A hub for all Grasshopper Manufacture games that aren’t covered in their own subsection.
e-Police
A phone game, produced by Bandai and developed by Tambourine. The player would unravel a mistery by communicating with the fictional police force through text messages. The soundtrack for the game was composed by Shingo Yasumoto (one half of TORN, the duo he created alongside Masafumi Takada to compose the Flower, Sun, and Rain soundtrack) and produced by Grasshopper Manufacture, who also released it as a music CD under their GhM Records label. The game itself is lost.
Shining Soul
An action RPG for the Gameboy Advance, part of the Shining series, co-developed by Nextech and Grasshopper Manufacture through the direction of Akira Ueda and the design of Masashi Niwano.
- Art and manual scans
- Trailers
- Official Guidebook
- Official Guidebook (Shueisha V Jump)
- Official Guidebook (SEGA books)
- Soundtrack (Game rip)
Gigantic Drive
Known as Robot Alchemic Drive in the west, this mecha piloting Playstation 2 game was developed by Sandlot, a company which, much like Grasshopper Manufacture and Spike, was founded by former Human Entertainment employees. Masafumi Takada composed the soundtrack of the game and served as sound designer.
The Earth Defense Force
Known as Monster Attack in the west, the first entry in the popular EDF series, released on Playstation 2 as part of the Simple 2000 series (Vol. 31). Once again developed by Sandlot, Masafumi Takada composed the soundtrack and served as sound designer.
Shining Soul II
An action RPG for the Gameboy Advance, part of the Shining series, co-developed by Nextech and Grasshopper Manufacture through the direction of Akira Ueda and the design of Masashi Niwano. Compared to the first game, GhM had a bigger hand in development, with Goichi Suda and Nobuhiko Sagara receiving story credits and Masafumi Takada composing the soundtrack.
- Art and manual scans
- Trailers
- Official Guidebook
- Soundtrack (Game rip)
Shin Mikagura Shōjo Tanteidan
Erotic visual novel developed for Windows PCs by Nude Maker, a company which (take a guess), much like GhM, Spike and Sandlot, was formed by former Human employees. Third entry in the Mikagura Shōjo Tanteidan series of mystery/detective games by Human Entertainment, it was directed by Hifumi Kono, creator of Clock tower. Masafumi Takada composed the soundtrack. Interestingly enough, Shingo Yasumoto happened to be the composer for the first two games, predating the founding of Grasshopper Manufacture.
Steel Battalion: Line of Contact
Second entry in the mech-piloting series Steel Battalion, co-developed by Capcom Studio 4 (headed by Shinji Mikami, who scouted Suda for the Capcom Five project through the intercession of Hifumi Kono) and Nude Maker. Masafumi Takada composed the soundtrack and served as sound designer.
Tetsujin 28-go
Japanese exclusive Playstation 2 game developed by Sandlot, based on the classic manga of the same name. Its gameplay systems were based on Sandlot’s earlier Gigantic Drive. Masafumi Takada composed the soundtrack.
Michigan
Akira Ueda’s Playstation 2 horror-comedy, known as Michigan: Report from Hell in Europe. Lake Michigan has been enveloped by a mysterious fog. The player character, a cameraman for ZakaTV, is tasked with investigating it alongside mic operator Brisco and a cavalcade of sexy reporters.
The Earth Defense Force 2
Sequel to the original EDF game, released for Playstation 2 as part of the Simple 2000 series (Vol. 81). Masafumi Takada returned as composer and sound designer.
Samurai Champloo
A tie-in game to the popular anime show by Shinichiro Watanabe, known as Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked in North America. Director Suda51 penned an original story for the game relating to the struggle of the indigenous Ainu people and the Matsumae clan in what would later be known as Hokkaido.
Contact
In this second and last original outing from director Akira Ueda the player controls Terry, a kid he communes with through the Nintendo DS, in an action-rpg adventure the objective of which is to collect enough power cells to help the Professor, who crash landed on Terry’s planet during a fight with the CosmoNOTs, repair his ship and return to his home planet.
- Art and manual scans
- Trailers
- Official Guidebook
- Soundtrack (Game rip)
Chōsōjū Mecha MG
Another mech game developed by Sandlot, this time for the Nintendo DS. Masafumi Takada composed its soundtrack, and some tracks from this game have been featured in Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
God Hand
3D action game developed by Capcom’s own Clover Studio, headed by Shinji Mikami. Masafumi Takada and Jun Fukuda composed its soundtrack.
Beatmania IIDX 12-14
During his tenure at Grasshopper Manufacture, Masafumi Takada produced three tracks for the popular Beatmania rythm arcade game series by Konami. Namely, those tracks were “IceCube Pf.(RX-Ver.S.P.L.)” for BemaniIIDX 12: Happy Sky, “WaterCube Pf.(RX-Ver.S.P.L.)” for BemaniIIDX 13: Distorted and “PentaCube Gt.(RX-Ver.S.P.L.)” for BemaniIIDX 14: Gold.
Earth Defense Force 3
Third entry in the EDF series, released for XBOX360. Known as “Earth Defense Force 2017” in the west. Masafumi Takada returned as composer and sound designer.
Biohazard: Umbrella Chronicles
Rail shooter released on the Nintendo Wii as part of the Biohazard / Resident Evil franchise, helmed by Shinji Mikami. Masafumi Takada composed its soundtrack.
Super Smash Bros. X
Known as Super Smash Bros. Brawl in the west, part of the popular Smash Bros. crossover series of technical hand-to-hand MMA combat simulators by Nintendo. Masafumi Takada and the GhM sound team arranged some tracks for the game, with Suda getting a Special Thanks credit.
Zero: Tsukihami no Kamen
Co-developed by Grasshopper Manufacture and Tecmo for Nintendo Wii, this game is the fourth installment in the Fatal Frame / Project Zero series of survival horror games. While it was originally only released in Japan, a translation patch has been produced by fans. A remake was released for Windows PCs and Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft consoles in March 2023.
QUOTE OF ENLIGHTENMENT:
Tabemon
In this isometric action game, produced by Bandai Namco and developed by Now Production for the Nintendo Wii, a group of adorable bulimics (the titular Tabemon, known as The Munchables in Portugal) has to eat their way through a group of food shaped Space Pirates to bring democracy to the Middle East. Grasshopper Manufacture was credited for sound effect production.
Infinite Space
Space-faring RPG set on spaceships in space, co-developed by Platinum Games (Capcom’s Clover Studio, itself headed by Shinji Mikami, who had by that point gone independent) and Nude Maker for the Nintendo DS. The GhM sound team, made up of Masafumi Takada, Jun Fukuda, Etsuko Ichikawa and Yusuke Komori, handled the sound design and music composition. Infinite Space happens to be the final project Masafumi Takada undertook as part of the Grasshopper team, before founding his own studio, Sound Prestige, on November 5th 2008.
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle
In this sequel to the original No More Heroes, directed by Nobutaka Ichiki, Travis Touchdown has to once again climb the ranks of the UAA in order to avenge the death of his best friend Bishop, which was carried out by the mafia and ordered by the Pizza Bat CEO.
NMH: Heroes’ Paradise / Red Zone
HD remake of the original No More Heroes, released for Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles. The original Japanese release saw the Playstation 3 version being censored similarly to the Japanese and European releases of the original; The Xbox 360 version remained uncut. The Playstation 3 version was then released in Europe with a variety of bug fixes and fully restored blood and gore; Subsequently, it was also re-released in Japan and the USA as Red Zone.
Frog Minutesㅤ
A mobile game about collecting frogs released on Android and iOs as a fundraiser for the Japanese relief fund, due to the 2011 earthquakes. It is incompatible with current iOs and Android Operating Systems and has since been removed from all storefronts.
An extended version of the game was released during the spring of 2012 as part of the “Grasshopper Universe” partnership between GhM and DeNA, which would publish the game on their Mobage network. This version of the game featured anthropomorphic frogs and microtransactions. The servers have since been taken down.
- Trailers
- Mobage screenshots (Gallery)
- .ipa file
Rebuild of Evangelion: 3nd Impact
A licensed rythm game based on the “Rebuild of Evangelion” series of movies.
- Art and manual scans
- Trailers
- Original Soundtrack
Sine Mora
A shmup co-developed by Digital Reality and Grasshopper Manufacture. While Digital Reality handled the game development, Grasshopper focused on the graphics, music and sound effects.
- Art and manual scans
- Trailers
Diabolical Pitch
A kinect exclusive game starring ex-baseball star Nigel Macalister, who is attracted by a mysterious amusement park in which he’ll have to pitch at a series of obstacles in order to have his wish granted: for his injured arm to be healed.
Liberation Maiden
An isometric shooter originally developed by Grasshopper Manufacture for the Guild01 compilation and later released individually on digital platforms. The player controls Shoko, the new president of Japan, as she boards her giant robot Kamui to fight some shit I can’t remember.
- Art and manual scans
- Trailers
- Original Soundtrack
- Music to Purify and Liberate
Lollipop Chainsaw
A colorful hack and slash, co-written by James Gunn, in which a cheerleader fights a zombie apocalypse with a chainsaw while bantering with her boyfriend’s severed head.
- Art and manual scans
- Trailers
- Go, Fight, Win!! Visual & Game Guide Book
- Lollipop Chainsaw Manga
- Music from the video game CD
No More Heroes: World Ranker
A social mobile game for iOs and Android systems based on the No More Heroes series, published by DeNA, in which the player could create his own assassin and climb the ranks. The servers have since been taken down.
Dark Menace
The final mobile published by DeNA under the Grasshopper Universe umbrella. Affectionately referred to as “Dark Space” by its non-existing fans, it was a social game in which players cooperated to shoot lasers at space aliens on spaceships in space. The game is currently lost, and its servers have been taken offline. It may have been originally announced as Alien Busters; the third game in this partnership, Humans vs. Zombies, never saw the light of day.
Killer is Dead
The player takes control of state executioner Mondo Zappa in a hack and slash adventure in which he’s tasked with defeating WIREs, monsters powered by the moon’s dark matter.
Lily Bergamo
Lily Bergamo was characterized as an “extreme action game” with some social integration, starring heroine Tae Ioroi in the future of 2043. The game was to be directed by Nobutaka Ichiki with designs by Yusuke Kozaki, but it was ultimately scrapped in favor of Let it Die.
Liberation Maiden SIN
A visual novel sequel to the original Liberation Maiden, produced by 5pb. (now known as Mages inc.) in cooperation with Grasshopper Manufacture. Suda51 worked on the game as a supervisor and penned some of the scenarios, accompanied by Masahiro Yuki.
- Art and manual scans
- Trailers
- Original Sound Track and Drama CD
- Theme song single
- New Japan’s Liberation White Paper
- Liberation Maiden SIN Manga
- Official website
Ranko Tsukigime’s Longest Day
A short running game developed by Grasshopper Manufacture to be bundled with the “Short Peace” animated anthology. Ranko Tsukigime is a high-school girl moonlighting as an assassin whose objective is to kill her own father.
- Art and manual scans
- Trailers
- Original Soundtrack
Let it Die
Let it Die is a grinding simulator built on top of the corpse of the canceled game Lily Bergamo. The player takes control of an army of clones, controlled through the Death Drive game console, with the objective of climbing the Tower of Barbs, which mysteriously manifested in Tokyo after the Earth Rage earthquake destroyed most of the world.
- Art and manual scans
- Trailers
Astro Boy: Edge of Time
A digital trading card game created by Project Atom, a sub-studio within Active Gaming Media. Grasshopper Manufacture collaborated with the project by lending Akira Yamaoka as a composer, and by having artist Tadayuki Nomaru design the character of Black Jack under Suda’s instructions. Suda also supervised the design of Hyakkimaru, handled directly by Active Gaming Media. The game was shut down on March 29th 2018.
Travis Strikes Again: No More Heroes
In this No More Heroes spin-off, Travis teams up with Bad Man in order to find and complete the seven Death Balls, videogame cartridges for the Death Drive console, as legend says that the one to complete them shall be granted a gift.
No More Heroes III
In this final (?) entry in the No More Heroes series, Travis Touchdown must enter the Galactic Rankings in order to save the Earth from an alien invasion.
- Art and manual scans
- Trailers
- Official Japanese Website