Ted Woolsey graduated from the University of Washington with a Master's Degree in Japanese literature, and was hired by Squaresoft in 1991. He translated several key titles for the Japanese giant, including the original translations of Final Fantasy IV, Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger. His translations were not always literal; at times, dedicated fans called some of his decisions into question. Others pointed out that he was working within difficult time constraints and a censorship policy from Nintendo of America that was, at the time, still draconian and restrictive. Regardless of debate over the specifics of his translations, they were still much more professionally done than Square's previous efforts.

In 1996, Woolsey left Squaresoft because he and his family did not want to move from Redmond, Washington to the company's new Los Angeles office. Instead, he co-founded a new company in Square's old facility called Big Rain; it was renamed to Craveyard after Crave Entertainment purchased the firm. Craveyard produced one game, Shadow Madness, before being closed by its parent company due to the game's extremely poor sales.

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