I want to take a moment here to highlight Goichi Suda, more popularly known by the catchier pseudonym Suda 51 (On a side note, it’s a play on his given name - “go” means five and “ichi” means one in Japanese. See, puns are fun in any language!). This is a man who deserves infinitely more attention and more exposure. In fact, I feel no hesitation when I say that Suda 51 may possibly be the most important man in the gaming world today.
The debate about whether video games are an art form or not has been going on fairly quietly for a number of years now. I personally can’t understand how anyone can say that games are not art, while movies and TV get a free pass. But that’s not the point I intend to argue here and now. The fact is, regardless of where you stand on the issue, Suda 51 is making a damn good case for the pro-art form side and is doing everything in his power to bring a renaissance-type revolution to the industry.If big-name franchises like Grand Theft Auto, Halo, and Final Fantasy are the Hollywood blockbusters, then Suda 51 is the indy filmmaker who’s trying to survive in a world where box office is the bottom line. He is the CEO of Grasshopper Manufacture, a little studio that has carved out a niche for itself in the industry making unconventional but very intriguing games.
He first burst onto the American scene with Killer7 on GCN and PS2. Now I’m not gonna lie: Killer7 is the ultimate example of a love-it-or-hate-it product. Personally I think it’s a masterpiece and one of the best games of last gen, but I can certainly see why a lot of people think the opposite. It brings to mind something a Creative Writing teacher once told me in college: You know you have a good story when half the class likes it and the other half doesn’t. By this measure, Suda 51 definitely told a good story.
If you’re a fan of more coherent or formulaic plots, straightforward action, or games without talking disembodied heads, Killer7 is not the game for you. But if you’re like me, and you enjoy the weird, freaky, and totally unconventional, it’s truly a joy to play. The real gem is the plot, which at first seems totally hodgepodge and nonsensical. There are many layers, however, that tie it all together in a profound way. It’s one of those stories that require you to reflect upon it for a while after it’s over to really appreciate everything that happened, but you’ll only get out of it as much as you put in.
Killer7
Without getting in to it too much, Killer7’s story unites large scale themes like racial tension, Eastern vs. Western values, even the nature of God and the perpetual existence of evil. Not content to stop there, Suda also threw in more intimate, personal themes involving the main characters’ moral dilemmas and the understanding (or lack thereof) of their own identities. And all of it wraps up into one interrelated package with a ton of room for the player’s own interpretations.
No More Heroes
But this is not a review for Killer7, it’s a discussion of the creator. Suda 51 went on to produce No More Heroes for the Wii, which fared surprisingly well – enough that the sequel’s production has just been announced. Killer7 was a very stylish game in its own right; No More Heroes takes it to a whole new level. I couldn’t begin to put into words just how cool and slick the game is, but five minutes of watching it in action would be enough. More importantly, though, it borrows the ability from its predecessor to tell a superficially simple story that has many subtle undertones that you miss at first glance. No More Heroes is not only very entertaining but also an interesting social commentary about our generation and, as crazy as it sounds, a criticism of the modern gamer mentality.
I love mindless entertainment as much as the next guy, but I for one need a little bit of balance. It’s great to play a game that is intellectually stimulating that also isn’t a puzzle game or Brain Age. The RPG has been the only real genre to revolve specifically around engaging narratives – but there is more food for thought in Suda’s action games than a lot of RPG’s.
The bottom line is that Suda 51 is one of the precious few creative minds out there that are making games like these – games that challenge the player’s mind and not just the fingers. And it gives me hope that among the hundreds of mindless, gory, and flashy games coming out all the time (many of which I enjoy), a guy like Suda is trying to carve out a new direction for those of us who are willing to see where it goes. For those of you out there who still don’t think video games are art, look to Suda 51 – because he’s the guy that will get them there.