Every Vanillaware Game – The Complete Catalog of One of the RPG Genre’s Most Unique Developers

Originally founded in 2002 as Puraguru by visual artist George Kamitani following his tenure at studios such as Capcom and Atlus, Japanese game developer Vanillaware has gone on to become one of the most iconic and unique game developers working today. The studio is largely known for its games’ unmistakable hand-drawn visuals and fluid animations, placing just as much importance on presentation and art style as on gameplay. Though Vanillaware’s titles largely dabble in genres related to role-playing games, the studio has repeatedly branched out to try its hand at other genres, with mostly positive results. Looking at every Vanillaware game shows that the studio has a singular creative vision and high standard of quality permeating each of its titles, from the pre-Vanillaware Princess Crown to 2024’s incredible Unicorn Overlord.

Once Puraguru changed its name to Vanillaware, the studio would make its debut with two now-legendary PlayStation 2 titles: Odin Sphere and GrimGrimoire, both of which would eventually receive remasters for modern platforms. Unsurprisingly, Vanillaware’s intricately crafted visuals in each of its games require significant resources to produce, resulting in the studio not being quite as prolific as some of its contemporaries. However, there’s something to be said for Vanillaware’s “quality over quantity” approach, as nearly every one of the studio’s games is both critically and commercially successful, and many of them rank among players’ favorite titles in their respective genres thanks to their satisfying gameplay accompanying their gorgeous presentation.

Princess Crown

• Release Date — December 11, 1997
• Publisher — Atlus
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Sega Saturn, PSP, PlayStation 4

Though it’s not technically a Vanillaware title, many consider Princess Crown to serve as the foundation of many elements that would later come to define the studio. Additionally, Vanillaware’s later Odin Sphere and Dragon’s Crown both serve as spiritual successors to this 1997 cult-classic from the Sega Saturn, combining action RPG gameplay and satisfying beat ’em up mechanics to great effect. Princess Crown leans a bit more heavily on the RPG side of its action RPG gameplay than the later Vanillaware games that succeeded it, and it’s one of several Japan-only games on the Saturn that showcase how unique and underrated that console was. While it would receive later ports to both the PSP and the PlayStation 4, these would also remain Japan-exclusive.

Fantasy Earth: The Ring of Dominion

• Release Date — February 23, 2006
• Publisher — Square Enix
• Genre — MMORPG
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — PC

The only title to officially come from George Kamitani’s Puraguru studio before its name change to Vanillaware, Fantasy Earth: The Ring of Dominion (later, Fantasy Earth Zero) is an interesting title. The sole MMORPG from Vanillaware and a Japan-only PC exclusive, Fantasy Earth embodies a lot of similar ideas that would show up in later Vanillaware titles, including an interesting spin on large-scale combat similar to Unicorn Overlord. Notably, Fantasy Earth is a PvP-focused title where the gameplay emphasis was on players combatting each other while simultaneously commanding squads ranging from 7 to 50 computer-controlled soldiers. The title would prove to be a sizable success in Japan, earning over a million players at its peak and spawning two mobile spin-offs.

GrimGrimoire

• Release Date — April 12, 2007
• Publisher — NIS America
• Genre — RTS, Tower Defense
• Review Aggregate Score — 79% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PlayStation 2

Following Puraguru’s name change to Vanillaware, the studio would set out to produce its first title: Odin Sphere. But, concurrent to that game’s development, several members of the Vanillaware staff would work on a side project aimed at being the studio’s spin on Starcraft, resulting in the excellent RTS/Tower Defense hybrid GrimGrimoire.Vanillaware would actually exhaust most of its capital developing both games side-by-side, releasing them within a month of one another as an attempt to recoup operating funds and not have the studio fold under financial pressure. Thankfully, the one-two punch of GrimGrimoire and Odin Sphere (which released after despite being completed first) helped Vanillaware earn several die-hard fans thanks to both titles’ blend of excellent genre gameplay and stunning visuals.

Odin Sphere

• Release Date — May 17, 2007
• Publisher — Atlus
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 83% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PlayStation 2

Technically Vanillaware’s debut title despite it releasing a month afterGrimGrimoire, Odin Sphere is George Kamitani’s spiritual successor to Princess Crown, successfully blending the progression and mechanics of an RPG with a side-scrolling beat ’em up. The scope of Odin Sphere compared to Princess Crown, as well as the effort required to craft the game’s intricately crafted hand-drawn visuals, resulted in the title’s development becoming increasingly drawn out, releasing three years after the initial planning phases began in 2004. Thankfully, Odin Sphere would be a considerable success, selling nearly 60,000 units in just its first week and helping to keep Vanillaware afloat after the developer had exhausted its funding developing two games side-by-side.

Kumatanchi

• Release Date — September 25, 2008
• Publisher — Dimple Entertainment
• Genre — Life Sim
• Review Aggregate Score — N/A
• Platforms — Nintendo DS

Vanillaware’s only title for the Nintendo DS also happens to be the developer’s only attempt at a cozy life sim, 2008’s Kumatanchi. This Japan-exclusive title is mostly a vehicle for Habanero-tan, the popular mascot character for Japanese company Tohato’s habanero pepper-flavored snacks. Additionally, it’s one of the only Vanillaware titles to feature co-development from another studio, with the other being Fantasy Earth: The Ring of Dominion (which eventually changed hands from Vanillaware to SoftGear). Thanks to Kumatanchi‘s place as a secondary project developed alongside Muramasa: The Demon Blade, the project was host to a number of development difficulties, and it would end up being one of the few titles in Vanillaware’s catalog to not achieve commercial or critical success.

Muramasa: The Demon Blade

• Release Date — April 9, 2009
• Publisher — Marvelous Entertainment (JP), Ignition Entertainment (NA)
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 81% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — Wii

Continuing the same action RPG/beat ’em up hybrid on which the studio was founded, Vanillaware’s next major title after its twin debut of Odin Sphere and GrimGrimoire is Muramasa: The Demon Blade. This gorgeous, hand-drawn ARPG uses many of the same mechanics and elements as both Princess Crown and Odin Sphere but swaps those games’ high fantasy, Euro-centric design and setting for a fantastic tale set in Japan during the Edo period. Muramasa‘s expanded RPG elements (such as picking up multiple quests from NPCs and traveling around a world map) complement its excellent beat ’em-up gameplay nicely, and the title’s Japanese setting allows for some truly stunning visuals, especially where its various yokai-inspired enemy designs are concerned.

Grand Knights History

• Release Date — September 1, 2011
• Publisher — Marvelous Entertainment
• Genre — RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 86% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PSP

Vanillaware’s follow-up to Muramasa: The Demon Blade would end up being the Japan-only Grand Knights History for the PSP, which began its development shortly before the release of Muramasa. This title sees Vanillaware return to its traditional high fantasy setting and character designs to complement its more traditional approach to combat as a classic turn-based RPG. While the title did originally feature a competitive online multiplayer component (a first for a console-based game from Vanillaware), the servers would eventually shut down just two years after the game’s release in 2013. Interestingly, Grand Knights History would prove to be Vanillaware’s greatest success to date, selling over 100,000 units the month of its release and topping Japanese game sales charts.

Dragon’s Crown

• Release Date — July 25, 2013
• Publisher — Atlus
• Genre — Action RPG, Beat ’em Up
• Review Aggregate Score — 82% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita

Though Vanillaware’s debut Odin Sphere is generally considered to be the spiritual successor to Princess Crown, 2013’s Dragon’s Crown sees the studio attempt to replicate Princess Crown‘s formula a little more faithfully, acting as a quasi-sequel to the Sega Saturn classic. In Princess Crown, up to four players can team up to take on an increasingly challenging set of beat ’em-up stages using various character classes, leveling up, and acquiring items and equipment along the way. Dragon’s Crown also happens to share a good bit with classic beat ’em up/RPG hybrids like Capcom’s Dungeons & Dragons: Shadow over Mystaria and Treasure’s Guardian Heroes, emphasizing non-linear progression and exploration that allow players to determine their own optimal path through the game’s challenges.

Muramasa Rebirth

• Release Date — March 28, 2013
• Publisher — Marvelous AQL (JP), Aksys Games (NA)
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PlayStation Vita

One of the first remasters of an older Vanillaware title, Muramasa Rebith is the PS Vita port of the studio’s 2009 game Muramasa: The Demon Blade. Notably, Vanillaware would specifically choose the Vita as the platform for the Muramasa remaster thanks to its screen type and resolution doing justice to the game’s intricately crafted visuals (which had been somewhat dulled in the original release by the Wii’s lack of support for higher resolutions). In addition to some new content added for the re-release, Muramasa Rebirth features a redone script that sticks more closely to the original Japanese version, as well as some DLC content that introduces 4 separate side-story sequences.

Odin Sphere Leifthrasir

• Release Date — January 14, 2016
• Publisher — Atlus
• Genre — Action RPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 93% (Universal Acclaim)
• Platforms — PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita

Following the critical and commercial reception of Vanillaware’s remaster of Muramasa: The Demon Blade, the studio would set out to remaster and enhance its debut game — Odin Sphere. This new version, Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir, makes several notable changes over the original game. In addition to the original’s circular, side-scrolling stages, Leifthrasir introduces new vertical stages that implement platforming sections along with combat. Further, Leifthrasir would make some adjustments and improvements to the myriad systems and mechanics of the original Odin Sphere, resulting in it being generally accepted as the superior version of an already classic game. Those adjustments to the core Odin Sphere gameplay would ultimately pay off in Odin Sphere: Leifthrasir being a major success for Vanillaware.

Dragon’s Crown Pro

• Release Date — February 8, 2018
• Publisher — Atlus
• Genre — Action RPG, Beat ’em Up
• Review Aggregate Score — 80% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PlayStation 4

One of the more ambitious remasters of a classic Vanillaware title, Dragon’s Crown Pro brings the studio’s fan favorite Dragon’s Crown to the PlayStation 4, which also makes it available on modern platforms thanks to its PSN version. Development on Dragon’s Crown Pro would run concurrent to the studio and Kamitani’s work on 13 Sentinels, putting significant resources into remastering what had been, up to that point, Vanillaware’s most successful game. Dragon’s Crown Pro features several improvements from the original version, the most significant of which are the game’s new 4K visuals that enhance and highlight the game’s stunning art direction.

13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim

• Release Date — November 28, 2019
• Publisher — Atlus (JP), Sega
• Genre — Adventure, Visual Novel, RTS
• Review Aggregate Score — 88% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch

Perhaps Vanillaware’s most original game, 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim is a title with few contemporaries. It’s an interesting blend of real-time strategy and visual novel, incorporating just as much dialogue and story as it does actual gameplay. It’s a mix that wouldn’t work had either half not been executed perfectly, but 13 Sentinels‘ excellent narrative and surprisingly competent strategic mech gameplay blend together well, and the title’s non-linear approach to storytelling and well-written characters keep the game incredibly engaging throughout its runtime. Ironically enough, critics largely praised 13 Sentinels for its story, arguing that the gameplay-driven sections of the experience were the weaker half of the package, and it would go on to become one of Vanillaware’s most critically acclaimed games.

GrimGrimoire OnceMore

• Release Date — April 4, 2023
• Publisher — NIS America
• Genre — RTS, Tower Defense
• Review Aggregate Score — 78% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch

GrimGrimoire‘s unique blend of real-time strategy and tower defense cemented it as one of the PS2’s greatest cult classics, and the recent release of its remaster GrimGrimoire OnceMore allows new players to experience its greatness for the first time. Notably, GrimGrimoire OnceMore is Vanillaware’s first title for the Nintendo Switch — an ideal home for the title — and helps to foreshadow that the studio’s latest (and, perhaps, greatest) title would feel right at home on Nintendo’s hybrid console a year later. Aside from the expected visual and performance enhancements that this remaster of GrimGrimoire offers, OnceMore‘s implementation of a fast-forward feature and mid-battle saves are quality-of-life additions that immediately cement it as the definitive version of the title.

Unicorn Overlord

• Release Date — March 8, 2024
• Publisher — Atlus (JP), Sega
• Genre — TRPG
• Review Aggregate Score — 89% (Generally Favorable)
• Platforms — PS4, PS5, Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S

Vanillaware’s most recent title is also one of its most ambitious, taking almost 10 years to develop after its initial pitch and spanning multiple console generations before its eventual release in early 2024. But that long development paid off in Unicorn Overlord being one of the best tactical/simulation RPGs in decades, pulling all the best elements from a slew of genre classics (such as Ogre Battle, Fire Emblem, and Final Fantasy Tactics) and presenting them using Vanillaware’s incomparably beautiful hand-drawn visuals and top-notch art direction. Unicorn Overlord quickly earned honors for being one of the best RPGs and best games of 2024, and it would ultimately quickly become Vanillaware’s most successful title to date, selling over a million units just a few months after its release.

The image featured at the top of this post is ©Unicorn Overlord key art.