Takaya Imamura recently stepped away from Nintendo after a 32-year career with the company. Now a professor, Imamura was a developer and artist responsible for creating some of Nintendo’s most iconic imagery. As the designer of The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask‘s titular mask, one might think Imamura’s heart belongs to Zelda. Surprisingly, though, his favorite Nintendo game is actually in another franchise entirely.
Hired at Nintendo in 1989, Imamura designed beloved characters from the F-Zero and Star Fox series, along with other smaller projects, and had a significant role in A Link to the Past’s development. His most noticeable contributions to the Zelda franchise, though, are found in Majora’s Mask, as he was tasked with making the game look different from Ocarina of Time. This led Imamura to create some of the most memorable images in Zelda history, including the game’s unnerving moon, Tingle, and, of course, Majora’s Mask itself. But despite having such a key role in the Zelda franchise, it’s Star Fox that’s most important to him.
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“Star Fox 64 is the game of my life,” Imamura told IGN in a recent interview. Fox McCloud’s Nintendo 64 adventure isn’t quite as highly regarded as Imamura’s Zelda projects, but Imamura had a larger role on Star Fox 64 than in most of his other work up to that point.
Why Star Fox 64 Is Takaya Imamura’s Favorite Nintendo Game
Not only did Imamura do much of his usual design work for the game, but he also helped write the plot, created gameplay mechanics and graphics, and even had a hand in its music. Imamura ended up being credited as Star Fox 64‘s art director, but his influence on the game went much deeper than that. As he told IGN, the days of smaller AAA development teams meant “it was normal to work beyond your official responsibility.” Imamura said he is particularly proud of Star Fox 64‘s interactive nature and the way the game engrossed players via the characters’ radio communications and unique storytelling format. In many fans’ eyes, Star Fox 64 remains the peak of the entire series, and for that Imamura deserves a lot of credit.
Today, Star Fox and some of Imamura’s other series aren’t as prominent at Nintendo as they used to be, but he still left a strong mark on the company’s legacy. His work on the Zelda franchise and creation of Majora’s Mask might be his best-known contributions, but to many fans, his favorite project of Star Fox 64 remains an equally important and beloved part of Nintendo’s storied history.
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