Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd. (株式会社インテリジェントシステムズ, Intelligent Systems Ltd.) is a Japanese independent video game developer with a close affiliation with Nintendo.
They are best known as the developers behind the Fire Emblem, Paper Mario, WarioWare, Pushmo, and Nintendo Wars series.
Company history[]
Intelligent Systems began when its founder, programmer Toru Narihiro, was hired by Nintendo to port Famicom Disk System games to the ROM-Cartridge format to be shipped and sold to the West for the Nintendo Entertainment System. A team was soon formed to support Nintendo's games as an auxiliary program unit, mainly by providing the R&D1 and EAD teams with system tools and hiring people to fix, port, or program their software.[1]
Narihiro's first fully developed games came at the end of the Famicom's life cycle, being Famicom Wars in 1988 and Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light in 1990, with the game design, graphic design, and music provided by the R&D1 team. Both games became hits in Japan, allowing Intelligent Systems to expand their team with new programmers, graphic designers, and musicians, thus becoming a full-fledged video game development company. Since then, the team has continued development on the Fire Emblem and Wars series as well as introducing Paper Mario in 2000 with the first Nintendo 64 game and WarioWare in 2003 with the first title for the Game Boy Advance.[2]
Though they are now primarily known for game development, they still continue to support Nintendo by programming several of its development tools for hardware and software. Their most recent venture was building the 3D camera for the Nintendo 3DS.[3]
In 2013, Intelligent Systems moved into its own building in Minami-ku, Kyoto, Japan after residing in Nintendo's Kyoto Research Center since its inception.[4]
Involvement with Super Smash Bros.[]
Several of Intelligent Systems' games have appeared throughout the Smash series. Their most notable representation is with the Fire Emblem series, starting with Marth and Roy's inclusion in Super Smash Bros. Melee. At the time, Fire Emblem had yet to be localized outside of Japan; as such, Melee was the West's first exposure to the series. It is often said that due to the growing popularity of Marth and Roy amongst the fanbase, Nintendo localized the next mainline title, The Blazing Blade, in English for the first time and continued to do so for the rest of the series. Aside from Fire Emblem, other forms of representation include the Lip's Stick item from Panel de Pon, and trophies of Alpha from (the then-upcoming game) Cubivore, Paper Mario, and Maruo Maruhige from the Card Hero series.
By the time Super Smash Bros. Brawl came out, the Fire Emblem series had since increased in popularity. Their representation in Smash expanded with the playable inclusion of Ike from Path of Radiance and Radiant Dawn, several new music tracks, the stage Castle Siege, and a cameo from Lyn from The Blazing Blade as an Assist Trophy; other cameos are made through Trophies and Stickers. Intelligent Systems as a whole gained much more representation with the inclusion of Wario, who is representing the WarioWare series and brings with him several music tracks, the WarioWare, Inc. stage, Kat & Ana being Assist Trophies, and other cameos in the form of Trophies and Stickers. Advance Wars also makes an appearance in the form of the Infantry & Tanks Assist Trophy, as well as several other characters as Stickers. Other representation includes stickers of Lip, Ruby, Elias, and Seren from Nintendo Puzzle Collection; a player from Yakuman; and Hiroshi, Tameo, and a Master Card from Card Hero.
Fire Emblem gains an increase in representation in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, with the inclusions of Robin and Lucina from Fire Emblem Awakening and Corrin from Fire Emblem Fates, the new stages Arena Ferox and Coliseum, new music tracks, new Trophies, and Mii Fighter costumes based on Chrom and the Black Knight. WarioWare also gains further representation with the new stage Gamer from Game & Wario, and Ashley making an appearance as a new Assist Trophy and Mii Fighter costume. Paper Mario gains proper representation with the new stage Paper Mario, which takes inspiration from levels in Sticker Star and The Thousand-Year Door. Other representation includes a new Assist Trophy of The Sablé Prince from the Game Boy game Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru and a cameo of Pushmo in the form of a Trophy.
All Fire Emblem and WarioWare characters return for Super Smash Bros. Ultimate alongside newcomers Chrom and Byleth. All previous stages from Fire Emblem, WarioWare, and Paper Mario return alongside the new stage Garreg Mach Monastery from Fire Emblem: Three Houses as a part of Fighters Pass Volume 1. The Assist Trophies Lyn and Ashley return with new additions the Black Knight and Tiki. Panel de Pon gains further representation with a Mii Fighter costume based on Lip. Other characters from Advance Wars, Pushmo, Card Hero, Yakuman, Battle Clash, Cubivore, and Code Name S.T.E.A.M. cameo as collectible Spirits.
References[]
- ↑ Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.. Giant Bomb.
- ↑ Intelligent Systems Co., Ltd.. Giant Bomb.
- ↑ Sahdev, Ishaan (03/25/2011). Intelligent Systems Helped Develop The Nintendo 3DS Camera App (English). Siliconera. Retrieved on 2020-08-21.
- ↑ Intelligent Systems - Games. Intelligent Systems.
External links[]
| Companies | |
|---|---|
| First/second-party companies | Nintendo · HAL Laboratory · Game Freak · Creatures · The Pokémon Company · Intelligent Systems · Next Level Games · Monolith Soft · Retro Studios · Sora Ltd. |
| Third-party companies | Konami · Sega / Atlus · Capcom · Bandai Namco · Square Enix · PlatinumGames · Xbox Game Studios / Rare Ltd. / Mojang Studios · SNK · Disney |
| Other related developers | Game Arts · Havok · Paon DP List of companies with minor representation |