Hitoshi Sakimoto to score Western games

As I said last week when this news was actually announced, I'm not impressed. As Opoona and Romeo X Juliet show, Sakimoto's best work comes when he is actually producing something different and innovative. However, Western developers will probably mostly request more Final Fantasy XII and Valkyria Chronicles like music.

I've found so much of Hitoshi Sakimoto's music after Final Fantasy XII to be homogeneous and this seems to accelerate his status towards being an epic orchestral composer and nothing else. I really miss his days before he decided to expand Basiscape with wonderfully individualised works like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Gradius V, Legaia Duel Saga, and Vagrant Story coming out.

The other reason I don't like the news is that I don't know where it'll leave his employees at Basiscape. Will they be given the chance to lead some Japanese projects as I long desired or will they be forever overshadowed by Hitoshi Sakimoto who composes the odd main theme here and there between his epic Western productions and anime projects.

I can partly understand why Hitoshi Sakimoto decided to do this. He's been involved in so many Japanese flops it's untrue -- Opoona, Deltora Quest, Coded Soul, and Elminage to name a few. One press release was very funny -- it just listed FFXII, FFT, FFT: The Lion's War, and FFTA2 as if he was some resident employee. I guess that is because his recent non-Ivalice works have largely been flops.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

I was talking about the games being financially unsuccessful. In fact, all of Basiscape's recent works are solid with the exception of Grim Grimoire. I especially liked Opoona, Odin Sphere (though not Sakimoto's works), Elminage, and Deltora Quest.

How ya doing, buddy?

Originally Posted by orion_mk3

Now that would be fascinating. Sakimoto and Soule...sounds like a law firm

Here is a list of their major works:

Four Bars Intertainment: The world's largest provider of music for games

Jack Wall + Hitoshi Sakimoto would be the most polarised pairing since Hiroki Kikuta + Kenji Ito in terms of musicality.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Despite the correct assumptions of my general anti-Americanism, it's not really much to do with East vs. West. I actually support a lot of Western game music and don't make the bold generalisations that it is all orchestral film music imitations. It's nevertheless encouraging most people are being so positive about this. I guess Sakimoto hate isn't as prevalent as I thought.

My main problem is that Four Bars Intertainment specifically caters towards efficient production of high quality orchestral music. Furthermore, Western developers are almost certainly going to be familiar with his orchestral productions but less his versatile work on commercially unsuccessful games. As a result, I think it's almost inevitable that his American affiliations will result in numerous more requests for epic orchestral scores along the lines of Final Fantasy XII and Valkyria Chronicles. Despite the assumptions of RainMan, Sakimoto generally likes to conform to the requests made from companies and it's usually them that decide on the approximate style of music to be adopted. He's generally not arrogant enough to argue with a large developer's usual worthwhile image of a game.

While the quality will surely be good and the use of proper orchestras will enhance his music, I don't think there will be as much musical innovation as what I consider to be Sakimoto's glory years (1997 - 2004). I still like Valkyria Chronicles, but it was more him reusing old tricks rather than him doing something new. I think he's done a good job in 2007 of maintaining a high-quality output (aside his contributions to Odin Sphere and Grim Grimoire), but there have only been two works that I've seen anything especially novel from him -- Romeo X Juliet and Opoona. Overall, though, I don't expect to see much musical creativity just high-quality high-throughput orchestral music. If Sakimoto were a one trick pony, I wouldn't mind, but it's evident Sakimoto can still do more.

BTW, RainMan, do you realize how your opinions have radically changed with the flick of a light switch. I can definitely remember you stating that you found Western game music commercialistic and homogenous (to which I argued otherwise) and that you found Sakimoto's work on Final Fantasy XII mostly uninspiring (to which I argued otherwise).

How ya doing, buddy?

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I think Elminage and Deltora Quest are as average as Grim Grimoire. It really is the kind of low, uninspired works I can't stand, coming from Basiscape. They all sound the same: weak and boring orchestral music with few good moments. Please, Mr Sakimoto and your crew, don't do this anymore!

I think I like Elminage and Deltora Quest because they're both quite well-characterised. Elminage was quite a mature Celtic work, Deltora Quest whimsical and childish. I thought Elminage wasn't full of highlights, though, and some of Kaneda's ideas in Deltora Quest could have been more thoughtful. I'd probably give both a 7/10 whereas Odin Sphere and Valkyria Chronicles are more like 8/10 material.

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Opoona not only was an excellent soundtrack, but it also proved that Basiscape was capable of creating a really innovative and refreshing soundtrack that is probably one of the best I have heard in a while.

From this collaboration with Four Bars, I would like Sakimoto to show that he is capable of much more than simply composing weak FFXII-like music over and over. I truly enjoyed Valkyria Chronicles, though.

I'm with you on both of these points. I guess we've had similar experiences while extensively listening to Basiscape's 2007/2008 output.

Originally Posted by RainMan

You could be right. Then again, I am not making assumptions indicating that it will be a bad fit. Nor am I attempting to pigeonhole Sakimoto into why he CAN'T and SHOULD NOT try to write for Western video game music. You assume it will not work. You are assuming a great deal more than I.

You're making very wild assumptions about my opinions even though I've made my opinion quite firm. I think Sakimoto's scores for Western games will be excellent, but I'd prefer him to focus on non-epic projects for the sake of creativity and novelty. The Western market can provide this, but based on Four Bars Intertainment and his reputation from Ivalice Alliance, I don't expect it will. This isn't the same as the peculiar pigeonholing you accuse me of.

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I think it has more to do with this than you are admitting. You started and ended this particular bit of text in a way which contradicts itself. If you don't like what Western VGM is doing, and are 'Anti-American' by your own admission, then it very much becomes a question of east vs. west, though I agree that it shouldn't ever enter the equation for this discussion.

Again, it comes across as a contradiction because you're making desperate assumptions. My anti-Americanism is to do with political and social factors, not musical ones -- I like a lot of American game music. There is some correlation between my fears of commercialism and expectations of derivative music. However, this applies to East and West.

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Seeing some of your earlier text, I think it's very clear what you were attempting to say but I don't think this really needs to get into a debate over something so trivial.

'Despite the correct assumptions of my general anti-Americanism' was clearly intended as a trivial ironic statement in response to a trivial ironic post. You wrongly assumed it was something I considered relevant to the debate.

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My ideas of music are not necessarily static and neither are my opinions. I have the capacity to change my ideas about the way things work. Even so, I don't agree with basically anything you are saying in this thread, so I fail to see the significance of bringing this up.

I don't understand how the two clauses in the last sentence are related. However, I brought it up because I think you are not actually sure of your opinions but wanted a random debate. I find it really erratic that you posted after Blah despite making a post prior to that.

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Hitoshi Sakimoto is one of my favorite composers and will continue to hold that distinction based on the work he has created up to this point. Regardless of how his integration into a more western vgm role plays out, I'll continue to support Sakimoto by listening to his music. I believe if anyone can make such a switch without surrendering their musical vision, it's Sakimoto.

I ask you: Have you actually heard his 2007 and 2008 works? I'm near-certain you haven't so I'm still not convinced of the foundation of your oh so sincere and complete unpretentious opinion.

And now I anticipate a load of provocative responses where you continue to make major inaccurate assumptions about my points.

I was speaking idiomatically.

It's clear that this disagreement will only escalate if I respond in detail to this post. However, I will say that if I have been 'a bit petty and defensive for no real reason' (probably true), this can be magnified tenfold for you. You clutch straws, spew rubbish, use capital letters, unintentionally agree, act hypocritical, and make insults. I miss the days before you joined GFF when you were actually a rational and intelligent poster. I try not to troll you like all the others here, but when you jump down on my throat for being defensive to a post in response to Blah I never made, it's difficult to stand back. You'll never be a convincing GFF bully.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

I'd love to see Sakimoto make greater use of live instruments. One of the greatest aspects of Opoona was the exuberant use of instrumental solos, especially from woodwinds. I also think the performances on Romeo X Juliet massively enhanced his work. I am entirely satisfied with what Eminence did in these works (and Valkyria Chronicles even if budgeting probably meant they weren't used more).

Personally, I have few problems with Basiscape's work on Deltora Quest and Odin Sphere, not finding them particularly imitative. I actually thought Coded Soul wasn't that appealing, even though it was refreshing to see more use of electronica in a Basiscape work. I actually preferred Elminage.

However, I agree with Zanasea on what I consider Sakimoto's glory period was. I'd love to see him revisit the obsessive orchestral style of Radiant Silvergun, the dark ambience of Vagrant Story, the lush exoticism of Legaia 2, and the vibrant electronica of Gradius V. As solid as Final Fantasy XII and Valkyria Chronicles are, I don't think there is as much opportunity for innovation by revisiting those works again and again.

FELIPE NO