Toho

A Japanese entertainment company that published video games for the NES and SNES during the late 1980s and early 1990s.

Action

Tactics

Sports

Strategy

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Website

Founded

1932

Tokyo, Japan

Parent

Toho Co, Ltd.

Known for

Action / RPG / Strategy

Games

1989–1994

Years

Platforms

$111.48

Ø CIB

+28.6%

24M change

About

Toho published several notable console titles, including the critically acclaimed shoot 'em up Super Aleste (released in North America as Space MegaForce) developed by Compile. They were also responsible for publishing the action-platformer Super Valis IV (Super Valis) on the SNES, the NES action game Circus Caper, and the Japanese console ports of Origin Systems' Times of Lore.

Toho's venture into interactive entertainment during the 8-bit and 16-bit eras allowed the Japanese cinema giant to diversify its media portfolio. The company's publishing strategy relied heavily on adapting popular anime properties and localizing Western software. For instance, the 1989 Famicom release Moeru Oniisan, based on the popular manga by Takahisa Sato, served as the direct Japanese predecessor to Circus Caper (1990), which underwent significant thematic alterations for its overseas release.

During this period, Toho established partnerships with external developers to build its catalog. Their localization efforts brought the action-RPG Times of Lore (1990) to the Famicom, followed by a Japanese home computer release of Times of Lore (1991). As the market transitioned to 16-bit hardware, Toho expanded its reach on the Super Famicom. This transition yielded Super Valis (1992) and the shooter Super Aleste (1992), the latter of which gained international distribution under the title Space MegaForce (1992). Through these releases, Toho maintained a consistent presence in the console market until scaling back its direct video game publishing operations in the late 1990s.