Veteran Nintendo designer and producer Kensuke Tanabe has reportedly suggested he’s retiring from the company, after nearly 40 years of service.
In an interview with Japanese magazine Nintendo Dream, which has been uploaded by a user on Weibo, Tanabe is claimed to have said that Metroid Prime 4 was his last game at Nintendo, and that producer Risa Tabata will likely succeed him, should another Metroid Prime game be made. VGC interviewed Tanabe and Tabata back in 2020.
Tanabe is claimed to have said that when he was planting hints in Metroid Prime 3 and Metroid Prime: Federation Force about villain Sylux, he kept thinking to himself that one day he wanted to make a game about Samus and Sylux.
He explained that, because of his age, he realised Metroid Prime 4 might be his last chance to do this, so he decided it would be the first game in the Sylux saga.
“I envisioned Sylux as a dark, resentful villain who resorts to underhanded tactics,” he said (via machine translation). “After this game, Samus would realize that a direct confrontation with him is inevitable – she must defeat him completely.
“That’s why the final showdown between Sylux and Samus remains unfinished. However, completing this game took far longer than anticipated.
“Furthermore, I have confirmed that I will no longer be involved in the production of the series moving forward. Whether a sequel will be made is still uncertain, but I sincerely hope that one day, Ms Tabata and Retro Studios will be able to tell this story completely and bring it to a close.”
While this appears to suggest Tanabe is only ending his involvement in the Metroid Prime series, the article reportedly ends with him confirming that he’s ending his time at Nintendo altogether.
“It’s been 40 years since I joined Nintendo,” he said in a statement to readers. “Metroid Prime 4 will be my final title developed at Nintendo.
“However, we didn’t set out to create anything ‘special’ because of this. Instead, we worked closely with Retro Studios, just as we always have with Nintendo projects, aiming to deliver a fun and unique experience for players of all ages and playstyles.
“If it leaves a lasting impression in the memories of those who play it, I’ll be deeply gratified. And for those who haven’t yet experienced it, I urge you to see the unknown planet of Viewros through Samus’s eyes.”
VGC has asked Nintendo for comment on this story.
Having joined the company in 1986, Tanabe is one of Nintendo’s old guard. His first game as director was Super Mario Bros. 2, and he also contributed design to classic games like Super Mario Bros. 3, and The Legend of Zelda titles A Link to the Past and Link’s Awakening.
In the 90s, Tanabe moved into a producer role, overseeing many of the externally developed titles Nintendo collaborated on, such as Pokémon Snap, Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire, and Eternal Darkness.
In the modern era, he’s best known as the long-time producer of the Metroid Prime and Paper Mario series. In total, Tanabe is credited in more than 150 games.
At 62, Tanabe is one of many prominent Nintendo creators from the Famicom and Super Famicom era at, or approaching, retirement age, including Super Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto (72), Super Metroid director Yoshio Sakamoto (65), Mario designer Takashi Tezuka (64), composer Koji Kondo (63), Zelda boss Eiji Aonuma (62), and Super Mario Kart designer Tadashi Sugiyama (66).
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