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ADK were never really part of the 'big boys', but they still deserve an honorable mention.
If their beginnings were relatively subdued, then the 80s were what you'd call 'quiet': only Battle Field (1987) and Gang Wars (1989) even vaguely stand out. But it was during this time they developed a relationship with SNK, who would sometimes act as publisher.
This led up to ADK becoming the only third party developer at the launch of SNK's Neo Geo hardware, a format on which they were extremely prolific. They would exclusively support the Neo Geo all they way up to their eventual closure in 2000.
ADK will forever be remembered for their signature style - be it the extraordinary Magician Lord (1990), the zany World Heroes series or the unique Twinkle Star Sprites (1998), they have left enough of a mark to deserve more than a footnote. |
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Alpha
Denshi Kabushiki Kaisha
アルファ電子株式会社 |
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Established
in Saitama in July of 1980 as 'Alpha Denshi Kabushiki
Kaisha', ADK were initially completely unrelated
to the games industry, starting off as a minor
electronics company. |
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Crush Roller (1981) |
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Their
first releases were Shougi (1980), a
basic japanese chess simulator and Dorachan (1980), a (presumably) unlicensed Doraemon game credited to 'CRAUL DENSHI'.
Their third release, Crush Roller (1981) (left) was their only major success of this early period. An oddball Pac-Man (1980) clone featuring a paintbrush, it made enough of an impression to convince the company that video games were a viable trade. |
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Success would also come with Champion Baseball (1983),
an advanced baseball game for its time whose
arcade distribution was handled by Sega, who would also overlook its home conversion on the SG-1000. |
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Battle Field (1987) |
Gang Wars (1989) |
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The
ADK / SNK partnership would strike gold with Battle
Field (1987), a sharp and well designed overhead
action game with a time travel theme that gathered
a massive worldwide audience as 'Time Soldiers'.
Another cult favourite of theirs was the exceptionally
difficult Gang Wars (1989), an action fighting game
similar to Double
Dragon (1987). |
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Magician Lord (1990) |
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But
the move that ADK will forever be associated with
is their joining ranks with SNK and their Neo
Geo project, becoming the very first licensed
company to develop for the format. This was a
platform they thrived on, producing a string of
memorable titles right from launch.
Magician
Lord (1990) was a phenomenally good-looking
and challenging platform game, while Ninja
Combat (1990) was an action game very much
in the same spirit as Gang Wars (1989) but with
vastly improved gameplay. |
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A
long string of quality titles for the Neo Geo
would follow, the peak of which was the World
Heroes series, ADK's take on the versus fighting
phenomenon of the mid nineties. |
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After their demise ADK live on in the form of Twinkle Star Sprites - La Petite Princesse (2005),and eventually a compilation of their Neo Geo releases, ADK Tamashii (2008). |
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Exciting
Soccer
エキサイティングサッカー |
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Champion
Baseball
チャンピオンベースボール |
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Champion
Baseball Part-2
チャンピオンベースボール2 |
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Exciting
Soccer II
エキサイティングサッカー2 |
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Splendor
Blast
スプレンダーブラスト |
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Super
Stingray
スーパースティングレイ |
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Super
Champion Baseball
スーパーチャンピオンベースボール |
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ADK
Tamashii
ADK魂
PLAYSTATION 2 |
DETAILS
| Format |
PlayStation
2 |
| Released |
18
Dec 2008 |
| Publisher |
SNK
Playmore |
| Product
ID |
SLPS-25906 |
| Size
(cm) |
19
x 13.5 x 1.5 |
| Weight
(kg) |
0.17 |
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ADCD-100 |
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31
Oct 1994 |
Action
ROM version
released by SNK
[NGH-005] |
ADCD-101 |
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31
Oct 1994 |
Action
ROM version
released by SNK
[NGH-009] |
ADCD-102 |
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2
May 1995 |
Action
Neo Geo CD only |
ADCD-103 |
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10
Nov 1995 |
Variety
Neo Geo CD only |
ADCD-104 |
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22
Mar 1996 |
Puzzle
Neo Geo CD only |
ADCD-001 |
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31
Oct 1994 |
Action
aka 'Blue's Journey' |
ADCD-002 |
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31
Oct 1994 |
Action
RPG
Spelling of Japanese title changed for Neo Geo CD |
ADCD-003 |
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31
Oct 1994 |
Racing
Originally released
as 'Thrash Rally'
on Neo Geo |
ADCD-004 |
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31
Oct 1994 |
Shooting |
ADCD-005 |
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17
Mar 1995 |
Vs.
Fighting |
ADCD-006 |
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14
Apr 1995 |
Vs.
Fighting |
ADCD-007 |
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11
Nov 1994 |
Vs.
Fighting |
ADCD-008 |
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13
Jan 1995 |
Vs.
Fighting
aka 'Aggressors of Dark Kombat' |
ADCD-009 |
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21
July 1995 |
Vs.
Fighting |
ADCD-010 |
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20
Oct 1995 |
Table
(Shogi) |
ADCD-011 |
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5
July 1996 |
Racing |
ADCD-012 |
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27
Sep 1996 |
Vs.
Fighting |
ADCD-013 |
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21
Feb 1997 |
Shooting |
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'ADK',
'Alpha Denshi' and the ADK logo are registered
trademarks of ADK Corporation
ADK TM and © ADK All Rights Reserved
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