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Kensuke Tanabe
Kensuke Tanabe
田邊賢輔
	Tanabe at E3 2013
Born	January 26, 1963 (age 61); Ikeda, Osaka, Japan
Alma mater	Osaka University of Arts
Occupation(s)	Video game producer, designer
Years active	1986–present
Employer	Nintendo
Notable work	Super Mario; The Legend of Zelda; Metroid Prime; Chibi-Robo!
Title	Manager at Nintendo SPD Production Group No. 3 (2004–2015); Manager at Nintendo EPD Production Group No. 6 (2015–2019); Senior Officer at Nintendo EPD (2019–present)

Kensuke Tanabe (田邊賢輔, Tanabe Kensuke, born January 26, 1963)^[2] is a Japanese video game producer and designer working for Nintendo, where he currently is Senior Officer at Nintendo EPD.

After he had graduated from the Visual Concept Planning Department of Osaka University of Arts, he decided to enter the video game industry, and joined Nintendo in April 1986.^[1]^[3]

At first, Tanabe was part of the Entertainment Analysis and Development division.^[4] He directed the platform games Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic and Super Mario Bros. 2, and worked on the scripts for the action-adventures The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening.^[3]^[4] In 2003, Tanabe moved to the Software Planning and Development division, where he became the manager of Production Group No. 3.^[1]^[4] Since then, he has become a producer, and has managed and overseen the development of external developed first party Nintendo video games, such as Metroid Prime, Donkey Kong Country, Paper Mario, Chibi-Robo and other series.^[3]

Works

Year	Game	Credit(s)
1987	Yume Kojo: Doki Doki Panic	Director, course design
1988	Super Mario Bros. 2	Director, course design
1988	Super Mario Bros. 3	Course design
1991	The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past	Scenario writer
1993	The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening	Scenario writer
1994	Stunt Race FX	Map design
	Kirby's Dream Course	Map design
	Donkey Kong Country	Additional support
1995	Kirby's Avalanche	Nintendo staff
	Kirby's Dream Land 2	Map design
	Kirby's Block Ball	Supervisor
1996	Super Mario RPG	Screenplay advisor
	Kirby Super Star	Advisor
	Star Wars: Shadows of the Empire	Japanese text translation
	BS Super Mario USA Power Challenge	Original design
1998	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	Script Support
1999	Pokémon Snap	Supervisor
2000	Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards	Assistant manager
2001	Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite!	Advisor
	Super Mario Advance	Supervisor
	Magical Vacation	Advisor
2002	Cubivore: Survival of the Fittest	Supervisor
	Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak	Advisor
	Eternal Darkness: Sanity's Requiem	Supervisor
	Metroid Prime	Co-producer
2003	GiFTPiA	Supervisor
2003	Hamtaro: Rainbow Rescue	Advisor
2004	Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door	Supervisor
2004	Metroid Prime 2: Echoes	Producer
2005	Star Fox: Assault	Project management
	Kirby: Canvas Curse	Producer
	Chibi-Robo!
	Geist
	Battalion Wars
	Metroid Prime Pinball
	Super Mario Strikers
	Tottoko Hamtaro Nazo Nazo Q Kumonoue no ? Jou
2006	Mother 3
	Magical Starsign
	Freshly-Picked Tingle's Rosy Rupeeland
	Mario vs. Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis
	Custom Robo Arena
	Kirby: Squeak Squad
	Excite Truck
	Metroid Prime Hunters
2007	Super Paper Mario
	Mario Strikers Charged
	Chibi-Robo!: Park Patrol
	Theta
	Battalion Wars 2
	Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
2008	Super Smash Bros. Brawl
	Captain Rainbow
	Mystery Case Files: MillionHeir
	Kirby Super Star Ultra
2009	Picross 3D
	Picturebook Games: Pop-Up Pursuit
	Bonsai Barber
	Punch-Out!!
	Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again!
	Okaeri! Chibi Robo! Happy Richie Dai Souji
	Irodzuki Tingle no Koi no Balloon Trip
	Rock N' Roll Climber
	Metroid Prime: Trilogy
	Art Academy
	Picturebook Games: The Royal Bluff
	Excitebike: World Rally
	Eco Shooter: Plant 530
	A Kappa's Trail
	Excitebots: Trick Racing
2010	Aura-Aura Climber	Associate producer
	Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem!	Producer
	Donkey Kong Country Returns
2011	Pilotwings Resort
	Mystery Case Files: The Malgrave Incident
	Kirby Mass Attack	Senior producer
	Freakyforms: Your Creations, Alive!	Producer
	Pushmo
2012	Kirby's Dream Collection
	Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone!
	Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive!
	Crashmo
	Dillon's Rolling Western
	Paper Mario: Sticker Star
	Sing Party
2013	Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon	Special advisor
	Game & Wario	Directing support, game design
	Dillon's Rolling Western: The Last Ranger	Producer
	Mario and Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move
	Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D
	Chibi-Robo! Photo Finder
2014	Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze	Producer
2015	Kirby and the Rainbow Curse	Producer
	Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars	Supervisor
	Chibi-Robo! Zip Lash	Producer
	Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam	Supervisor
2016	Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge	Producer
	Metroid Prime: Federation Force
	Paper Mario: Color Splash
2018	Dillon's Dead-Heat Breakers
	WarioWare Gold
	Luigi's Mansion
2019	Luigi's Mansion 3
2020	Paper Mario: The Origami King
2021	WarioWare: Get It Together!
2021	Super Nintendo World	Creative director
2022	Mario Strikers: Battle League	Producer
2023	Metroid Prime Remastered
2023	WarioWare: Move It!
2024	Luigi's Mansion 2 HD
2025	Metroid Prime 4: Beyond

References

^ ^a ^b ^c "Biographical Information: Kensuke Tanabe" (PDF). Nintendo of America, Inc. June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 1, 2011.
^ 「ゼルダの伝説夢をみる島」開発スタッフ名鑑. Nintendo Official Guide Book – The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (in Japanese). Shogakukan Inc. July 1993. p. 120. ISBN 4-09-102448-3.
^ ^a ^b ^c クリエイターズファイル第101回. Gpara.com (in Japanese). February 10, 2003. Archived from the original on September 30, 2011. Retrieved January 11, 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "E3 2004: Metroid Prime 2 Interview". IGN. IGN Entertainment, Inc. May 12, 2004. Archived from the original on December 16, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2011.