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Post by kensuke on Jan 4, 2006 16:08:52 GMT -5
Hello. I'm new here. But then, you probably figured that out from my post count. On a whim, I looked up Yuzo Koshiro's name on Wikipedia, and found something interesting. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuzo_KoshiroApparently, he signed over all the rights to the original music he wrote for Ys, and is now very bitter over that (apparently he was VERY young when he did the original compositions). It occurred to me that when he left Falcom to go work for Sega he made DAMN sure that he received the credit he deserved (check out the title screen on every Sega Genesis game he composed music for, -eg "Streets of Rage"). Does anybody know if Falcom ever credited him for the music post-PC88? Because to be honest, you rarely hear him come up in connection to Ys anymore. In the case of the PCE version it is always credited to "Ryo Yonemitsu". In fairness, though he did the ARRANGEMENT, it should at least say something to the effect of "Based on the original work of.....Yuzo Koshiro et all". Because honestly, tracks like "First Step Towards Wars" should really be credited to Koshiro first and formost..... and they aren't. And also, does his sister Ayano Koshiro still receive credit for the character designs she did? Was she the *original* character designer for the Ys characters, or did she does do ONE iteration of them based on somebody elses work? - John
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Post by zeomare on Jan 4, 2006 17:34:59 GMT -5
hi thanks for the post it is a very interesting read. i did not know that he was bitter but you really can not blame him now can you i think he should be credited for his work myself. as for his sister i did not know she created a character and, if she gets any credit still. I would love to know which one she designed. by the way welcome to the Ancient Land of Ys, I truly hope you enjoy your time here. chris
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Post by FM-77AV on Jan 4, 2006 19:24:45 GMT -5
Hey, I'm not sure who's credited in the original YsI. The only names I can recall are those of the Master System/MarkIII version "Bo", "Ippo" and "Neko" are credited there. I checked the credits in the original YsI manual, but it's written in kanji and I can't read that. I can't bring out my scanner at this time so I tried to take a picture with my digital camera. Of course this turned out like crap, but take a look at this picture, it's possible to make out the kanji: YsI Original Credits. I'll scan the page tomorrow for a better picture.
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Post by Gamemusicfreak on Jan 4, 2006 20:58:02 GMT -5
No matter what, he's still one of the greats, I've got almost his complete discography and am a longtime fan. Interesting read and WELCOME!
Keith
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Post by kensuke on Jan 5, 2006 1:45:54 GMT -5
Yes, Koshiro-San is indeed awesome. Though he greatest acomplishment IMO was taking cheap-ass cartridge sound chips to their absolute limit in terms of quality compositions. After Falcom, he went freelance and started his own company in which a large number of his family works as well. www.ancient.co.jp/Thanks for the manual scan BTW, 'Ill try and translate it when I get the chance. - John
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Post by kensuke on Jan 5, 2006 2:52:27 GMT -5
I don't know the interview it came from. It could either be a Japanese source, or it could be BS. Wikipedia isn't always right. However, the reason I believe it is because when he went freelance and did work for Sega and others, his name actually appeared on the title screen of the Genesis (and some Super Ninteno) games he worked on as either "Yuzo Koshiro" or "Ancient Corp". Thus, EVERYBODY knows who wrote the soundtracks for those games. While certainly, if he signed over the rights to the Ys compositions of his own free will he can't really complain, I think it's still worth mentioning that he's not credited nearly as much as he OUGHT to be. Which seems to be the sticking point, and NOT the "royalties". If this particular webpage is correct, standard practice for Falcom is to credit the current composer and NOT the original one. www.sega-16.com/Feature-%20Sega%20Stars%20Yuzo%20Koshiro.htmMaybe it's just me, but I think that's pretty unfair... - John
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Post by kensuke on Jan 5, 2006 3:14:59 GMT -5
It just occurred to me that maybe somebody should just ask the man if it were true..... His website has an English language webboard and he apparently reads/writes perfect English. He occasionally responds to posts, and even gives MP3s to people!!! ~~ I.......am not going to be the one to do it.... You're not supposed ask devine beings silly questions. He might strike me down with his lightning magic. - John
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Post by FM-77AV on Jan 5, 2006 4:36:41 GMT -5
There we go. I scanned the whole credits page from the original manual. Enjoy! (Click to enlarge.)
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Post by Gamemusicfreak on Jan 5, 2006 8:37:54 GMT -5
That sounds like it is the case to me. I remember reading that he was especially proud of his work on the original Ys, so the news of him being a little upset to me sounded unreal. However I can't read Japanese, so of course if he told the full story I wouldn't know it.
I too have noticed that he responds in English on the Ancient website. I remember someone for a fanzine requesting an interview.
Thought that was way cool.
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Post by FM-77AV on Jan 5, 2006 9:25:47 GMT -5
Well, usually when a company licenses a game, they credit both the original authors as well as the employees of their own company. For example, Xanadu Next for N-Gage credits the following:
SCRIPTARTS STAFF (ScriptArts developed/ported the game to N-Gage) NOKIA STAFF (Localization, marketing, etc.) FALCOM STAFF (Wrote the original scenario, made the franchise, etc)
But like I mentioned earlier, Yuzo Koshiro isn't credited in the Sega Master System version of YsI either. Instead, "Bo", "Ippo" and "Neko" are credited. I don't know who these people are. However, I remember reading on some message board who these people were. None of them were Yuzo. Also, "Ippo" is also credited for the music in Phantasy Star III if that helps.
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Post by kensuke on Jan 5, 2006 13:49:07 GMT -5
Why would Hudson be obligated to have credited every single employee within Falcom is what it comes down to... In most media, the original composer of a song is often credited. Hudson correctly lists that Ryo did the "CD arrangement", and this is a tacit admission that he isn't the original composer. However, by NOT listing the original composer, he goes un-noted. I could certainly see why this might irritate Yuzo. The more remakes of Ys that are farmed out, the less of chance he gets for personal recognition. Especially now that we're getting a new spate of Ys games that are attracting a new generation of fans, and Yuzo's activity in the scene has deminished since the 90s. You have a good point that third parties outside of Falcom are the ones that are really dropping the ball here. Perhaps I should have named this thread "Is Yuzo getting screwed out of credit", period. I also wonder whether or not Falcom has credited him in more recent iterations that they have total control over (ie. Ys Eternal, the Saturn remakes, ect.). - John
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Post by FM-77AV on Jan 5, 2006 15:35:09 GMT -5
He's not credited in Ys ETERNAL / Ys COMPLETE. It simply says music by "Sound Team J.D.K."
The credits in Falcom Classics are in Japanese (as far as I can remember), so I wouldn't know whether or not he's credited in there.
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Majuunun
Wilewarer
Pixel Lady
Posts: 434
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Post by Majuunun on Jan 5, 2006 15:57:15 GMT -5
He's not credited in Ys ETERNAL / Ys COMPLETE. It simply says music by "Sound Team J.D.K." The credits in Falcom Classics are in Japanese (as far as I can remember), so I wouldn't know whether or not he's credited in there. It seems like "Falcom Sound Team JDK" is their way of copping out. ;P I have a friend who did some incredible work for Capcom and he did not recieve credit at ALL. He was supposed to be in the Special Thanks column, but they screwed him out of that. Japanese companies can be very stingy about crediting; I've had a number of friends in Japan who work in the game industry attest to this. I've been working for American-based companies and I've always gotten my name in. I've got my gripes with the US game industry but generosity with credit giving is NOT one of them.
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Post by FM-77AV on Jan 5, 2006 16:04:56 GMT -5
Well, at least I got credited in Ysf. New enemy: Selnade. Not in the original YsIII. They just misspelled my name.
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Post by bishopcruz on Jan 12, 2006 23:54:10 GMT -5
I have trouble believeing he is pissed at Falcom when he has done arrangements for some of their perfect collection albums.
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Post by Gamemusicfreak on Jan 13, 2006 7:48:41 GMT -5
Hey, I'm not sure who's credited in the original YsI. The only names I can recall are those of the Master System/MarkIII version "Bo", "Ippo" and "Neko" are credited there. I'll scan the page tomorrow for a better picture. I saw Ippo's name in the Phantasy Star series, which makes sense when talking about the SMS. Some of that early Phantasy Star stuff sounds pretty good, even a little like Ys. Did Yuzo really arrange for the Perfect Collections? I did not know that, anyone know which? I always thought it was Ryo Yonemitsu.
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Post by Gamemusicfreak on Jan 13, 2006 18:07:14 GMT -5
You know, as many times as I have read that and never realized that! Thanks for clearing that up! Silly me!
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Post by Arjak on Jan 16, 2006 15:11:16 GMT -5
I recently beat Ys I for PC-88 and the credits were in English! And under "Music Compose," Yuzo was indeed credited.
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Post by aorforever on Jan 17, 2006 9:47:53 GMT -5
Hi! If I remember well, Yuzo was credited in the YS2 Intro (MSX 2 Version) Gianluca
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Post by FM-77AV on Jan 17, 2006 10:21:41 GMT -5
I checked the endings in Ys I for PC-8801, PC-9801, X-1, MSX2, FM-7, FM-77 and FM-77AV. Yuzo Koshiro (and Mikeo Ishikawa) is credited in all these versions. Same goes for Ys II.
But he's not credited in Falcom Classics I.
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