Hirokazu Yasuhara

Hirokazu Yasuhara's corporate photo from Naughty Dog.

Another pivotal name in the early years of Sonic, Hirokazu Yasuhara was the original game and level designer. He was probably the most actively involved in the early development of the series, and remained one of the chief map designers all the way through Sonic R in 1997. He even had a hand in the design of the shelved Sonic X-treme. In 2002, Yasuhara left Sega where, according to Yuji Naka, he had become "useless," and joined At Naughty Dog, where he has since worked on Jak 2.

Quotes

"I was opposed to [Sega's] decision to create games that use 'Sonic-something' so that they can sell it easily. I wanted to make good games, not any games that used the Sonic character in a haphazard way."

Production History

• Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) — Director(Game Planner)
• Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) — Director(Game Planner), Object Placement
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994) — Director, Lead Game designer
• Sonic & Knuckles (1994) — Director, Lead Game designer
• Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles (1994) — Director, Lead Game designer
• Sonic 3D Blast (1995) — Playfield Design, Saturn Enhancements
• Sonic Xtreme (1996) — Head Designer
• Sonic R (1997) — Map Design Director
• Sega Smash Pack 2 (2000) — Special Thanks
• Floigan Brothers: Episode 1 (2001) — Game Designer
• Jak 2 (2003) — Game Designer
• Jak 3 (2004) — Game Designer
• Jak X: Combat Racing (2005) — Game Designer
• Uncharted: Drake's Fortune (2007) — Game Designer