Wolf Team

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Wolf Team
Founded: 1987
Defunct: 2003 (renamed to Namco Tales Studio), 2011 (as Namco Tales Studio)
T-series code: T-32
Merged into: Namco (Namco Tales Studio)
Headquarters: Japan

Wolf Team (ウルフ・チーム) was a Japanese video game development and publication studio founded in 1986 as part of Telenet Japan, mostly existing that way until 2003, when Telenet sold its last shares to Namco, who renamed the studio Namco Tales Studio Ltd., under which it still continues to operate until 2011.

Between its founding and 1996, Wolf Team was developing their games to run on both the Sharp X68000 and various Sega systems, most notably the Sega Mega-CD, where they dominated the third party market between its launch (developing launch title Sol-Feace) and 1993. Most of their Sega games exist as independent entities, however three series — Arcus, Zan, and the Earnest Evans/Annet Myer trilogy — have had releases on Sega consoles.

In 1992, many of the people responsible for their Mega Drive titles left the company and formed Gau Entertainment.

In 1994, the group offered the first of their flagship Tales series, the late 1995 Super Famicom game Tales of Phantasia, as a joint contract with Namco. Disputes between the two groups led much of the original Wolf Team staff to leave and form tri-Ace. Phantasia's success shaped the future of Wolf Team as a Nintendo/Sony console developer primarily focused on the Tales series.

In 2003, Namco purcased the company (the rights to most of Wolf Team's properties still would be owned by Nippon Telenet at that time) and renamed it as Namco Tales Studio.

Promotional material

Print advert in Mega Drive Fan (JP) #16: "May 1991" (1991-04-08)
also published in:

• Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #1991-05: "May 1991" (1991-04-08)

Softography

Note: some of Wolf Team's Sega CD games were ported to the Genesis specifically for US distribution by Renovation; however this list was initially compiled from Sega of Japan's archives of third party games (as Namco Tales's site does not list Wolf Team's history). Furthermore, this also means that this list will initially only have games that were also (or only) released in Japan by Wolf Team itself. If there is a game in one section missing from the other; or if a game is missing entirely; please feel free to add it.

Mega Drive

• FZ Senki Axis (1990)
• Granada (1990)
• Zan: Yasha Enbukyoku (1991)
• Arcus Odyssey (1991)
• Dino Land (1991)
• Earnest Evans, released exclusively by Renovation in the US (1991)
• El Viento (1991)
• Sol-Feace, released exclusively by Renovation in the US as Sol-Deace (1992)

Mega-CD

• Sol-Feace (1991 - launch title)
• Earnest Evans (1991)
• Seirei Shinseiki Fhey Area (1992)
• Aisle Lord (1992)
• Thunder Storm FX (1992)
• Time Gal (1992)
• Road Blaster FX (1992)
• Tenbu Mega CD Special (1992)
• Anetto Futatabi (1993)
• Devastator (1993)
• Arcus I-II-III (1993)
• Revenge of the Ninja (1993)
• Faria (unreleased)

Game Gear

• Zan Gear (1990)

References

NEC Retro has more information related to Wolf Team