Draft:Game Arts

Background

Game Arts Co., Ltd. (株式会社ゲームアーツ) is a Japanese video game developer and publisher based in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, it expanded into producing for a number of game console and handheld systems.

1st Logo (April 1985)

Visuals: On a black background,

Technique: Sprite-based animation.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen only on Cuby Panic and Thexder for the NEC PC-88.

2nd Logo (December 5, 1986-November 2, 1989)

Visuals: Two "G"s draw in and glows. "GAME ARTS" wipes in from the middle before it fades out.

Variants:

On Sharp X1 port of Zeliard and NEC PC-98 games, the logo is flatter and lighter. The earlier one had the logo vanishes off the screen via linear horizontal wipes.
On Veigues Tactical Gladiator, the logo crossfades to the copyright notice.

Technique: Sprite-based animation.

Audio: A distorted voice saying "Presented by Game Arts".

Audio Variant: On PC-88 version of Sliphead, the audio is higher-pitched.

Availability: Seen on many NEC PC-88 and NEC PC-98 games like Silpheed and Fire Hawk: Thexder The Second Contact and Sharp X1 port of Zeliard.

3rd Logo (December 28, 1991-December 18, 1992)

Visuals: On a rippling background, two "G"s are shown as the letters "GAME ARTS" fly in as the camera pans. After that, the camera stops panning.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A C-note synth chord with people cheering. Then an announcer says "Game Arts!", with "Arts" having a glitchy echo near the end of the logo.

Availability: Seen on some earlier Japanese Mega-CD games like Tenka Fubu, Lunar: The Silver Star (replaced with the Working Designs logo on the North American version) and Gambler Jiko Chuushinha 2.

4th Logo (Yumimi Mix custom variant) (January 29, 1993-December 10, 1993, July 28, 1995)

Visuals: On a purplish-white background, there is Yumimi (the protagonist of the game Yumimi Mix) inside a blue circle with a horizontal lighter blue stripe in the middle. She is smiling and looking at the camera. Two wreaths of olive leaves surround the circle at the sides, while a ribbon with the word "YUMIMI" on it appears underneath. Below all that is the Game Arts logo in dark blue with the emblem at the left of the text.

Variant:

On the FM-Towns version of Yumimi Mix, the logo is replaced with a copyright notice reading "©1992 IZUMI TAKEMOTO, GAME ARTS REPROGRAMMED GAME ©1993 CRI".
On Yumimi Mix Remix, the logo fades in from black and stays on-screen for a shorter time.

Technique: None.

Audio: None.

Availability: Seen on Yumimi Mix for the Mega-CD and FM-Towns and on Yumimi Mix Remix for the Sega Saturn.

5th Logo (Silpheed custom variant) (July 30-October 1993)

Visuals: Unknown.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A short synth theme, which then segues into the music from the 3rd logo (without the glitchy echo).

Availability: Seen only on the Sega CD version of Silpheed.

6th Logo (March 15, 1996-December 8, 1999)

Visuals: Unknown.

Variants:

On Lunar 2: Eternal Blue, the logo is still.
On Grandia, the logo is shown at warp speed.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Unknown. Sometimes, it's none.

Availability: Seen on many Japanese Sega Saturn and PlayStation games like Gungriffon and Grandia.

7th Logo (June 22, 2000-October 15, 2019)

Visuals: Unknown.

Variant: A more common still version exists.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: Unknown.

Audio Variant: Unknown.

Availability: Seen on later games from the company like Grandia II and Project Sylpheed: Arc of Deception.