Super Mario World and Zelda: A Link to the Past director Takashi Tezuka is leaving Nintendo after 42 years and credits on over 150 games

Nintendo legend Takashi Tezuka is leaving the company after an over 40-year run at the company.

As part of its earnings report, Nintendo released an announcement of personnel changes at the company, with executive officer Takashi Tezuka's retirement announced within the document. This marks the end of a 42-year career at the company which started with the developer working on the arcade version of Punch-Out and as an assistant director on the NES game Devil World – which was only released in Japan and Europe.

Tezuka would go on to work on most major franchises Nintendo has to offer in some way, with him being involved in pretty much every single Mario game until 2026's Super Mario Bros. Wonder – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Meetup in Bellabel Park, as well as having credits on both Super Mario movies.

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In terms of iconic Nintendo developers, Shigeru Miyamoto is typically the name people talk about, but right there alongside him during the development of Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda was Tezuka, who would then go on to direct the best 2D Mario games in Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World, and the arguably the best Zelda with A Link to the Past. After an assistant director role on Super Mario 64, Tezuka went on to be a producer on a ton of games, including Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Animal Crossing, and Super Mario Maker.

This is a true end of an era moment when it comes to Nintendo. Tezuka may not be as well known as Miyamoto, but his contribution to the industry is very close to being if not already on par with the Mario creator. Thankfully, one thing Nintendo has been good at in recent years is getting younger developers ready to take on the roles that these long-time devs have been a part of. This has resulted in the likes of new series like Splatoon, or new takes on existing characters, like Donkey Kong Bananza – which was directed by Kazuya Takahashi who only joined Nintendo in 2020.

Early Nintendo was a madhouse: "It was very difficult to finish Mario and then get the Mario programmers involved in the final push to finish The Legend of Zelda."