Nazca Corporation

Nazca Corporation (株式会社ナスカ) was a Japanese video game company that developed games for the Neo Geo console. The company was formed in 1994 by a group of arcade manufacturer Irem employees after the shutdown of its video game division and became a subsidiary of SNK in 1996.[1][2] It is best known for creating the Metal Slug franchise.

History

R-Type II ' s graphical style bears great similarity to what this team is known for. However, it is generally thought their first game was Air Duel; they would later make games such as Armed Police Unit Gallop, Undercover Cops, Pound For Pound, Ken-Go, and In the Hunt. Their final game for Irem was GunForce II, after which they left and created Nazca, creating Neo Turf Masters and Metal Slug; the latter shares many stylistic similarities to the previous Irem works and both titles were made with the same development kits used for several Irem arcade games. SNK, impressed by the success of Nazca's titles, formally acquired the developer, and would make the

Staff and design philosophy

Due to the common use of pseudonyms in arcade titles to hide identities, details of its staff remains scarce. However, various individuals have been important figures in the history of Nazca Corporation:

Atsushi Inaba, formerly of Capcom and current CEO at PlatinumGames, was a member of Nazca after leaving Irem, doing income management, then SNK after its acquisition, rekindling his interest in video game development. Although details were never delved, Inaba stated he did programming work on a Samurai Shodown title and was unhappy with his experience at SNK.[21] R-Type composer Masato Ishizaki was also a member of Nazca.[22]

Yoshihiko Kodo - Former Irem executive and president of Nazca Corporation. Later appointed as president of SNK. Executive producer for Metal Slug X.[3][4][5]

Takashi Nishiyama – Creator of Moon Patrol, Street Fighter and Fatal Fury. Head of development for Metal Slug. Later founded Dimps.[6]

Kinte – Team leader for R-Type. Chief designer for Neo Turf Masters.[7]

Kazuma Kujo – Co-designer for Metal Slug under the pseudonym "Kire-Nag". Later formed Granzella.[8][9][10]

Meeher (みぃはぁ) – Co-designer for Metal Slug.[11] Left SNK after their initial bankruptcy, but would return in 2003 to be a part of their pachislot division. He was also instrumental in helping Kazuma Kujo starting up Granzella.

Atsushi Kurooka – Programmer for Metal Slug. Previously worked on GunForce II at Irem. Later worked at PlatinumGames on The Wonderful 101.[12]

Kenji Andō – Programmer for Metal Slug under the pseudonym "Andy".[13]

Shinichi Hamada – Programmer for Metal Slug under the pseudonym "Hamachan".[13]

Akio Oyabu – Character designer for R-Type. Artist for Metal Slug. Later worked as freelancer on several projects. Currently active on Pixiv.[7][14][15][16][17][18]

Susumu - Background artist for several Irem titles and Metal Slug.[13] Like Akio, he became a freelance illustrator.

Kazuhiro Tanaka – Artist for Metal Slug under the pseudonym "Max.D".[13][19]

Takeshi Okui – Artist for Metal Slug. Later worked at Squaresoft and Monolith Soft on several projects.[13]

Takushi Hiyamuta – Composer for Neo Turf Masters and Metal Slug under the pseudonym "Hiya". Later worked as freelancer on several projects.[20]

trade name	Nazca
native name	株式会社ナスカ
romanized name	Kabushiki gaisha Nasuka
type	Kabushiki gaisha
industry	Video games
fate	Acquired by SNK then folded
parent	SNK
hq location	Suita, Osaka, Japan
area served	Japan
key people	Yoshihiko Kodo (president)
num employees	Approx. 30
num employees year	1996
products	Video games

History

Staff and design philosophy

Games

Developed

External links

References