WayForward Technologies

Background

WayForward Technologies is an independent video game developer founded in 1990 by technology entrepreneur Voldi Way. At the time of its founding, WayForward was a video game design company, but in 1997 they restarted their studio as a "developer for hire" studio. Despite mostly making licensed games, they have produced some original games, their most successful series being the Shantae series.

1st Logo (1997-1999)

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Visuals: The logo starts with "WayFORWARD" with "TECHNOLOGIES" below. There is a red triangle in the "D" and a cutout line in the last 3 letters, making it look like an arrow.

Technique: A still graphic.

Audio: None.

Availability: It was seen on An American Tail Animated Moviebook. The simple version with other logos can be seen on Casper Activity Center.

2nd Logo (June 28, 2000-2004)

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Visuals: On a black background, a teal and black oval is seen flying into place at the center of the screen. A turquoise WayForward logo, which is in a simple, bold font called Handel Gothic with the "y" and the "F" extended, places itself onto the oval. "T E C H N O L O G I E S ", in white follows after and is placed below the WayForward logo. The entire logo shines.

Variant: The logo can be still on either a black or white background with the oval being turquoise and blue, WayForward logo being black with a white outline, and "TECHNOLOGIES" being in either black or white.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A hollow, computerized drumbeat. Otherwise none or the opening theme of the game.

Availability: Appears on games developed by WayForward, such as the cult classic Shantae, which has been thankfully added to the 3DS Virtual Console after years of obscurity. It first appeared on Xtreme Sports for the Game Boy Color, which has also been added to the 3DS Virtual Console. The animated version can be seen on various games including Nickelodeon Toon Twister 3D.

3rd Logo (December 8, 2004-2011)

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Visuals: Same as before, except the oval is omitted, the colors in the logo are inverted, and the holes in the "a", "o", and "d" are filled in. The font also has a black outline that surrounds it.

Technique: A still graphic.

Audio: Same as before. On BloodRayne: Betrayal, however, a loud, uplifting 4-note guitar tune is heard.

Availability: It appeared on games for the Nintendo DS and Wii, such as Shantae: Risky's Revenge and A Boy And His Blob. It made its first appearance on Ping Pals for the Nintendo DS.

4th Logo (December 22, 2011-)

Visuals: On a black background, a bevy of pixels form the WayForward logo. After the pixelated form of the logo, which is fixated on a teal background, is finished, the logo explodes into its normal form, which is fixated on a white background.

Technique: CGI.

Audio: A chiptune section is heard, followed by an uplifting rendition of the 4-note tune that was heard in BloodRayne: Betrayal. An earlier variant, with both the chiptune and regular music sections merged together, was heard in Mighty Switch Force. This theme was composed by Jake Kaufman, who is best known for composing the Shovel Knight series.

Audio Variant: On Adventure Time: Explore the Dungeon Because I DON'T KNOW!, Finn and Jake (voiced by Jeremy Shada and John DiMaggio respectively) sing along with the theme and laugh at the end.

Availability: Appears on every single game developed by WayForward starting with Mighty Switch Force.