Nintendo legend Takashi Tezuka is retiring after 40 years
The story
The designer and director of Super Mario Bros., Legend of Zelda, and Yoshi games, Takashi Tezuka, is set to leave Nintendo in 2026.
From the source
Takashi Tezuka, the director of Nintendo classics like Super Mario Bros. 3 and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past , will retire from Nintendo this summer, the company confirmed Friday. Tezuka joined Nintendo in 1984, and rapidly rose through the ranks as a graphics designer to game director to, ultimately, executive officer. He'll retire from Nintendo on June 26, Nintendo revealed in a financial document .
Tezuka started his career at Nintendo designing sprites for the original Punch-Out!! and quickly became an assistant director on the company's foundational video games. He served as an assistant director alongside Shigeru Miyamoto on titles like Excitebike , Super Mario Bros., and The Legend of Zelda . In some of his earliest games, Tezuka was credited under the nickname "Ten Ten."
After serving as an assistant director on multiple games and contributing to various game stories, Tezuka took over as the main director on Super Mario Bros. 2 , known in the West as Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels . He later directed and designed for games like Super Mario Bros. 3 , Super Mario World , The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past , and Yoshi's Island . Tezuka is credited with co-creating Yoshi with Shigefumi Hino. Tezuka's final game credit as a designer is 1996's Super Mario 64 .
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