circumstances. Kamitani led development for a beautiful side-scroller called Princess Crown, which was unfortunately made for the ill-fated Sega Saturn; despite positive reviews, the game failed commercially, and the game joined the legion of Japan-exclusive Saturn titles. Kamitani needed a new studio to call home. Hence, Vanillaware was born.
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PostsDespite these difficult beginnings, the studio has gone on to create some of the most acclaimed games of the last four console generations, specializing in side-scrolling action RPGs with gorgeous 2D graphics. Their success is proof that adversity can really inspire future triumphs. But which of their games is the best?
Updated on April 17, 2024, by Kyle Chamaillard: We've decided to revisit this list to see where Vanillaware's latest title - Unicorn Overlord - ranks against its other games.
8 Kumatanchi
Release Date (Japan)
September 25, 2008
Genre
Life Simulation
Number of Players
1
We'll start with a game that bears very little resemblance to the rest of Vanillaware's work. Kumatanchi was a DS-exclusive life simulation game that was only released in Japan and is rendered in a cutesy art style that looks great but also represents a huge departure from the studio's other work. The gameplay is no less odd. It takes place in a zoo for anthropomorphic girls, and you're tasked with taking care of the new bear-girl who just arrived.
To do this, you interact with her like a Sim or a Nintendog - feeding her, petting her, and helping her interact with her fellow zoo denizens. It was co-developed with the studio Ashinaga Oji-San, which explains its outlier status, but it's hard to square Kumatanchi's purposefully silly tone with the epic fantasies Vanillaware made their name on.
7 Grand Knights History
Release Date (Japan)
September 1, 2011
Genre
Tactical RPG
Number of Players
1
Unlike Kumatanchi, Grand Knights History actually looks and feels like a Vanillaware game. This Japan-only PSP release bears their trademark art style: a richly textured, vibrantly colored 2D fantasy with detailed sprite work and hilariously impractical character outfits. It's even more impressive when you remember that Grand Knights History is getting these lush visuals out of a portable console.
On a gameplay level, though, Grand Knights History has to rank lower than Vanillaware's signature games because one of its major gameplay hooks isn't accessible anymore. The game is a turn-based RPG where you play as the leader of a party of mercenaries, grinding through battles and defending your home country. Originally, the game also featured a robust online component that allowed you to battle other players' home countries for domination. However, this feature is no longer available, making the game feel somewhat incomplete. Still, if you somehow manage to get your hands on a translated copy, it's worth a play.
6 GrimGrimoire
GrimGrimoire OnceMore
Strategy Systems Released April 4, 2023WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALGrimGrimoire was the very first game that Vanillaware developed, but it showed that the developer already had a strong handle on their signature style: 2D, side-scrolling fantasy games with brain-meltingly gorgeous art. It was re-released as GrimGrimoire OnceMore in 2022 for the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation, featuring updated visuals, a new voice cast, and more.
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PostsIt was co-created with Nippon Ichi Software, a developer and publisher best known for the Disgaea series of tactical RPGs, and that lineage shows. GrimGrimoire is a real-time strategy game inspired by games like Starcraft, which represents a departure from most of Vanillaware's more action-focused offerings. The original game was a little rough around the edges, with heavy repetition and some control issues, but its atmosphere and visuals are still peerless, and its gameplay concepts would eventually go on to inspire one of Vanillaware's best games.
5 Muramasa: The Demon Blade
Release Date (North America)
September 8, 2009
Genre
Action RPG
Number of Players
1
When you think "beautiful, fast-paced brawler," the Wii isn't necessarily the first system you'd think of, but Nintendo's maligned waggle-machine played host to several hidden RPG gems during its life. Muramasa: The Demon Blade was one such gem, a side-scrolling action game suffused with Vanillaware's characteristic style.
Its gameplay bears a strong resemblance to some of the developer's other standout titles but its setting and characters set it apart; the game is set in Edo-era Japan, and its visual style and storytelling techniques are inspired by Kabuki theatre and Japanese folklore. It's not the deepest game that Vanillaware has ever made, but its careful attention to detail and eye-popping visuals still make it a joy to play.
4 Dragon's Crown
Dragon's Crown Pro
OpenCritic Reviews Top Critic Avg: 80/100 Critics Rec: 80% Released February 8, 2018 Platform(s) PlayStation 4 Powered by Expand CollapseIf you ever begged for quarters to play a game of Gauntlet, then Dragon's Crown will feel instantly familiar. It's an arcadey fantasy beat-em-up with a heavy multiplayer focus - up there with the best in the genre - allowing you and three friends to team up and smite ancient monsters. But it's just as fun to play solo as well, with surprisingly deep progression and loot systems that bring to mind more focused dungeon crawlers.
Despite a protracted development cycle, Dragon's Crown became one of Vanillaware's biggest commercial successes and even received a high-def remaster titled Dragon's Crown Pro a few years after its release. It's gaming comfort food raised to the highest art form.
3 Odin Sphere
4 Images 4 Images CloseOdin Sphere: Leifthrasir
Action RPG Systems Released June 7, 2016WHERE TO PLAY
SUBSCRIPTIONOdin Sphere is one of Vanillaware's first titles, launching just a month after GrimGrimoire for the PlayStation 2, but the developer's trademarks were already present here. It features gorgeous, vibrant 2D art (complete with some... questionably practical character designs); a mystical, fairy-tale-inspired fantasy setting; and fast-paced combat that emphasizes massive combos and rewards quick thinking.
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PostsIn short, if you're looking to understand what makes Vanillaware games special, Odin Sphere is a great place to start. And if you don't feel like pulling out your old PS2, an enhanced remake, titled Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, was released for PS4 in 2016 - and it's one of the best games on that system too. If any game benefits from a high-res makeover, it's this one.
2 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
6 Images 6 Images Close13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim
Adventure Strategy Systems Released September 22, 2020WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITAL13 Sentinels launched in 2019 and represents a huge departure from most of the games on which Vanillaware built its reputation. It takes place in Japan during the 1980s, rather than in a fantasy realm. Meanwhile, its contemplative gameplay allows you to switch between adventure-game style story sections and top-down, real-time strategy combat missions, closer in spirit to GrimGrimoire than Vanillaware's more well-known action games.
And yet, despite all these risks, 13 Sentinels is a sheer masterpiece. The graphics are gorgeous, taking the hand-drawn style that Vanillaware is known for and rendering it in a more muted, grounded palette. The combat missions start simple but grow in depth and complexity until the end. And the story, told in a nonlinear fashion, has more twists and turns than a contortionist eating a pretzel. It's an incredible feat of narrative design and a love letter to video games, science fiction, the art of storytelling, and giant robots. You need to play this game.
1 Unicorn Overlord
Unicorn Overlord
Tactical RPG Systems Released March 8, 2024WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITALVanillaware continues to prove itself with 2024's Unicorn Overlord, another ambitious game that may seem like another fantasy RPG on its surface, but it has so much depth that you'll easily lose hours at a time immersing yourself in its gorgeous world. The developer has taken some of the best elements from its previous games and made them work together harmoniously to create a riveting adventure full of memorable and likable characters.
As an exiled prince, it's ultimately up to you to recruit allies and defeat enemy forces to fulfill your destiny. The turn-based battles in Unicorn Overlord always feel epic, and the freedom to customize each character's build allows you to create an army that fits your style of play. It's easily one of Vanillaware's most ambitious games - a complete playthrough can take anywhere between 50 and 70 hours - and a great sign that the developer still has a lot of great ideas that we'll hopefully see sooner than later.
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