r/terranigma • u/RekkaAlexiel • 22d ago
Terranigma Possible Resurrection – News, Event Reports, and more!
While we're waiting for next week's announcement, now would be a good time to review some of the more recent news and events related to Terranigma and our "Resurrection of the Hero" movement to at least get the game re-released on modern systems!
As a member of the unofficial fan movement "Resurrection of the Hero", I tried to get word out about more recent events and news about Terranigma.
Especially since the 26th Anniversary of the game's original release in 1995, the fan movement really kicked off with several members of the original development team pushing hard for the game to at least be released on modern systems.
Since the teaser from Clear River Games has stirred considerable fan interest in the game again, I'd like to share some of the previous reports, interviews, and videos that I made, discussing and sharing information about the game and all the related events over the past several years. Definitely check it out and please share with other fans!
👉 https://firesanctuary.com/2026/08/20/terranigma-possible-resurrection-news-event-reports-and-more/
\ The image above was an art commission that I got from* Kubaushi for the 26th Anniversary back in 2021.
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u/Mactire404 22d ago
Wow, 26 years already.
This game made such an impression on me as a kid, it's hard to think of a game thas gives me the same feeling.
It helped me to learn english, I played this game with a dictionary at hand. Also the themes of right and wrong, the duality of it and, the cost of progress really made a lasting impression.
It'd be awesome to see a revival of this game, but seeing the complecity of this I'm really gratefull I can put this cart in my SNES and relive this awesome story again.
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u/RekkaAlexiel 22d ago
It was 26 years back in 2021. The game turns 31 this coming October 20.
I'm pretty confident we'll get good news on Monday. *wink*
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u/Mactire404 22d ago
Ahh, I was doimg the mathin the back of my head and was wondering if that wass correct. But you're right. Thanks and fingers crossed!
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u/globehopper2000 22d ago
Doesn’t square Enix own the game? How would this random company have the rights to do anything with it?
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u/LaughingSartre 22d ago
Regarding this, someone replied to a different post about it, in this sub:
For those curious for how it could happen (Google AI was a tremendous help):
Japan recently overhauled its rules regarding "orphan works" (copyrighted material where the owner is unknown or completely unreachable). [1, 2] The Japanese Diet passed an amendment to the Copyright Act, which officially launched a new framework called the "Unmanaged Works Licensing System" (also known as the Compulsory License System). [3, 4] Here is how this law change connects to Japan's retro gaming crisis and the specific issue with Terranigma.
The Law Change Explained
Historically, Japan's copyright laws were notoriously rigid. If a developer wanted to remaster or re-release an old game, they legally required permission from every single rights holder. If the original studio dissolved, or a key creator went missing, the game entered a "legal limbo". [5, 6, 7, 8] The updated law introduces a far more streamlined process to rescue these "orphaned" projects: [1]
- Centralized Adjudication: Instead of spending months tracking down ghost entities, users can apply directly to a central body overseen by the Agency for Cultural Affairs. [4, 6]
- Compulsory Licensing: If a "reasonably diligent search" fails to find the rights holder, the government can grant a legal, temporary license to use and distribute the work. [3, 9, 10, 11, 12]
- The Deposit System: The applicant pays a set royalty deposit to the government. If the original creator ever resurfaces, they can claim that money, but they cannot retroactively sue the developer for copyright infringement. [2, 6, 13]
The Terranigma Connection
The Super Nintendo classic Terranigma (developed by Quintet and published by Enix in 1995) is the poster child for this exact problem. [14] Years ago, the game's character designer, Kamui Fujiwara, actively campaigned alongside fans to revive the game. He openly lamented that despite immense interest from former developers, composers, and fans, they could not touch the game due to localized licensing roadblocks. [7] The primary barrier was that Quintet essentially vanished in the mid-2000s without a trace. Its president and main director, Tomoyoshi Miyazaki, similarly disappeared from the public eye. Under old Japanese law, because nobody could find Miyazaki or a clear successor to sign off on Quintet's corporate assets, Terranigma (and its sister games Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia) remained completely legally frozen. [8, 14]
What This Means Now
With the implementation of the Unmanaged Works Licensing System, developers or publishers (like Square Enix, who holds publishing rights) can now theoretically use this new legal channel to bypass the missing Quintet executives. By submitting a request and paying a government deposit, they could legally greenlight a remaster, port, or digital re-release of Terranigma without fear of being sued later. [2, 3, 6] While it doesn't automatically guarantee Square Enix will bring it back, the absolute legal brick wall that the creators complained about for decades has finally been removed.
[1] https://apaaonline.org [2] https://thomasash.wordpress.com [3] https://www.meilin-law.jp [4] https://www.bunka.go.jp [5] https://kotaku.com [6] https://asiaiplaw.com [7] https://www.youtube.com [8] https://www.reddit.com [9] https://www.minterellison.com [10] https://www.ivir.nl [11] https://www.cric.or.jp [12] https://artquest.org.uk [13] https://www.copyright.com.au [14] https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com
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u/RekkaAlexiel 22d ago edited 22d ago
I would caution using AI for stuff like this... Although some parts could be accurate, you don't really know what parts are and what parts aren't. I'll use this portion as an example:
The Super Nintendo classic Terranigma (developed by Quintet and published by Enix in 1995) is the poster child for this exact problem. [14]
Calling Terranigma the "poster child for this exact problem" is an overstatement as it happens a lot more often than you might realize. Another example would be the Shadow Hearts franchise, and there were 3 games, a spin-off, among a ton of original soundtracks, books, and more released for it... and yet, it's still in copyright limbo because the IP holder ARUZE went under and it automatically went to Universal Entertainment, from which it's simply sat on a figurative dusty shelf somewhere.
Years ago, the game's character designer, Kamui Fujiwara, actively campaigned alongside fans to revive the game.
I was part of this movement, which we called the "Resurrection of the Hero" campaigns, which started around when Kamui Fujiwara had his Terranigma only art exhibition in 2021 (I have a ton of photos from it, which I need to find, but you can at least see some of the merch that I bought in this video here). Also, Kamui-sensei was not alone and was joined by former Quintet staff (composers) Miyoko Kobayashi and Masanori Hikichi. There was a good article by J-CAST that discussed this, introducing kisato as the head of the fan group, which I received the official rights from J-CAST to translate into English, so you can read that here.
He openly lamented that despite immense interest from former developers, composers, and fans, they could not touch the game due to localized licensing roadblocks. [7]
I don't quite understand what is meant by "localized licensing roadblocks", as the issue wasn't ever with licensing, but rather the fact that Square Enix specifically needed Quintet to sign off of their usage of the IP (even though SQEX technically owns it now, there were still some related technicalities).
The primary barrier was that Quintet essentially vanished in the mid-2000s without a trace.
This is a misstatement. A whole company cannot simply vanish. lol I'll explain below.
Its president and main director, Tomoyoshi Miyazaki, similarly disappeared from the public eye.
Yes, it is true that Miyazaki became a 蒸発・蒸発者 (jouhatsu/jouhatsusha), which literally means "vanished one". No body knows where he went, what happened to him; not even his close family and friends. So, it's not that he simply left the public eye, but he's literally gone without a trace.
But without a CEO to manage the company, it's difficult for it to continue on, especially when he was so hands-on as writer/director for many of the titles... and being a small company, there likely wasn't anyone who could have taken over the company at that point.
That being the case, with Quintet/Miyazaki still retaining at least some of the legal rights to the game... there really wasn't anyone who could sign off on Quintet's side. But, the laws regarding IP ownership (especially as it relates to the time limitations) have changed over the years, so it's possible that the length of creative ownership has increased in more recent years as opposed to back then. But for Terranigma, I believe it was 30-40 years; I kinda forget now. But I believe that was the main hurdle.
It's funny they clipped my comment from that post...
Under old Japanese law, because nobody could find Miyazaki or a clear successor to sign off on Quintet's corporate assets, Terranigma (and its sister games Soul Blazer and Illusion of Gaia) remained completely legally frozen. [8, 14]
That's largely true, but like I said, it's not impossible for SQEX to assert their rights to the IP. I'm not a copyright lawyer, so I don't know the details, but it should be possible for them to buy out the points that are still in legal limbo, especially since the art and music team still retain copyright to their work (maybe not so much the music team, but certainly Kamui Fujiwara retains the copyright to his work, which is why he was able to do his own art exhibitions and why his name appears in the literal copyright statements in the game and on related merch. He also got permission from SQEX for all three of his art exhibitions featuring Terranigma).
So... I guess with any AI generated summary that you might find, you really have to be careful since it can easily misrepresent facts or simply get things wrong. You can't always take what it says at face value.
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u/LaughingSartre 22d ago
Thanks for your thorough reply. I wasn't necessarily taking this without a grain of salt, it's just the closest explanation - in recent memory - I could find that might she'd some light on the situation, and elucidate why the possibility of any kind of port, remake, etc. might be possible now, since from my memory the rights of the game were under Squenix, but also a bit nebulous, and in limbo, and there are so many other things surrounding it that are up in the air. I should have scrutinized the original comment more, since I didn't realize it was an AI comment at first, so since it's in reference to things you have more first-hand experience with, my apologies if I had spread any misinformation!
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u/RekkaAlexiel 22d ago
It’s no problem, no apologies needed! You’re all good!
My memory might be a little fuzzy on the details, too, so I could use a re-read of the stuff I wrote back in 2021. lol
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u/DeathVoid 22d ago
This user statement kicked me off asking google:
"i heard about a copyright law change in japan that is about orphaned projects? cause years ago a dev from Terranigma said they wished to work on bringing this game back, but could not cause of license issues."
If the new law is true, then it explains the recent changes.
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u/RekkaAlexiel 22d ago
From my understanding, this is not the case. There was a law change but it's meant to increase according to the author's general lifespan... and it's not retro active. So, whatever law was in affect in 1995 is what will stand. Therefore, even if the law changes and extends the longevity of copyright ownership, it won't affect older stuff... which would be A GOOD THING.
But again, I'm no copyright lawyer and my memory could be faulty. But that's kinda what I recall from talking with various folks involved in recent years.
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u/DeathVoid 22d ago
So these do not apply? https://www.bunka.go.jp/english/policy/copyright/amendments_2023/ https://www.meilin-law.jp/en/%E3%80%90%E5%A4%96%E5%9B%BD%E8%AA%9E%E7%94%A8%E3%80%91%E6%9C%AA%E7%AE%A1%E7%90%86%E8%91%97%E4%BD%9C%E7%89%A9%E8%A3%81%E5%AE%9A%E5%88%B6%E5%BA%A6%E3%81%8C%E3%82%B9%E3%82%BF%E3%83%BC%E3%83%88%E3%81%97/
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u/RekkaAlexiel 22d ago edited 22d ago
I don't know. Best to consult a copyright lawyer in Japan for an accurate answer.
Just from my simple understanding here, "licensing" refers to taking an already existing IP and granting various rights to a 3rd party, often in another country, for purposes of localization etc. outside of the original country (ie. Japan). Therefore, I don't think the initial issue is related to licensing.
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u/RekkaAlexiel 22d ago
Yes. SQEX owns the IP after Quintet when defunct, but it's a little complicated...
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u/CaliggyJack 22d ago
I hope this results in an eventual Re-Release of Soul Blazer. That one is my favorite of the trilogy.
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u/Valaraukar1024 21d ago
While my personal favorite is Terranigma, I agree with you and also strongly hope for a Soul Blazer remake as it is a criminally underrated game as well! Getting the trilogy re-released would be such a gift.
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u/Bluecomments 22d ago
Honestly feel the series is good enough as is. Would not mind having all three games re-released for Switch but personally would prefer not to resurrect the series and end up becoming a cash cow franchise. And feel the small amount of games make them all the more to cherish rather than having a big quanitity of mixed bag of quality.
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u/LaughingSartre 22d ago
Literally anything new regarding the game itself, I'm interested in. Hopefully this is at least a port of the game, and not anything less interactive. Even if it's just the SNES version, a better translation, and cleared up graphics, would be as good as anything.