Quintet Co., Ltd. was a Japanese video game developer, founded in April 1989. The company name is derived from musical terminology, as well as five elements of game design—planning, graphics, sound, programming and producing. Quintet was most active in the 1990s, when it had a strong relationship with Enix ; the company was also a member of the GD-NET group of Sega Saturn developers. Quintet has not been active since the 2000s and are likely defunct.
The director and president of Quintet is Tomoyoshi Miyazaki, the scenario writer for the first three entries of Nihon Falcom's classic Ys series. Masaya Hashimoto, the main director, designer and programmer for those same Ys titles, is also a member. Thanks to the Ys connection, composer Yuzo Koshiro lent his talents to the score of the company's official inaugural title, ActRaiser, a soundtrack which has since been adapted for orchestra. Koshiro's sister, Ayano Koshiro, drew the character designs. The later releases of Soul Blazer, Illusion of Gaia, Terranigma and The Granstream Saga, known to fans as the "Soul Blazer Tetralogy", established a defining feature of Quintet games — the strong, sometimes dark themes addressed in their titles. Quintet's games frequently revolve around a conflict between a being that brings destruction and a being that controls creation as symbols of duality. The world has two aspects which both oppose and complement each other, and everything in existence is built upon that relationship. Unflinching portrayals of the suffering and sacrifices that are a part of life set Quintet games apart, and have attracted many fans. However, around 2000, release of games that contained characteristic Quintet themes declined. Currently, the company appears to have been inactive since 2002. There was an active bulletin board on the official site until March 29, 2002. In response to angry comments from fans made impatient by the lack of news, Quintet staff posted: "As we cannot currently release any information, we will close this bulletin board." Afterward, the bulletin board was shut down. In March 2008, Quintet's website was also shut down.
