Is Hidetaka Miyazaki the Best Game Creator of All Time?

Saiyaman · Mar 5, 2022

I think he can certainly be listed amongst the top designers/creators out there. I don't know if there's a singular best, however.

How is it that there are over 300 replies in this thread and nobody mentioned Yuji Horii? That man created Dragon Quest. All these JRPG creators/designers were mentioned, but not Horii? Give that man his flowers too.

nachum00 · Mar 5, 2022

Weltall Zero said:
Holy moly. :D Here, have some more raw material for that man you're building.

Yup keep the condescending attitude

Daddy JeanPi · Mar 5, 2022

acrowe said:
is posting this level of blatant bullshit and then replying with "offended?" (haha trollface) a bannable offense because if not this place is might be a lawless hellscape lol

Let's agree to disagree and move on with life. Jesus.

Ryuelli · Mar 5, 2022

No, but I also have no interest in Souls stuff.

Miyazaki seems like a genius at creating good stuff in one genre, dude's definitely found his niche, but he comes nowhere close to someone like Miyamoto who has done that with multiple genres.

redflamingolingo · Mar 5, 2022

bionic77 said:
If he makes one more great game I think we have to move beyond greatest creator to greatest human beings of all time.

I mean yeah Jesus did some things but I mean cmon did you see the metacritic ratings on Elden Ring?

Finally. Someone who gets it.

Hoa · Mar 5, 2022

Not the greatest, he is up high on the list though. This is one of those impossible questions.

Weltall Zero said:
The notion that someone can't surpass the people they were inspired by is downright laughable. Ueda was in turn influenced by Kenji Eno; does that make Eno better than Ueda?

Right? There are some crazy takes up in here. This discussion around anything Souls (honestly more than just Souls) here is boringly toxic now.

Weltall Zero · Mar 5, 2022

Daddy JeanPi said:
I don't mind. I know people are entitled to opinions and i only voiced my own not calling out anyone specifically.

Your original post said that everyone disagreeing with you were "not rooted in reality". That's a long shot from "everyone is entitled to their opinions".

I'm not sure what you expected to happen when you painted as a cloudcuccoolander everone that believes that Elden Ring (a game getting 10s left and right) is among the best games ever, but acting suprised when people call you out is frankly rather hilarious.

nachum00 said:
Yup keep the condescending attitude

Does putting you on ignore qualify?

Arkanim94 · Mar 5, 2022

bionic77 said:
If he makes one more great game I think we have to move beyond greatest creator to greatest human beings of all time.

I mean yeah Jesus did some things but I mean cmon did you see the metacritic ratings on Elden Ring?

Wiltsghost · Mar 5, 2022

AhiKuma said:
Nah it's Druckmann.

Lol

acrowe · Mar 5, 2022

Saiyaman said:
How is it that there are over 300 replies in this thread and nobody mentioned Yuji Horii? That man created Dragon Quest. All these JRPG creators/designers were mentioned, but not Horii? Give that man his flowers too.

this is so true! people who know the history of Japanese games will mostly agree that Horii is one of the most important by far but most people on here will just give you the same line about how it's "the same game over and over" or whatever (despite hailing mario and zelda series as the real videogames)

: (

Daddy JeanPi · Mar 5, 2022

Weltall Zero said:
Your original post said that everyone disagreeing with you were "not rooted in reality". That's a long shot from "everyone is entitled to their opinions".

I'm not sure what you expected to happen when you painted as a cloudcuccoolander everone that believes that Elden Ring (a game getting 10s left and right) is among the best games ever, but acting suprised when people call you out is frankly rather hilarious.

Does putting you on ignore qualify?

That's another way of saying "let's be real, etc, etc". Anyway, i'm not attacking anyone who agrees or disagrees with me. There are many other thread about games people love and some other people voice their disagreements. I'm not trying to start or participate in a war of opinions. I love the game too.

NPTinker · Mar 5, 2022

Miyazaki is the Christopher Nolan of gaming lol. Made some good stuffs but the fans are so obnoxious

Dr. Doom · Mar 5, 2022

Let's see...

Exact same formula in all games

Exact same UI

Nearly identical gameplay mechanics

Yes, best creator ever. The hyperbole for Elden Rings and Soulsbourne games is insane. There is nothing revolutionary about them.

TheXbox · Mar 5, 2022

Miyamoto stands alone.

Nesther · Mar 5, 2022

He is up there for sure. Hard to argue against Miyamoto being the GOAT tho

Dyle · Mar 5, 2022

No he didn't make Desert Golfing

Liquid Plejades · Mar 5, 2022

I'm a fan but his games are far too similar. Not necessarily a bad thing and maybe I'm too nit picky, but when even in a brand new game like elden ring there's still unnecessary jank such as weapon, armour and hair clipping into each other. It just bothers me. It's not even about performance of the game but more so attention to detail. Curious to see what he does next.

acrowe · Mar 5, 2022

Dr. Doom said:
Let's see...

Exact same formula in all games

Exact same UI

Nearly identical gameplay mechanics

Yes, best creator ever. The hyperbole for Elden Rings and Soulsbourne games is insane. There is nothing revolutionary about them.

hyperbole huh.... it seems you might know something about that..

redflamingolingo I feel you but why have you done this? you have summoned up untold curses with this thread! this is the greatest pile of horrendous takes I have ever seen! : (

Host Samurai · Mar 5, 2022

I love them all but voted Mikami cuz I'm a RE fanboy

Sulik2 · Mar 5, 2022

It's Sid Meier. Not a lot of people are old enough on this forum to appreciate the massive breadth of game design he did in the early years far beyond just civ. The man is brilliant. Miyamoto is probably number 2.

bionic77 · Mar 5, 2022

Arkanim94 said:

Future greats won't get worthless statues. They will get priceless NFTs.

DeeDubs · Mar 5, 2022

Easily the best.

falcondoc · Mar 5, 2022

Man makes the same game over and over again.... so no?

Raigor · Mar 5, 2022

Not having Todd and the Housers Brothers in this list shows a complete lack of gaming history.

They pioneered the "open world game design" over 20 years before any other developer, Todd in the form of RPGs while the houser brothers in the form of a big and living city.

redflamingolingo · Mar 5, 2022

acrowe said:
hyperbole huh.... it seems you might know something about that..

redflamingolingo I feel you but why have you done this? you have summoned up untold curses with this thread! this is the greatest pile of horrendous takes I have ever seen! : (

I guess what I meant to say was who is your favorite game creator? When I write the best, I mean "best to you." The phrasing makes all the difference, I suppose. Didn't mean to start a war. Sheesh.

AhiKuma · Mar 5, 2022

Wiltsghost said:
Lol

I mean Last of Us Part 2 is the most awarded game of all time so I'd say he's up there.

Dever · Mar 5, 2022

Yeah one of the best for sure. Only real negative I can think of is all of his games are built on top of the massive innovations he brought to the table with Demon's Souls. I wouldn't say he's the greatest game creator of all time either, but I think someone like Kojima deserves props for massively changing up the gameplay with every MGS entry, and then doing something completely different with Death Stranding.

Although maybe we would have seen a similar level of evolution if Demon's Souls was a PS1 game.

abellwillring · Mar 5, 2022

I think he lacks the variety. He's made the same game repeatedly, sometimes with a new coat of paint. Where Miyamoto stands out is his range while retaining the same level of excellence.

Miyamoto is in a league of his own. Sid Meier (in a similar boat as Miyazaki) is probably #2 for me. Civilization changed my gaming life back in my pre-teen years.

redflamingolingo · Mar 5, 2022

Raigor said:
Not having Todd and the Housers Brothers in this list shows a complete lack of gaming history.

They pioneered the "open world game design" over 20 years before any other developer, Todd in the form of RPGs while the houser brothers in the form of a big and living city.

I was adding the Housers and Howard but then ran out of poll options, so I put the last option on there instead. Thought about deleting Meier and Carmack for them but decided not to.

SunBroDave · Mar 5, 2022

He doesn't create the games all by himself, so I wouldn't use the term "creator". But best creative director or creative leader? Yeah probably. Elden Ring is a masterclass in understanding player psychology, and and exploiting it to create an exciting experience. Elden Ring is like 100-200 hours of this, most of it optional and guided by the player's own motivations. It's one of, if not the best gaming work yet released.

John Omaha · Mar 5, 2022

Not even top 10 in Japan alone.

nachum00 · Mar 5, 2022

Hoa said:
Right? There are some crazy takes up in here. This discussion around anything Souls (honestly more than just Souls) here is boringly toxic now.

Except I literally didn't say that. I stated a fact that Miyazaki quit his job and became a dev after playing Ico. People reading into shit when I was just trying to play up Ueda's influence on the industry.
Whatever

WyLD iNk · Mar 5, 2022

Hahahaha, oh man. I love Bloodborne like my own child, but there's no way in Hell he's among the best, much less *the* best. He's got a niche fairly well cornered, but at the end of the day, he's less impactful than everyone else in the poll.

SunBroDave · Mar 5, 2022

abellwillring said:
I think he lacks the variety. He's made the same game repeatedly, sometimes with a new coat of paint.

Tell me you haven't played Elden Ring without telling me you haven't played Elden Ring

-Tetsuo- · Mar 5, 2022

There is no one best

Foreign Jackass · Mar 5, 2022

As addicted as I am to Elden Ring…

It's Miyamoto and it's not even close. Elden Ring is Dark Souls is Bloodborne is Demon's Souls.

He's done the same great game over and over with some mecanics tinkering. Elden Ring is the biggest change so far and it's basically a BOTW-type open world version of what he did earlier.

God I love it though.

Many · Mar 5, 2022

It's ok to have favorites, the man it's probably in the top of bests creator. But not for me as the absolute best (nobody is)

Foreign Jackass · Mar 5, 2022

SunBroDave said:
Tell me you haven't played Elden Ring without telling me you haven't played Elden Ring

Yeah, no, I've played 40 hours of Elden Ring, which is awesome, and he's still right.

404LinkNotFound · Mar 5, 2022

Sigeru miyamoto or Yu suzuki

M. Wallace · Mar 5, 2022

Ra · Mar 5, 2022

Piston said:
That was my thought on entering the thread. He makes one type of game very well and iterates on that structure. He hasn't ventured out into different genres which means he will only appeal to certain types of gamers. This could be said for any creator to some extent but I think it is especially glaring for him.

Doesn't he kind of have to change it up now, after Elden Ring? I mean, he's iterated and this is pretty much the "magnum opus" of his formula. The man can't just go back to the well with Dark Souls 4 next, can he?

For those who like narratives, Miyazaki's legacy is defined by what comes after Elden Ring.

Ravenwraith · Mar 5, 2022

He has a good claim on his niche, but there are plenty of designers in history that have done that. It's like saying Sakamoto is the best for polishing the 2D metroid formula.

Sumio Mondo · Mar 5, 2022

lucablight said:
He is most certainly a genius when it comes to creating games. Hasn't made anything less than amazing from Armored Core 4 onwards. He deserves to be talked about as one of the all time greats.

He started off strong as the director with AC4, tbh. I'm sure the new Armored Core is going to be amazing, as well.

skaertus · Mar 5, 2022

He is not even close.

Miyamoto has to be the best one. He created Super Mario Bros., The Legend of Zelda, and the masterpiece that is Super Mario Bros. 3. He was also involved in many other Nintendo games such as the all-time best Super Mario World, Star Fox, F-Zero, and many others. He is definitely the face of Nintendo.

I recognize that John Carmack is very good and skilled, although first-person shooters are not my cup of tea. Sid Meier also deserves to be on the list.

I would mention some of my favorites:

Ron Gilbert (he did both Monkey Island and Maniac Mansion, and Thimbleweed Park only shows how good he is);
Tim Schafer (he did Day of the Tentacle and Full Throttle);
Emiko Yamamoto (she did Castle of Illusion, Quack Shot and World of Illusion for the Genesis);
Akira Yasuda (Capcom designer for Final Fight, Street Fighter II, Captain Commando, Darkstalkers, and the Marvel fighting games);
Yuji Naka (lead programmer for Sonic the Hedgehog series and Phantasy Star);
Roberta Williams (King's Quest, Phantasmagoria, Laura Bow);
Noah Dudley (producer of The Magical Quest, The Great Circus Mystery, and Aladdin for SNES);
Hitoshi Akamatsu (director of the three original Castlevania games);
Tōru Iwatani (of Pac-Man);
Tokuro Fujiwara (Ghosts 'N Goblins, Ghouls N' Ghosts, Commando, Bionic Commando, and producer of Mega Man and of Capcom Disney titles such as Duck Tales and Magical Quest);
Alexey Pajitnov (Tetris);
Stamper Brothers (creators of Donkey Kong Country).

Big Yoshi · Mar 5, 2022

Hidetaka Miyazaki literally keeps making the same few games, that isn't a bad thing but I don't think you could be called the best creator of all time when you never move out of your niche.

808s & Villainy · Mar 5, 2022

Miyamoto has just directed/helped create such a wide berth of games from different genres, a number of which have literally birthed genres and been influential decades later, it's hard to not having him at top.

Miyazaki is very good at what he does, but his games don't have the variety. He's like Kojima in that he has a specific area of games that he makes really well, but I'd have to see him branch out more

Hailinel · Mar 5, 2022

Crystal Ball, show me a GameFAQs thread on Era.

Ra said:
Doesn't he kind of have to change it up now, after Elden Ring? I mean, he's iterated and this is pretty much the "magnum opus" of his formula. The man can't just go back to the well with Dark Souls 4 next, can he?

For those who like narratives, Miyazaki's legacy is defined by what comes after Elden Ring.

He can keep doing what he wants. Even the most revered designers tend to find the most success in their niches. Kojima isn't known for much outside of Metal Gear, and the one notable time he ventured away from it out of necessity, it was the extremely polarizing Death Stranding.

Similarly, no one would question Sid Meier's legacy if he makes nothing but strategy games forever.

A designer sticking to the genre they know the most isn't necessarily limiting themselves.

jotun? · Mar 5, 2022

Gotta be either John Romero or Peter Molyneux

werezompire · Mar 5, 2022

Ra said:
Doesn't he kind of have to change it up now, after Elden Ring? I mean, he's iterated and this is pretty much the "magnum opus" of his formula. The man can't just go back to the well with Dark Souls 4 next, can he?

If in 2025, FromSoft released Elden Ring 2 which was just Elden Ring 1 with a new world & a few minor improvements, I can't imagine many fans would complain.

HououinKyouma · Mar 5, 2022

One of the greats, but I'd like to see him branch out in a new direction and succeed before I put him in the upper echelon. He's mastered the craft he created, now let's see what else he can do.

Is Hidetaka Miyazaki the Best Game Creator of All Time?