Omega 6: The Triangle Starsis the debut original game from Takaya Imamura, a true legend in gaming who spent 32 years working at Nintendo as one of its key artists. Imamura’s work is immediately recognizable by virtually anyone who has picked up a game controller in the last several decades, having pennedF-Zero’s mascot Captain Falcon, the titular mask from TheLegend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask,and many of theiconic characters fromStar Foxto name a few.
After his tenure atNintendo, Imamura could finally illustrate his very own sci-fi manga,Omega 6. Inspired by the lighthearted fun of Saturday morning cartoons, Imamura felt that the classic point-and-click adventure format would be a fitting way to adapt the manga into a video game. In an interview with Game Rant, Imamura spoke about his time at Nintendo leading up toOmega 6’s inception and how this is a full-circle moment from his Nintendo job interview in 1989.
Takaya Imamura Wasn’t Held Back At Nintendo
Although Imamura spent a third of a century employed at Nintendo, he noted thatOmega 6: The Triangle Starsisn’t a cathartic release from possible restrictions during his career there. It’s likely in no small part due to the freedom Nintendo afforded him that so many memorable designs came to fruition. Of course, his own game likely benefits from the absolutefreedom of indie game development. Imamura reflected:
To be honest, while I was at Nintendo, I didn’t really feel that many restrictions. I think they really let me do exactly what I wanted—I wasn’t under strict control, so to speak.
If anything, I would say that being able to draw the manga wasn’t so much a release of stress, but it was something I couldn’t do until I was no longer at Nintendo. It was my creative release.
Looking back, if you’re an internal part of the Mario team or the Zelda team, you end up making those games for years and years.
But my career spanned a lot of different genres, series, and characters. Maybe it was just because I was too much of an individual—they couldn’t really nail me down to one project. I’m not sure.
Lately, indiestudios run by ex-AAA developershave been popping up in increasing numbers often out of frustration with the corporatized world of high-end game development. Refreshingly, that doesn’t appear to be the case with Imamura’s independent venture in gaming. While some freedoms naturally come with his departure from Nintendo, he doesn’t feel he was held back creatively.
Omega 6: The Triangle Stars is a Full-Circle Moment for Takaya Imamura
As for what inspired the youthful sci-fi adventure ofOmega 6, Imamura cited a lifelong fascination with science fiction.Sci-fi films likeStar WarsandSilent Runningwere some named influences, and it’s a known anecdote that Imamura referred to the sci-fi sidescrollerMetroidas his favorite Nintendo game during his job interview with Shigeru Miyamoto. Imamura also pointed to that same job interview when discussing his inspiration forOmega 6:
There’s nothing in particular that I took direct inspiration from, but ever since I was a kid, I’ve always loved science fiction films—Star Wars, that kind of thing.
I think the closest thing to a source I can give you for Omega 6 is actually from when I went to my interview with Nintendo. One of the things I brought with me to showcase my work was a comic I had made, which I showed to Miyamoto-san. It was kind of like a science fiction manga, and that became the roots of Omega 6 as you see it today.
It’s a touching coincidence that a manga idea presented to secure his fateful career at Nintendo would eventually lead to his first original game after that career’s conclusion. WhileOmega 6: The Triangle Starsis intended to be a nostalgic experiencefor gamers, it’s likely just as nostalgic for the artist who envisioned it so many years ago.
