is a video game artist who works for

Sonic Team is a video game developer owned by the Japanese video game company Sega as part of its Sega CS Research and Development No. 2 division. Sonic Team is best known for the long-running ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series and games such as '' Nights int ...

as the studio's creative director. His first role involved working with

Sega is a Japanese multinational video game and entertainment company headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its international branches, Sega of America and Sega Europe, are headquartered in Irvine, California and London, respectively. Its division ...

on ''

Sonic the Hedgehog CD is a 1993 platform game for the Sega CD developed and published by Sega. The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog as he attempts to save an extraterrestrial body, Little Planet, from Doctor Robotnik. Like other '' Sonic'' games, Sonic runs and ...

'' as a character/ sprite, special-stage, and visual designer. He is notable for creating

Metal Sonic The ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the game ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or Doctor ...

and

Amy Rose The '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' video game franchise began in 1991 with the game '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' for the Sega Genesis, which pitted a blue anthropomorphic hedgehog named Sonic against a rotund male human villain named Doctor Eggman (or Do ...

. He was

Sega Studio USA is a video game developer owned by the Japanese video game company Sega as part of its Sega CS Research and Development No. 2 division. Sonic Team is best known for the long-running ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series and games such as '' Nights int ...

's art director and lead character designer until part of the studio was absorbed back into the Japanese parent company. At the American branch, he worked alongside

Takashi Iizuka , better known by his ring name , is a Japanese retired professional wrestler. He is best known for his 33-year career in New Japan Pro-Wrestling (NJPW), where he was a three-time IWGP Tag Team Champion. He has also worked for Pro Wrestling Noa ...

, as they both determined the best direction and style for their games. As of 2019, Kazuyuki is the Creative Director at Sonic Team in Sega of Japan.

Production history

* '' Panic!'' (

Mega CD The Sega CD, released as the in most regions outside North America and Brazil, is a CD-ROM accessory for the Sega Genesis produced by Sega as part of the fourth generation of video game consoles. It was released on December 12, 1991, in Japan, ...

; 1993) — Graphic Design * ''

Sonic CD is a 1993 platform game for the Sega CD developed and published by Sega. The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog as he attempts to save an extraterrestrial body, Little Planet, from Doctor Robotnik. Like other ''Sonic'' games, Sonic runs and ...

'' (1993) — Artist, Character Designer, Special Stage Designer, Visual Design, Illustrations, Sprite Design (Secret Special Stage Staff) * ''

Knuckles' Chaotix ''Knuckles' Chaotix'' is a 1995 platform game developed by Sega for the 32X. A Spin-off (media), spin-off from the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, it features Knuckles the Echidna and four other characters known as the Chaotix, who must prevent ...

'' (1995) — Original Character Concept (as Kazuyoshi Yoshino), Character Designer (as Kazuyoshi Yoshino), Enemy Designer (as Kazuyoshi Yoshino) * '' NiGHTS into Dreams'' ( Saturn; 1996) — Artist, Character Designer * '' Sonic 3D: Flickies' Island'' (Saturn Version) (1996) — Artist (SOJ) (Special Stage Development) * ''

Sonic R is a 1997 racing game developed by Traveller's Tales and Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. It is the third racing game in the '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, and the first to feature 3D computer graphics. The player race ...

'' (Saturn Version) (1997) — Additional Artwork (Sega Enterprises Ltd.) * ''

Sonic Jam ''Sonic Jam'' is a video game compilation developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega for the Sega Saturn. It was released in Japan in June 1997, and in North America and Europe two months later. It contains the four main ''Sonic the Hedgehog' ...

'' (1997) — Artist * '' Burning Rangers'' (1998) — Internet Support * ''

'' (PC version) (1998) — Additional artwork (Sega Enterprises Ltd.) (Sega) * ''

Sonic Adventure is a 1998 platform game for Sega's Dreamcast and the first main ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game to feature 3D gameplay. It follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic the Hedgehog, Miles "Tails" Prower, Knuckles the Echidna, Amy Rose, Big the ...

'' (1998) — Art Director, Lead Field Artist, Enemy Character Designer * ''

Sonic Adventure 2 is a platform video game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega. It was the final ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' game for the Dreamcast after Sega left the home console market. It features two good-vs-evil stories: Sonic the Hedgehog, Tail ...

'' (2001) — Art Director, Player Character Designer, Enemy Character Designer, CG Movie Director * '' Sonic Adventure DX: Director's Cut'' (2003) — Character Designer (Sonic Adventure DX Staff) * ''

Sonic Heroes is a 2003 3D platform game developed by Sonic Team USA and published by Sega as part of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. The player races a team of series characters through levels to amass rings, defeat robots, and collect the seven Cha ...

'' (2003) — Art Director, Enemy Designer, Story Board Designer * ''

Sonic Gems Collection ''Sonic Gems Collection'' is a 2005 compilation of Sega video games, primarily those in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. The emulated games span multiple genres and consoles—from the Sega Genesis to the Sega Saturn—and retain the featur ...

'' (2005) — Special Thanks * ''

Shadow the Hedgehog is a fictional character appearing in Sega's '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. Shadow was created by Takashi Iizuka and Shiro Maekawa, and first made his debut in ''Sonic Adventure 2'' (2001). Although this was intended to be his only appear ...

'' (2005) — Art Director, Character Designer, Enemy Artist, Weapon Artist, CG Movie Supervisor * '' Sonic Rivals'' (2006) — Art Supervisor, Character Artwork * '' Sonic Rivals 2'' (2007) — Art Supervisor, Character Artwork * ''

Sonic Unleashed ''Sonic Unleashed'' is a 2008 platform video game in the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series. The story follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic as he attempts to restore the world after his nemesis Doctor Eggman shatters it with a powerful laser ...

'' (2008) — Special Thanks * '' Sonic and the Black Knight'' (2009) — Special Thanks * '' Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games'' (Wii version) (2009) — Art Director, Graphic UI Artist * ''

Sonic & Sega All-Stars Racing is a 2010 kart racing video game, produced for Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo DS (February 23, 2010), and Microsoft Windows (March 3, 2010), featuring characters from multiple List of Sega video game franchises, Sega franchises. The game ...

'' (2010) — CS2 R&D (Sega Japan) * '' Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games'' (Wii version) (2011) — Senior Art Director (Art Design Section) * '' Sonic Generations'' (2011) — Special Thanks * '' Mario & Sonic at the London 2012 Olympic Games'' (3DS version) (2012) — Senior Art Director (Art Design) * ''

Sonic & All-Stars Racing Transformed is a kart racing video game developed by Sumo Digital and published by Sega. It was released for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii U in November 2012, for PlayStation Vita in December 2012, for Windows in January 2013, for Nintendo 3DS i ...

'' (2012) — CS2 R&D (Sega Corporation) * ''

Sonic Lost World is a 2013 action-adventure platform game developed by Sonic Team. It is part of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series, and was released in October 2013 for the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS in PAL regions by Nintendo and by Sega in North America and Japan. ...

'' (2013) — Project Support (Sega Corporation) * '' Mario & Sonic at the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games'' (2013) — Senior Art Director (Sega Development Team) * ''

Puyo Puyo Tetris is a puzzle video game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. The game is a Fictional crossovers in video games, crossover between the ''Puyo Puyo'' series and the ''Tetris'' franchise, and features various gameplay modes incorporating b ...

'' (2014) — Project Support * '' Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS'' (2014) — Supervisor (Original Games) * ''

Sonic Boom (TV series) ''Sonic Boom'' is a CGI-animated television series, produced by Sega of America, Inc. and OuiDo! Productions in collaboration with Lagardère Thématiques and Jeunesse TV, respectively for Cartoon Network, Canal J and Gulli. Loosely based on t ...

'' (2014) — Sonic Character & Universe Supervision * '' Sonic Boom: Rise of Lyric'' (2014) — Character Supervisor (Sonic Team) (Sega of Japan) (Sega) * '' Sonic Boom: Shattered Crystal'' (2014) — Character Supervisor (Sega of Japan CS2) (Sega of Japan) * ''

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U and (colloquially and collectively referred to as ''Super Smash Bros. 4'' or ''Smash 4'') is a group of two 2014 crossover fighting video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS ...

'' (2014) — Supervisor (Original Games) * ''

Sonic Runners was a 2015 endless runner game in the '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise for Android and iOS. It was developed by Sonic Team as its first ''Sonic'' game exclusive to smartphones and published by Sega. In ''Sonic Runners'', the player-charac ...

'' (2015) — Project Support * ''

Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is a crossover sports and party game in the ''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games'' series, released for the Nintendo 3DS in February 2016 in Japan, March 2016 in North America, and in April 2016 for Europe and Australia, and for the Wii U world ...

'' (2016) — Senior Art Director (Sega Games Development Team) *'' Sonic Boom: Fire & Ice'' (2016) — Project Support * ''

'' (Switch version) (2017) — Project Manager * ''

Sonic Mania ''Sonic Mania'' is a 2017 platform game published by Sega for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and Windows. Produced in commemoration of the ''Sonic the Hedgehog'' series' 25th anniversary, ''Sonic Mania'' pays homage to the original S ...

'' (2017) — Director of Creative Services (Sega), Animation Supervisor (Animation Intro), Director of Creative Services (Creative Services) * ''

Sonic Forces is a platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. It was produced in commemoration of the 25th anniversary of the '' Sonic the Hedgehog'' franchise. The story sees Sonic the Hedgehog joining a resistance force to stop Docto ...

'' (2017) — Director of Creative Services (SEGA of America, Inc.) * ''Chao In Space'' (2019) — Executive Producer * ''

Sonic Frontiers is a 2022 platform game developed by Sonic Team and published by Sega. As Sonic, the player explores the Starfall Islands to collect the Chaos Emeralds, after Sonic and his friends are separated when falling through a wormhole. ''Frontiers'' i ...

'' (2022) — Director of Creative Services (SEGA of America, Inc.)

References

Year of birth missing (living people) Living people Japanese art directors Japanese artists {{Sega-stub