Chunsoft logo

Chunsoft

Japan Founded 1984 Website

Chunsoft was founded in 1984 by Koichi Nakamura after he won a competition hosted by Enix through programming and designing the game DoorDoor. Chunsoft is best known for developing the Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior in North America) series of games, published by Enix. In 2012, Chunsoft merged with Spike Co., Ltd. and became Spike Chunsoft Co., Ltd.

Chunsoft at a Glance

Chunsoft is a Japanese company founded in 1984 by Koichi Nakamura. The studio gained its start after Nakamura won a competition hosted by Enix by programming and designing the game DoorDoor. Over a career spanning from 1983 to 2024, the developer has released 47 titles as a creator and published 17 others. Their work covers 49 games total on PlayPile, showing a heavy focus on Role-playing games with 27 entries and Adventure titles with 26 entries. They also produced 14 Visual Novels and eight Turn-based strategy games. The company's output fluctuated significantly over the decades. They released four games in the 1980s and thirteen in the 1990s. This activity peaked in the 2000s when they launched 23 titles. The following decade saw a sharp drop to seven releases, and only one game appeared in the 2020s so far. This slowdown coincides with their 2012 merger with Spike Co., Ltd. to form Spike Chunsoft. Despite this recent quiet period, their earlier work includes several highly rated games. The top three ranked titles are Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward from 2012, Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors from 2009, and 428: Shibuya Scramble from 2008. All three scored above 86 out of 100. Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome also stands out with a score of 85.5. Their overall quality record shows a mix of strong and average results. Out of 18 rated titles, four achieved great status while thirteen fall into the good range. There are no mixed or poor ratings in this sample, though one title below 40 exists in their broader history. Their platform reach covers many systems, with nine games each for the Nintendo DS and Wii. They also have seven titles on the Super Famicom and PlayStation Portable. Later years saw releases on the PlayStation Vita and PlayStation 3. Recent activity includes Kamaitachi no Yoru x3 released in September 2024 and Shin Kamai-tachi no Yoru: 11nin-me no Suspect from December 2011. While they are best known for their long history with the Dragon Quest series, their portfolio extends well beyond that into complex narrative games and strategy titles.

49
Total Games
73.7
Avg Rating
1983
First Release
2024
Latest Release

Genre Breakdown

Role-playing (RPG)
31%
Adventure
30%
Visual Novel
16%
Turn-based strategy (TBS)
9%
Puzzle
6%

Platform Spread

Nintendo DS
9
Wii
9
Super Famicom
7
PlayStation Portable
7
PlayStation 3
5

Release Timeline

1980s
4
1990s
13
2000s
23
2010s
7
2020s
1

Rating Distribution

4
80-100
13
60-79
0
40-59
1
0-39
Kamaitachi no Yoru x3 game cover

Kamaitachi no Yoru x3

2024·PS4, PC, Switch
Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate game cover

Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate

2015·Vita
Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward game cover
Rating 8.7

Zero Escape: Virtue's Last Reward

2012·PS4, PC, XONE +2
Shin Kamai-tachi no Yoru: 11nin-me no Suspect game cover

Shin Kamai-tachi no Yoru: 11nin-me no Suspect

2011·PS3, Vita
Zombie Daisuki game cover

Zombie Daisuki

2011·NDS
Trick x Logic Season 2 game cover

Trick x Logic Season 2

2010·PSP
Trick x Logic Season 1 game cover

Trick x Logic Season 1

2010·PSP
Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 4 - Kami no Hitomi to Akuma no Heso game cover

Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 4 - Kami no Hitomi to Akuma no Heso

2010·NDS
Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors game cover
Rating 8.6

Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors

2009·NDS
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Keep Going! Wildfire Adventure Squad game cover

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Keep Going! Wildfire Adventure Squad

2009·Wii
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Let's Go! Tempest Adventure Squad game cover

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Let's Go! Tempest Adventure Squad

2009·Wii
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Go For It! Radiant Adventure Squad game cover

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Go For It! Radiant Adventure Squad

2009·Wii
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky game cover
Rating 6.7

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky

2009·WiiU, NDS
428: Shibuya Scramble game cover
Rating 85

428: Shibuya Scramble

2008·PS3, PS4, PC +4
Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren DS2 - Sabaku no Majou game cover

Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren DS2 - Sabaku no Majou

2008·NDS
Shiren the Wanderer game cover
Rating 7.8

Shiren the Wanderer

2008·Wii
Imabikisou game cover

Imabikisou

2007·PS3, iOS, Wii
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness game cover
Rating 6.8

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness

2007·NDS
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time game cover
Rating 7.3

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time

2007·NDS
Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer game cover
Rating 7.7

Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer

2006·NDS
Kamaitachi no Yoru Triple: Mikazukishima Jiken no Shinsou game cover

Kamaitachi no Yoru Triple: Mikazukishima Jiken no Shinsou

2006·PS2
Machi: Unmei no Kousaten - Tokubetsu-hen game cover

Machi: Unmei no Kousaten - Tokubetsu-hen

2006·Vita, PSP
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team game cover
Rating 7.1

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team

2005·WiiU, GBA
Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team game cover
Rating 7.0

Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Blue Rescue Team

2005·WiiU, NDS
Homeland game cover
Rating 2.3

Homeland

2005·NGC
Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren Mega game cover

Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren Mega

2004·Mobile
3-nen B-Gumi Kinpachi-sensei: Densetsu no Kyoudan ni Tate! game cover

3-nen B-Gumi Kinpachi-sensei: Densetsu no Kyoudan ni Tate!

2004·PS2
Shiren Monsters: Netsal game cover

Shiren Monsters: Netsal

2004·GBA
Kamaitachi no Yoru 2: Kangokujima no Warabe Uta game cover

Kamaitachi no Yoru 2: Kangokujima no Warabe Uta

2002·PS2, PSP
Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren GB2 - Sabaku no Majou game cover

Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren GB2 - Sabaku no Majou

2001·GBC
Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 2 - Oni Shuurai! Shiren-jou! game cover

Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren 2 - Oni Shuurai! Shiren-jou!

2000·N64, 64DD
Sound Novel Evolution 1: Otogirisou Sosei-Hen game cover

Sound Novel Evolution 1: Otogirisou Sosei-Hen

1999·PS3, Vita, PS1 +1
Sound Novel Evolution 2: Kamaitachi no Yoru Tokubetsu-hen game cover

Sound Novel Evolution 2: Kamaitachi no Yoru Tokubetsu-hen

1998·PS3, PS1, PSP
Machi: Unmei no Kousaten game cover

Machi: Unmei no Kousaten

1998·PS1
Sound Novel Machi: Machi game cover

Sound Novel Machi: Machi

1998·Saturn
Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren GB - Tsukikage-mura no Kaibutsu game cover

Fushigi no Dungeon: Fuurai no Shiren GB - Tsukikage-mura no Kaibutsu

1996·Game Boy
Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Fuurai no Shiren game cover

Fushigi no Dungeon 2: Fuurai no Shiren

1995·Wii, SFAM
Kamaitachi no Yoru game cover

Kamaitachi no Yoru

1994·Wii, SFAM
Dragon Quest game cover
Rating 7.9

Dragon Quest

1993·SFAM
Dragon Quest II game cover
Rating 7.0

Dragon Quest II

1993·SFAM
Fushigi no Dungeon: Torneko no Daibouken game cover

Fushigi no Dungeon: Torneko no Daibouken

1993·SNES, SFAM
Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome game cover
Rating 8.5

Dragon Quest V: Tenkuu no Hanayome

1992·SFAM
Otogirisou game cover

Otogirisou

1992·WiiU, Wii, SFAM +1
Dragon Warrior IV game cover
Rating 8.0

Dragon Warrior IV

1990·famicom, NES
Dragon Warrior III game cover
Rating 8.0

Dragon Warrior III

1988·famicom, NES
Dragon Warrior II game cover
Rating 7.0

Dragon Warrior II

1987·famicom, NES, MSX2 +1
Dragon Warrior game cover
Rating 7.5

Dragon Warrior

1986·famicom, NES, MSX2 +1
Door Door game cover

Door Door

1983·famicom, PC-9800 Series, x1 +5