Puzzle Master Akira Tago Dies at 90 Years

This one is going to be a little personal, so indulge me on this. The Professor Layton games, while ostensibly games designed by Level-5, were really the work of another man. Anyone who sat and watched the ending credits to any one of the games likely noticed that one of the top names listed was always Akira Tago, who was credited as the “Puzzle Master”. A badass name on its own merits, but a well earned on in Akira Tago’s case: this Japanese Genius was brilliant at creating puzzles, and earned his fortune when he wrote "Atama no Taiso" (Brain Exercises) in 1966, which sold many, many copies and went on to get 22 sequels made.

In fact, it's because of his work that Professor Layton--by now the distant second in a the list of Level-5’s most popular games, but second nonetheless--even came about. In an interview with Eurogamer, Level-5 president Akihiro Hino revealed that Professor Layton first started as a bonus story mode in a game of Akira Tago’s design.

So why do I bring this up?

Because it was just announced to the public, that, tragically, the 90-year-old with a mind sharp enough to cut through solid steel, passed away on the sixth from an interstitial pneumonia.

Of course, while nothing can compare to the grief his loved ones are experiencing, I took this news especially hard, as a long-time fan of Professor Layton and Akihiro Hino’s work. I’ll miss him dearly, and I know that Professor Layton--if we were to ever get another installment, of course--simply won’t be the same without his masterful touch.

You’ve solved one puzzle the rest of us won’t figure out for quite some time, Mr. Hino. RIP.