Red Company Corporation

Founded by Hiroi Oji, the company established its reputation through character design and scenario writing, which became the cornerstone of their major franchises. In the action genre, they designed the side-scrolling combat of Legendary Axe (1989) and its darker sequel Legendary Axe II (1990). They expanded their platforming portfolio with the quirky mascot title Bonk's Adventure (1990), later adapting it for additional platforms in 1993, and developed the spin-off Makai Prince Dorabocchan (1990).

In the shoot 'em up genre, the developer pushed CD-ROM hardware limits with the intense action and heavy metal soundtracks of Gate of Thunder (1992) and its spiritual successor Lords of Thunder (1993). To promote the PC Engine's Arcade Card peripheral, they also created the promotional maze game Deden no Den (1994), featuring characters from their flagship series. These projects laid the creative foundation for the company's transition into narrative-heavy tactical RPGs, most notably the Sakura Taisen (Sakura Wars) series, which blended mech combat with dating simulation elements.