HAL Laboratory
| HAL Laboratory, Inc. | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| |||
| Type | Private | ||
| Founded | February 21, 1980[1] | ||
| Headquarters |  Chiyoda, Tokyo
| ||
| Key people | Satoru Iwata (former president), Masahiro Sakurai (former employee) | ||
| Industry | Video game industry | ||
| Products | Video games | ||
| Employees | 215 (2023) | ||
| Website | HAL Laboratory, Inc. | ||
| Article on Wikipedia | HAL Laboratory | ||
HAL Laboratory (株式会社ハル研究所) is a Japanese multimedia company primarily focused on video game development. Masahiro Sakurai created the Kirby and Super Smash Bros. series as a HAL employee in the 1990s, and they remain the games the company is best known for. They have also provided development support for the EarthBound and SimCity franchises, as well as developing various Pokémon spinoff titles.
Originally founded in 1980 as an independent game developer for MSX and Commodore 64 computers, they shifted to consoles upon Nintendo's release of the Famicom. HAL's name is a dual reference to the HAL 9000 computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey[2], and a pun on a rival technology company: each letter is "one step ahead of IBM".[3] Their close long-term working relationship with Nintendo was cemented with the release of Kirby's Dream Land for the Game Boy. Both HAL and Nintendo own equal share in the joint venture Warpstar, Inc., created to autonomously handle the Kirby franchise license.[4] Their subsidiary, HAL Egg, was established in 2017 to self-publish mobile properties such as Part Time UFO.
Satoru Iwata served as president of HAL Laboratory from 1993 to 2002, prior to his presidency of Nintendo. He has played a foundational role in the history of the company and its relationship with Nintendo, with his presidency being particularly instrumental to the creation and continuation of Super Smash Bros.
HAL's role as the main developer of Super Smash Bros. ended upon Sakurai's resignation from the company in 2003, but they provided development support for Super Smash Bros. Brawl and are credited on all games for copyright purposes.
In Super Smash Bros.[edit]
Under the direction of Masahiro Sakurai, HAL Laboratory was the primarily developer of the game. Kirby, along with Dream Land, Maxim Tomato, Star Rod and 2 Kirby music tracks debut in this game. Also, Ness from EarthBound, which Hal co-developed with Ape Inc. debuts along with one music track.
In Super Smash Bros. Melee[edit]
Sakurai and HAL return as primary developers. Kirby and Dream Land, now called "Dream Land 64", return, along with the introduction of Green Greens and Fountain of Dreams. Maxim Tomato and Star Rod return along with Parasol and Warp Star, followed by 5 music tracks and numerous trophies.
Lucas was intended to debut in this game, but was left out due to his game being delayed and was replaced by the returning Ness. 2 stages named Onett and Fourside debut, along with Mr. Saturn, 4 music tracks, and several trophies. The ZERO-ONE from Pokémon Snap, which HAL developed, appears as a trophy. Dr. Wright from the Nintendo console version of Sim City, which HAL developed, appears as a trophy.
In Super Smash Bros. Brawl[edit]
As part of the game's multi-company ad hoc staff team, HAL took on a supporting role in Brawl's development, with Sakurai returning as director via his new company, Sora Ltd. HAL provided Sakurai the same workspace he had used for the previous Smash titles, in addition to programming resources from the development of Melee.[5] HAL particularly played a significant role in the game’s music, with inhouse composers Shogo Sakai and Kentaro Ishizaka contributing about a quarter of the new music arrangements, including the arrangement of the game’s main theme.
Kirby and Green Greens return, along with newcomers Meta Knight and King Dedede and Halberd debut. Maxim Tomato, Star Rod and Warp Star return, along with the debut of Superspicy Curry and Dragoon. Knuckle Joe appears as an Assist Trophy. 16 new and old music tracks, along with numerous trophies and sticker appear. Kirby's Adventure also appears as a Masterpiece.
Ness returns along with Lucas finally debuting. Onett returns along with the debut of New Pork City. Porky Minch appears as a boss. Mr. Saturn returns along with the debut of the Franklin Badge. Jeff appears as an Assist Trophy. 9 new and old music tracks appear, along with numerous trophies and stickers. Mother 2 appears as a Masterpiece, but only in the Japanese version.
Dr. Wright appears as an Assist Trophy, and returns as a trophy.
In Super Smash Bros. 4[edit]
HAL's role as developer has been fully succeeded by Bandai Namco under Sakurai's direction.
Kirby, Meta Knight, and King Dedede return in the playable roster. Dream Land, now called Dream Land (64), returns as DLC. All items from Brawl return, along with Knuckle Joe, and the debuting Nightmare. Tac appears in Smash Run and Smash Tour. A Meta Knight mask also appears as a Mii Costume. 31 new and old music tracks appear, along with several trophies.
Ness and Lucas return as well as the items from Brawl. Jeff returns along with the debut of Starman as an Assist Trophy and an enemy in Smash Run. Flying Man appears as a stage hazard, an enemy in Smash Tour, and as a Mii Costume. 9 new and old music tracks appear alongside several trophies. Dr. Wright returns as both a trophy and an Assist Trophy.
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS[edit]
Dream Land and Magicant debut as stages. Several Kirby enemies and Devil Car appear exclusively in Smash Run. Several trophies appear exclusively on 3DS.
Super Smash Bros. for Wii U[edit]
Halberd returns, along with the debut of The Great Cave Offensive. Several trophies and their corresponding Trophy Boxes appear exclusively on Wii U. Kirby's Adventure returns as a Masterpiece along with Kirby's Dreamland and Kirby's Super Star.
Onett returns only on Wii U. Porky and Ultimate Chimera appear as items exclusively in Smash Tour. Several trophies and the corresponding trophy box appear exclusively on Wii U. EarthBound appears as a Masterpiece, this time available in all regions.
In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate[edit]
Kirby, Meta Knight, King Dedede, and all previous Kirby stages return. All items from Smash 4 return along with the debut of the Bomber. All assist trophies return along with the debut of Chef Kawasaki. Marx debuts as a boss and his hat becomes a Mii Costume. Meta Knight mask also returns as a Mii Costume. 38 new and old music tracks appear, along with numerous spirits.
Ness, Lucas, and all previous EarthBound stages return. All assist trophies and items from Smash 4 return, along with the debut of the Ramblin' Evil Mushroom. The flying Man Mii costume returns, along with the debut of the Mr. Saturn hat. 14 new and old music tracks appear along with numerous spirits. Dr. Wright returns as an Assist Trophy and as a spirit, and Qbby, the protagonist of the HAL-developed game, BOXBOY!, appears as a spirit.
External links[edit]
- HAL Laboratory, Inc company profile (Japanese)
- N-Sider page (HAL Laboratory company profile; archived)
References[edit]
- ^ HAL Laboratory, Inc. Company. Retrieved on 2007-09-17.
- ^ https://www.ign.com/articles/2005/03/11/gdc-2005-iwata-keynote-transcript
- ^ https://www.nintendo.com/en-gb/Iwata-Asks/Iwata-Asks-ZombiU/ZombiU/2-What-Is-And-What-Isn-t-Possible/2-What-Is-And-What-Isn-t-Possible-676582.html
- ^ http://www.commodore.ca/history/people/michael_tomczyk.htm
- ^ https://sourcegaming.info/2015/05/02/im-making-smash-sakurais-famitsu-article-on-brawl/
| Companies involved in the Super Smash Bros. series | |
|---|---|
| First- and second-party | Nintendo (Monolith Soft · Retro Studios) · HAL Laboratory · Game Freak · Creatures · Intelligent Systems · Rare Ltd. · Sora Ltd. |
| Third-party | Konami · Sega (Atlus) · PlatinumGames · Capcom · Bandai Namco · Square Enix · Microsoft (Rare Ltd. · Mojang Studios) · SNK · Disney |
| Other related | Game Arts · Hatena · Havok · Paon DP · Tri-Crescendo · List of companies with minor representation |
