In this installment were going to put Agetec, one of the leaders in the game industry, under the spotlight. Although the company is probably best known for its hit Armored Core series, they’re pretty busy pumping out RPGs too!

First, it’s time for a little trip down memory lane. Agetec was originally founded back in 1991 as ASCII Entertainment Software, which was the North American headquarters of ASCII Corporation of Japan. ASCII became well known for producing a variety of products, such as gaming hardware and software and LAN support products for home PCs.

In 1998, Agetec was born as ASCII Entertainment became an independent corporation headquartered in California. In 1999 Agetec became a fully independent publisher and has been bringing high quality titles to the console market ever since.

One of Agetec’s strong points is in creating innovative titles. It seems like every console RPG is the same old turn based Final Fantasy style, and although that style is cool, I’m sure everybody gets a little sick of it now and then. Agetec has published all sorts of different games, from strategy RPGs and first person RPGs, to RPGs that let you draw your own characters!

Probably Agetec’s most famous RPG is King’s Field. The game has a sizeable cult following, and has spawned several sequels. It’s a 3D first person RPG that was released years back on the original Playstation. With the popularity of King’s Field, Agetec soon published King’s Field II on the Playstation.

Other Agetec RPGs to appear on the Playstation include Shadow Tower and the strategy/RPG, Battle Hunter.

Among Agetec’s greatest offerings to the RPG world was RPG Maker released on the Sony Playstation. This product allowed wannabe RPG developers to create the game of their dreams! No longer did you have to sit and stare at your games and think “Hey, I could’ve have done better than that”. The game allows you to create your own story, design your own dungeons, set character abilities and much more!

If you happened to have missed the original RPG Maker, then you’re in luck! This fall Agetec will be releasing RPG Maker II on the Playstation II, which promises to be not just a sequel, but a revolutionary step forward!

On the topic of the Playstation II, Agetec has managed to make a strong presence on the system. Early in the PS2’s life, Agetec released Eternal Ring, which was similar to the popular King’s Field series. Of course, the popularity of King’s Field meant that another sequel couldn’t be far off, and in 2002 Agetec quenched the thirst of fans by releasing King’s Field: The Ancient City.

Agetec’s most recent RPG offering is Magic Pengel: The Quest for Color. Despite the fruity name, Magic Pengel is hordes of fun. The game allows you to design your own characters and face off against opponents in the arena. The battle system is simple and addictive, and the character designing possibilities are endless!

That’s not all, though. Agetec is one of the PS2’s leaders when it comes to RPGs, and they’ve also brought us Evergrace and Forever Kingdom.

Needless to say, Agetec has been busy, and with any luck they’ll continue to bring us RPG fans more and more RPGs. They’re next offering will be RPG Maker II, so look forward to that. Magic Pengel was released this summer, so be sure to check that out too! The majority of Agetec’s RPGs have been out a few years now, so you should be able to pick most of them up for $19.99 or less if you’ve overlooked them.

Well, that should pretty much wrap it up. Keep the suggestions coming for developers/publishers you’d like to see featured here. Look forward to a third installment shortly.