Kan Naito
Kan Naito (内藤寛, Naitō Kan) is a programmer and game designer who directed Shining and the Darkness and was among the programmers for Shining Force. Naito was one of the founding members at Climax Entertainment along with Yoshitaka Tamaki, Yasuhiro Taguchi, and Hiroyuki Takahashi.[1]
Kan Naito's earliest game credits are as chief programmer on Dragon Quest III and IV, which he helped develop as an employee of Chunsoft.
During the development of Shining Force, Kan Naito and other Climax staff started work on the Shining project that would eventually become Land Stalker.
After Yoshitaka Tamaki's departure from Climax in 1993, Naito continued to work him at Max Entertainment, a studio founded by Kenji Orimo and staffed by Climax employees, on the strategy role-playing game FEDA, a spiritual sequel to Shining Force. Naito returned to the Shining series in 2003 to serve as executive producer on the remake of the first Shining Force, for which Tamaki served as character designer.
Kan Naito remained the president of Climax Entertainment until its closure in 2015.[2] Today he may be found on his YouTube channel, where he publishes videos showcasing his modifications of Dragon Quest III.[3]
Translated Statements
Beep21, "Mourning Yoshitaka Tamaki" (December 2023)
Famicom Tsūshin, "The Future of RPGs" (1993)
Famicom Tsūshin, "Game Designers: The Next Generation" (May 1993)
Introduction to Game Design (1994)
Game Credits
| JP Release | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| Feb. 1988 | Dragon Quest III | Chief Programmer |
| Feb. 1990 | Dragon Quest IV | Chief Programmer |
| March 1991 | Shining and the Darkness | Director |
| March 1992 | Shining Force | Programmer |
| Oct. 1992 | Land Stalker | Executive Director, Chief Programmer |
| Oct. 1994 | FEDA | Supervisor |
| April 1995 | Lady Stalker | Executive Director, Chief Programmer |
| Aug. 1996 | Dark Savior | Executive Director, Chief Programmer |
| May 1997 | Runabout | Producer, Car Parameters, Obstacles, Course Layout, Concept and Design |
| Sept. 1999 | Climax Landers | Producer, VMU Programmer |
| Nov. 1999 | Runabout 2 | Executive Producer, Concept, Voice |
| May 2000 | Super Runabout: San Francisco Edition | Executive Producer |
| July 2000 | Virtua Athlete 2K | Model for Game Character? |
| May 2002 | Runabout 3: Neo Age | Production Total Command |
| Aug. 2004 | Shining Force: Resurrection of the Black Dragon | Executive Producer |
| Nov. 2007 | Dinosaur King | Special Thanks |
| July 2008 | Steal Princess | Special Thanks |
| July 2012 | Danbōrusenki Baku Boost | Special Advisor |
Gallery
The Making of Land Stalker: The World of Genius Programmer Kan Naito
The following glamour shots of our beautiful boy are excerpted from The Making of Land Stalker.[4]
External Links
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/Kan_Naito_JP
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@KanNaito/
References
- ↑ Mega Drive Fan (メガドライブFAN), November 1990 issue. Tokuma Shoten Intermedia, October 1990, p. 7.
- ↑ Company website. Climax Entertainment, Climax.co.jp. [Archived] June 18, 2013.
- ↑ Kan Naito Channel, YouTube.
- ↑ The Making of Land Stalker: The World of Genius Programmer Kan Naito (メイキング・オブ・ランドストーカー天才プログラマー内藤寛の世界). Shogakukan, November 10, 1992. [Internet Archive]
Staff Directory
| Shining Staff | |
|---|---|
| Artists | Yoshitaka Tamaki・Hiroshi Kajiyama・SUEZEN・Fumihide Aoki・Shin Yamanouchi・Tony Taka・Masaki Hirooka・Yuriko Nishiyama・pako・Noizi Ito・Shishizaru・HACCAN・Ryota Murayama |
| Musicians | Masahiko Yoshimura・Motoaki Takenouchi・Motoi Sakuraba |
| Writers | Masaki Wachi・Sami Shinosaki |
| Translators | Victor Ireland |
| Programmers | Kan Naito・Yasuhiro Taguchi・P. E. Jareth Hein |
| Directors | Kenji Orimo |
| Producers | Hiroyuki Takahashi・Shugo Takahashi・Tsuyoshi Sawada |
| Related Staff | |
| Artists | Masanori Sato |
| Translators | Jon Rodgers |