![]() ![]() Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions – Hero’s Theme Anyway, I will start this round of selection with his more famous works before introducing others that you may not expect. Sometimes, I wonder if he feels similarly. On the other hand, I imagine being style-casted could feel very limiting too. In an interview with a Singapore-based game company, XII Braves, Sakimoto said he is often approached to create “Hitoshi Sakimoto’s soundtrack.” It is a testament to how recognizable his style is. There is no doubt he is adept at creating tracks that serve wonderfully as video game background music ones that enhance the game mood while not attracting unnecessary attention to themselves. That may be why Sakimoto’s music is often perfect for a fantasy setting. Yet, when the game needs it, his songs can be quiet, calming, and contemplative. He is a master at creating songs that feel grandiose and heroic. He is fond of making three or more distinct instruments play at the same time, creating a harmonious and complex combination of sound. Perhaps later, the violin returns with trumpets in the bridge section while the violin, cello, and percussion recede to the back. Later, the harp will perform the chorus while the violin, cello, and percussion form the accompaniment. For example, the song may start with a violin and a harp but later the violin will be serenading the main tunes while the harp becomes the harmony. With the many instruments forming the basis of a song, he often allows several of them to form the main melodies one after another. Some words that I use to describe his compositions are: layered, atmospheric, emotional, militaristic, and wondrous. In a Reddit AMA, Hitoshi Sakimoto expressed that he would love to work on more sci-fi creations.Īside from the obvious use of electronic orchestral instruments, Sakimoto has his own distinct sound style. There are a couple others below that I will introduce to you. The Valkyria Chronicles series is a fantasy war/military game based on the setting of the World War II era. ![]() ![]() Revolter, the game I mentioned above, is a sci-fi theme vertical shooter game. However, he has scored for games with sci-fantasy or sci-fi genres. Thanks to some of his claim to fame video games, Sakimoto is often associated with fantasy genre settings. My take on Hitoshi Sakimoto’s composition style Valkyria Chronicles Just as with many other fans, I was excited to read Sakimoto is working as the composer when the Kickstarter news reached me. Currently, I am waiting for Unsung Story: Tale of the Guardians to be released. Sakimoto wrote the soundtracks for games such as: GrimGrimoire, Odin Sphere, Valkyria Chronicles, Muramasa: The Demon Blade, and many more. In 2002, Hitoshi Sakimoto created his own company, Basiscape, with Masaharu Iwata. As those games wrote their success stories, more gamers noticed the compositions and the musical style that were distinctly Sakimoto’s. Tactics Ogre’s game coverĮventually, Yasumi Matsuno, a video game designer/director known for turn-based tactical games like Ogre Battle: March of the Black Queen, Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy XII, and more, recruited Sakimoto as a collaborator. He has no formal music training, though he practices and experiments regularly. Sakimoto is known to be an autodidact who learns as he works. Fortunately, at least for me, he stuck with creating epic and grand scores for many Japanese video games. However, his goal at the time was to be a game programmer instead of a composer. At that time, he had been working with his long-time colleague, Masaharu Iwata. His biggest professional break was when he composed for a game called Revolter. Sakimoto was actively coding, creating, as well as composing music for video games in his teenage years. Sakimoto Hitoshi ( 崎元 仁) has been composing for video games since his youth. That OST was my very first game music collection, it started my appreciation towards the genre. Some years later, I finally found and purchased the game soundtrack at a store. I am a huge fan of Final Fantasy Tactics since the PlayStation 1 days and I love the music. ![]() Just like Nobuo Uematsu and Miki Higashino (who worked on Suikoden and Suikoden 2), Hitoshi Sakimoto is one of my favorite game music composers from when I was a teenager. He has composed for many great JRPGs in the past couple decades and I am here to highlight some of them. Hitoshi Sakimoto probably does not need any introduction. ![]()
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