While they might not be rock stars quite yet, it’s great that videogame developers are becoming more and more recognizable by name. Many, many people know who Hideo Kojima is and what Kojima Prodcutions makes. Sega didn’t just contract Platinum Games to make a few killer titles for them, they signed them on for the name recognition, for the artists’ cred. Back in the day, it wasn’t the people who created games that got recognized. It was only franchise names and publishers that got the love. In 2008, it’s widely known that Tomonobu Itagaki is the head honcho behind Ninja Gaiden. But who is the brain behind Ninja Gaiden on the NES?
After doing a bit of digging, I found that Ninja Gaiden and its first sequel were designed by a fellow named Shuichi Sakurazaki and Tecmo’s Team Strong. The game’s trademark cutscenes, arguably the first of their kind, were penned by Sakurazaki himself. But that’s where the information trail ends, with nary an interview with or a Wikipedia page on the man to be found. I found only two other games credited to Sakurazaki, and surprising ones at that. If IMDB is to be believed, Sakurazaki is the writer behind two of videogames’ strangest scripts, namely Namco’s Klonoa: Door to Phantomile and Klonoa 2. Platformers with adorable anthropomorphic characters, the original Klonoa games hid tragic stories underneath a playful façade.
Who is Shuichi Sakurazaki? Where has he gone and what was his inspiration for such memorable and strange games? If anyone out there knows, I am all ears.
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Related links:
Whatcha Playing: Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword
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