> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://regionfree.net/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# Interview: Takaya Imamura
- URL: https://regionfree.net/takaya-imamura-omega-6-interview/
- Published: 2024-09-25T11:42:06.000Z
- Updated: 2025-04-12T10:02:32.000Z
- Description: I met with Imamura briefly at Gamescom to talk about his career, the influences of Omega 6, and what makes for a unique character design.
- Author: Joonatan Itkonen
- Tags: Interviews, Gamescom

**Takaya Imamura** is a video game designer, artist, and educator, whose most famous works at Nintendo include designs for games like *Star Fox*, *The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask*, and *F-Zero*.

After leaving Nintendo, Imamura worked as a teacher at the International Professional University of Technology in Osaka. During that time, he created the manga *Omega 6*, which he has now adapted into a game.

I met with Imamura briefly at Gamescom to talk about his career, the influences of *Omega 6*, and what makes for a unique character design.

*This interview was conducted through a translator and is edited for clarity.*

---

### **What was the biggest hurdle in translating your own manga into a game?**

**TI**: The manga is the manga, and the game is the game, that was really the difference. I didn't have a problem with separating them.

**The visuals in *Omega 6*, the game, feel familiar with things like *Star Fox* and *Starzinger*, both of which are classics in their own right. Was the style intentionally retro or a happy accident?**

There wasn't anything I was particularly looking for as an inspiration. But everything I see becomes inspiration nonetheless! There are so many things I've experienced, and they come out in the mix in the end.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0c/47/0c4798b4-e19d-4d8f-8475-ae0910a66a04/content/images/2025/03/78c225fc-5d89-4812-b9b2-f72ac6c03cc8_315x316-1.webp)

### **You've been a part of numerous iconic games and have had a hand at creating some of the most recognizable characters in the process. What makes for a good character design?**

**TI**: In a word, simplicity. Something that is easy to understand. I think recently there's so much detail to new characters, that it's difficult to remember what they look like. Simplicity is the best.

### **It's been a while since you left Nintendo, was the plan always to come back and return to character design, or did the hiatus end by accidentally?**

**TI**: Quite the opposite, I left Nintendo because I had this desire to create more and more. When you think about it, Nintendo is a company. Nobody does what they like, and I wanted more freedom, so it was natural that I left.

Basically, with *Omega 6*, what goes into the game is down to me. With a company, you could spend ages working on something and be told it can't make it into the game. *Omega 6* is my baby, so I can do whatever I like. That was important to me.

### **What's something that you look forward to in seeing how people react to *Omega 6*?**

**TI**: I hope the first thing they think is: "I see he's up to his old tricks again!"

*\[Imamura laughs devilishly\]*

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/0c/47/0c4798b4-e19d-4d8f-8475-ae0910a66a04/content/images/2025/03/eda17ce8-c20b-4ffc-a0e0-b1a75906ed0a_1920x1080-1.webp)