[[Image:Roth_Oil.jpg|thumb|260px|right|Leo Roth, ''Flute Players'', oil on canvas, 1967]]
[[ja:スクウェア]] [[fr:Squaresoft]]
'''Leo Roth''' (1914-2002) (variant name '''Lior Roth''') was an [[Israeli]] painter, born in 1914 in [[Poland]]. In 1920, Roth moved to [[Germany]] and, in 1933, immigrated to [[Eretz Israel]]. He studied at the [[École des Beaux-Arts]] in [[Paris]] and completed [[frescoes]] in [[Italy]] and [[France]] in the 1950s. Roth first settled in [[Tel Aviv]], then moved to [[Kinneret (kibbutz)|Kibbutz Kinneret]], then finally to [[Afikim (kibbutz)|Kibbutz Afikim]] where he remained until his death. He was the Director of the Art Academy of the Kibbutzim. In 1959, he was awarded the Jordan Valley Prize for Painting. Roth exhibited in the United States, Israel, Mexico, Spain, Holland, Sweden, and Denmark. He died in 2002.
Roth's work was influenced by [[Cubism]] and bears much in common with the work of compatriot painter [[Naftali Bezem]]. His colourful canvases are rife with biblical imagery and representations of early Israeli pioneer culture.
'''Squaresoft''' (often just called ''Square'') is a [[Japan]]ese [[video game]] company that was created in [[1983]] as a part of a software development firm called [[Denyuusha]].
==Selected exhibitions==
In [[1985]], Squaresoft began making games for the Nintendo [[Famicom]] (called the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] in [[North America]] and [[Europe]]). Their early games were not very successful, and by [[1987]] the company was facing the possibility of going out of business. However, that same year, Squaresoft employee [[Hironobu Sakaguchi]] was given a chance to make a game that would either make or break the company. He named his creation ''[[Final Fantasy]]'', a [[console role-playing game]] that revolved around four sacred crystals, one for each of the [[four elements]] in the [[fantasy]] world. ''Final Fantasy'' did much better than Sakaguchi had ever hoped, in both Japan and the [[United States|U.S.]]; the game was followed by a sequel in [[1988]], marketed exclusively in Japan until [[Final Fantasy Origins]]. Squaresoft has made fourteen other ''Final Fantasy'' games since, and has become a defining force in the role-playing genre.
* 2000: ''Chaim Atar Art Museum'', Ein Harod, Israel: ''The Works of Leo Roth: An Exhibition''
==Selected collections==
Square has also made other games such as ''[[Xenogears]]'', ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'', ''[[Final Fantasy Tactics]]'', ''[[Threads of Fate]]'' (a.k.a. ''DewPrism''), ''[[Vagrant Story]]'', and ''[[Kingdom Hearts]]'' (with [[Disney Interactive]]). The company's [[Square Pictures]] division also made a [[computer generated imagery|CGI]] movie based on ''Final Fantasy'' called ''[[Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within]]'' in [[2001]].
* ''Israel Museum'', Jerusalem
* ''Museum of Art Ein Harod'', Israel
==References==
Square agreed to merge with [[Enix]] (another Japanese company best known for its popular ''[[Dragon Quest]]'' series) in [[2002]] so as to curb development costs and become more competitive. In April of [[2003]] the merger was completed, forming the new company, [[Square Enix]].
* Bar-Or, Galia & Dvora Liss. ''Leo Roth: Shepherd of Longings'' [exhibition catalogue]. Kiriat Bialik: Ach, 2000.
* Roth, Lior. ''Reproductions in Colour and Black & White'' (Reproduktsyot bi-tsevaim uve-shahor-lavan) [portfolio of plates]. [1973].
=Softography=
* [http://www.imj.org.il/eng/resources/israeli-ac/ Israeli Art Centre] (Israel Museum, Jerusalem - [http://www.imj.org.il/artcenter/sname2_a.asp?artist=2472&list=R Leo Roth])
* [[NES]]
* [http://www.artnet.com/artist/702526/leo-roth.html Artnet.com] (Leo Roth)
** ''1986'': [[King's Knight]]
** ''1987'': [[3-D WorldRunner]], [[Rad Racer]]
** ''1989'': [[Final Fantasy]]
** ''1989'': [[Final Fantasy II]] (Japan only for the NES, [[fan_translation|fan-translated]] in 1998; Playstation remake released in the United States under [[Final Fantasy Origins]])
** ''1990'': [[Final Fantasy III]] (Japan only, but fan-translated in 1999), [[Rad Racer 2]]
[[Category:Jewish painters|Roth, Leo]]
* [[Super NES]]
[[Category:Israeli artists|Roth, Leo]]
** ''1991'': [[Final Fantasy IV]], [[Romancing SaGa]] (Japan only)
[[Category:Israeli painters|Roth, Leo]]
** ''1992'': [[Final Fantasy V]] (JAP only for the Super NES, but fan-translated in 1998; released in the United States on the Sony Playstation under [[Final Fantasy Anthology]]), [[Final Fantasy Mystic Quest]]
[[Category:Polish artists|Roth, Leo]]
** ''1993'': [[Secret Of Mana]], [[Romancing SaGa 2]] (Japan only)
** ''1994'': [[Final Fantasy VI]], [[Live A Live]] (Japan only, but fan-translated in 2001)
** ''1995'': [[Chrono Trigger]], [[Secret Of Evermore]], [[Seiken Densetsu III]] (Japan only, but fan-translated in 2000), [[Romancing SaGa 3]] (Japan only), [[Front Mission]] (Japan only, but fan-translated in 2001)
** ''1996'': [[Bahamut Lagoon]] (Japan only, but fan-translated in 2002), [[Rudra no Hihou]] (Japan only, fan-translated in 2003), [[Super Mario RPG]], [[Treasure Hunter G]] (Japan only, fan-translated in 2003)
** ''1998'': [[Radical Dreamers]] (Japan only, fan-translated in 2003)
* [[Playstationnl:Leo Roth]]
** ''1996'': [[Tobal No. 1]]
** ''1997'': [[Bushido Blade]], [[Final Fantasy VII]], [[Final Fantasy Tactics]],
** ''1998'': [[Brave Fencer Musashi]], [[Bushido Blade 2]], [[Einhander]], [[Final Fantasy VIII]], [[Parasite Eve]], [[Saga Frontier]], [[Xenogears]]
** ''1999'': [[Chocobo Racing]], [[Chocobo's Dungeon 2]], [[Final Fantasy Anthology]], [[IS: Internal Section]]
** ''2000'': [[Chrono Cross]], [[Final Fantasy IX]], [[Front Mission 3]], [[Legend of Mana]], [[Parasite Eve II]], [[Saga Frontier 2]], [[Threads of Fate]], [[Vagrant Story]]
** ''2001'': [[Final Fantasy Chronicles]]
** ''2003'': [[Final Fantasy Origins]]
* [[Playstation 2]]
** ''2000'': [[The Bouncer]]
** ''2001'': [[All-Star Pro Wrestling II]], [[Final Fantasy X]]
** ''2002'': [[Kingdom Hearts]], [[World Fantasista]]
** ''2002'': [[Unlimited SaGa]]
* [[Nintendo GameCube]]
** ''2004'': [[Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles]]
* [[Game Boy]]
** ''1989'': [[Final Fantasy Legend]]
** ''1991'': [[Final Fantasy Adventure]], [[Final Fantasy Legend II]]
** ''1992'': [[Final Fantasy Legend III]]
* [[Game Boy Advance]]
** ''2003'': [[Chocoboland]], [[Final Fantasy Tactics Advance]]
* [[personal computer|PC]]
** ''1998'': [[Final Fantasy VII]]
** ''1999'': [[Final Fantasy VIII]]
* [http://squaresoft.com Squaresoft official homepage]
* [http://gamespot.com/gamespot/features/video/hist_square/index.html The History of Square]
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