7B First Devs

Smilebit's resume boasts incredible originality. One of Sega's
larger development teams, Smilebit has provided the industry
with revolutionary development techniques and concepts
that have been continuously imitated by less creative
companies.

Take their groundbreaking Dreamcast title, Jet Grind Radio
as an example. In addition to its unique style and gameplay,
Jet Grind Radio featured a new graphics technique dubbed
"cell shading." The concept of cell shading is to give 3D
characters a 2D cartoonish look by drawing thick black lines
around them. Needless to say, the graphics were amazing
and have been imitated just as many times as the Matrix's
bullet-time special effect.

Similar to my opinion on the importance of the past
achievements of Overworks development teams, I do not
want to undermine the great achievements of some of
Smilebit's team members. During the Saturn era a
development team known as Team Andromeda existed that
created one of the greatest videogame series of all time, the
Panzer Dragoon series. Even though the team was
disbanded, many still work for Sega through Smilebit and
deserve recognition for their Saturn creations.

Here is a list of some of Smilebit's achievements:

- Sega Rally 2 (Dreamcast)

- Jet Grind Radio (Dreamcast)

- The Typing of the Dead (Dreamcast)

Please note that since the time this feature was written (6.04.03)
Sega's First-Party Development Teams underwent major
restructuring. Since then Overworks has joined up with Wow
Entertainment to form Sega Wow, UGA has been absorbed by Sonic
Team, Yu Suzuki now heads a different Sega development team
(Digital Rex), Smilebit is now focusing on developing sports titles for
the Japanese and European markets, and Tetsuya Mizuguchi is
unfortunately no longer a Sega employee.

Click on each team's logo to visit their website.

In my opinion, no other videogame development team in the
world can match the the eliteness of Sonic Team. When one
thinks of Sega, the first thing that comes to their mind is
Sonic the Hedgehog---just one of Sonic Team's brilliant
creations.

One reason for Sonic Team's success is president Yuji Naka.
Only a few game developers are as renowned as Yuji Naka
(Shigeru Miyamoto of Nintendo, Yu Suzuki of Sega AM2, and
Hideo Kojima of Konami in my opinion). Yuji Naka began his
career developing games like Space Harrier, Sonic, and
Phantasy Star I and II for the Master System and the Genesis.

Sonic Team is responsible for some of the most innovative
videogames ever produced. No matter how groundbreaking a
Sonic Team release is however, one thing is for sure---it will be
fun and original.

Here is a list of some of Sonic Team's greatest achievements.
All are great games:

- Sonic the Hedgehog 1,2,3 (Genesis)

- NiGHTS (Saturn)

- Sonic Adventure 1,2 (Dreamcast)

- Chu Chu Rocket (Dreamcast)

- Samba de Amigo (Dreamcast)

- Phantasy Star Online ver. 1,2 (Dreamcast)

While most likely known more for its Arcade creations,
Sega's AM2 has been just as successful in the home market.
AM2 is credited for creating the first 3D fighting game
(Virtua Fighter), a task so revolutionary that it earned a spot
in the Smithsonian.

Just as Sonic Team's success can be attributed to the great
Yuji Naka, AM2's success is linked to Yu Suzuki. Suzuki
created classic titles such as Hang-On and Virtua Racing,
and his creative mind has always led to the development of
revolutionary titles such as the five-year in the making
masterpiece, Shenmue.

Here is a list of AM2's greatest achievements:

- Outrun (Arcade)

- Afterburner (Arcade)

- Hang-On (Arcade)

- Space Harrier (Arcade)

- Virtua Fighter 2 (Saturn)

- Daytona USA (Saturn)

- F355 Challenge (Dreamcast)

- Shenmue 1,2 (Dreamcast)

While Overworks itself was a fairly new creation at Sega
(1996), it managed to produce several great games with
what little time it had before its merger with Wow
Entertainment. One of the main reasons why I think they
deserve to be third all-time however, has more to do with the
past records of their current developers. Many of the
Overworks team members have been with Sega a long time
and have worked on classics like Shinobi, and Streets of
Rage for the Genesis.

However, Overworks team members are probably known
primarily for the creation of the great RPGs, Phantasy Star I,
II, and IV. Consequently, when the team announced they
were going to be developing an RPG for the Dreamcast fans
around the world had their hopes set on Phantasy Star V.
Overworks surprised the gaming world, however, by
releasing a completely original RPG, Skies of Arcadia (which
many, myself included, consider to be the Dreamcast's
greatest RPG).

Overworks also developed the classic Japanese series,
Sakura Wars. Here is a list of Overworks achievements:

- Sakura Wars I, II (Saturn ports) (Dreamcast)

- Sakura Wars III, IV (Dreamcast)

- Skies of Arcadia (Dreamcast)

In my opinion no other Sega Development team was more
versatile or had more artistic creativity than UGA. Perhaps
best known for their creation of the classic racer, Sega Rally,
UGA had recently shifted their focus to developing amazing
and original music and rhythm games.

While not quite as distinguished as Yuji Naka or Yu Suzuki, UGA
president Tetsuya Mizuguchi has quickly putting his name on
the elite list of videogame developers. Proving his undeniable
artistic creativity, Mizuguchi created the musical shooter
Space Channel 5, as well as a new Sega icon, Ulala. The game
is full of style and paved the way for UGA's next hit, Rez
(another rhythm/shooter game that I consider to be one of the
greatest videogames ever created).

Here is a list of UGA's greatest achievements:

- Sega Rally (Saturn)

- Space Channel 5 (Dreamcast)

- Rez (Dreamcast)