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AlphaDream Corporation, Ltd.
Native name
[株式会社アルファドリーム] error: {{lang}}: unrecognized language code: jp (help)
Kabushikigaisha ArufaDorīmu
FormerlyAlphaStar
TypePrivate
IndustryVideo games
FoundedJanuary 12, 2000; 24 years ago (2000-01-12)
Tokyo, Japan
DefunctOctober 1, 2019 (2019-10-01)
FateBankrupted
HeadquartersShibuya, Tokyo, Japan
Key people
Tetsuo Mizuno
ProductsMario & Luigi series
Number of employees
46 (2018)[1]

AlphaDream Corporation, Ltd.[lower-alpha 1] (formerly known as AlphaStar[lower-alpha 2]) was a Japanese video game development company founded in 2000 by Tetsuo Mizuno in Tokyo, Japan. In partnership with Nintendo, it produced software for the Game Boy Color, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS, including the Mario & Luigi series. The company's staff included prominent former developers from Square, such as Chihiro Fujioka. On October 1, 2019, AlphaDream was shut down after declaring bankruptcy.

History[]

AlphaDream was founded on January 12, 2000. They were then known as Alpha Star. Several members of their staff were notable staff from Square. They are known for their RPGs, most notably the Mario & Luigi series for the Game Boy Advance, the Nintendo DS and the Nintendo 3DS.[2]

The company was founded in 2000 by Tetsuo Mizuno, the past president of Square. Their first game, Koto Battle, was a Pokémon-style role-playing game, wherein the player battles three of their twenty character cards against AI opponents. It was released in March 2001 for the Game Boy Color. While it remains a Japan-only game, it was later re-released for the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.

AlphaDream's next game was Tomato Adventure, released in January 2002. The player, as DeMille, a tomato-hater in the Ketchup Kingdom, fights his way from his outcast village to rescue his girlfriend. The in-game weapons are toy-like and the battles against opponents involve minigames.

Tomato Adventure was co-developed with Graphic Research and directed by Chihiro Fujioka of Super Mario RPG and Final Fantasy Legend III. It was expected for release on the Game Boy Color as Gimmick Land, but was pushed to the new Game Boy Advance and renamed for better marketing. Tomato Adventure has not been released outside Japan.[3]

AlphaDream became the developer of the Mario & Luigi series of JRPG games shortly after, with the first entry in the series, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, releasing in 2003.

On October 1, 2019, AlphaDream declared bankruptcy, citing sluggish revenues and high development costs, and being unable to keep up with growing debt (which as of March 2018 was over ¥465 million).[4]

Developed games[]

List of video games developed by AlphaDream
Year Title Publisher Platform(s)
2001 Koto Battle: Tengai no Moribito AlphaDream Game Boy Color
2002 Tomato Adventure Nintendo Game Boy Advance
2003 Hamtaro: Rainbow Rescue
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
2004 Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Games
2005 Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Nintendo DS
2008 Hi! Hamtaro Ham-Ham Challenge Marvelous Entertainment
2009 PostPet DS
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story Nintendo
2013 Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Nintendo 3DS
2015 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
2017 Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
2019 Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
Kedama no Gonjiro: Fit & Run ForwardWorks Corporation iOS/Android

Notes[]

  1. Japanese: 株式会社アルファドリーム Hepburn: Kabushikigaisha ArufaDorīmu?
  2. Japanese: 株式会社アルファスター Hepburn: Kabushikigaisha ArufaSutā?

References[]

  1. "会社概要 -Profile-". Alpha Dream (in Japanese). AlphaDream. Retrieved 19 July 2014.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>
  2. Their second most notable game serials would be Hamtaro video game series.
  3. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/feature/35014/history-of-alphadream-ketchup-and-plumbers
  4. 帝国データバンク (2 October 2019). "『マリオ&ルイージRPG』など開発 アルファドリームが破産開始". Yahoo! News Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2 October 2019.<templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>

External links[]

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