Japan Art Media

Japan Art Media Co., Ltd. (株式会社日本アートメディア, Kabushiki-gaisha Nihon Āto Media), often abbreviated as JAM, is a Japanese video game development studio founded in 1989 and headquartered in Tokyo. The company has been active across multiple console generations, producing titles for platforms such as the Game Boy, Game Gear, Super Nintendo, Sega Saturn, PlayStation, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Wii. Its portfolio includes role-playing games, strategy games, and licensed titles based on anime and manga properties. Among its best-known works are the Aretha series, which began on the Game Boy in 1990 and continued through sequels on the Super Famicom, and the Lunar series, for which JAM handled development of Lunar: Silver Star Story on the Sega Saturn and later Lunar Legend on the Game Boy Advance and Lunar: Dragon Song on the Nintendo DS. The studio also developed games based on popular franchises such as SD Gundam and Slayers, as well as original titles like Eternal Legend and Trinea. Japan Art Media has maintained a relatively low public profile compared to larger Japanese publishers, operating primarily as a contract developer and occasionally as a publisher. Its official website, jam1989.co.jp, reflects its long-standing presence in the Japanese game industry. The company remains active, though its recent output has been less prominent than during the 1990s and 2000s.

Japan Art Media Co., Ltd. was established in 1989 in Tokyo, Japan, during a period of rapid growth in the Japanese video game industry. The company, often abbreviated as JAM, began developing games for handheld and home consoles. Its early output included titles for the Game Boy, such as Aretha (1990), Aretha II (1991), Aretha III (1992), and Penta Dragon (1992). The Aretha series, a role-playing game franchise, became one of the studio's signature properties and was later continued on the Super Famicom with Aretha: The Super Famicom (1993), Aretha II: Ariel no Fushigi na Tabi (1994), and Rejoice: Aretha Ōkoku no Kanata (1995). In the early 1990s, JAM also developed Eternal Legend (1991) for the Game Gear and Song Master (1992) for the Super Nintendo. The studio expanded its portfolio to include licensed games, such as Haou Taikei Ryū Knight (1994) based on the manga and anime series, and SD Gundam GNEXT (1995). As the industry transitioned to 32-bit consoles, JAM developed Lunar: Silver Star Story (1997) for the Sega Saturn, a remake of the original Lunar game that gained a cult following. It also released SD Gundam G-CENTURY for the Saturn (1998) and PlayStation (1997). On the PlayStation, JAM developed Slayers Royal (1998), based on the Slayers franchise, and Yuugen Kaisha Chikyuu Boueitai: Earth Defenders Corporation (1999). The studio continued to support older platforms with Kurukuru Marumaru (2001) and Super Tokusatsu Taisen 2001 (2001). In the 2000s, JAM developed Lunar Legend (2001) for the Game Boy Advance and Lunar: Dragon Song (2005) for the Nintendo DS, as well as Remindelight (2006) for the DS. The company also contributed to Super Smash Bros. Brawl (2008) for the Wii, likely in a support capacity. Throughout its history, Japan Art Media has operated primarily as a work-for-hire developer, with its games published by various companies. The studio remains active, with its official website at jam1989.co.jp.

• 2008

  Contributed to Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii.

• 2006

  Released Remindelight for Nintendo DS.

• 2005

  Released Lunar: Dragon Song for Nintendo DS.

• 2001

  Released Kurukuru Marumaru and Super Tokusatsu Taisen 2001 for PlayStation, and Lunar Legend for Game Boy Advance.

• 1999

  Released Yuugen Kaisha Chikyuu Boueitai: Earth Defenders Corporation for PlayStation.

• 1998

  Released SD Gundam G-CENTURY for Sega Saturn and Slayers Royal for PlayStation.

• 1997

  Released Lunar: Silver Star Story for Sega Saturn and SD Gundam G-CENTURY for PlayStation.

• 1995

  Released Rejoice: Aretha Ōkoku no Kanata and SD Gundam GNEXT for Super Famicom.

• 1994

  Released Aretha II: Ariel no Fushigi na Tabi and Haou Taikei Ryū Knight for Super Famicom.

• 1993

  Released Aretha: The Super Famicom and Trinea (Penta Dragon 2) for Super Famicom.

• 1992

  Released Aretha III and Penta Dragon for Game Boy, and Song Master for Super Nintendo.

• 1991

  Released Aretha II for Game Boy and Eternal Legend for Game Gear.

• 1990

  Released Aretha for Game Boy.

• 1989

  Company founded in Tokyo, Japan.

Contract developer and occasional publisher of console video games, with a focus on RPGs and licensed properties.

• 1990

  Aretha

• 1991

  Aretha II

• 1992

  Aretha III

• 1992

  Penta Dragon

• 1991

  Eternal Legend

• 1992

  Song Master

• 1993

  Aretha: The Super Famicom

• 1993

  Trinea (Penta Dragon 2)

• 1994

  Aretha II: Ariel no Fushigi na Tabi

• 1994

  Haou Taikei Ryū Knight

• 1995

  Rejoice: Aretha Ōkoku no Kanata

• 1995

  SD Gundam GNEXT

• 1997

  Lunar: Silver Star Story

• 1997

  SD Gundam G-CENTURY

• 1998

  Slayers Royal

• 1999

  Yuugen Kaisha Chikyuu Boueitai: Earth Defenders Corporation

• 2001

  Kurukuru Marumaru

• 2001

  Super Tokusatsu Taisen 2001

• 2001

  Lunar Legend

• 2005

  Lunar: Dragon Song

• 2006

  Remindelight

• 2008

  Super Smash Bros. Brawl

1. 1Japan Art Media - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2Japan Art Media - Wikipedia (French)fr.wikipedia.org
3. 3Official websitejam1989.co.jp