Brandish (series)

The original Brandish video game was released in 1991 for the NEC PC-9801 and FM Towns. It was later ported to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (Super NES) and PC Engine CD-ROM² in 1994–1995, including an expanded re-release titled Brandish Renewal; the Super NES version was published by Koei in Japan in 1994 and in North America in 1995. A complete remake of the original Brandish for the PlayStation Portable (PSP), featuring 3D graphics and titled Brandish: The Dark Revenant, was published by Nihon Falcom in Japan in 2009 and Xseed Games released a localized version on the PlayStation Store in 2015. Brandish Renewal was later re-released on Nintendo Switch in August 2025 as part of the EGG Console line by D4 Enterprise.

The original game proved popular enough in Japan to warrant two direct sequels exclusively in Japan that continued the adventures of Ares and Dela. The first one was Brandish 2: The Planet Buster, originally released for the PC-98 in 1993 and ported to the Super Famicom (SNES) in 1995^[2] (like Falcom's later Ys V, the game was released in "normal" and "expert" difficulty versions).^[3]

The Super Famicom and PC-98 versions received fan translations in 2009 and 2017 respectively.^[4][5]

The next sequel was Brandish 3: Spirit of Balcan, originally released for the PC-98 in 1994.^[6]

Brandish 3 was followed by Brandish VT, originally released in 1996 and renamed Brandish 4: The Tower of Sleeping God when it was re-released for Windows in 1998. This final game follows a similar gameplay format, now with isometric graphics, but with completely different storyline and characters.^[7]

Dela makes an appearance in Falcom's 2010 Ys vs. Trails in the Sky as a support character.^[8]