Hitoshi Sakimoto to score Western games

I totally agree with seraph here.

Sakimoto's distinct harmony is the reason why I grow to love his music in the first place. The same thing found in his newest work can still be found in his oldest work 20 years ago. Actually, I came to understand this reason when I found a gamerip of REVOLTER's music and listen to the first track. It's good for some listeners to want change, but if you expect changes to be like Yoko Kanno or Igor Stravinsky, then you will certainly be disappointed.

The beauty of Sakimoto's music lies in its continuity, just in the same case as Sakuraba's music. I love these composers because they stick to these factors. There are still other criteria to judge whether they still produce great music or not, like "whether this piece of music fits the scene or the emotion?". "Reinventing oneself" is nearly impossible for a composer in a few years' time, and the result may not always be welcome (as in Danny Elfman's case).

Also, I think when a composer writes mostly orchestral music, the evolution would be much more subtle than writing in other genres. I can use Giacchino or John Williams or anyone else as an example. I myself can hear some of the differences in Giacchino's music these years, but if you want to know the EXACT thing then you need to go into an analysis which is way beyond my petty programmer's brain capabilities. ^_^ Also you would hear many people complaining that orchestral music is "all the same", etc etc. while in fact it is the exact opposite.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

a) I sincerely hate the trumpet samples he uses in the last few years. Other than that I think it's fine. I especially like Sakimoto's woodwind and trombone/french horn samples ^_^
b) I would like to see other Basiscape members to get more publicity than they now have, too. Especially Kaneda and Abe; they are extraordinary composers and arrangers! I got fond of their styles pretty quickly. I would be really excited if someday we can hear them going solo ^_^

There's nowhere I can't reach.