Good-Feel
Japanese video game developer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Good-Feel Co., Ltd. (株式会社グッド・フィール, Kabushiki gaisha Guddo Fīru) (stylized as GoödFeël) is a Japanese video game developer. Its main focus had been educational games for young children and adults on the Nintendo DS before expanding into console video games.
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Video games[1] |
| Founded | October 3, 2005 |
| Founder | Etsunobu Ebisu, Shigeharu Umezaki |
| Headquarters | Osaki, Shinagawa, Tokyo, Japan |
Number of locations | 2 |
Key people |
|
Number of employees | 164 (2025) |
| Parent | Good-Feel Team |
| Website | www |
In 2008, the company became the developer for Wario Land: Shake It! on the Wii, which marked Good-Feel's first entry into the home console market. Since this release, Good-Feel has maintained a close relationship with Nintendo, developing games starring Kirby, Yoshi, and Princess Peach. It has also released several self-published games.
History
Good-Feel was founded by Shigeharu Umezaki and Etsunobu Ebisu, former employees of Konami who worked on Castlevania and Goemon titles.[2] The company started in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, in 2005 and opened a production facility in Tokyo in the same year.[3] Its initial releases consisted of educational games.[4][5]
They went to Nintendo and asked to work on a game. Long-time Nintendo employee Takahiro Harada asked Ebisu if he would like to make a new Wario Land. The development resulted in Wario Land: Shake It!, a 2D platform game released in 2008 with hand-drawn graphics made with the help of the animation studios Production I.G and Kusanagi.[6][7]
Good-Feel worked with Nintendo again to release Kirby's Epic Yarn, a yarn-themed entry of the Kirby franchise. The game had initially been conceived as an original title called Fluff's Epic Yarn, but by the summer of 2009, Nintendo directed the team to shift the project to incorporate Kirby. HAL Laboratory and Warpstar were brought on to help manage the character.[8] The game was released in 2010.[8][9][10] It was later ported to the Nintendo 3DS as Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn in 2019.[11] The game added power-ups, mini-games, and a new game mode.[12]
The company next worked on Wii Play: Motion in 2011, developing the Skip Skimmer and Veggie Guardin’ mini-games.[13] Nintendo and Good-Feel next announced the wool-themed Yoshi's Woolly World for the Nintendo Wii U in June 2014.[14][15] It also included a two-player co-op mode.[16] The developers created real wool items in order to make in-game assets. The game released in 2015.[17][18] It was ported to the 3DS as Poochy and Yoshi’s Woolly World in 2017.[5]
Good-Feel released Yoshi's Crafted World in March 2019. The developers turned to Unreal Engine to give the game its cardboard cutout and craft style.[19][20][21] In October 2019, it announced Monkey Barrels, the company's first self-published title and its first game in over a decade to not be published by Nintendo.[22] A physical release was produced the following year.[23] Monkey Barrels was released in November 2019 for Nintendo Switch. A Microsoft Windows version was released on February 9, 2021.[24][25]
In October 2020 interview with Famitsu, Good-Feel revealed it was opening an office in Osaka[3] and working on an unnamed project set in Japan.[26][27] On November 30, 2023, Good-Feel launched Otogi Katsugeki Mameda no Bakeru: Oracle Saitarou no Sainan!! for the Nintendo Switch in Japan. Billed as a spiritual successor to the Goemon series, it stars a tanuki disguised as a human who uses a drum to defeat enemies.[28][2] The game was released worldwide for Switch and PC in September 2024 as Bakeru.[29][30] The developers added new attacks, increased the game's speed, and added new enemies for the release.[31] A physical edition for North America and Europe was released in February 2025.[32]
In March 2024, Good-Feel released Princess Peach: Showtime!, the first game to star Princess Peach since 2005's Super Princess Peach. It was the first time in 25 years that Ebisu served as director.[2]
Games developed
| Year | Game | Publisher | System | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Training Words | Educational Network Inc. | Nintendo DS | |
| 2008 | Training Quiz | Benesse Corporation | ||
| Sense Training: Shape Space | ||||
| Wario Land: Shake It! | Nintendo | Wii | [1] | |
| 2009 | English Training | Educational Network Inc. | Nintendo DS | |
| 2010 | Looksley's Line Up | Nintendo | Nintendo DSi | [1] |
| Kirby's Epic Yarn | Wii | [1] | ||
| 2011 | Wii Play: Motion (2 mini-games) | [13] | ||
| 2013 | StreetPass Squad (NA: Mii Force) | Nintendo 3DS | [33] | |
| Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (giant battles) | [5][3] | |||
| 2015 | Yoshi's Woolly World | Wii U | [34] | |
| StreetPass Zombies (NA: Battleground Z) | Nintendo 3DS | [35] | ||
| 2016 | StreetPass Slot Car (NA: Slot Car Rivals) | [36] | ||
| StreetPass Traders (NA: Market Crashers) | [35] | |||
| Miitopia (support work) | [3] | |||
| 2017 | Poochy & Yoshi's Woolly World | [37] | ||
| 2019 | Kirby's Extra Epic Yarn | [11] | ||
| Yoshi's Crafted World | Nintendo Switch | [38] | ||
| Monkey Barrels | Good-Feel Justdan (JP physical)[39] Nicalis (NA physical)[40] |
Nintendo Switch Microsoft Windows |
[4] | |
| 2023 | Bakeru | Good-Feel (JP) Spike Chunsoft (WW) |
[41] | |
| 2024 | Princess Peach: Showtime! | Nintendo | Nintendo Switch | [2] |
| 2025 | Fancade 6:The Master Ultimate | Fancade AB | iOS macOS tvOS Android (One UI Xiaomi HyperOS ColorOS) |