is a Japanese video game developer best known for developing games published by Nintendo with the Paper Mario, Fire Emblem, WarioWare, and Wars video game series.

The company is well known for almost exclusively working with Nintendo, despite not being owned by Nintendo in any capacity; some exceptions include various Dragon Quest games, which were published by Square Enix.

History

Intelligent Systems originated as Iwasaki Giken in 1983 to develop games for Nintendo. This original group of developers worked on titles like Mario Bros., Wild Gunman, Duck Hunt, Hogan's Alley, Donkey Kong 3, Devil World, Wrecking Crew, Metroid, and more.

When the Nintendo Research & Development team was reorganized during the production of the Game Boy, the team was officially separated. In 1986, this group was established by Tohru Narihiro as Intelligent Systems. Ryoichi Kitanishi served as company CEO. It was the first time that the company took the lead on game design and graphics. Intelligent Systems began to hire graphic designers, programmers, and musicians to extend the company from an auxiliary–tool developer to a game development group. After five years of development, Fire Emblem 64 was cancelled, though Paper Mario was released in 2000. and moved to Nintendo's Kyoto Research Center in Higashiyama-ku, Kyoto, where it share space with Nintendo’s Software Planning & Development division. Nintendo would release Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade on the Game Boy Advance, the first game in the series to be localized for the West. The game proved to be a great success in its first year, selling 400,000 units in Japan alone. It ultimately became the best-selling game in the series in the West and the fastest-selling entry in Japan.

Toshiyuki Nakamura was named president and CEO in April 2010. In October 2013, Intelligent Systems moved to a newly constructed office near Nintendo's new headquarters.

In 2020, Intelligent Systems finally released a localized version of Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon and the Blade of Light in the West for the 30th anniversary of the game.

Mobile apps

In February 2017, Intelligent Systems released a free-to-play gacha mobile game, called Fire Emblem Heroes. Nintendo and DeNA assisted in development. By the end of 2018, it had grossed an estimated $452 million worldwide. To celebrate the game's third year, Intelligent Systems unveiled a subscription plan that would give players cosmetics, extra missions, and power boosts. By 2022, the game had exceeded $1 billion in lifetime revenue. It has made more money than Mario Kart Tour and Animal Crossing: Pocket Camp combined, and more than 10 times as Super Mario Run.

A second mobile game, Fire Emblem Shadows, was launched by Intelligent Systems and DeNA in September 2025. This game used real-time combat and social deduction gameplay elements similar to Among Us. However, the iOS app made just $90,000 in its first week, far behind Heroes.

Their third mobile game, "Pictonico!", is a free to play mobile game released on May 27th, 2026. It was developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It is a game where players can use their camera or use their pictures on their phone and turn them into WarioWare-like microgames. Each only last a few seconds and are controlled with the device's touch screen.

Development tools

Intelligent Systems has produced development support tools for most Nintendo consoles.

It developed the Wide Boy development tool, which allowed developers to play Game Boy games on a television. Nintendo later released it to the public as the Super Game Boy. Intelligent Systems also created the Wide Boy 64 for the Nintendo 64 console. It created software CDs for Game Boy Advance developers.

List of games developed

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|+ List of video games developed by Intelligent Systems

! scope="col" |

! scope="col" | Title

! scope="col" | Platform(s)

!Note

! scope="col" class="unsortable" |

|-

| 1983

| scope="row" | Mario Bros.<!-- September 9, 1983 (JP) -->

| rowspan="11" | Nintendo Entertainment System

| rowspan="4" |Co-developed with Nintendo R&D1

| rowspan="13" |

|-

| rowspan="6" | 1984

| scope="row" | Tennis<!-- January 14, 1984 (JP) -->

|-

| scope="row" | Wild Gunman<!-- February 18, 1984 (JP) -->

|-

| scope="row" | Duck Hunt<!-- April 21, 1984 (JP) -->

|-

| scope="row" | Hogan's Alley <!-- June 12, 1984 (JP) -->

|

|-

| scope="row" | Donkey Kong 3 <!-- July 4, 1984 (JP) -->

|

|-

| scope="row" | Devil World<!-- October 5, 1984 (JP) -->

|Co-developed with Nintendo R&D1

|-

| rowspan="4" | 1985

| scope="row" | Soccer <!-- April 9, 1985 (JP) -->

|

|-

| scope="row" | Wrecking Crew <!-- June 18, 1985 (JP) -->

|

|-

| scope="row" | Stack-Up<!-- July 26, 1985 (JP) -->

| rowspan="2" |Co-developed with Nintendo R&D1

|-

| scope="row" | Gyromite<!-- August 13, 1985 (JP) -->

|-

| rowspan="3" | 1986

| scope="row" | Tennis<!-- February 21, 1986 (JP) -->

| rowspan="3" | Famicom Disk System

|

|-

| scope="row" | Soccer<!-- February 21, 1986 (JP) -->

|

|-

| scope="row" | Metroid<!-- August 6, 1986 (JP) -->

| rowspan="2" |Co-developed with Nintendo R&D1

|

|-

| rowspan="3" | 1988

| scope="row" | Famicom Wars

| Famicom

| rowspan="11" |

|-

| scope="row" | Mario Paint <!-- July 14, 1992 (JP) -->

| Super Nintendo Entertainment System

|

|

|-

| rowspan="2" | 1996

| scope="row" | Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War

|

|

|-

| scope="row" |Pokémon Puzzle Challenge

| Game Boy Color

|

|

|-

| rowspan="2" | 2001

| scope="row" |Advance Wars

| rowspan="2" | Game Boy Advance

|Released as Game Boy Wars Advance 1+2 in Japan in 2004.

|

|-

| scope="row" |Mario Kart: Super Circuit

|

|

|-

| rowspan="2" | 2002

|scope="row" |Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest

| GameCube

|Co-developed with Saru Brunei

|

|-

| rowspan="4" | 2004

| scope="row"| Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

|

|

|-

| scope="row"| WarioWare: Touched!

| Nintendo DS

|Co-developed with Nintendo SPD

|

|-

| rowspan="3" | 2005

| scope="row"| Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance

| GameCube

|

|

|-

| 2006

| scope="row"| WarioWare: Smooth Moves

| rowspan="3" | Wii

|Co-developed with Nintendo SPD

|

|-

| rowspan="5" | 2007

| scope="row"| Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

|

|

|-

| scope="row"| Face Training

|

|

|-

| scope="row"| Kousoku Card Battle: Card Hero

|Co-developed with Nintendo SPD

|

|-

| rowspan="3" | 2008

| scope="row" | Advance Wars: Days of Ruin

|

|

|-

| scope="row"| Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon

|

|

|-

| rowspan="9" | 2009

| scope="row"| WarioWare D.I.Y.

|Nintendo DS

|

| rowspan="2" |

|-

| scope="row"| WarioWare D.I.Y. Showcase

| Wii

|Co-developed with Nintendo SPD

|-

| scope="row" |Dragon Quest Wars

| Nintendo DS

|Published by Square Enix

|

|-

| scope="row" |Eco Shooter: Plant 530

| Wii

|

|

|-

| scope="row" |Nintendo DSi Instrument Tuner

| rowspan="5" | Nintendo DSi

|

|

|-

| scope="row"| Nintendo DSi Metronome

|

|

|-

| scope="row"| Dictionary 6 in 1 with Camera Function

|

|

|-

| scope="row"| Link 'n' Launch

|

|

|-

| 2010

| scope="row" |Fire Emblem: New Mystery of the Emblem

| Nintendo DS

|

|

|-

| scope="row"| '

| rowspan="1" | Wii

|

|

|-

| rowspan="3" | 2012

| scope="row"| Fire Emblem Awakening

| rowspan="3" | Nintendo 3DS

|

|

|-

| rowspan="3" | 2015

| scope="row" |Code Name: S.T.E.A.M.

| rowspan="3" | Nintendo 3DS

|

|

|-

| scope="row"| Stretchmo

|

|

|-

| scope="row"| Fire Emblem Fates

|

|

|-

| 2016

| scope="row" |Paper Mario: Color Splash

| Wii U

|

|

|-

| scope="row" |Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia

| rowspan="2" | Nintendo 3DS

|

|

|-

| 2018

| scope="row" |WarioWare Gold

|

|

|-

| 2019

| scope="row" |Fire Emblem: Three Houses

| rowspan="6" | Nintendo Switch

|Co-developed with Kou Shibusawa

| rowspan="4" |

|-

| 2020

| scope="row" |Paper Mario: The Origami King

|

|-

| 2021

| scope="row" |WarioWare: Get It Together!

|

|-

| rowspan="2" | 2023

| scope="row" |Fire Emblem Engage

|

|-

| scope="row" |WarioWare: Move It!

|Co-developed with Tose

|

|-

| 2024

| scope="row" | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

|

|

|-

| scope="row" |Pictonico!

| iOS, Android

| Co-developed with Nintendo EPD

|

|-

| scope="row" | Fire Emblem: Fortune's Weave

|Nintendo Switch 2

|

|

|-

| scope="row" |Dragon Hopper

|Virtual Boy (Nintendo Classics)

|

|

|}

;

Cancelled

{| class="wikitable sortable"

|-

! Title !! System !! class="unsortable" |

|-

| scope="row"| Fire Emblem 64

| Nintendo 64DD

|

|-

| scope="row"| Untitled Fire Emblem game

| Wii

|

|-

| scope="row"| Crashmo World

| Wii U

|

|}

See also

  • OrCAD (distributed by Intelligent Systems Japan, KK)

Notes

References

  • Official website (English)