Top 10 Game Designers

10. Daisuke Amaya (Studio Pixel)

Now I know what your thinking Daisuke Amaya only made one game worth noting which is Cave Story and my answer to that is......well yes. However, the fact that Amaya only made one really good game does not change the effect the game had on my life and how great a game it is. Cave Story showed me that it was possible to create a AAA quality game completely on your own. Cave Story itself influenced the production of many independent games especially The Underside. Cave Story also stands as one of the best games I played in the last 5 years which is impressive as much of my gaming consists of old games.

9. Masahiro Sakurai (Nintendo/Sora)

Sakurai makes this list mostly because of his creation of some of the most fun multiplayer experiences for me. When it came to Kirby Superstar it was the great mini games like Quick Draw and the option to play the whole campaign with another player. When it came to Super Smash Bros it was the 4 player fights that include some of Nintendo's most popular characters. Super Smash Bros still stands as the most played video game in my household. More recently Sakurai produced Kid Icarus Uprising which revived one of my favorite Nintendo games and succeeds in bringing it to the 3D age. Kid Icarus stands right now for me to be one of the main reasons to own a 3DS because of its addictive online multiplayer.

8. Goichi Suda (Grasshopper Manufacture)

Suda's games are weird and very fun. I get lots of mixed reviews of his games but, I find myself enjoying each game significantly. Suda first became great in my eyes when I played Killer 7 which was developed by him. Suda has always been a hero for me because he developed the No More Heroes series a great game for the Wii which I was in desperate need of. Suda also helped develop my favorite game on the Nintendo DS which was a quirky action RPG called Contact. The main thing I like about Suda's games is they don't take themselves too seriously but, at the same time have deep underlying themes. Suda is not afraid of doing crazy things with his games and that is why I am excited whenever he starts a new project

7. Hideki Kamiya (Capcom/Platinum Games)

Kamiya for me is the master of over the top action games. Suda does do a great job with his action games but, they do always fall short in some areas that Kamiya's action games do not. Kamiya first gained my respect with his Devil May Cry series which at first was supposed to be a sequel to Resident Evil. Kamiya created Viewtiful Joe a game that is a love letter to movies and to all the 2D beat em ups I played in arcades as a kid. Kamiya also created Okami which I would call Kamiya's interpretation of The Legend of Zelda series. Both games are great even thgough they do have problems with difficulty. Viewtiful Joe being "fake hard" and Okami being way too easy but, the action in each is so cool it makes you forget these flaws. Kamiya recently created Bayonetta which I like to think of as the perfect combination of Okami and Devil May Cry.

6. Shinji Mikami (Capcom/Platinum Games)

Mikami created Resident Evil which to me is the best survival horror video game ever made. Mikami also directed Vanquish which if it had an established multiplayer I would say its the best 3rd person shooter ever made. With 2 games I regard at the highest in their genres it is no wonder Shinji Mikami gets the number 6 spot.

5. Hironobu Sakaguchi (Squaresoft/Mistwalker)

Sakaguchi created the Final Fantasy series which is an accomplishment that alone gets him on this list ( please note that he did not create Final Fantasy 5, 6, 9, 12, and Tactics) that were directed by Hiroyuki Ito. Sakaguchi was also part of the 3 man dream team (Yuji Horii and Akira Toriyama) that created my favorite RPG of all time Chrono Trigger. Sakaguchi went on to found Mistwalker where he created Blue Dragon and The Last Story.

4. Keiji Inafune (Capcom/Comcept)

Inafune created my favorite platforming game Mega Man. Some people loved Mario or Sonic but, I always felt that Mega Man was far superior to these games. Mega Man had the tightest controls/physics and the powers you got from every boss made me feel like I was getting rewarded throughout the game. Mega Man sparked a number a spin-offs that Keiji Inafune was always apart of. Where lots of spin-offs fail Mega Man spin-offs actually were always really good as I enjoy the X, Battle Network, Zero, and Legends series. Keiji Inafune also was part of the creation of Dead Rising which is a very great game in its own right but, Inafune mostly makes this list for creating Mega Man.

3. Gunpei Yokoi (Nintendo/Bandai)

I bet there are loads of people who don't know who Yokoi is but, you should......shame on you if you don't! Yokoi is the creator of the Gameboy and the Dpad which is the best directional pad ever created just ask Sony lol. The main reason Yokoi is on this list because of the Gameboy. If you didn't know already my own game development mainly lies with portable systems and Yokoi was responsible for creating the best one. The fact of the matter is without the Gameboy Pokemon would not have even existed which I think makes Yokoi a very important designer. Now I know you all are thinking now there was a huge failure that Yokoi created too which was the Virtual Boy. Now while the Virtual Boy was not the greatest system the blame goes on Nintendo as the product was rushed and with consumers already knowing the Nintendo 64 or Ultra 64 was on the horizon Nintendo themselves doomed the Virtual Boy. With more time Yokoi could have maybe made the Virtual Boy in full color and added a strap to the system so you could where it comfortable on your face. Other then hardware Yokoi also worked on Metroid and Kid Icarus.

2. Hideo Kojima (Konami)

Kojima created many great games. Metal Gear Solid is one of the greatest experiences I ever had gaming, the gameplay is so unique and intuitive. Kojima also created my favorite video game of all time which is a game that used a solar sensor to hunt vampires called Boktai. Kojima was also responsible for Snatcher which is my favorite SEGA CD game and even more impressive my favorite point & click adventure game. Kojima just had a way of creating cinematic games that make you feel that your playing a great movie. Kojima is also what I would call a "prankster" as many of his games break the forth wall and have loads of easter eggs.

1. Shigeru Miyamoto (Nintendo)

Yes Miyamoto is on top as you probably already guessed by now and the reason is simple. Miyamoto has created most of what we call Nintendo today. Miyamoto himself created the Mario (including Donkey Kong), Legend of Zelda, and Pikmin series. I mean Miyamoto did not create all the franchises but, he worked on most of them including Kid Icarus and Star Fox. Now while Kojima makes lots of great games I cannot say that Kojima defined most of Konami's franchises like Miyamoto did for Nintendo. I mean if Kojima had created Castlevania it would have been a tie for first place. Miyamoto also made both Mario and Zelda make the transition to 3D without messing it up in fact I think they became even better than their 2D counterparts.