Bandai Namco

Bandai Namco (, Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc.), formerly named BANDAI NAMCO Games Inc., stylized as "NAMCO BANDAI Games" "NBGI" "BNEI", is an arcade, mobile and home video game developer and publisher based in Japan. It is a merger between the video game divisions of and.

History
Bandai was conceived in the late 1940s as a division of a textile wholesale business, focused on development and distribution of toys. It officially spun off into an independent company by Naoharu Yamashina on July 5th, 1950, after which it rose to fame as a world leader in the toy and prize machine industries, as well as achieving modest success in publishing video games throughout the 1980s and 1990s, with their most dominant titles being licensed games of several manga, anime, and television programs. Bandai is also well-known for its digital pet franchises Tamagotchi and Digimon.

Namco was formed by on June 1st, 1955 as a developer of coin-operated amusement machines before fully shifting development into video games with its acquisition of Atari Japan in 1974. Along with publishing Atari-developed games in Japan, Namco would start producing their own franchises. To many, Namco is best known as one of the most prolific publishers of the "golden age" of video games, producing arcade hits such as, , , , , and. Later successes of theirs include Ridge Racer,, Ace Combat, the series, Klonoa and.

The merger between the two companies was officially made on March 31st, 2006. Both companies cited advancements in technology and declining birth rates in Japan as reasons for the merge, requiring them to remain relevant in the modern age. In its current form, the company is known for developing RPG games like the Tales series, fighting games such as the Tekken and Soulcalibur series, and numerous licensed games based on manga and anime franchises such as those from .

Bandai Namco is the head developer for Super Smash Bros. 4 and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate, along with Sora Ltd.. Several items and characters from some of Namco's games, such as Galaga and Rally-X, appear in SSB4 and Ultimate. A full list of Namco properties represented in Smash can be found here.

Outside of Super Smash Bros., Bandai Namco has made several games in collaboration with Nintendo, such as the Mario Baseball series, the Donkey Konga series, Star Fox: Assault, the Mario Kart arcade games (in addition to assisting with 8 and Tour), New Pokémon Snap, and Pokkén Tournament, a Tekken-like fighting game featuring playable as fighters.

On November 13th, 2023, it was announced that the Bandai Namco team that works on the Super Smash Bros. series was given the designation of Studio 2 & Studio S and would continue to work on contracted projects, chiefly from Nintendo, long-term. The group has worked on previous titles published by Nintendo, including the aforementioned titles and.

In Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Pac-Man was considered as a playable fighter, but was abandoned early in development.

The Donkey Konga series, also developed by Namco, receives representation through Donkey Kong's Final Smash, Konga Beat, as well as three stickers: Dixie Kong from Donkey Konga 2, and Funky Kong and Cranky Kong from Donkey Konga 3 (referred to in-game as Donkey Konga 3 JP).

Mario Superstar Baseball, another Namco developed game, also received content via several stickers.

Star Fox: Assault, another Namco developed game, received a substantial amount of representation. Lylat Cruise taking inspiration from this game. Fox, Falco, and Wolf having costumes (and trophies by extenstion) and final smashes based on their appearances in this game. Panther Caroso appearing as both a trophy and a sticker. Many stickers use artwork from this game. The songs "Star Wolf", "Space Battleground" and "Break: Through the Ice" are sourced from this game.

In Super Smash Bros. 4
Bandai Namco was selected by Masahiro Sakurai to be the lead developer of the 3DS and Wii U version alongside Sora Ltd. Bandai Namco's mascot,, appears as a playable character. Pac-Man can also make characters and items from other Namco series appear by using his up taunt, Namco Roulette, and his neutral special, Bonus Fruit. The Ghosts appear as an Assist Trophy rather than a stage hazard. Boss Galagas, a type of enemy in Namco's Galaga series, as well the Special Flag, a collectible from numerous Namco games, also appear in Super Smash Bros. 4 as items. 11 music tracks from various Namco games appear, along with numerous trophies. costumes based on Heihachi Mishima of the series, Lloyd Irving of the  series, and Gil from The Tower of Druaga are available as downloadable content.

Very early in the conceptual phase for SSB4, Sakurai briefly contemplated the inclusion of other Namco characters, but he made the decision to go with Pac-Man only almost immediately. In particular, he named Tekken's Heihachi as a character who came to mind, but wrote him off as his complex moveset would have been too difficult to effectively translate to Smash Bros.

Fox's yellow costume and custom special moves that charge the blaster are based on his appearance in Star Fox: Assault. The three songs from Brawl make a return.

The 3DS version features the stage Pac-Maze, which essentially simulates a game of Pac-Man, allowing each player to collect Pac-Dots and Power Pellets, run from and chase Ghosts. It even saves their high score and displays it at the top of the screen. Some trophies appear exclusively on 3DS.

In the Wii U version, the stage Pac-Land appears, based on the arcade game of the same name. Some trophies and their corresponding Trophy Boxes appear exclusively on Wii U. The NES version of Pac-Man appears as a Masterpiece.

Orbital Gate Assault is based on the mission of the same name in Star Fox Assault. Arwing (Assault), Orbital Gate, Wolfen (Assault), Aparoid, and Aparoid Queen appear as trophies.

In Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
Bandai Namco returns as lead developer alongside Sora Ltd. returns from the previous game as a playable fighter. Pac-Land returns from the Wii U version, while the Boss Galaga and Special flag items return, along with the Ghost Assist Trophy. 11 new and old music tracks from various Namco games (now all under the Pac-Man category) appear alongside numerous spirits. costumes based on Heihachi Mishima of the series, Gil from The Tower of Druaga, and Lloyd from Tales of Symphonia are available as downloadable content. As part of Fighters Pass Vol. 2, Kazuya Mishima from the Tekken series appears as a new fighter as part of Challenger Pack 10, which also includes the Mishima Dojo stage, as well as several music tracks and spirits from the Tekken franchise.

The three songs sourced from Star Fox: Assault that debuted in Brawl reappear in Ultimate. Fox's green costume and Wolf's red and pink costumes reference this game. Panther Caroso and an Aparoid appear as Spirits. Several other spirits use artwork from this game.

Trivia

 * As of Ultimate, Bandai Namco has been the head developer for more games in the Super Smash Bros. series than any other single developer, being the primary studio behind 3DS, Wii U and Ultimate, one more than HAL Laboratory who developed both the original Nintendo 64 game and Melee.