Unicorn Overlord director Takafumi Noma leaves Vanillaware

Takafumi Noma revealed that he had left Vanillaware ahead of the new Japanese fiscal year. The Japanese video game developer has recently become best known as the director of Unicorn Overlord. In the announcement tweet, he also implied that he will move to another unspecified video game-related company.

Noma's list of credits on MobyGames, which he also put on his X account profile, suggests that he originally worked on Nintendo's first-party games as a programmer, which started from the Japan-exclusive inaugural Animal Crossing entry on the Nintendo 64 in 2001 until the 2008 Wii game Animal Crossing: City Folk, while also having taken part in Super Mario 64 DS, The 2006 DS release of New Super Mario Bros, and the original 2002 GameCube release of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker.

The Vanillaware chapter in Noma's career started with the 2009 Wii release of Muramasa: The Demon Blade. He was also involved in Dragon's Crown, Odin Sphere Leifthrasir, and 13 Sentinels: Aegis Rim.

However, Unicorn Overlord proved to be the peak of his career to date, as he was appointed as not only the game's director but also character designer, while also supervising its programming and storyline productions.

In his announcement tweet, Takafumi Noma added that Unicorn Overlord is a very special title to him. He also expects that he will still be involved with the game even after he no longer works in Vanillaware.