![]() Kujo-san was reticent he remembers all of them, they were his friends, but if they had not come forward to reveal their own identities, he did not feel comfortable outing them. We pressed for details on his colleagues – for example, who were Susumu, Hamachan, and (most importantly) Meeher? The last of these played a key role in Undercover Cops, Geo Storm, and the Metal Slug series. Kire means anger, or it can mean snapping. So that's why in my 20s I had nicknames like Oni, or Kire, or Tsumi, because I was angry. I was frustrated about my shortcomings as a game developer and also about things that didn't go as I wanted them to. I think I was always quite angry when I was in my 20s. But I'm also credited for some other games as planner. Certainly for Kaitei Daisensou, because I was the director. "At that time, the vast majority of Japanese companies did not allow you to put your real name in the credits Japanese game companies were closed off and insular and prohibited the disclosure of staff's real names. "For several games, I am credited under my nickname," Kujo-san tells us. We had to ask, why did everyone only use nicknames at Irem? Why did he keep changing his nickname, suffixing "Nag" to them? ![]() After R-Type II, Kujo-san was involved in Shisenshou: Match-Mania (GB, 1990), Air Duel (ARC, 1990, credited as "Tsumi-Nag"), and Superior Soldiers (ARC, 1993, "Oni-Nag"), before helming In The Hunt (ARC, 1993, credited as "Tobi-Nag"). This is ironic, given that Kujo-san would go on to create In The Hunt, a magnificent shmup which subverts most of the genre's tropes. " Kazuma Kujo - Image: John Szczepaniak & Nico Datiche I actually played it for 30 minutes, and they told me that I was too bad at it, so I was actually taken off that role. "He came to the department for planners and asked, 'Who is the worst at shooting games?' They said it was me, so that's how I got involved in testing for R-Type II. "The head of the business division was looking for someone who was really bad at shooting games," he explains. Kazuma Kujo's career at Irem started in 1989, on R-Type II, as a tester. His signature pose is to wear shades in every photo – because when you're cool, the sun shines on you 24 hours a day. ![]() He joined us for late-night coffee and a chat at a swanky Tokyo hotel, where we took photos and spent three hours grilling him on his impressive portfolio. ![]() He was involved with the R-Type series, created In The Hunt and the original Metal Slug, and later on worked on the likes of Steambot Chronicles and the Disaster Report series, and more recently was the director on R-Type Final 2. In The Hunt, however, we know quite a bit about, thanks to its director Kazuma Kujo. It's a sad reflection of Japanese company politics, especially given the important legacy Irem has as the developer of the genre-defining R-Type. Staff at Irem were never properly credited on anything, so unless developers admit to working on a game – or out their colleagues – we'll never know. Geo Storm is, sadly, both obscure as an arcade game and mysterious regarding its creation and legacy. Product hunt clone series#While the Metal Slug series of run-and-gun platformers has gained cult status since its origin in 1996, players might be unaware of its two direct predecessors by Irem: Geo Storm / GunHazard II from 1994, and the even earlier In The Hunt (known as Kaitei Daisensou in Japan) from 1993. ![]()
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