Revisiting Growlanser: Atlus's Forgotten RPG Series

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!

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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: https://github.com/Risae/Growlanser-6...
Blog (outdated): https://growlanser6english.blogspot.com/

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_______________________

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 YouTube
Growlanser (PSP) and Return hardcoded sub videos:
Alvist Mave on YouTube

ATLUS & Career Soft webpages, articles and interviews:
Dengeki PlayStation Interview: https://dengekionline.com/elem/000/00...
Growlanser IV Localisation interview:
https://www.siliconera.com/behind-the...
2015 Localisation Interview with Nich Maragos & John Hardin:
https://www.godisageek.com/2015/04/at...
Heritage of War Press Release by Rising Star Games:
https://www.gamesindustry.biz/growlan...

Victor Ireland Comments:

2005 Gamespot interview:
https://www.gamespot.com/articles/qan...
ATLUS Not interested in Relicensing Growlanser II & III:
https://www.siliconera.com/growlanser...
Vic’s last known public engagement with the gaming community (as of November 2023):
   • Working Designs  

Archive links for ATLUS's website:
https://web.archive.org/web/200206142...
https://web.archive.org/web/200210150...

ATLUS bankruptcy articles:
https://www.polygon.com/2013/6/27/446...
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articl...

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:
https://www.ign.com/articles/embattle...

Trailers & gameplay for the following non-ATLUS games sourced from YouTube, 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