Takara

Takara at a Glance

Takara began as a Japanese toy manufacturer founded in 1955 before shifting focus into video games. The company operated in the industry from 1982 until 2011, when it merged with Tomy to become Takara Tomy. You will find 133 titles attributed to them on PlayPile, with 124 listed as publisher credits and 51 as developer credits. Their catalog spans multiple platforms but shows a heavy reliance on handheld formats. They released 26 games for Handheld Electronic LCD systems, followed by 36 PlayStation titles and 15 for the Super Famicom. Their output volume fluctuated significantly over the decades. The company released only 13 games during the 1980s. This number jumped to 69 titles in the 1990s, which was their most productive period. Production slowed to 23 games in the 2000s and dropped to a single release in the 2010s. Their genre focus varies widely across their library. They published 20 Card & Board Games and 20 Simulators. Fighting games make up another 15 entries, while Adventure titles account for 13. They also touched on Racing, Platformer, Strategy, Puzzle, Shooter, and RPG genres. Quality control appears inconsistent based on the available ratings. The average IGDB score across 16 rated titles sits at 58.1 out of 100. The rating breakdown shows only one great title with a score above 80. There are six good games scoring between 60 and 79, seven mixed games falling between 40 and 59, and two poor titles below 40. Their highest rated game is Banana Prince from 1991, which holds an 87.1 score. Fatal Fury Special released in 1993 follows with a 71 rating. High Heat Major League Baseball 2003 and Toshinden 4 both earned 70 points. Recent releases from the company included Naruto Shippuden 3D: The New Era in March 2011. Earlier entries in 2003 featured titles like Duel Masters and Rollercoaster World, with the latter receiving a 55 rating. MegaMan NT Warrior Advanced PET also appeared in their late catalog. While they produced some standout fighting games and sports simulations, many of their later releases did not achieve high critical scores.

Release Timeline

Rating Distribution