Last year, I was investigating Tanabe with regards to this. This involved speaking to a number of developers who had worked alongside him. The way in which they all described Tanabe's directorial style was fascinating. Their words built up a portrait in my mind of a Gordon Ramsey esque figure who strived for perfection and berated anything short of it. It's difficult for me to fully convey my impressions of him without explicitly detailing the anecdotes shared with me in confidence, which could compromise those involved; but I will try my best to elaborate.
The majority of those I spoke to about their experiences with Tanabe told tales of how he would quite often explode with great passion on certain designers when one of them either made what he perceived to be a mistake, or boldly challenged a creative decision of his.
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Around the time of Tanabe's leave in 2014, Retro had apparently begun to seek a greater level of autonomy from NCL. Previously, Tanabe was NCL's man on the ground there. He was their chief representative, who upheld the Japanese creative sensibilities of Nintendo at the otherwise Western studio. Retro, however, felt that his assistance was no longer necessary. They were campaigning for more freedom; although not just because some individuals had issues with his behaviour, but because they were under the impression that they had earned it. They thought that they had more proven themselves and that they didn't need an NCL producer holding their hand anymore.
If the rumours are to be believed, a certain NCL member responded to these requests by removing Tanabe and assigning a new NCL producer in his place. While they have enormous respect for what the developers there have been able to accomplish over the years, they still feel the need to have one of their closest representatives present, overseeing projects. The identity of Retro Studios' new NCL producer is one that I am not entirely certain of. One source, who is very credible in my eyes, and recently contributed to my story about Nintendo Software Technology's amiibo project (a rumour which was proven to be 100% true), claims this individual is none other than Yoshio Sakamoto. Whether or not this is true, I cannot say for sure. I am only sharing that to allow fans an interesting rumour to discuss. Having said that, don't take it as fact. It's a rumour that even I am unsure of.
