Post by spiritchaser1 on Dec 2, 2015 15:35:33 GMT -5
I haven't seen it anywhere, but I want to discuss a composer breakdown for The Legend of Xanadu and The Legend of Xanadu II, my two favorite Falcom games. And this is coming from someone who's listened to everything put out by Falcom from '85 to 2002 (lost interest after Shirakwa left after VM Japan). I have my own guesses based on my own research, but I would like to see what other people have guessed and how they can describe different composer styles. I am mostly interested in those involved with The Legend of Xanadu and The Legend of Xanadu II. That being Mieko Ishikawa, Atsushi Shirakawa, Naoki Kaneda, Takahiro Tsunashima, Hirofumi Matsuoka, Masaru Nakajima and Satoshi Arai. On a good note, I should be getting a hold of both Naoki Kaneda and Atsushi Shirakawa to get a breakdown of what they composed for both games soon. Here's what I've dug up on these composers to try and get an understand of their style and sound to try and figure them out in Falcom's games:
Mieko Ishikawa: The oldest of the group and the sole composer of Ys III and the Sorcerian additional scenarios. Those give a good idea of her sound and style. There is still what she may have done in Sorcerian based on guesses from other Falcom fans, and her contributions to Dinosaur and the first 2 Legend of Heroes games. The original Popful mail makes it easier to guess since it was only her and Atsushi Shirakawa.
On VGMdb there was a revelation made to reveal who composed what in Ys IV, but Mieko Ishikawa was not involved. I thought this was odd since she was thanked for the music of Ys IV in a recently translated interview.
From there, it gets much easier to be able to guess what she may have done in The Legend of Xanadu, The Legend of Heroes III, The Legend of Xanadu II and some others. However, Ys V throws me off because of the orchestrated style. In the end, by Sorcerian Forever it's much more easier to tell what she did, and she ended on a good note. After that there's a rumor she was involved with Gurumin, but no one seems to any any information about that. Though she is now a director at Falcom, she still seems very mysterious and recluse.
Atsushi Shirakawa: He did a few games with Mieko Ishikawa that make it easier to guess what could be him, that being the second Legend of Heroes and Popful Mail. The main thing that helped is the breakdown for Ys IV. If you want to really understand Shirakawa, you need to listen to what he did after Falcom, most notably his original works, which he still sometimes composes for in the style he used way back with Falcom. And of course, he composed for the incredible VM Japan before leaving Falcom. He also left on a good note; with his best work. Thanks to some Falcom fans we were able to figure out what he did. Them there are other random revelations such as Shirakawa doing the opening to Vantage Master, the first 2 minutes of the opening to The Legend of Heroes III, and as well as the opening to Brandish 4. I would also suggest reading his interview for Ys IV that was recently translated where he talked about his musical influences and style briefly. You can find him on Twitter.
Naoki Kaneda: The main point that confuses me about him is that he sounds very similar to Mieko Ishikawa. The Ys IV breakdown will help you understand his sound, and from there there are a few revelations he made such as a few songs from The Legend of Xanadu, Brandish 3 and Ys V. After leaving Falcom he joined Quintet, but the games he composed for there didn't help me understand much. Afterwards he left and went out by himself composing for many other games. I haven't been able to find much, but haven't enjoyed what I've found. I did enjoy a game he composed for that came out last year. I think The Legend of Xanadu is the easiest one to guess his compositions from. You can find him on Twitter.
Takahiro Tsunashima: Has the saddest sound of the group. I would suggest listening to what he did after leaving Falcom and joining Gruppo One. Those games were almost entirely him and will give you a good understanding of his sorrowful style. He notes Zard as a musical influence, and stopped composing after The Legend of Xanadu II, moving to sound programming instead. I have no idea where he is now or if he is still alive.
Hirofumi Matsuoka: Unfortunately, the first composer from this group that has been confirmed to have passed away. He died in October of this year from stomach cancer. It's tragic because I was trying to interview about a month before he died. He is considered the second wave leader of the Falcom Sound Team. To understand his style, listen to his songs from Grand Slam when he was in Gruppo One. There is an ending song that shows you his style that appears a lot in games like The Legend of Xanadu II, Sorcerian Forever and Brandish 4. After leaving Falcom, he formed a unit with vocalist Momori. I would suggest trying to track down the Fermata release and original works. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it and have only heard samples. His old Twitter is here.
Masaru Nakajima: He's in the Ys IV breakdown, but it didn't really help me in figuring out his style. After leaving Falcom he became Takeo Project and contributed a few original works to the FMPSG series. Even though I've heard and own those, I have very little on what his style may be. Today I don't know where is he or what's happened to him.
Satoshi Arai: Probably the most mysterious of all the composers. I know almost nothing about him besides some Ys V songs he may have done from credits in an arrange booklet.
Mieko Ishikawa: The oldest of the group and the sole composer of Ys III and the Sorcerian additional scenarios. Those give a good idea of her sound and style. There is still what she may have done in Sorcerian based on guesses from other Falcom fans, and her contributions to Dinosaur and the first 2 Legend of Heroes games. The original Popful mail makes it easier to guess since it was only her and Atsushi Shirakawa.
On VGMdb there was a revelation made to reveal who composed what in Ys IV, but Mieko Ishikawa was not involved. I thought this was odd since she was thanked for the music of Ys IV in a recently translated interview.
From there, it gets much easier to be able to guess what she may have done in The Legend of Xanadu, The Legend of Heroes III, The Legend of Xanadu II and some others. However, Ys V throws me off because of the orchestrated style. In the end, by Sorcerian Forever it's much more easier to tell what she did, and she ended on a good note. After that there's a rumor she was involved with Gurumin, but no one seems to any any information about that. Though she is now a director at Falcom, she still seems very mysterious and recluse.
Atsushi Shirakawa: He did a few games with Mieko Ishikawa that make it easier to guess what could be him, that being the second Legend of Heroes and Popful Mail. The main thing that helped is the breakdown for Ys IV. If you want to really understand Shirakawa, you need to listen to what he did after Falcom, most notably his original works, which he still sometimes composes for in the style he used way back with Falcom. And of course, he composed for the incredible VM Japan before leaving Falcom. He also left on a good note; with his best work. Thanks to some Falcom fans we were able to figure out what he did. Them there are other random revelations such as Shirakawa doing the opening to Vantage Master, the first 2 minutes of the opening to The Legend of Heroes III, and as well as the opening to Brandish 4. I would also suggest reading his interview for Ys IV that was recently translated where he talked about his musical influences and style briefly. You can find him on Twitter.
Naoki Kaneda: The main point that confuses me about him is that he sounds very similar to Mieko Ishikawa. The Ys IV breakdown will help you understand his sound, and from there there are a few revelations he made such as a few songs from The Legend of Xanadu, Brandish 3 and Ys V. After leaving Falcom he joined Quintet, but the games he composed for there didn't help me understand much. Afterwards he left and went out by himself composing for many other games. I haven't been able to find much, but haven't enjoyed what I've found. I did enjoy a game he composed for that came out last year. I think The Legend of Xanadu is the easiest one to guess his compositions from. You can find him on Twitter.
Takahiro Tsunashima: Has the saddest sound of the group. I would suggest listening to what he did after leaving Falcom and joining Gruppo One. Those games were almost entirely him and will give you a good understanding of his sorrowful style. He notes Zard as a musical influence, and stopped composing after The Legend of Xanadu II, moving to sound programming instead. I have no idea where he is now or if he is still alive.
Hirofumi Matsuoka: Unfortunately, the first composer from this group that has been confirmed to have passed away. He died in October of this year from stomach cancer. It's tragic because I was trying to interview about a month before he died. He is considered the second wave leader of the Falcom Sound Team. To understand his style, listen to his songs from Grand Slam when he was in Gruppo One. There is an ending song that shows you his style that appears a lot in games like The Legend of Xanadu II, Sorcerian Forever and Brandish 4. After leaving Falcom, he formed a unit with vocalist Momori. I would suggest trying to track down the Fermata release and original works. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find it and have only heard samples. His old Twitter is here.
Masaru Nakajima: He's in the Ys IV breakdown, but it didn't really help me in figuring out his style. After leaving Falcom he became Takeo Project and contributed a few original works to the FMPSG series. Even though I've heard and own those, I have very little on what his style may be. Today I don't know where is he or what's happened to him.
Satoshi Arai: Probably the most mysterious of all the composers. I know almost nothing about him besides some Ys V songs he may have done from credits in an arrange booklet.