Goichi Suda

Goichi Suda

Goichi Suda in 2008
Born (1968-01-02) January 2, 1968
Nagano, Japan
Nationality Japanese
Other names Suda51
Occupation CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture, Video game director
Notable work Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special
The Silver Case
killer7
No More Heroes
Shadows of the Damned
Lollipop Chainsaw
Killer Is Dead

Goichi Suda (須田 剛一 Suda Gōichi, born January 2, 1968), also known as Suda51, is the CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture and a former designer at Human Entertainment. The "51" in his nickname Suda51 is a pun on his given name. In Japanese, "Go" means 5 and "ichi" means 1. His works include Moonlight Syndrome, The Silver Case, Flower, Sun and Rain, Michigan, killer7, the No More Heroes series, Shadows of the Damned and most recently, Lollipop Chainsaw and Killer is Dead. He has been called an "auteur" video game director.[1][2]

Suda and his studio also frequently collaborate with other developers, including creating the story sequences for the Wii title Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse, Suda's involvement in Super Smash Bros. Brawl (his nickname "Suda51" appears in the credits for the game's "Subspace Emissary" mode), and a radio drama prequel to Snatcher with Hideo Kojima titled Sdatcher.

Career highlights

Suda was working as an undertaker, enjoying the booming Japanese arcade scene, when he noticed an advertisement for an opening at Human Entertainment, best known for designing the Clock Tower and Fire Pro Wrestling series. Suda applied but for weeks had not received a reply from Human. He figured his application had been passed over and planned to continue working as an undertaker, a job which he found himself disliking. Suda finally received a call from Human, and was immediately hired. He began work as a scenario writer on Super Fire Pro Wrestling 3 Final Bout. The next game he would work on, Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special, remains one of his most infamous to date due to its shocking ending.

Suda made his directorial debut creating the Syndrome series, which were similar in style to Clock Tower, until his departure in 1998 shortly before Human disbanded. He went on to form Grasshopper Manufacture around this time, and began work on The Silver Case. The Silver Case marked the debut of Grasshopper's signature "Film Window" style of editing, where text bounces and jiggles onto the screen at random. The game's story was written into two chapters, one following the investigation of a series of murder cases, the other about a journalist covering them.

In 2001, Grasshopper Manufacture developed Flower, Sun, and Rain for the PlayStation 2. Flower, Sun, and Rain takes place on an island called Lospass, with the Flower, Sun, and Rain hotel placed at the center. The game was known for its twisted story, about a "searcher" who is forced to relive the same day, again and again. While going about his business, he is trapped within other characters' problems. As the game continues, his hotel room begins to twist and turn, and he loses his sanity piece by piece. An enhanced version of the game with added content was released for the Nintendo DS in 2008 in Japan and Europe, and in North America in June 2009.

In 2005, Suda made his North American debut with killer7. The player takes control of Harman Smith, a 60-year-old wheelchair-bound assassin with seven personalities who manifest themselves into the real world. Each personality has their own personal style of killing, and the group is collectively known as the Killer7. The dominant personality is Garcian Smith ("The Cleaner"), who, while in the presence of security cameras or television sets, has the ability to call upon the six other members of the Killer7 anywhere at any time. Unlike most multiple personalities, Harman does not just think he becomes someone else. Rather, his personae actually take on a unique physical body when called upon. The Killer7 uncover a political plot between Japan and the United States, as Garcian slowly begins to realize the truth behind his past. Suda was known to make appearances wearing a lucha libre mask while promoting the game. While not a huge commercial hit, the game garnered a large cult following and in addition, killer7 also brought Grasshopper Manufacture to the interest of North American gamers.

Grasshopper later collaborated with Marvelous Interactive to release Contact for the Nintendo DS. The game was a much smaller hit than killer7, as Suda51 instead opted for a more "family friendly" title. Contact is the story of a young boy who is mixed up in a battle between the Professor and a group of intergalactic characters known as the CosmoNOTs. The game was localized by notable Atlus writer Tomm Hulett, and released in North America in October 2006. There is also rumored to be a planned Contact sequel.

On December 6, 2007, No More Heroes was released in Japan, and later in the rest of the world during early 2008. The story follows Travis Touchdown, who is a stereotypical otaku – his motel room decorated with professional wrestling and anime collectibles – living in near poverty in the motel No More Heroes of Santa Destroy, California. After winning a beam katana in an internet auction he becomes a hitman. When he runs out of money to buy video games and wrestling videos he accepts a job to kill Helter Skelter, also known as "the Drifter", which earns him rank 11 by the United Assassins Association, a governing body of assassins. Realizing that he has now made himself a target for aspiring assassins, he sets out to secure himself the coveted position of number one hitman in the UAA.

Suda expressed disappointment in the Japanese sales of the game, saying that only Nintendo is doing well in regard to the Wii's success because of its adoption by casual gamers. He later stated his comment was being misinterpreted, saying his "point was that No More Heroes, unlike a lot of Nintendo Wii titles currently available is the kind of product which will attract a different kind of consumer to the hardware, i.e. gamers who are looking for a different genre to the products which have been successful on this platform thus far." Outside Japan, sales of the game fared much better, allowing to create a sequel. Suda stated in an interview with Computer and Video Games that he was definitely interested in producing a sequel to No More Heroes, but it would have to be on the condition that the game sold enough to convince its publishers that it would be worth it.[3] This goal was reached, and on October 9, 2008 at the TGS he showed a teaser trailer of No More Heroes: Desperate Struggle a sequel to No More Heroes. A little over a year later, in January 2010, it was released in North America. The game was the best-received of any game in Grasshopper's history, scoring an 86 out of 100 according to review aggregate site Metacritic.

Works

Title Platform Release Credited as
Super Fire Pro Wrestling 3 Final Bout Super Famicom Released in Japan (1993) Director
Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special Super Famicom Released in Japan (1994) Director, scenario writer
Twilight Syndrome: Search PlayStation Released in Japan (1996) Director
Twilight Syndrome: Investigation PlayStation Released in Japan (1996) Director, writer
Moonlight Syndrome PlayStation Released in Japan (1997) Director, writer
The Silver Case PlayStation Released in Japan (1999) Director, writer
Flower, Sun, and Rain PlayStation 2 Released in Japan (2001) Director, writer
Michigan: Report from Hell PlayStation 2 Released in Japan (2004) and Europe Original plan, producer
Killer7 GameCube and PlayStation 2 Released in Japan (2005), North America, and Europe Director, designer, writer
The Silver Case 25 Ward i-mode and Yahoo! Keitai Released in Japan (2005) Director, writer
Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked PlayStation 2 Released in Japan (2006) and North America Director, writer
Contact Nintendo DS Released in Japan (2006), North America and Europe Producer
Blood+: One Night Kiss PlayStation 2 Released in Japan (2006) Director, writer
No More Heroes Wii Released in Japan December (2007), North America and Europe (2008) Director, designer, writer
Super Smash Bros. Brawl Wii Released in Japan, North America and Europe (2008) Special thanks
Flower, Sun and Rain: Murder and Mystery in Paradise Nintendo DS Released in Japan, North America and Europe (2008) Supervisor, original game staff
Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse[4] Wii Released in Japan (2008) Director, writer
The Silver Case Nintendo DS Unreleased Director, writer
No More Heroes 2: Desperate Struggle Wii Released in North America, Europe and Japan (2010) Executive director
Shadows of the Damned Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 Released in North America and Europe (2011) Executive producer, writer, story
Rebuild of Evangelion: Sound Impact PSP Released in Japan (2011) Creative producer
Sdatcher Internet radio drama Aired in Japan (September–November 2011) Writer, voice actor
Sine Mora Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, PC March 21, 2012 Producer
Diabolical Pitch Xbox 360 Kinect April 4, 2012 Producer
Lollipop Chainsaw Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 June 14, 2012 in Japan Creative director
Liberation Maiden Nintendo 3DS, iOS May 31, 2012 (Japan), October 4, 2012 (Europe), October 25, 2012 (North America) Original concept, creative director
Black Knight Sword Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 December 11, 2012 Executive producer, writer
Killer Is Dead Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PC August 27, 2013 Executive director, screenwriter, story
Liberation Maiden SIN PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita December 5, 2013 Scenario writer
Short Peace: Ranko Tsukigime’s Longest Day[5] PlayStation 3 January 16, 2014 (Japan), April 18, 2014 (North America and Europe) Original story, scenario writer, overseeing director
Let It Die PlayStation 4 2016 Executive director
The Silver Case Microsoft Windows 2016 Producer[6]

Other works

Goichi Suda wrote the lyrics for two songs used in his games. A Japanese song was used in Flower, Sun, and Rain entitled "F.S.R.-For You-" and an English song in No More Heroes. This one was entitled "The Virgin Child Makes Her Wish Without Feeling Anything". Suda's lyrical work has expanded into the title "Liberation Maiden", as the credits cite him as having written both of the game's vocalized music pieces.

References

  1. ↑ G. Christopher Williams. "Is Suda 51 the Alfred Hitchcock of Video Games?". PopMasters.
  2. ↑ "Look at the camera and smile: No More Heroes and the New Wave". Brainy Gamer.
  3. ↑ Advertisement
  4. ↑ "Fatal Frame IV: Mask of the Lunar Eclipse". Grasshopper Manufacture. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
  5. ↑ 2013-7-9 "Short Peace-based PlayStation 3 game announced" Check |url= value (help). gematsu.
  6. ↑ Romano, Sal. "The Silver Case Remaster Announced for PC". Gematsu. Retrieved 6 May 2016.

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