| ESA Co., Ltd. 주식회사 이에스에이 | |
| Foundation: | October 28, 1994 |
| Location: | Korean |
| Industry: | Video games |
| Key People: | Jeong Young-Won (CEO) |
| Num Employees: | 130 (As of 2010) |
| Subsid: | Kim Jong-hak Production (2018-present) OH!BROTHERS Production (2018-present) |
ESA Co., Ltd. (Entertainment Studio Asia, Korean: 주식회사 이에스에이), formerly Softmax Co., Ltd. (Korean: 주식회사 소프트맥스), is a Korean video game developer and publisher and entertainment company. They are best known for their War of Genesis series, Magna Carta series, and MMORPG TalesWeaver. It is currently listed in the Korea Stock Exchange.[1] [2]
| War of Genesis | |
| Developer: | Softmax |
| Publisher: | Softmax |
| Italic Title: | no |
The War of Genesis (Korean: 창세기전) is a SRPG series developed by Softmax. The series follows the history of Antaria, a fictional universe where the story is taking place. Even though the developers had stated that the third and fourth installments were spin-offs, they follow the main storyline and have many elements that are essential in understanding the stories of the later games. The Side Stories have a rather different gameplay than that of the original. In contrast to the original games' use of the SRPG type of gameplay, Rhapsody of Zephyr uses a classical Japanese RPG style similar to that of the Final Fantasy series. Tempest also uses different gameplay. In addition to battles, there are mini-games and simulation elements as well.
| MagnaCarta | |
| Platforms: | Windows, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Xbox 360 |
| Developer: | Softmax |
| Genre: | Fantasy Role-playing |
| Artist: | Hyung-tae Kim |
| Composer: | Sung-woon Jang |
| First Release Version: | |
| First Release Date: | 2001 |
| Latest Release Version: | MagnaCarta 2 |
| Latest Release Date: | 2009 |
| Italic Title: | no |
MagnaCarta is a series of three South Korean role-playing video games developed by Softmax. It features characters designed by artist Hyung-tae Kim.
See main article: Magna Carta: The Phantom of Avalanche.
See main article: Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata. Magna Carta: Crimson Stigmata is a "port" of the original game to the PlayStation 2. Though the game retains multiple elements from its original counterpart, including the main character and several plot elements, other points in Crimson Stigmata—notably the setting and storyline—are very different from The Phantom of Avalanche.[3] [4] [5] [6]
See main article: MagnaCarta 2.
| Video game | Metacritic |
| 66%[7] | |
| MagnaCarta 2 | 69%[8] |
The Magna Carta series has received mixed reception for Crimson Stigmata and MagnaCarta 2.