Yu Suzuki
Games of Fame: Virtual Fighter, Shenmue, and Shenmue II.
Signature of Style: If you fed quarters to coin gobblers like Space Harrier, Hang-On, or After Burner II, you have Yu Suzuki to thank for producing them. While his earlier years with Sega were defined by these straightforward rail racers/shooters, Suzuki eventually went on to introduce many important features influential to a variety of games ranging from God of War to the Elder Scrolls series.
After overseeing the introduction of the third dimension to with the first 3D fighting game, Virtua Fighter, Suzuki moved on to direct the costly production of Sega's next big project: an epic two-part role-playing game, Shenmue.
Shenmue's comprehensive list of features almost reads like a checklist for any immersive open-world title, and brought randomly generated weather, a large population of NPCs irrelevant to plot progression, lots of side-quests, and Easter egg minigames to the table. The game's Quick Time Event action sequences - which require you to follow button prompts to trigger your character's movements and attacks - has also become a staple of many modern action games.
Above: Shenmue still looks good today, but its graphics were jaw-dropping at the time of its release in 1999
Sega hoped Shenmue would be the Dreamcast's killer app and guardian against the growing anticipation for Sony's PlayStaion 2, and no expense was spared. But due to its high production costs, Shenmue and Shenmue II winded up flopping financially despite its stunning visuals and high praise from most critics. Still, Shenmue's impact on role-playing, sandbox, and action games can still be felt today, and marked the beginning and end of Suzuki's short-lived - yet influential - auteur status.
