藤原得郎 | |
---|---|
Tokuro Fujiwara, circa 1997 | |
Birthdate: |
April 7th, 1961[1] |
Occupation: |
Game director, producer |
"Arthur" was the pseudonym Tokuro Fujiwara (藤原得郎) used during development of the CPS-1 installment of Strider. A prolific Japanese video game designer and producer, he's best known for creating the iconic Capcom series Ghosts 'n Goblins, as well as being producer in several of the company's other franchises, most notably the Mega Man series and the first Resident Evil[2]. Fujiwara has also been credited under the name "Professor F".
Career
Konami
Tokuro Fujiwara was attending the Osaka Designer's College when he joined Konami in 1982. Fujiwara was interested in an opening as product planner the company had at the time, and didn't even knew Konami made video games until he did the entrance exam. At first he worked as an artist for stuff such as leaflets and the acrilic boards for medal games.[3]
He directed two games while at Konami, Pooyan and Roc'n Rope, the second being the first game he developed from scratch. Roc 'n Rope was difficult to develop as Fujiwara found himself constantly struggling with the memory limitations. Years later, he'd expand on the rope gameplay mechanics in Capcom's 1987 Arcade/NES game Bionic Commando.[3]
Capcom
Fujiwara left Konami in 1983 to join Capcom together with Yoshiki Okamoto, although the two were invited to join the company by different people[3]. Fujiwara designed many of Capcom's first Arcade games, including Vulgus, Pirate Ship Higemaru, Ghosts 'n Goblins and Commando, the latter two developed concurrently[3]. Around 1986, he became head of one of Capcom's three development groups[4] (the "First Planning Room"[5][6]).
In 1988, Tokuro Fujiwara oversaw the development of the Strider three-way project, where he was credited as "Planning Adviser". As Kouichi Yotsui's manager, he picked him as the head of the Arcade game side of the project because he had "really good negotiation skills", as he believed such a project would require them[7]. During the three project heads's stay at the Shinjuku Hilton hotel, both him and Capcom's head of development Akio Sakai would occasionally join them and help in building the game's world and main character.[6]
Although infamous for being rather strict to his junior staff, Fujiwara showed a lot of leniency to the inexperienced Yotsui, allowing him free rein to do as he saw fit and ensuring the game would be finished only when Yotsui said so[7]. Strider was developed around the same time as Ghouls 'n Ghosts, both games using the then-new Arcade "CP System" board. Fujiwara felt the board's operational capabilities weren't hard to work with, but the ROM capacity presented a challenge. As the chips were all lined up across the circuit board, they needed to put a lot of effort into the design front in order to make good use of them. To do this they used 30 graphic artists instead of the usual 2 or 3 used in previous projects.[3]
Strider turned out to be the last Arcade game Fujiwara worked on[3]. Around the latter half of 1988, Capcom organized itself into 2 departments, one to handle Arcade games and one focused on home consoles. Although Fujiwara expressed his desire to continue making Arcade games, he was ordered to move into the domestic division. Once he was transferred, he started work on Mega Man 2.[3]
For the following years, Tokuro Fujiwara was involved as producer in several of Capcom's entries for home consoles, including several entries in the Mega Man and Final Fight series. His final contribution at Capcom would be as producer of the first entry in the Resident Evil series. Inspired by Sweet Home, a NES horror game he developed, Fujiwara determined elements such as the game's setting and the change from a 1st person view to a 3rd person view, leaving out the "actual work" to the game's planner (and future series producer) Shinji Mikami.[3]
Later years
Following Resident Evil's release, Tokuro Fujiwara left Capcom and funded his own company, Whoopee Camp. The company, however, only released two titles: Tomba! and its direct sequel, before going out of bussiness. Masahiro Kurokawa and Harumi Fujita (planner and composer of the NES Strider) rejoined him as staff on Tomba!, Kurokawa filling in as writer for it and its sequel. Although the games were well-received critically, poor distribution led them to underperform in sales and lead to the company's disbandment.
Undeterred, Fujiwara then established "Deep Space" as a subsidiary of Sony Computer Entertainment Japan. Deep Space released two titles before folding as well: 2001's Extermination, a survival horror game taking several cues from his previous work in Resident Evil, and 2003's Hungry Ghosts, which took a different approach to the genre, seeking to provide a more "virtual" experience through exploration.[2]
In 2005, Fujiwara was approached by Capcom to work on Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins, the latest entry in the series he created. Fujiwara was happy, but also a bit apprehensive due to how little he knew about the hardware it was being developed on, the PSP. He developed the game as a "pure" sequel with expanded content, a number of new elements (such as branching paths) and a more casual approach in an attempt to revitalize the platforming genre[8]. He was later credited as "consultant" in the 2006 remake of another game he created, Bionic Commando Rearmed.
Gameography
Year | Title | Developer | Publisher | System | Role |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1982 | Pooyan プーヤン |
Konami | Konami | Arcade | Designer |
1983 | Roc'n Rope ロックンロープ |
Konami | Konami | Arcade | Designer |
1984 | Vulgus バルガス |
Capcom | Capcom | Arcade | Designer |
1984 | Pirate Ship Higemaru ひげ丸 |
Capcom | Capcom | Arcade | Designer |
1985 | Ghosts 'n Goblins 魔界村 |
Capcom | Capcom | Arcade | Designer |
1986 | Commando 戦場の狼 |
Capcom | Capcom | Arcade | Designer |
1986 | The Speed Rumbler ラッシュ&クラッシュ |
Capcom | Capcom | Arcade | Designer |
1987 | Higemaru Makaijima 魔界島 七つの島大冒険 |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Advise Manager |
1987 | Bionic Commando トップシークレット |
Capcom | Capcom | Arcade, NES | Designer |
1987 | Tiger Road 虎への道 |
Capcom | Capcom | Arcade | Designer |
1988 | Ghouls 'n Ghosts 大魔界村 |
Capcom | Capcom | Arcade | Designer |
1988 | Mega Man 2 ロックマン2 Dr.ワイリーの謎 |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1989 | Strider ストライダー飛竜 |
Capcom | Capcom | Arcade | Planning Adviser |
1989 | Destiny of an Emperor 天地を喰らう |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1989 | Willow ウィロー |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1989 | DuckTales わんぱくダック夢冒険 |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1989 | Marusa no Onna マルサの女 |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Director |
1989 | Sweet Home スウィートホーム |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Designer |
1990 | Mega Man 3 ロックマン3Dr.ワイリーの最期!? |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1990 | Gargoyle's Quest レッドアリーマー 魔界村外伝 |
Capcom | Capcom | Game Boy | Producer |
1990 | Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers チップとデールの大作戦 |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1990 | Street Fighter 2010: The Final Fight 2010 ストリートファイター |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1990 | Little Nemo: The Dream Master パジャマヒーロー NEMO |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Executive Producer |
1990 | Final Fight ファイナルファイト |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Special Thanks |
1991 | Super Ghouls 'n Ghosts 超魔界村 |
Capcom | Capcom | Arcade | Director |
1991 | Tenchi wo Kurau II 天地を喰らうII 諸葛孔明伝 |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1991 | The Little Mermaid | Capcom | Capcom | NES, Game Boy | Producer |
1991 | Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge ロックマンワールド |
Capcom | Capcom | Game Boy | Producer |
1991 | Mercs (戦場の狼 |
Capcom | Capcom | Arcade | Designer |
1991 | Mega Man 4 ロックマン4 新たなる野望!! |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1991 | TaleSpin | Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1991 | Mega Man II ロックマンワールド2 |
Capcom | Capcom | Game Boy | Producer |
1992 | Final Fight Guy ファイナルファイト・ガイ |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Special Thanks |
1992 | Darkwing Duck | Capcom | Capcom | NES, Game Boy | Producer |
1992 | Gargoyle's Quest II レッドアリーマーII |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1992 | Mega Man 5 ロックマン5ブルースの罠!? |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1992 | Mega Man III ロックマンワールド3 |
Capcom | Capcom | Game Boy | Producer |
1992 | Street Fighter II′ Turbo ストリートファイターIIダッシュターボ -HYPER FIGHTING- |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Special Thanks |
1993 | Breath of Fire ブレス オブ ファイア 竜の戦士 |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1993 | DuckTales 2 ダックテイルズ2 |
Capcom | Capcom | NES, Game Boy | Producer |
1993 | Final Fight 2 ファイナルファイト2 |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1993 | Mighty Final Fight マイティ ファイナルファイト |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Special Thanks |
1993 | Mega Man 6 ロックマン6史上最大の戦い!! |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1993 | Disney's Aladdin アラジン |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1993 | Mega Man IV ロックマンワールド4 |
Capcom | Capcom | Game Boy | Producer |
1993 | Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers 2 チップとデールの大作戦2 |
Capcom | Capcom | NES | Producer |
1993 | Mega Man X ロックマンX |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1994 | Mega Man Soccer ロックマンズサッカー |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1994 | Goof Troop グーフィーとマックス 海賊島の大冒険 |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1994 | Mega Man V ロックマンワールド5 |
Capcom | Capcom | Game Boy | Producer |
1994 | Demon's Crest デモンズブレイゾン 魔界村 紋章編 |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1994 | X-Men: Mutant Apocalypse エックスメン ミュータントアポカリプス |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1994 | Breath of Fire II ブレス オブ ファイアII 使命の子 |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1994 | Mega Man X2 ロックマンX2 |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1995 | Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dream ストリートファイターZERO |
Capcom | Capcom | PlayStation, Sega Saturn | Consumer Staff |
1995 | Mega Man 7 ロックマン7 宿命の対決! |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1995 | Mega Man X3 ロックマンX3 |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1995 | Final Fight 3 ファイナルファイトタフ |
Capcom | Capcom | SNES | Producer |
1996 | Resident Evil バイオハザード |
Capcom | Capcom | PlayStation | General Producer |
1998 | Tomba! オレっ!トンバ |
Whoopee Camp | Sony Computer Entertainment | PlayStation | Producer, Director |
1999 | Tomba! 2: The Evil Swine Return トンバ! ザ・ワイルドアドベンチャー |
Whoopee Camp | Sony Computer Entertainment | PlayStation | Producer, Designer |
2001 | Extermination エクスターミネーション |
Deep Space | Sony Computer Entertainment | PlayStation 2 | Executive Producer |
2003 | Hungry Ghosts ハングリィ ゴースト |
Deep Space | Sony Computer Entertainment | PlayStation 2 | Executive Producer, Director |
2006 | Ultimate Ghosts 'n Goblins 極魔界村 |
Tose | Capcom | PlayStation Portable | Director |
2006 | Bionic Commando Rearmed バイオニック コマンドー マスターD復活計画 |
GRiN | Capcom | PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PC | Consultant |
2009 | MadWorld マッドワールド |
PlatinumGames | Sega | Wii | Original Game Design |
2016 | Project Scissors: Night Cry | Nude Maker | Nude Maker | PC, PlayStation Vita, iOS, Android | Special Support (message) |
References
- ↑ Ohta Publishing (2009). "Game Center CX Complete" (Japanese). ISBN 978-4-7783-1180-3.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hamamura, Hirozaku (July 2, 2003). "The Lair of Hungry Ghosts". Famitsu. Translated by Fox, Fennec. Retrieved from archive.org. Accessed September 1, 2016.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 3.6 3.7 Staff (2003). "The Man Who Made Ghosts’n Goblins" (Japanese). Continue (12). Translated by GlitterBerri. Accessed September 1, 2016
- ↑ Tane, Kiyofume (February 2009). "The Father of Strider Who Made the Game World Explode: Kouichi Yotsui Discography". Gameside (16). Translated by Gaijin Punch for Gamengai. Accessed 24 Oct 2010.
- ↑ Strider. (Capcom). Arcade. Level/area: End credits. (March 7, 1989).
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Scion; Dire 51 (24 April 2010). "Interview with Kouichi "Isuke" Yotsui". LSCM 4.0. Translated by Gaijin Punch. Accessed September 1, 2016.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Jones, Darran (24 Apr 2010). "The Making of... Strider". Retro Gamer (76). pp. 48-53.
- ↑ "Makaimura Series – Interview Collection" (Japanese). Translated by Shmuplations.com. Accessed September 1, 2016