Goichi Suda
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| Goichi Suda | |
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| Born | January 02, 1968 (age 39) Nagano |
| Occupation | CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture |
Goichi Suda (須田剛一 Suda Goichi?, born January 2, 1968), is the CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture. The "51" in his nickname, SUDA51, is a pun on his given name. "Go" means 5 and "ichi" means 1. His works include Moonlight Syndrome for the PlayStation, The Silver Case, Michigan and most recently, his first game to be released in the United States, Killer7. He was known for appearing in pictures wearing a lucha libre mask when promoting Killer 7. He is currently working on a project with Hideo Kojima tentatively titled Project S, as well as No More Heroes, both for Nintendo's Wii console.
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[edit] Career Highlights
Suda was working as an undertaker, enjoying the booming Japanese arcade scene, when he saw an ad for an opening at Human Entertainment (known for Clock Tower (series) and the Fire Pro Wrestling series). Suda applied but heard no word from Human for weeks. He figured his application was passed over and planned to continue working as an undertaker, a job he found himself disliking. He finally received a call back from Human, and got the job. He began work as a scenario writer on Super Fire ProWrestling Special. His work on Special still remains one of his most infamous to date because of the shocking ending, where the hero commits suicide.
He worked on the Syndrome games before Human closed its doors. Suda formed GHM (Grasshopper Manufacture) in 1998 after his departure from Human, and began work on The Silver Case. The Silver Case (or also known as Silver Jiken) marked the debut of GHM's signature "Film Window" style of editing, where words bounce and jiggle onto the screen at random. The 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, GHM and Suda developed Flower, Sun, and Rain for the PlayStation 2. FSR takes place on an island called Lospass, with a hotel called "Flower, Sun, and Rain" 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.
2005 brought Suda's American debut, Killer7. The player takes control of Garcian Smith, a "cleaner" and one of 7 assassins controlled by Harman Smith, hired to battle a new threat called Heaven Smile. The player uncovers a political plot between Japan and the US, as Garcian slowly begins to realize the truth behind his past. While not a huge commercial hit, Killer7 brought to interest GHM amongst American gamers. The game received mixed reviews, including the controversial "GamePro" review. GamePro gave Killer7 a shocking low score, to the point where many fans declared it obsolete and lacking in any professional quality. GamePro had another editor of theirs re-review the game, to much dismay/entertainment of the Killer7 fanbase.
GHM teamed up with Marvelous to release Contact for the Nintendo DS. The game was a much smaller hit than Killer7, as Suda 51 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 translated by notable Atlus writer Tomm Hulett, and released in America October 2006. There is a rumored sequel in the works.
Today, Grasshopper commands a total of 40 employees. Suda continues to work on No More Heroes, but news related to Project S and the Contact sequel still remain in the dark.
[edit] Trademarks
- Film Window style of editing cutscenes (Silver Case, Killer 7, to some extent Samurai Champloo Sidetracked)
- Pop culture and film references directly involving specific characters (the pigeon names in Killer 7, the pop idol in Contact)
- Music plays a strong part of the story and scenes (stairway in Killer 7, chapter names in Flower, Sun, and Rain, No More Heroes is an Album by "The Stranglers, and the character "Helter Skelter" in No More Heroes is also a song by The Beatles)
- Frames dedicated to a single character (character/enemy introductions in Killer 7, Professor's top screen in Contact)
- Heavy dialog with various meanings or interpretations (the trailer for No More Heroes is often believed to be linked with the console war between the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo Wii)
- Characters with strange last names (Travis Touchdown, Kess BloodySunday)
- Assassins as main characters (Sumio Mondo in Flower, Sun, and Rain; Garcian in Killer7; Travis Touchdown in No More Heroes)
- The death of main characters
[edit] Trivia
- His favorite game is Another World (known as Out Of This World in the United States)
- His favorite film is Paris, Texas
- Once appeared on the Kojima Production's Report and Hidechan Radio[1]
- A major fan of wrestling (namely lucha libre)
- Wore a libre mask before the release of Killer 7 to promote his new game
[edit] Works
| Title | Japanese title | Platform | Release status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Super Fire Pro Wrestling 3 Final Bout | スーパーファイヤープロレスリング3 ファイナルバウト | Super Famicom | Released in Japan (1993) |
| Super Fire Pro Wrestling Special | スーパーファイヤープロレスリング スペシャル | Super Famicom | Released in Japan (1994) |
| Twilight Syndrome: Search | トワイライトシンドローム 探索編 | PlayStation | Released in Japan (1996) |
| Twilight Syndrome: Investigation | トワイライトシンドローム 究明編 | PlayStation | Released in Japan (1996) |
| Moonlight Syndrome | ムーンライトシンドローム | PlayStation | Released in Japan (1997) |
| The Silver Case | シルバー事件 | PlayStation | Released in Japan (1999) |
| Flower, Sun, and Rain | 花と太陽と雨と | PlayStation | Released in Japan (2001) |
| Michigan: Report from Hell | michigan | PlayStation 2 | Released in Japan (2004) and Europe |
| Killer7 | killer7 | GameCube and PlayStation 2 | Released in Japan (2005), North America, and Europe |
| Samurai Champloo: Sidetracked | SAMURAI CHAMPLOO サムライチャンプルー | PlayStation 2 | Released in Japan (2006) and North America |
| Contact | Contact | Nintendo DS | Released in Japan (2006), North America and Europe |
| BLOOD+ One Night Kiss | BLOOD+ One Night Kiss | PlayStation 2 | Released in Japan (2006) |
| No More Heroes | No More Heroes | Wii | In production |
| Kurayami | 暗闇 | PlayStation 3 | In production |
| Project 'S' | Project 'S' | Wii | In production |
| Untitled Wii game[citation needed] | Untitled Wii game | Wii | In production |
| The Silver Case | シルバー事件 | Nintendo DS | In production |
| The Silver Case Word 25 | シルバー事件 25区 | Nintendo DS | In production |
| Untitled Xbox 360 game | Untitled Xbox 360 game | Xbox 360 | Pre-production |
