Ancient

Established to channel the creative talents of the Koshiro family, the developer quickly secured high-profile projects within major Sega franchises. For the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, the studio adapted the flagship high-speed platformer into a distinct 8-bit experience for the Master System and Game Gear, introducing unique level layouts and mechanics tailored to the hardware.

The studio's signature fantasy franchise began with The Story of Thor (1994), released in North America as Beyond Oasis. This action-RPG showcased fluid character animations and a real-time combat system centered on summoning elemental spirits. Ancient expanded this universe on the Sega Saturn with Thor: Seireioukiden (1996), also known as The Story of Thor 2, which served as a prequel utilizing the console's advanced 2D sprite capabilities. During this active period on Sega hardware, the developer also branched into top-down vehicular combat with Vatlva (1996). Later, the studio contributed to the MTV Music Generator franchise, applying their deep roots in audio production to music creation software.