Hiromu Arakawa
Fullmetal Alchemist games
Enix/Square Enix mangas were always in a unique position. Because the company not only publishes them, but also produces animes and video games, it enables them to port their franchises to other formats and have direct control over it during most of the process. On top of that, they're very good at it.
Since Fullmetal Alchemist became a giant cash cow for the company (Arakawa would be pleased with the comparison), Enix went berserk and started spamming the market with FMA games right after first anime became such a success. The core of those was a Playstation 2 trilogy released between 2003 and 2004.
There is some evidence that suggests that Hiromu contributed in some way to those games, but even if it's true, it must have been minor work. There is no FMA game with her name in credits.
As is usually the case with franchise adaptations from one format to another, quality of most of those games leaves much to be desired.
Fullmetal Alchemist and the Broken Angel (2003, PS2)
First one of the original series has mediocre graphics, but somewhat makes up for it with a nice story, sometimes presented in entertaining cut-scenes. As for playable part, it's a third person brawler. Fun at first, but gets repetitive quickly.
Fullmetal Alchemist 2: Curse of the Crimson Elixir (2004, PS2)
Developer has addressed the graphical issues of the first game and made big improvements this time around. Cel-shading was used to make color palettes look more cartoony and black borders around characters sit so well with anime adaptations. Characters also have better models and movement animations. About 30 minutes of animation designed specifically for this game is packed here, and the voice actors are the same as in the anime as well. Still not a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but an improvement over the first part.
Fullmetal Alchemist 3: Kami o Tsugu Shōjo (2004, PS2)
Graphics weren't changed much from the second installment and the story is also similarly good here. One major change is that the player can switch between Ed and Al as the hero which interacts with environment. Even though there was a lot of time to release the fourth game, and some opportunities too (like airing of the Brotherhood series), after three failed attempts to bring the franchise to the video game world, Enix gave up on further attempts and instead just licensed it for others.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Stray Rondo (2004, GBA)
First of the two Japanese-only Game Boy Advance games depicting the Fullmetal Alchemist universe. The story is a mixture of familiar territory - it starts just like in manga, but then diverts wildly, and frankly not to the best effect. Battles take large portion of the game and they follow the Active Time Battle format established by the Final Fantasy series. The twist is that here alchemy is involved as one of battle options, which makes use of cards that you draw.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Omoide no Sonata (2004, GBA)
Stray Rondo's continuation is another nostalgia-filled adventure that takes a handful from the original formula and adds its own plot to try and make it worthwhile. The story starts with Edward and his metalhead brother Alphonse coming back to their hometown Resembool and before they even arrive, they have a job to do - a series of terrorist attacks on military target takes place, so they start to investigate immediately. Clocking in at around 15 hours, it's another FMA game that's decent, but only that.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Dream Carnival (2004, PS2)
A team fighting game. The story introduces a tournament where warriors in pairs can join and square things off against other duos. Naturally, Al and Ed are the main focused participants, but the game includes most of the major manga characters. Graphics are below average, the idea to only cel-shade character models is a poor aesthetic choice. The game went under the radar of most gaming magazines and promotion efforts were scarce. To make things harder for Dream Carnival, two of the "official" series games were released that year, which must have made it harder to break through. As a result, Dream Carnival sold poorly.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy (2005, Nintendo DS)
A side-scrolling beat 'em up game where you play Elric and destroy every enemy he comes in contact with. This one didn't fly under the radar, but instead got smashed by reviewers who contributed to a Game Rankings average of 56%. It is short, repetitive and not too pretty.
Fullmetal Alchemist: Trading Cards Game (2007, Nintendo DS)
This one is a Nintendo adaptation of an actual card game that was out for some time before the video game hit the shelves. Pretty popular for a while, the original aimed to entertain the Magic the Gathering crowd by introducing interesting formula with complex rules. The port is an identical game, except that that there is a single player campaign added. Through it, you unlock cards, which you can later use in online battles. The complicated nature of the game makes for an entertaining title, but only for people who enjoy these kinds of games (Scrolls!).
Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Akatsuki no Ouji (2009, Wii)
Translating to "The Prince of Dawn", the title refers to Claudio, a ruler of the Aurego country who comes to Amestris to bury the hatchet between the two countries. Big celebrations are organized to welcome him and all seems dandy, but it quickly turns out that the prince's intentions might not be so pure after all. Elric starts his investigation. The game is worth recommending for at least one good reason: the story was supervised by Arakawa! On the other hand, it's 90% story-based, so if you're not fluent in Japanese, it's a dead end.
Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Tasogare no Shoujo (2009, Wii)
This one can be translated to "Daughter of the Dusk". A continuation of the previous Wii game, this one also involves prince Claudio, albeit in a more passive way, as he disappears at the start. Hiromu also served as script consultant here. This part is even more story-centered than the first one, as there aren't as many mini-games as in the first installment. Solid storytelling and the fact that it's not a regurgitation of the main story makes this worth buying for people who speak Japanese.
Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Yakusoku no Hi e (2010, PSP)
Also known as Fullmetal Alchemist: To the Promised Day, but it's just a title translation, as the game wasn't released outside Japan and thus is only available in Japanese. That of course didn't stop many non-Japanese fans of the series to get it anyway! Capitalizing on success of the Brotherhood anime, it also directly follows the original manga story, but stops at Brotherhood's episode no. 45 titled "The Promised Day", hence the title. It is a rather pleasant tactical RPG with the story we all know and love.
