Game studio
Konami
When you say Konami, retro players instantly get goosebumps from the organ tones in Count Dracula's castle, the memory of the brotherly commando duo mowing down aliens in Contra, or the legendary cheat code up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-B-A. This Japanese company is one of the absolute pillars of the golden era of video games. It achieved what few managed: to create several genre-defining series at once, which to this day define what action, horror atmosphere, and storytelling in pixels should look like. For lovers of the classics, Konami is synonymous with craftsmanship honesty and music that burrows into your memory for life.
History
Konami was founded in 1969 in Osaka, Japan, when Kagemasa Kozuki established a business originally focused on the repair and rental of jukebox-type arcade machines. The name itself is a compound of the founders' names. The company entered the gaming industry in full at the end of the 1970s with arcade machines and soon scored its first big hits, such as the shooter Scramble (1981) and Frogger (1981).
The true legend, however, was born in the mid-1980s on the Nintendo console. In 1985 the shooter Gradius was released on the MSX and later on the NES, which helped define the genre of horizontal "shoot 'em up" games, and a year later the first Contra arrived in arcades. The year 1986 also brought the dark gem The Maze of Galious for MSX computers and, above all, the original Castlevania (1986/1987), in which the whip-wielding Simon Belmont set out against Dracula. On the NES, Konami also shone with the espionage Metal Gear (1987) and the charming Japanese game Kid Dracula.
The sixteen-bit era propelled the studio to the top. Super Castlevania IV (1991) on the SNES amazed with fluid whip controls and atmosphere, Contra III: The Alien Wars perfected run-and-gun action, and on the Sega Mega Drive gems such as Castlevania: Bloodlines, the brutal Contra: Hard Corps, and the playful Rocket Knight Adventures with the opossum Sparkster were created. Pocket versions of the classics headed to the handheld Game Boy – Castlevania: The Adventure, Operation C, Gradius: The Interstellar Assault, and the Robinson-esque Survival Kids. The PlayStation era was then crowned by the pair of strategic RPGs Suikoden I and II, which earned cult status among fans.
Key Figures
The face of modern Konami became Hideo Kojima, author of the Metal Gear series, who turned tactical action into a cinematic work of art with a deep story; his signature is also carried by the Game Boy Color title Metal Gear: Ghost Babel. The Castlevania series was fundamentally shaped by Koji Igarashi, who, together with the design of Symphony of the Night, set the direction of the later "metroidvania" installments, such as Aria of Sorrow and Circle of the Moon on the Game Boy Advance.
Konami, however, was also renowned for its music. The composing team Konami Kukeiha Club and figures such as Michiru Yamane, author of the unforgettable melodies of many Castlevanias, elevated game soundtracks to an artistic discipline. Distinctive humor and a singular style, in turn, were brought to games like Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon by the creators behind the zany series about the samurai hero Goemon.
Transformations and Transfers
After 2010, Konami underwent a noticeable transformation. The company increasingly shifted the focus of its business toward pachinko machines, mobile games, and the fitness sector, which caused unease among part of its fan base. The peak of the tension was 2015, when, after protracted disputes, the paths of Konami and Hideo Kojima parted. He subsequently founded the independent studio Kojima Productions, and an entire era said farewell to console Konami. Many creators of the classic series left over the years and founded their own projects – Koji Igarashi, for example, left the company and, via crowdfunding, created a spiritual successor to Castlevania.
The Present
Konami still exists in 2026 as one of the great Japanese entertainment companies and owns the rights to all its famous brands. In recent years it has been rediscovering the value of its heritage: it releases collector's collections of old games, among which Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (originally on the PSP) is not missing as part of retro bundles, and it has opened the door to remakes and to the returns of once-shelved series. Alongside video games, the company operates in arcade machines, sports, and a healthy lifestyle. For the retro community, however, Konami will forever remain the home of the Belmonts, the Contra brothers, and the sneaking Solid Snake – the creator of games that have passed the test of time and still rank among the best that eight-bit and sixteen-bit consoles offered.
Games by the studio (179)
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Gradius / Salamander · 1979
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Time Pilot · 1982
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Antarctic Adventure · 1983
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Track & Field · 1983
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Hyper Sports · 1984
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Konami's Soccer · 1985
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Castlevania · 1986
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Knightmare · 1986
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Penguin Adventure · 1986
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Salamander · 1986
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The Goonies · 1986
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WEC Le Mans 24 · 1986
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Contra (arcade) · 1987
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Metal Gear · 1987
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Nemesis 2 / Gradius 2 · 1987
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The Maze of Galious · 1987
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Blades of Steel · 1988
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Life Force · 1988
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Parodius (MSX original) · 1988
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Super Contra · 1988
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Castlevania: The Adventure · 1989
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Gradius III · 1989
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Motocross Maniacs · 1989
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Silent Service · 1989
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Space Manbow · 1989
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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles · 1989
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Snake's Revenge · 1990
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- GB
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Operation C · 1991
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Parodius Da! · 1991
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Sunset Riders · 1991
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Super Castlevania IV · 1991
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The Simpsons · 1991
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Contra Force · 1992
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Contra III: The Alien Wars · 1992
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Gradius II · 1992
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Snatcher (CD, fan překlad) · 1992
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Akumajou Dracula · 1993
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Kid Dracula · 1993
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Nemesis '90 Kai · 1993
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Pop'n TwinBee · 1993
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Prince of Persia · 1993
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Rocket Knight Adventures · 1993
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Castlevania: Bloodlines · 1994
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Contra: Hard Corps · 1994
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Lethal Enforcers · 1994
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Policenauts · 1994
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Castlevania: Dracula X · 1995
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Cave Noire · 1995
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Crypt Killer · 1995
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Gokujou Parodius · 1996
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Suikoden I & II · 1996
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Vandal Hearts · 1996
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Gradius Gaiden · 1997
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Dance Dance Revolution · 1998
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Metal Gear Solid · 1998
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Gradius IV: Fukkatsu · 1999
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ISS Pro Evolution · 1999
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NBA In the Zone 2000 · 1999
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NHL Blades of Steel 2000 · 1999
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Silent Hill · 1999
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Silent Scope · 1999
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Survival Kids · 1999
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Azure Dreams · 2000
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- MAME
GuitarFreaks 3rdMix · 2000
- GBC
Guru Logi Champ · 2000
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Metal Gear: Ghost Babel · 2000
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beatmania IIDX 8th style · 2001
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Castlevania Chronicles · 2001
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Gradius Galaxies · 2001
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Konami Krazy Racers · 2001
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Silent Hill 2 · 2001
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X-Men: Reign of Apocalypse · 2001
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Contra: Shattered Soldier · 2002
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Suikoden III · 2002
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Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories · 2002
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Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow · 2003
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Silent Hill 3 · 2003
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Neo Contra · 2004
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Suikoden IV · 2004
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Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow · 2005
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Gradius Collection · 2006
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Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 · 2007
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Castlevania Judgment · 2008
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Gradius ReBirth · 2008
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Contra ReBirth · 2009
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Suikoden Tierkreis · 2009
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Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 · 2010
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Pro Evolution Soccer 2011 3D · 2011
- Mobil
eFootball PES · 2017
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Super Bomberman R · 2017
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Metal Gear Survive · 2018
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Contra: Rogue Corps · 2019
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Yu-Gi-Oh! Master Duel · 2022
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