CocoeBiz's Interview with Masaharu Iwata
Q. Mr. Iwata, you contributed music to Seiken Densetsu DS: Children of Mana, alongside co-workers Takayuki Aihara and Kenji Ito. This is the first time that you have participated in Square Enix's most unique series. How do you feel about it? Was there any pressure to keep the high standard set by previous composers of the ongoing saga?
A. Since this was a big project, of course I thought of many things from the previous games in the series. I played some games from the series when they were released, especially Secret of Mana which I bought and finished, and is one of my favorite video games. For that reason, I was most impressed by Secret of Mana; its beautiful appearance, pleasant gameplay, and music which made the playing experience even better. That music was wonderful because it was remarkable but so common. This time, I composed tracks following along the lines of that style, and with Mr. Ito's sound supervision, they had originality for the new Nintendo DS game.
Q. Recently, you and Mr. Sakimoto participated in the massive 10 composer project of Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner. How do you respond to this kind of project? Did you get any special request from the game’s director or did he ask for such a great number of composers because he wanted to use their own style?
A. I got the offer by Mr. Ogata, the sound director, early in this project. I worked with him on Stella Deus, so my involvement seemed to have been decided from this relationship, fortunately. There was no special request, I composed with my own style fairly and the only thing they requested to me was a small change from my demo composition. Since the sounds are performed with the PSP in-built sound source in this game, I aimed to make music that had the atmosphere of good ol' (but not too old) game music.
Q. It certainly was surprising to see you and Mr. Matsuo working on Final Fantasy XII with Mr. Sakimoto. What details can you tell us about your involvement?
A. I composed 2 tracks by request from Mr. Sakimoto, he asked me to compose with my own style. It is still a secret where these tunes are used in the game.
From CocoeBiz (Edited on 30/5/06): From the Final Fantasy XII Original Soundtrack linear notes, Mr. Iwata composed "The Sochen Cave Palace" and "The Feywood".
Q. The music to Square Enix's online game, Fantasy Earth -Ring of Dominion-, was your first work composing an online game. What is the point or motif you tried to carry out in this project?
A. I made the title music, which is also the main theme, with an authentic style because it represents the world concept of Fantasy Earth. Music used when playing the game is listened to for a long time because of the game style, so the music must not be offensive to the ear. The music will also tell players about their situation in the game.
Q. In many cases of online games, updates and expansion packs provide us with new features. Will you be involved in any additional music of Fantasy Earth?
A. I haven't received offers yet.
Q. The music to this game was composed by you, Mr. Kenichi Koyano, Mr. Manabu Namiki, and Mr. Sakimoto. How many tracks did Mr. Sakimoto compose on this project?
A. He composed 3 tracks: the opening movie, field music, and another piece.
Q. CocoeBiz would like to thank you for your time in answering these short questions! Is there anything you want to say to your international fans?
I will create more music to various games, so please listen to them when they are released.
Interviewed, Interview Contents & Translation Supervised by Harry Simons.
Contents Translated by Kago.
Editorial Supervised by Kahori Ezaki (CocoeBiz., L.L.C.)
