Sacnoth
Encyclopedia
Sacnoth was a small Japanese based video games developer.
Sacnoth’s high profile games include Koudelka
for the PlayStation
, the three Shadow Hearts
games for the PlayStation 2
, and Faselei! for the Neo Geo Pocket Color
. The name was taken from the name of a supposed magical weapon in a short story by Lord Dunsany, "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth," published in 1908 in the collection The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories
.
, best known for composing the music to Secret of Mana
series while working at Square
and was set up with funding from the video game company SNK
.
The company suffered after their first major project, the RPG Koudelka, received poor critical reviews and little word of mouth. It was also soon revealed that internal quarrels within Sacnoth had led to a compromised product. Kikuta had wanted to develop an action-based battle system, citing Resident Evil as a source of inspiration. However, his employees were adamant about releasing something closer to the kind of games that Square had been making.
Most people agreed that the game showed some promise, but had serious flaws, particularly in the combat system. Disheartened by the political friction within Sacnoth, as well as the financial condition of SNK, Kikuta resigned.
Aruze
Entertainment took control of Sacnoth after SNK folded in 2000. Sacnoth changed their name to Nautilus for the development of the sequel Shadow Hearts
and future video games. However, in early 2007 Aruze publicly announced dissolving Nautilus and various creative members have since left the company and founded feelplus
.
Neo Geo fan sites and eBay
sellers put the number of copies released into circulation at about 10,000 with only 5000 being sold due to the recall. This rarity, along with its technical superiority in terms of graphics and sound when compared to its peers on the same system, has made the game very sought after and has resulted in high prices on internet auction sites. However, when recalled NGPC systems were resold in game stores in 2004, the lost stock of the US version of Faselei! was included in one of the add-on game packages available, and helped to drive prices down.
See Shadow Hearts (series) for details of Sacnoth's other games
Sacnoth’s high profile games include Koudelka
Koudelka
is a role-playing game developed by Sacnoth for the Sony PlayStation. The game was released on December 16, 1999, in Japan, June 29, 2000, in North America and September 29, 2000, in Europe.- Gameplay :...
for the PlayStation
PlayStation
The is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
, the three Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts
is a series of role playing games for the PlayStation 2. The original Shadow Hearts was developed by Sacnoth and released by Midway in the United States on December 11, 2001. The sequel, Shadow Hearts: Covenant , was also made by the same group, although Sacnoth reformed itself into a company...
games for the PlayStation 2
PlayStation 2
The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, and Faselei! for the Neo Geo Pocket Color
Neo Geo Pocket Color
The Neo Geo Pocket Color , is a 16-bit colour handheld game console by SNK. It was the last console they produced in the Neo Geo family...
. The name was taken from the name of a supposed magical weapon in a short story by Lord Dunsany, "The Fortress Unvanquishable, Save for Sacnoth," published in 1908 in the collection The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories
The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories
The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories is the third book by Irish fantasy writer Lord Dunsany, considered a major influence on the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, H. P. Lovecraft, Ursula K. Le Guin and others. It was first published in hardcover by George Allen & Sons in October, 1908, and has been...
.
History
Sacnoth was created in 1997 by Hiroki KikutaHiroki Kikuta
is a Japanese video game composer and game designer. His major works are Secret of Mana, Seiken Densetsu 3, Soukaigi, and Koudelka, for which he also acted as producer and concept designer. He has composed music for seven other games, and worked as a concept designer in addition to composer for the...
, best known for composing the music to Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana
Secret of Mana is an action role-playing game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System developed and published by Square in 1993. The game was re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console in 2008, and was ported to Japanese mobile phones in 2009...
series while working at Square
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
and was set up with funding from the video game company SNK
SNK
SNK is a former name of SNK Playmore, a Japanese video game company . This may also refer to:* SNK European Democrats* SNK Union of Independents* Southeast Airlines ICAO code...
.
The company suffered after their first major project, the RPG Koudelka, received poor critical reviews and little word of mouth. It was also soon revealed that internal quarrels within Sacnoth had led to a compromised product. Kikuta had wanted to develop an action-based battle system, citing Resident Evil as a source of inspiration. However, his employees were adamant about releasing something closer to the kind of games that Square had been making.
Most people agreed that the game showed some promise, but had serious flaws, particularly in the combat system. Disheartened by the political friction within Sacnoth, as well as the financial condition of SNK, Kikuta resigned.
Aruze
Aruze
, is a Japanese manufacturer of pachinko, slot machines, arcade games and other gaming products, and a publisher of video games. Aruze possesses licenses to both manufacture and distribute casino machines in the American states of Nevada, Mississippi and New Jersey. The company's corporate...
Entertainment took control of Sacnoth after SNK folded in 2000. Sacnoth changed their name to Nautilus for the development of the sequel Shadow Hearts
Shadow Hearts
is a series of role playing games for the PlayStation 2. The original Shadow Hearts was developed by Sacnoth and released by Midway in the United States on December 11, 2001. The sequel, Shadow Hearts: Covenant , was also made by the same group, although Sacnoth reformed itself into a company...
and future video games. However, in early 2007 Aruze publicly announced dissolving Nautilus and various creative members have since left the company and founded feelplus
Feelplus Inc.
feelplus Inc. was a Japanese video game developer and a subsidiary of AQ Interactive. The studio was conceived initially by Microsoft Game Studios specifically to aid Mistwalker in video game development. It was composed of former employees of Nautilus, Square Enix and Scarab.On August 2010,...
.
Faselei!
Faselei! was one of the most popular, and technically impressive games for the Neo Geo Pocket Color. However, the game was released just weeks before the Neo Geo Pocket Color and associated stock was recalled after SNK’s bankruptcy. Outside of Japan, the game was only released in the United Kingdom in 'clamshell' case format during the lifespan of the NGPC as a viable system.EBay
eBay Inc. is an American internet consumer-to-consumer corporation that manages eBay.com, an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses buy and sell a broad variety of goods and services worldwide...
sellers put the number of copies released into circulation at about 10,000 with only 5000 being sold due to the recall. This rarity, along with its technical superiority in terms of graphics and sound when compared to its peers on the same system, has made the game very sought after and has resulted in high prices on internet auction sites. However, when recalled NGPC systems were resold in game stores in 2004, the lost stock of the US version of Faselei! was included in one of the add-on game packages available, and helped to drive prices down.
See Shadow Hearts (series) for details of Sacnoth's other games
External links
- Gamespot's Sacnoth Pagehttp://www.gamespot.com/pages/company/index.php?company=13116
- A review of Faselei! with screenshotshttp://archive.kontek.net/sngp.classicgaming.gamespy.com/games/faselei/faselei_review01.htm
- Aruze Talks Shadow Heartshttp://www.rpgfan.com/news/2007/1070.html