Yuji Naka

Yuji Naka (中裕司), born 17 September 1965 in Osaka, Japan, is a video game designer, programmer, the former head of Sonic Team (usually credited by his alias, YU2), and currently the head of the video game development company, Prope.

History

When Yuji Naka was 17 years old, he decided that he wanted to program video games. He owed this fascination to Ryuichi Sakamotos "Yellow Magic Orchestra" program, which allowed the composition of music on your computer.

Being a large fan of Namco, Yuji Naka aimed to work for them after he graduated from college. However, Namco only accepted work from university graduates, and thus Yuji Naka would not be eligible as he did not want to go to university.

He did however score a job at Sega as a programming assistant. His first release was a game for the Sega Mark III called Girl's Garden, but his massive breakthrough wasn't far off. In 1990 Yuji Naka, along with Naoto Ohshima and Hirokazu Yasuhara began work on the original Sonic the Hedgehog. Naka became a leading programmer for the newly founded "Sonic Team" which would be the team in control of most projects featuring Sega's mascot. After the completion of Sonic 2, he became the producer of Sonic Team.

On March 16, 2006 it was announced that Naka would be creating his own game studio, independent of Sega. Naka left Sega to set up this studio, called Prope, but has since come back as a consultant for various Sega titles, including Sonic the Hedgehog titles.

Production History

Girl's Garden (1984) — Designer [NOTE: Also Lead Programmer]
Space Harrier (1985) — Lead Programmer
Great Baseball (1985) — Programmer
F-16 Fighting Falcon (1985) — Programmer
Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) (1986) — Programmer
OutRun (1986) — Lead Programmer
Spy vs. Spy (1986) — Lead Programming
OutRun (Master System Version) (1987)
Phantasy Star (1987) — Main Program (as Muuuu Yuji)
Super Thunder Blade (1988) — Executive Producer (as Muuu Yuji) [NOTE: Also Lead Programmer]
Phantasy Star II (1989) — Producer / Programmer (as Muuu Yuji)
Ghouls'n Ghosts (Mega Drive Version) (1989) — Lead Programmer
Phantasy Star III: Generations of Doom (1990) — Special Thanks
Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) — Program (as YU2) [NOTE: Also Project Manager]
Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) — Chief Programmer [NOTE: Also Project Manager]
Sonic Spinball (1993) — A Special Bow to
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994) — Producer, Lead Programmer
Sonic & Knuckles (1994) — Producer, Lead Programmer
Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (1994) — Producer, Lead Programmer
NiGHTS into Dreams (1996) — Producer, Lead Programmer
Christmas NiGHTS (1996) — Producer, Programmer
Sonic 3D Blast (1996) — Advisor
Sonic Jam (1997) — Producer
Sonic R (1997) — General Producer, Supervisor
Burning Rangers (1998) — Producer
Sonic Adventure (1998) — Producer
ChuChu Rocket! (Dreamcast Version) (1999) — Producer, Director
Sonic the Hedgehog Pocket Adventure (1999) — Superviser (as Y. Naka), Produce (as Y. Naka)
Samba de Amigo (2000) — Producer
Samba de Amigo Ver.2000 (2000) — Producer
Phantasy Star Online (2000) — Producer
ChuChu Rocket! (GBA Version) (2001) — Producer, Director
Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) — Producer
Phantasy Star Online Ver.2 (2001) — Producer
Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (2001) — Producer
Sonic Advance (2001) — Producer
Sonic Mega Collection (2002) — Producer
Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 (2002) — Producer
Sonic Advance 2 (2002) — Producer
Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 Plus (2003) — Producer
Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut (2003) — Producer
Sonic Pinball Party (2003) — Producer
Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (2003) — Producer
Sonic Battle (2003) — Producer
Sonic Heroes (2003) — Producer
Sonic Advance 3 (2004) — Producer
Virtua Quest (2004) — Special Thanks
Feel the Magic XY/XX (2004) — Chief Producer
Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2004) — Producer
Puyo Pop Fever (GBA Version) (2004) — Producer
Sonic Gems Collection (2005) — Chief Producer
Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) — Producer
Sonic Rush (2005) — Producer
Sonic Riders (2006) — Executive Producer
Phantasy Star Universe (2006) — Executive Producer
Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) — Original Executive Producer
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2007) — Original Executive Producer
NiGHTS into Dreams (PS2 Version) (2008) — Special Thanks
Let's Tap (2008) — Producer

Song Credits

OutRun (Master System Version)

Magical Sound Shower — Arrangement
Passing Breeze — Arrangement
Splash Wave — Arrangement
Last Wave — Arrangement

Interviews