Bahamut Lagoon

バハムートラグーン (Bahamūto Ragūn)SNES, Wii, Wii U1996

  1. JP1996
  2. NA—
  3. EU—
  4. RU—

Bahamut Lagoon (バハムートラグーン) kept the same name everywhere because it was only ever released in Japan. There is no official English version; the game was re-released only on the Japanese Wii and Wii U Virtual Console, and English-speaking players know it through fan translations from 2002 and 2021.

Bahamut Lagoon is a tactical role-playing game that Square released for the Super Famicom in Japan on 9 February 1996. Kazushige Nojima directed it, Motomu Toriyama wrote the story and Noriko Matsueda composed the music. During development, which began in 1994 and took two years, the project carried the title Final Fantasy Tactics.

Players lead the hero Byuu in a war across Orelus, a world of floating islands. Squads of soldiers fight alongside dragons, but the dragons are controlled by the AI rather than directly by the player.

It was one of Square's last Super Famicom games before the company moved to Sony's PlayStation, and it never left Japan officially. Fans filled the gap: a three-person team that included Clyde Mandelin released an English patch in 2002, and Near completed a new translation in 2021, shortly before dying in June that year. Officially the game returned only on the Japanese Virtual Console, for Wii on 29 September 2009 and for Wii U on 5 February 2014.1

Names and releases

RegionTitle on the boxPlatformDatePublisherSrc
JP バハムートラグーンBahamūto RagūnSuper Famicom original; never released outside Japan SNES Feb 9, 1996 Square 2
JP バハムートラグーンBahamūto RagūnVirtual Console; removed when the Wii Virtual Console store closed in 2019 Wii Sep 29, 2009 Square Enix 1
JP バハムートラグーンBahamūto RagūnVirtual Console Wii U Feb 5, 2014 Square Enix 1

Also known as: バハムートラグーン JP2Bahamūto Ragūn JP2Final Fantasy Tactics JP1

Box art by region

  • バハムートラグーン box art, Japan release
    JP バハムートラグーン

Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.

Translations

  • English Fan

    three-person team including Clyde Mandelin2002SNES · Japanese versionReleased

    An unofficial English patch from 2002 by a three-person team that included Clyde Mandelin.1

  • English Fan

    Near2021SNES · Japanese versionReleased

    A new unofficial English translation by Near, who worked on it on and off for over twenty years and finished it in 2021.1

Reception

Bahamut Lagoon sold over 474,600 copies in 1996, making it the 17th best-selling game of the year in Japan. Famitsu's cross-review gave it 29/40 and Edge 9/10, and retrospective opinions have been positive.1

In lists

Sources

  1. 1en.wikipedia.org
  2. 2ja.wikipedia.org

Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13

Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.