Nihon Falcom's 40 Years of RPG Glory

Founded in March 1981, Nihon Falcom is one of the oldest active video game studios. Celebrating its 40th anniversary this year, the company helped pioneer the action-RPG genre, shaping both the JRPG industry and PC gaming scene in Japan. These days, Falcom is best known for its iconic Ys and Trails franchises. While only recently attracting more attention in the West, the studio has retained a strong reputation in Japan, often cited alongside juggernaut Square Enix as one of the most influential and distinguished RPG developers. To honor four decades in the business, we chatted with Nihon Falcom president Toshihiro Kondo to reminisce about the company’s history.

Nihon Falcom’s roots are very much in the PC scene; the Falcom name even nods to it. For the moniker, founder Masayuki Kato was inspired by Star Wars’ Millennium Falcon, but he changed ‘con’ to ‘com’ to represent the company’s focus on computer gaming. The studio’s first game, Panorama Toh, hit in 1983, with Yoshio Kiya at the helm. Kiya would later go on to create Falcom’s popular and influential Dragon Slayer and Brandish franchises.

When asked about the company’s most outstanding achievements, Kondo recalls the first Dragon Slayer game, which debuted in 1984. The top-down adventure is credited for pioneering the action-RPG genre, featuring real-time combat, an in-game map, and resource management. It also introduced item-based puzzles, serving as an inspiration for The Legend of Zelda series. “Dragon Slayer has been called our first real hit,” Kondo says. “That is still considered a great achievement for the industry in Japan, and I believe that was the title that determined the direction of Falcom, which now excels at creating fantasy and RPG titles.” Its sequel, Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu, continued the fanfare, setting records for PC game sales in Japan at the time, selling 400,000 copies.

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