Greetings fellow members of VGChartz! OnlyForDisplay here, bringing you my tribute of an innovator, a legend, and a great man; Mr. Satoru Iwata. That out of the way, let's get started.

Who is he?: 

When I first heard of Iwata-Sensei, I really did not think of much of him at the time. Sure, I did hear of him regarding a certain game that would help me later on, but at the time, said name really meant little to me. After obtaining my PlayStation 3, I caught wind of his name once again. Naturally, as an adolescent, I had wondered who was this man and why was he continually mentioned. Soon after, one of my friends showed me one of Nintendo's newest products: The Nintendo Dual Screen Handheld (DS as you may know it). At first, it looked quite odd. "Two screens on a handheld?", I thought to myself. "Would it work?" Then, my friend showed me a game I had missed on the Nintendo 64: Super Mario DS. Playing near identical as the original, I knew I wasn't missing out on said title this time. That being said, my journey towards knowing Iwata-Sensei began.

With Time Came Wisdom:

After saving up tons of money and obtaining good grades, the DS Lite would be mine on a cool crisp December 25 of 2007. At first, I was ecstatic. Having the successor to the DS was already a treat; getting the elusive Super Mario 64 in a remaster doubly so. Many long days were stretched as I figured out each level, stage, and challenge. However, as I was playing said game on an awesome system, one thing struck out to me. "If a person with a collective group of people made a great system, wouldn't it be best to know more about him?" At that point, during the early days of January, I had toughed it out against chilly and snowy conditions to research who Iwata-Sensei was. His back story was quite interesting for me. Having owned the remastered variant of a game he helped developed was already a surprise for me. However, such research would help pave the way for much of my gaming hobby later on down the road; discovering games like Ballon Boy, the Kirby Series, and a game of a series I received in late January known as Pokémon. As time continued, not only would learning more about Iwata-Sensei help me learn more about games, this also gave me more appreciation for the developers and publishers of the games that I was playing; prompting me to research those as well. After getting a Wii later on in 2009, I had, for the first time, knew I was having some real fun with games like Super Mario Galaxy (even though my Call of Duty fix wasn't satisfied at the time). All in all, the more I learned about Iwata and Nintendo, the more I appreciated others work.

Completing The Full Circle:

Years would go by before I considered getting either a 3DS or Wii U. I didn't have enough money like I did back in 2007-2010 to get myself many Nintendo products. However, while I coupe not get them, I did encounter a person who would later befriend me who did have both the Wii U and 3DS. While I only have played Pokemon X sparingly on the 3DS, my first game on the Wii U was the same series  I had received on the GameCube: Super Smash Bros. Naturally, being a rebel, my main character was Sonic (Gotta go fast!!). Having read about their rivalry, I still found it odd to see the blue blur again; even though I first saw him in Brawl. Either way, I do remember having a good time playing the game. Most importantly, Iwata-Sensei had helped delivered another grand slam console in my book. However, one game that I had always wanted to play always eluded me... until that day. Shortly after smashing things up, I had asked my friend if he had a game called "EarthBound." To my astonishment, he indeed did. After some minor technical issues, I had finally got to play the game I had wanted to enjoy for over a decade, and I have to say, it was a decade worth waiting for. Everything caught my attention, even down to the wonderful cartoon esque pixel art. Knowing beforehand Iwata-Sensei had helped develop the game, my respect and admiration for him grew exponentially; an experience I will never forget.

This now concludes my tribute to Iwata-Sensei. Hearing the news this morning made me sick to my stomach; so much so I requested to postpone my interview for my new job. Multiple tissues lay beside my bed and many memories etched into my brain. That being said, he brought the power to Nintendo: Nintendo Power that is.

With that out of the way, what was your first Nintendo game that Iwata-Sensei was involved with? What did you like most about Iwata-Sensei? What would have been your final words to Iwata-Sensei had you knew today was his last day? Once again, thank you very much for reading! This has been a special tribute that is OnlyForDisplay.

Rest In Peace Satori Iwata. You may be gone, but the memories and moments you shared with us all will never be forgotten.

Sunrise: December 6, 1959

Sunset: July 11, 2015

2 1/2 years ago with me. With the January 23rd direct in 2013. Whenever New Directs came and Iwata wasn't there I'd be like "Where is he???".

Hahaha, who's Phil Spencer?  I'm suprised at you two, I've known about the guy since he took over Nintendo in 2002.  I remember actually making a big deal about it to my friends who of course didn't know who he was.  And it was a big deal, the first non-Yamauchi related by blood to ever hold the helm of Nintendo. 

I've watched him for years and as the years go by, I knew that there was a big change in Nintendo.  Of course they were still slow to modernize, but I expected that since wata to me was a mix of the old guard and also someone who wanted to renew the vitality of Nintendo.  He did it slowly, respecting the way things were done by Hiroshi Yamauchi, and when Hiroshi died in 2013, I began to see a bigger change in Nintendo.  Most here will not realize too easily how Nintendo has changed within the last 5 years, but prior to the last five years, it was like Nintendo needed something to drink, but where was no water to wet their palates.  They've accepted mobile, they've accepted taking over franchises like Beyonnetta, they've started plans for a Nintendo Land, Online is what online was in 2006 Xbox, given third party rights to their exclusive properties(amiibo and skylander), Nintendo have decided to take a loss for console sales.  All those things are Iwata's doing.  Good or bad, those changes needed to happen.

Iwata is the bridge that truly sends Nintendo into the 21st century in not only thinking, but in innovation.  Next up, I see that Nintendo is truly going to step into the world as a modern company, but with a reserved spirit.

Thank you Iwata for nourishing the future of Nintendo.   

Iwata Sensei truly was a once in a generation prodigy. People like him do not appear often; potentially doubly so in today's gaming society.

Well Spruge-Senapi, considering he has played a part in many of Nintendo's greatest franchises and led the company to absolute dominance in both sectors in the 7th. Generation of gaming, there are not that many people who are as multi-talented as he was. A genius when it came to making games; quite smart when it came to the Wii/DS success. Granted, the GameCube and Wii U are not highlights of his leadership, but Nintendo did generate profit from both. As such, they are success stories in their own right.

Most importantly however, was his humility towards others. Sure, we really didn't see much of it during the Wii/DS era, but the directs showcased his humble and easygoing nature. Not many devs. today possess both. He truly was a once in generation type of person we may never see again. People like him do not appear often anymore; especially with how the gaming industry is now.

I was aware of him but I had no idea how impressive his resume' was before these tributes started getting posted. The man was really something of a savant back in his game dev days.

I feel bad that I like him more now than when he was alive... often find that I don't realize how interesting some people are until they're gone.

Indeed the bolded John-San. I was also impressed by Iwata-Sensei's resume. As I stated, it was when I played EarthBound that made my journey to finally figure out who he was come full circle.