As sort of an underdog Squaresoft, QUINTET would create some of the most fascinating and inspired RPGs to ever grace the Super Nintendo, and they had stiff competition! Adventures like ActRaiser, SoulBlazer, Illusion of Gaia, Robotrek and Terranigma live on in the hearts of their fans, well beyond their intended shelf life. I also delve into their later years, with The Granstream Saga, as well as their even more obscure titles that were only ever released in Japan. They went on to make games in the vein of The Legend of Zelda, Square Enix’s beloved Final Fantasy and Secret of Mana, and other JRPG classics.
Quintet was formed by Masaya Hashimoto and Tomoyoshi Miyazaki, Nihon Falcom veterans behind the Ys series. They often collaborated with composer legend Yuzo Koshiro, the man behind Streets of Rage’s addictive soundtrack.
Over the past year, I fell in love with the story and games of Quintet. I hope that after watching this video, you will too.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 Introduction
2:15 Humble Beginnings & Nihon Falcom
6:09 Ys I & II
8:00 Ys III & Departure from Falcom
9:01 Quintessential Quintet
9:05 ActRaiser
16:55 Soul Blazer
26:38 ActRaiser 2
31:54 Illusion of Gaia
41:46 Robotrek
50:59 Terranigma
1:10:27 The Rising Tide of Irrelevance
1:11:49 The Granstream Saga
1:19:49 Solo Crisis
1:21:23 Code R
1:22:30 Brightis
1:25:04 Planet Laika
1:28:26 End of an Era
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CREDITS
Special thanks to Lewis Hudson for his help in editing and visual effects:
http://www.lewishudson.com/
https://www.youtube.com/c/LHudson
Voiceover editing by Erik Peabody:
https://www.vikingguitar.com/
Thumbnail artwork illustrated by Ransom:
https://twitter.com/ransomlives
https://www.artstation.com/ransom/
Japanese quote voiceover by Theo Akimaru:
https://www.theovoice.com/
Robert Jerauld voiceover by Liam Jeffries:
https://www.fiverr.com/liamjefferies
—
SPECIAL THANKS to these amazing resources for interviews, in-depth information and knowledge about Quintet’s games:
https://shmuplations.com/quintet/
https://www.terraearth.com/
https://www.thesupersnes.tv/compendium/
https://www.mobygames.com
http://www.gaming.moe
https://talking-time.net/index.php?threads/quintet-heaven-and-earth.1062/
Full list of additional footage or documentation sources available here:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1XmzP6fmra8b6qkkObJhSAn4O_bPyvTc5vsQ6vBQFqQc/edit?usp=sharing
—
MUSIC CREDITS
OverClocked ReMix: Terranigma “Beginning of the Journey” by Fredrik Häthén feat. various artists
https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04011
Music licensed through Epidemic Sound:
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/Sq6RaNkJ16/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/ANS2m7hqji/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/oFrVMs9BLN/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/sERGwdIsMu/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/z31NeexfRB/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/QNRNzSXqVX/
https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/muiKv7ZgXX/
Unused music from Sorcerian by Yuzo Koshiro
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5DPVVasoppg
OverClocked ReMix: Secret of Evermore “Everstreams Through Evermore” by Brink-of-Time
https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04296
OverClocked ReMix: ActRaiser “Thy Followers” By Russell Cox
https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00745
OverClocked ReMix: Soul Blazer “Tears for a Moonlit Knight” by Israfel
https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00587
OverClocked ReMix: Soul Blazer “I’m the Soul Blazer” by HoboKa, Smooth4Lyfe, BrothaDom
https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR03890
OverClocked ReMix: ActRaiser “Fill More Funk” by djpretzel
https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR00541
Illusion Of Gaia & Soul Blazer remixes by Plasma3Music Remixes
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SXNIZ7_B8_M
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdh16XIBmMg
OverClocked ReMix: Illusion of Gaia “Will Is the Lord” by Scaredsim
https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR01708
Illusion of Gaia arranged tracks by SourJovis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RNWPlQNcJ0g&list=PLB8A54AC48D1A5475
OverClocked ReMix: Terranigma “An American Expanse”
https://ocremix.org/remix/OCR04013
Paths Less Travelled: Terranigma – OverClocked Remix album
https://terranigma.ocremix.org/
https://ocremix.org/album/94/paths-less-travelled-terranigma
Jean Of mArc feat. Gamer of the Winds – Blue Magic (Prime Blue)
Supercoolmike, Chimpazilla, Jorito – Her Resolve (Prayer)
David Kiraeth – Soothing Rhythm (Liotto)
Clément Panchout – Everlasting Campfire (Evergreen)
HeavyViper feat. Gamer of the Winds – Wade into the Changing Tide (Ship)
—
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source
Wait why is this being uploaded again?
Note: This is a re-upload of the video, which corrects pervasive render errors due to my inexperience with my new video editing software.
This was a labor of love, and took a while to put together the many pieces of the story behind Quintet!
Please consider supporting the channel here: https://www.patreon.com/IndigoGaming or here: https://www.subscribestar.com/indigogaming
Or you can choose from 100+ DRM-free games curated by me on GOG (affiliate link): https://indigogaming.link/
The beloved and forgotten rpg trilogy, wish they got more love
Well, I guess I get to watch someone cover one of my favourite series. Again.
Indie, thanks for always taking great care and research when it comes to your documentaries.
I am so glad I got to play Terranigma last year. It sucks the US never got a proper release of the game. Videos like this has really sparked a desire to go through and play old SNES games I never got to play, or never got to finish, as a kid.
Looking forward to watching this when I get the time.
Commenting here since I did on the other vid as well. Thank you for doing this. Illusion of Gaia was an incredibly formative part of my childhood.
Every time you upload, my gaming backlog increases in volume. Although this is a re upload, I know it will be something I re-watch again in the future. It was not a wasted effort for you to correct any editing mistakes since your videos generally age like fine wine.👍
It's all good. I'll just watch this a second time to help you out! Thank you for this content, some of my best childhood memories involve these games!
A masterpiece of a video remade? I just love your work dude.
I always look forward to your releases. Great work as always!
I won't repeat my previous comment, but it's always good to see a new video from you.
Well done video (again) Indigo!
Though this is not the part 4 I personally was looking forward to. This is still a great documentary I enjoyed watching.
Will happily comment again, this video does such a great job of encapsulating the legacy that Quintent left. Fantastic job 👍
Cyberpunk PART 4?
An excuse to re-watch this video, you say? Very well, if needs must 🤔
Smiths fan confirmed
I really enjoyed Actraiser and Soulblazer but for whatever reason I never really played the others.
Quintet was a cool game developer. A shame their games take a long time to be loved and cherished.
A great video as usual.
youtube better recommend this video.
I will hear no slander against the Granstream Saga's combat. That game was badass and it was fun to master the combat and realize that you could essentially beat any enemy even with a big level disadvantage if you were good enough. Also, the butt.
Another excellent video. Quintet deserve the recognition.
Quintet is the definitive "gone too soon" dev. Not only was it founded by the original Ys team, another legendary series in and of itself, but they released some of the most memorable and underrated titles of the SNES.
I really hope some dedicated fans tackle the project of translating the missing Quintet games because they do breathe passion and originality despite generally being B or C grade games budget wise.
Thank you again for this retrospective into one of my favorite devs!
Dude plays a videogame once and instantly quits his job to make them… What a Chad.
So true. Games were so much more creative back then. Nowadays everything is a first / third person shooter or first / third person RPG. Thank God for all the indie developers promoted by steam. Nearly all of my purchases of sub five year old games are Indie PC or indie Xbox one games created with 8-32 bit graphics from the 80s and 90s.
Terranigma was one of my favorite games as a kid. It really deserves to be rediscovered. Fun game with a cool development mechanic and surprisingly emotional ending. There was only one annoying boss fight where you had to hit a certain level to do good damage, but amazing experience
31:10
Act Raiser 2 definitely sticks out from its peers. It has a unique feel and mechanics.
Like with Zelda 2, people didn't judge the game for its own merits, but rather, just didn't like the changes based on their expectations of what a particular franchise should be.
The dev at the end is right – the game has a lot of depth. Making that transition from cumbersome oaf to a god of death is extremely gratifying.
How interesting. I thought they worked under Enix instead of Squaresoft.
Video is phenomenal. Thank you Indigo
Hell yeah, very much looking forward to watching this. I rarely replay games, but I've beaten Soul Blazer several times. There was something so unique about these Quintet games that hasn't been duplicated since.
this video made me REALLY want to play planet laika… Here's hoping it gets a fan translation.
Will say it again. Was awesome working on this with you.
Can you feed me my biscuits now?
As I said in the first upload of this video, the 3D got them good ☠
The original version of Actraiser had more complicated boss fights compared to the boring overseas version.
I had the Granstream Saga Demodisk
The 90s and early 2000s were a Golden age of RPGs both Eastern and Western.
Played Terranigma a few years ago, and it blew my mind. Super underrated, and that story is gonna stick with me. Needs a Steam port or something. Surprised critics don’t celebrate this game.
I played the hell out of Quintet's games when I was younger, they were some of my favorites, and I didn't even realize they all had a common developer at the time. There's something unique and deep about the subject matter they chose for their games, they def don't make em like they used to.