is a Japanese game director, writer and part of Spike Chunsoft's affiliation. Since 1995, he contributes to the company with the Mystery Dungeon franchise as the main writer for the Shiren the Wanderer, and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series. Prior to his affiliation to the company in 1992, he has also contributed in Tecmo's Tecmo Bowl series of sport games.
Career Tomie enjoyed association football since his youth, with the Captain Tsubasa series was his initial source of inspiration.
Tecmo Tomie joined Tecmo after graduating from university. During that period, he created football-centric games like Tecmo Bowl in 1987 and Captain Tsubasa II in 1990. During the development of Tecmo Super Bowl, released in 1991, despite limited NFL coverage in Japan during the late 1980s, he and programmer Akihiko Shimoji recorded games from NHK satellite broadcasts to accurately recreate them within the game. Tomie's passion on sports also helped the team to work on Tecmo Super Bowl.
Chunsoft Later in 1992, Tomie transferred to Chunsoft and consistently worked on the scenario of the Shiren the Wanderer series since its first title in 1995. The reason for his transfer to Chunsoft as a writer was their Sound Novel series such as Otogiriso which he considered innovative, as well as their lack of writers at the company. His hobby for sport games is particularly noticeable in Shiren the Wanderer 2: Shiren's Castle and the Oni Invasion and Shiren Monsters: Netsal, where he oversaw both games as the director.
The scenarios present throughout the Mystery Dungeon series were written so they would not interfere too much into the franchise's roguelike genre. The scenario for the Shiren the Wanderer series is smaller but also intriguing for each title as they are mixed with its difficulty. Initially, he has suggested to put the setting of the series in feudal Japan, compared to the earlier Mystery Dungeon title, Torneko's Great Adventure: Mystery Dungeon. In the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon series, the scenario has more presence in the gameplay than the former series and its appeal comes from "their directions and sounds" rather than the scenario alone. Furthermore, the series does not have a linear timeline between the mainline Pokémon franchise and this series so newcomers would be introduced easily into the series and the genre. In an interview held in 2022, Tomie claimed he was not aware of the western fanbase but was able to receive messages from Japanese fans of the series via letters, with some of them claiming Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Explorers of Darkness, and its sister game Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Sky, his "magnum opus".
In 2012, during the first Nico Nico Game Master event, him and Kaoru Hasegawa appeared in the finale of a real-time attack of the first Shiren the Wanderer game. Even if both series have not received a brand new title since 2010 and 2015 respectively, Tomie left a secret message in the 2020 port of Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate, indicating he would still be able to work on the next games if there are enough voices from the fans to green-lit a new Mystery Dungeon game in the company.Tomie: ...! Hey! Did you just push the switch on my back!? You're supposed to read the item description before you use it! Every wanderer knows that! It clearly says "DO NOT PUSH"! Geez, how did you make it this far? ...Well, might as well say my piece since you're here. My name is Tomie. I'm an old hand at Spike Chunsoft. So old that I'm nearly retirement age. Shiren the Wanderer, Banshee's Last Cry... I've seen some titles in my day. We devs got along good over the years. Old, young, age doesn't matter... They work us to the bone, all the same. Hasegawa... You may not know the name, but you know his art. His version of Shiren is iconic! And Nagahata, he's the only know who knows what to tweak under the hood to keep the game balanced. Then there's me, worrying about making a new Shiren the Wanderer. I gotta consider the budget and the needs of the company. Can we do it? More importantly, should we do it? I'm too wishy-washy to take the first step. If only... If only someone gave me a push. ...? Wait, didn't somebody just do exactly that? Ah, I'm going senile... Can you give me one more push? ...No? You can't? In that case... Can you make your voice heard? If all the Shiren fans across the world speak out, surely someone will hear... Who knows, your voices might make it all the way to the people in charge. Wouldn't be the first time our overlords got fired up over fan demand. Anyway, if a sequel gets green-lit, you can bet I'll give it my all. The series has a reputation to live up to. And the fans expect nothing less than the best! I won't let them down. Ah, this is all hypothetical, of course. But it's nice to think about, isn't it? Until we meet again, I'll be here, dreaming... Of a new Shiren the Wanderer title. - F A R E W E L L - (Shiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate) It eventually happened later with its Nintendo Switch version being better received than anticipated, leading to the completion of Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil Island with Tomie being the lead scenarist of that game.
Works YearTitleRole1985Gridiron FightDesignerTehkan World CupPlanner, best players1987Tecmo BowlProducer1990Captain Tsubasa Vol. II: Super StrikerPlannerTecmo World Cup SoccerAdvisor1991Tecmo Super BowlDirector1995Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the WandererPlanner, scenarioBS Shiren the Wanderer: Save Surala1996Shiren the Wanderer GB: Monster of Moonlight Village2000Shiren the Wanderer 2: Shiren's Castle and the Oni InvasionDirector, scenario, storyboard2001Shiren the Wanderer GB2: Magic Castle of the DesertScenario2002Shiren the Wanderer Gaiden: Asuka the SwordswomanSupervisor2004Shiren Monsters: NetsalDirector, scenario2005 Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Red and Blue Rescue Team Scenario2007Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Darkness2008Shiren the WandererSupervisor2009Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of SkyScenarioPokémon Mystery Dungeon: Adventure Squad2010Shiren the Wanderer 4: The Eye of God and the Devil's NavelSupervisorShiren the Wanderer: The Tower of Fortune and the Dice of Fate2012Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Gates to InfinityScenario2015Pokémon Super Mystery Dungeon2017Etrian Mystery Dungeon 2 Game designer, scenario2020Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DXDirector, scenario2024Shiren the Wanderer: The Mystery Dungeon of Serpentcoil IslandScenario
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