Yoshinori Ono: My 3 favourite games

By Tamoor Hussain for computerandvideogames.com

In our last Game Changers, Duke Nukem Forever and Gearbox boss Randy Pitchford revealed the three games that made him the developer he is today.

This time we're chatting to Yoshinori Ono, the Capcom producer that is more fondly thought of as the modern day Mr. Street Fighter.

While not the father of gaming's favourite fighting franchise, Ono is responsible for reviving the series in 2008 with Street Fighter IV.

It was the first Street Fighter to be released in almost ten years and was followed in 2010 by Super Street Fighter IV (and Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition in 2011) which is widely regarded as the point at which Street Fighter reached a new peak of form.

Here are, what he describes as, the "three pivotal games" that changed his life.

Invader

This came way before famous consoles. It was on a big flat screen, you would put coins in and then play on one side. When you finish your game the screen flips to the other side and the other person would compete against your score. This was the moment when I discovered competing at a game, it basically got me started.

Castlevania (1986)

Before this, games were about shooting. 'Launching things at something' was pretty much the extent of games. With Castlevania, Konami came up with this brilliant 'whip' mechanic, whipping enemies was a completely new concept. It's also a really intricately designed, complete game. It's modular, with stages but at the same time as a whole it's complete.

When people ask me who I respect the most I always say Miyamoto-san, but oddly enough the game I respect the most is Castlevania, not Super Mario.

Grand Theft Auto 3 (2001)

This game basically opened my eyes to how the whole concept of gaming has changed over time. After playing GTA 3 I've become more conscious of marketing, perception of what people want in games, what they are seeking to do in games and how they want to look at themselves playing games. It has made me think a lot since playing it.