Takaya Imamura

Takaya Imamura (今村 孝矢) was formerly a graphic and character designer for Nintendo, and is the creator of designs including Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Slippy Toad, Peppy Hare, and more.

In developing a 3D shooting game for the Super Famicom, with the suggestion of Shigeru Miyamoto, Star Fox was created by introducing animal characters such as fox, inspired by Fushimi Inari-Taisha shrine in the neighborhood of Nintendo. The face designs of the Star Fox team were modeled on the development staff at that time by Imamura. Since then, he has continued to be involved in the series, being the art director for Star Fox 64, producer for Star Fox: Assault and Command, and supervisor for other Star Fox, such as Star Fox Adventures and Zero.

In addition to the Star Fox series, Imamura was also involved as a character and course designer for the F-Zero series, designer for several The Legend of Zelda series, and director for the Steel Diver series and Tank Troopers, among others.

In January 2021, Imamura left Nintendo, where he worked for 32 years.

References

• SNES Classic Edition - Star Fox & Star Fox 2 Developer Interview on Nintendo.com