Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen was developed and published by Quest for the Super Famicom in Japan on March 12, 1993. Yasumi Matsuno directed, designed and wrote it; Akihiko Yoshida and Hiroshi Minagawa worked on the art, and Masaharu Iwata, Hitoshi Sakimoto and Hayato Matsuo composed the music. Quest planned 200,000 copies, Matsuno persuaded the company to double the run, and all 400,000 sold out soon after release.
Enix America released the game in North America in May 1995 in a run of about 25,000 cartridges. In 1996 ports followed in Japan for PlayStation (Artdink) and Sega Saturn (Riverhillsoft); the Saturn version added voice acting and a hidden scenario, while the PlayStation version, released in North America by Atlus in 1997, let players save at any time.
The SNES game later appeared on the Virtual Console for Wii, Wii U and New Nintendo 3DS in Japan, and on Wii in North America in 2009.12
Names and releases
| Region | Title on the box | Platform | Date | Publisher | Src |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NA | Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queenprint run of about 25,000 | SNES | May 1995 | Enix America | 2 |
| NA | Ogre BattleLimited Edition; Wikipedia's infobox gives 11 August 1997, the article text July 1997 | PlayStation | 1997 | Atlus USA | 2 |
| NA | Ogre Battle: The March of the Black QueenVirtual Console | Wii | Mar 2, 2009 | — | 2 |
| JP | 伝説のオウガバトル | SNES | Mar 12, 1993 | Quest | 1 |
| JP | 伝説のオウガバトル | PlayStation | Sep 27, 1996 | Artdink | 2 |
| JP | 伝説のオウガバトル | Saturn | Nov 1, 1996 | Riverhillsoft | 2 |
| JP | 伝説のオウガバトルupdated version for the Nintendo Power cartridge service | SNES | 1998 | — | 2 |
| JP | 伝説のオウガバトルVirtual Console | Wii | Nov 11, 2008 | — | 1 |
| EU | Ogre Battle: The March of the Black QueenVirtual Console, as an import title | Wii | Jul 3, 2009 | — | 2 |
| JP | 伝説のオウガバトルmobile, i-mode; EZweb version on 12 May 2011 | Other | Sep 1, 2010 | Square Enix | 1 |
| JP | 伝説のオウガバトルVirtual Console | Wii U | Nov 20, 2013 | — | 1 |
| JP | 伝説のオウガバトルNew Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console | Nintendo 3DS | Aug 23, 2017 | — | 1 |
Also known as: 伝説のオウガバトル JP1Densetsu no Ōga Batoru JP2Legend of Ogre Battle JP2オウガバトル JP1
Box art by region
NA Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen
Box art © its publishers, shown to identify each release. Scans: libretro-thumbnails.
Version differences
-
ContentSaturn
The Sega Saturn version colors the map sprites, adds voice acting and a hidden new scenario map, and lets you save while moving on the field and remove equipment.1
-
GameplayPS1
The PlayStation version lets you save at any point, while the SNES original saves only at the end of each chapter; it also has larger text boxes and remastered music, but no voice acting.2
-
Bug fixPS1
The PlayStation version has known bugs: class changes don't update defense resistances, and equipment bonuses stay after the item is removed.1
Translations
-
English Official
Enix America1995SNES · Japanese versionReleased · complete
English SNES version published by Enix America in 1995 and localized by Robert Jerauld.2
-
English Official
Atlus USA1997PlayStation · Japanese PlayStation versionReleased · complete
A separate English translation of the PlayStation version by Atlus, with different names for places and characters.2
Reception
Quest planned 200,000 copies in Japan; Matsuno persuaded the company to double the run, and all 400,000 sold out shortly after release. Enix America's run of about 25,000 sold out and was reordered several times. Famitsu scored the SNES version 33/40 (Gold Hall of Fame), and it holds an 84% GameRankings average.2
Sources
Checked: 2026-10-13Text reviewed: 2026-10-13
Spotted a mistake? Write to atlas@old-games.net.