Founded in 1979 but first made games in 1984 when six employees migrated from the ashes of Orca and Crux, Toaplan was most famous for their scrolling shooters, though they have dabbled in other genres to varying levels of success. However, gradual financial troubles led to them closing their doors in early 1994 and forming a few offshoot companies, most famously Cave. Rights for all games (excluding Performan and their two hacked mahjong games early on) were transferred in 2017 to Tatsujin, founded by Toaplan member Masahiro Yuge. Tatsujin itself would later be acquired in 2022 by Embracer Group.
Also the birthplace of a certain base.