Hiroji Kiyotake
| Hiroji Kiyotake | |
|---|---|
| |
| Born | December 21, 1960[1] |
| Super Mario–related role(s) | Game developer, graphic designer |
Hiroji Kiyotake (清武 博二 Kiyotake Hiroji) is a game designer for Nintendo, and also the original designer of Wario.[2][3][4] Kiyotake is one of the directors and graphic designers of Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins and Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, making him one of the key people for the introduction of the character Wario and the Wario franchise. He was also involved in the development of further Wario games as a designer; for Virtual Boy Wario Land, he acted as a director again. However, for Wario games released after Wario Land 4, his role is mostly limited to the Wario design and advising, according to the staff credits of the respective games. For example, during the development of Wario: Master of Disguise, Kiyotake supervised the numerous forms of disguised Wario designed by SUZAK.[5] In addition, Kiyotake is also the original designer of Foreman Spike from Wrecking Crew.[1][4]
Games[edit]
- Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins – Director, Graphic Designer
- Wario Land series
- Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 – Director, Graphic Designer
- Virtual Boy Wario Land – Director
- Wario Land II – Character Designer
- Wario Land 3 – Designer
- Wario Land 4 – Designer
- Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman! – Graphic Designer
- Excitebike: Bun Bun Mario Battle Stadium – Technical Support
- WarioWare series – Wario (Original) Design
- Wario World – Advisor
- Wario: Master of Disguise – Wario Supervisor
In the credits of many sports and party titles of the Super Mario franchise, he is mentioned as one of the character designers.
Quotes[edit]
- Whenever I had the idea for a character—not only Wario—the first thing I would do is talk it over with Hosokawa. If he thought it was cool, I’d present it to the rest of the staff. Then, once I thought the idea could work, I’d discuss the details of the sprite animation and movement with Harada. That’s the process I went through for Wario and all the other characters in Super Mario Land 2.[6]
Gallery[edit]
A signature of Hiroji Kiyotake with a drawing of Wario, from a card with signatures by various Nintendo staff for Nintendo Dream
Trivia[edit]
- Hiroji Kiyotake's Mii in the credits of WarioWare: Smooth Moves is one of the few Miis wearing purple overalls, a yellow shirt, and green shoes like Wario, a nod to Kiyotake's role as Wario's creator.
- Kiyotake is also responsible for designing characters in the Metroid series, including Samus Aran.[7]
References[edit]
- ^ a b Nintendo Dream, Vol. 173 (September 2008) Wario creator interview
- ^ List of WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! staff
- ^ Famicom Disk System: The More You Play It, the More You'll Want to Play [Disk 1], Nintendo Dream, Vol. 118. (Translation available at Metroid Database)
- ^ a b (December 14, 2022). ワリオ誕生秘話（2008年 9月号より）. Nintendo DREAM WEB. Retrieved March 8, 2023.
- ^ Interview "Yutaka Hirata on Wario: Master of Disguise" at SPOnG
- ^ Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins official Shogakukan game guide (translation provided by "Shmuplations", accessed September 10, 2016)
- ^ The History of Metroid at IGN
