was a Japanese company that developed video games for the Neo Geo games console. The company was formed in 1994 by a group of employees from Irem who were tired of the company's inactivity. In 1996, the company was acquired by SNK.
History
R-Type II's graphical style bears great similarity to what this team is known for. However, it is generally thought their first game was Air Duel; they would later make games such as Armed Police Unit Gallop, Undercover Cops, Pound For Pound, Ken-Go, and Kaitei Daisensou. Their final game for Irem was GunForce II, after which they left and created Nazca, creating Neo Turf Masters and Metal Slug; the latter shares many stylistic similarities to the previous Irem works and both titles were made with the same development kits used for several Irem arcade games. They were seemingly absorbed by SNK thereafter, and would make the second and thirdMetal Slug games. The team disbanded after SNK filed for bankruptcy in 2001. Nine of the original Nazca staff answered questions from an undated text interview that was translated and included in Metal Slug Anthology. Because the common use of pseudonyms in arcade titles to hide identities, details of its staff remains scarce. One known key member is composer Takushi Hiyamuta, responsible for composing nearly every game listed here, in whole or part. He was considered part of SNK's in-house band, the "Shinsekai Gakkyoku Zatsugidan". He was interviewed for the Metal Slug Complete Sound Box released in 2008. The only works he is credited for since Metal Slug 3 are Yuusha 30, and producer on Sammy Corporation's Dolphin Blue, a credit he shares with fellow Nazca staffer KOZO. He currently works as a freelance musician, serving as the lead guitarist in the rock band GRowTH. Graphic designer Akio worked for SNK after their bankruptcy in 2001, serving as the lead character designer for Metal Slug Anthology, and as character designer for Metal Slug XX. His final involvement with the company was the design of Metal Slug protagonist Marco Rossi for 2010's , released a few months after Metal Slug XX. Other contributions he made directly for the company are currently unknown. He currently works as a freelance artist, remaining fairly active on Japanese art website Pixiv, and has contributed illustrations to Mobius Final Fantasy and Street Fighter V: Arcade Edition, but does not use any other form of social media. Kazuma Kujo, credited as KIRE-NAG in the first Metal Slug, went on to form Granzella Games after leaving both Irem and Nazca, but declined to comment on the status and identity of key staff members including lead designer Meeher and graphic artists Akio and Susumu.
Staff and design philosophy
Due to the common use of pseudonyms in arcade titles to hide identities, details of its staff remains scarce but various individuals have been important figures in the history of Nazca Corporation:
Yoshihiko Kodo - Former Irem executive and president of Nazca Corporation. Later appointed as president of SNK. Executive producer for Metal Slug X.
Takashi Nishiyama – Creator of Moon Patrol, Street Fighter and Fatal Fury. Head of development for Metal Slug. Later founded Dimps.
Kinte – Team leader for R-Type. Chief designer for Neo Turf Masters.
Kazuma Kujo – Co-designer for Metal Slug under the pseudonym "Kire-Nag". Later formed Granzella.
Meeher – Co-designer for Metal Slug.
Atsushi Kurooka – Programmer for Metal Slug. Previously worked on GunForce II at Irem. Later worked at PlatinumGames on The Wonderful 101.
Kenji Andō – Programmer for Metal Slug under the pseudonym "Andy".
Shinichi Hamada – Programmer for Metal Slug under the pseudonym "Hamachan".
Akio – Character designer for R-Type. Artist for Metal Slug. Later worked as freelancer on several projects. Currently active on Pixiv.
Kazuhiro Tanaka – Artist for Metal Slug under the pseudonym "Max.D".
Takeshi Okui – Artist for Metal Slug. Later worked at Squaresoft and Monolith Soft on several projects.
Takushi Hiyamuta – Composer for Neo Turf Masters and Metal Slug under the pseudonym "Hiya". Later worked as freelancer on several projects.
Atsushi Inaba, formerly of Capcom and current producer at PlatinumGames, was a member of Nazca after leaving Irem, doing income management, then SNK after its acquisition, rekindling his interest in video game development. Although details were never delved, Inaba stated he did programming work on a Samurai Shodown title and was unhappy with his experience at SNK. R-Type composer Masato Ishizaki was also a member of Nazca.
