Forgotten Atlus Franchises

Atlus was founded in Japan in 1986. Fans know them now as one of the biggest RPG companies in the world, right up alongsideo Square Enix, thanks to their Personaand Shin Megami Tensei franchisesi. Some may forget how eclectic their library used to be, from self-made titles to AAA-published ones.

Eventually, they settled on RPGs as their bread and butter, but before that, Atlus dabbled in too many genres to count. These are just a few of their forgotten franchises, but whether they should remain dead is up to them (or Sega since they bought Atlus in 2013).

Power Instinct

Atlus' Lost Fighting Game

• Platforms: Arcade, SNES, Sega Genesis
• Released: November 1993
• Developer: Atlus, Noise Factory

Atlus has been known to produce a few fighting games here and there, but most fans may only think about Persona 4 Arena and its ports as the sole examples. Way before that spinoff game, Atlus co-developed and published many of the Power Instinctgames. In Japan, the series is known as Goketsuji Ichizoku, and most entries in the franchise are still exclusive to that region.

The first game did come out in the West via the Arcade Edition, along with ports for the SNES and Sega Genesis consoles. Other entries include Power Instinct 2, Goketsuji Legends, Groove on Fight, Matrimelee, and Goketsuji Ichizoku: Senzo Kuyo. That last game was released in Japanese arcades in 2009, and that has been it for the series since. The franchise had a small following in Japan, and while it would get those diehards hyped if a new one was announced today, a new Persona fighting game would probably do better for Atlus financially.

Puzzle Boy

From Box Pusher To RPG

• Platform: Game Boy
• Released: March 1990 (NA)
• Developer: Atlus

Puzzle Boy is the name of this Atlus-developed franchise in Japan, but the West never got a consistent name. The first game was called Puzzle Boy, and it was released in 1989 in Japan for the Game Boy. It was a basic box puzzle game where players had to move boxes or other materials around a maze to escape, and the hero was a potato. When the game was localized in the West as Kwirk in 1990, they changed the hero into a tomato for whatever reason.

The next game, Spud’s Adventure, was released in both regions in 1991 for the Game Boy, and turned the series into a dungeon crawler, complete with leveling up. The star of that, naturally, was a potato. Last but not least, there was Puzzle Boy 2,which was also released in 1991 in Japan, while the West got it as Amazing Tater in 1992. It was a return to form as a box-based maze puzzle game for the Game Boy.

Radiant Historia

A Time Traveling RPG

• Platforms: DS, 3DS
• Released: February 22, 2011 (NA)
• Developers: Atlus, Headlock

Radiant Historia skirts the line between whether or not it should be considered a franchise. Atlus co-developed it with Headlock, and published the game on the DS in 2011 in the West. It starred a soldier named Stocke who witnesses a horrific battle. Afterward, he is given a magic book to rewind time and change the past.

It was like a modern time-traveling RPG take on Chrono Trigger, complete with a timeline that could be changed by the player's decisions. Atlus later enhanced it for the 3DS in 2018, but that was it. This was a year after the Switch launched, which may be why it didn’t do as well in sales despite its good reviews. It seemed like, with this port, Atlus was really trying to make Radiant Historia a thing, and it just didn't catch on.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor

A Tactical Take For The Series

• Platforms: DS, 3DS
• Released: June 23, 2009 (NA)
• Developer: Atlus, Career Soft

There have been many spinoffs in the Shin Megami Tensei franchise that burned hot for a while before slowly retreating into the background. Of the many, Persona seems like the only one with any true staying power. Of the many forgotten ones, Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor stands out.

It had typical tropes of the franchise, such as giving teens a way to summon demons into the real world. It was a tactical RPG though, which was an interesting choice, albeit not Atlus’ first. It spawned a sequel, ShinMegami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2, also for the DS, and then both of these games received enhanced 3DS ports later on. After that, the spinoff's ideas seemingly dried up. Other abandoned Shin Megami Tensei spinoffs includeMajin Tensei and Last Bible.

Snowboard Kids

A Super Chibi Sports Series

• Platforms: N64, PS1
• Released: March 13, 1998 (NA/N64)
• Developer: Racdym

Power Instinct is not the only sports-related game Atlus had a hand in. They also published Snowboard Kids for the developer Racdym. Most N64 owners probably owned or at least played Snowboard Kids in the late 90s. It was a decent, more-cartoony alternative to 1080° Snowboarding,also on the N64. Snowboard Kids eventually received an enhanced port on the PS1, but this was only released in Japan.

There was a proper sequel, Snowboard Kids 2, and it was also on the N64. The last game in the series came in 2005 via the DS spinoff, SBK: Snowboard Kids. The models were still anime-inspired, but they no longer had the chibi-like designs of the original.

Trauma Center: Under The Knife

A Visual Novel With Surgical Mini-Games

• Platform: DS
• Released: October 4, 2005 (NA)
• Developer: Atlus

Trauma Center: Under the Knife is the first game in this series, which was a huge franchise for at least five years. There was this first game in 2005 for the DS, followed by four more games spread between the DS and the Wii. These games include Trauma Center: Second Opinion, Trauma Center: New Blood, Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2, and Trauma Team.

Trauma Team was a Wii game released in 2010, and around this time, there was even a pilot produced for a live-action TV adaptation. That’s how popular this visual novel/surgeon simulator series was, but that pilot never got picked up for a full season, and both it and the game series slowly faded from the spotlight. The pilot episode is still out there online if fans care to seek it out.