Mercoledì 6 Lug 2011, 16:07

How was the development of Japanese role-playing music?

Before I start to write this overview about Japanese videogame music I will first explain from which perspective I write this. I am a Dutch Musicologist, who is almost at the end of his BA. Next year I will start with my MA. I grew up in the Netherlands with videogames. I loved the music of these videogames, and even up to today it is one of my favorite music genres. However, because I write this from a Western point of view, I can’t describe the developments in Japan from so long ago. I don’t want to give sources and going to read many articles to give an accurate description. It’s my blog, so I am in my full right to give a subjective point of view of what happened with this genre of music.

The Introduction of videogame music.
My starting point is the time when a few creative composers decided to use the Commandore ’64 as a composing tool. In my youth I only experienced the wonderful music of Chris Hülsbeck. I can’t speak for these other composers, since I couldn’t experience their music in game. I discovered Hülsbeck most influential work much later than in my youth. My parents bought Super Turrican for the Super Nintendo, and I just loved the melodic character, and 80’s feel, to the music. However, Hülsbeck has been around for a long time already. His first works shows the power of music composed by the sound chip of a console. It had melody, it was catchy. Each ‘console’ had its own character in sound. This was based on how the chip was produced. A nice example is when you listen to the soundtrack of Mega Turrican on the Sega Genesis and Super Turrican on the Super Nintendo.

Mega Turrican version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DLqos66n3Qo
Super Turrican version: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6gW975XDwA

Of course, we are getting ahead now. When Hülsbeck composed for the Commandore 64, I was too young, or even not born yet, to realize what was happening in the gaming scene, but to give an idea of how it sound like:

Intro theme of Star Ball: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpe6zMTSLnQ

Melody became the primary focus.
The next development in videogame music changed the entire composition style of video game music. While the C64’s music was mostly experimental, since the release of Tetris the music started to get a shape. We all know the catchy melody of the that I will talk about. One catchy melody was enough to make an entire generation feel nostalgic when they hear this melody. This melody wasn’t composed with huge skills or anything; the composer simply followed some basic rules to compose a catchy tune. He composed a melody and repeated it constantly. While playing you don’t notice how often a short particle of music got repeated. However, this melody gets printed in your memory. Much later, and with much I mean much later, when you hear this melody again you are reminded of this game. It triggers a sense of nostalgia, just because of this simple melody. Other companies discovered that the trick of successful game music was a catchy melody. Nintendo was one of the first companies who used a catchy theme for all their games. Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, they all have their own catchy tune composed by Koji Kondo. The Mario theme makes use of a AABA structure. Typically, in the last A they make a modification. They increase the pitch in the last A, so the structure would be AABA’. This trick is used a lot in modern pop music, but Nintendo decided to use this for the Mario Theme. However, Tetris was already before them. Tetris use the same AABA structure from pop music. This development leads to some really interesting videogame music in the later generations. Thanks to Tetris, and later Nintendo too, a new musical genre was born with his own set of musical rules. It was videogame music.

Super Nintendo: The shaping of Japanese role-playing music.
The era of the Super Nintendo was highly interesting to me as a young boy. After my parents bought a NES for me, some years later they bought the SNES for me. Of course, this was a crucial moment in my development as the gaming youth. First I played games like Donkey Kong Country, Super Mario All-Stars and Disney games like The Lion King and Aladdin. However, my musical interest started to spark when I played two games. First Secret of Mana(alternative title: Seiken Densetsu II) and Lufia: Rise of the Sinistrals(alternative title: Estpolis II). These games built their music on the principles of Tetris and Mario, but they made it all based on themes. Lufia: Rise of the Sinistrals is the best example for this. Lufia had character themes, battle themes, location themes, ending themes. Lufia wasn’t the first game who introduced this into videogames. However, it has never been done this well. As a young boy, I discovered the Mozart of videogames. Lufia: Rise of the Sinistrals was thé completion of anything that happened in the SNES era. To give a random example. Lufia II’s boss theme:

Yasunori Shiono - Lufia II Boss Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wWHZE14hP8

The structure is awkward, to say the least. As far as my own musical hearing allows me to, he starts the song with trumpets (or any brass instrument, hard to say with the chip quality of this time). The trumpets play the same pitches for three times. The fourth time it alternates. After that the second part opens with a synthesized violin. It introduced a new melody. It plays this short melody several times, but puts a variation in each ‘pitch group’. In the last part he breaks the just-created expectation pattern. In the second part he repeated a short melody with variation fourth times, but after that he breaks this pattern. Our brains got used to the pattern, but he breaks it instantly, because of that we feel a cold shiver and it releases a great feeling. Mr. Shiono did something amazing in this composition. The structure would be roughly ternary form, but he took his own free interpretation on it. He showed a piece of musical craftsmanship that is usually only shown in classical music. Shiono’s creation is just an example. The Super Nintendo showed more freedom in composition. This was also thanks to the improved sound chips. Composers could use four channels simultaneously, because of that there was more freedom for the composers. Videogame music started to get a classical character. Most likely because all these composers are educated as classical composers, but they were limited by the sound chips of this time. There are many other great tracks from this time, but I can’t mention them all. Just to give a few examples:

(Secret of Mana)Hiroki Kikuta – Angel’s Fear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zsSg_TDMz70
Nobuo Uematsu – Final Fantasy IV battle theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IGJN7JL3Daw
(Breath of Fire II)Capcom Sound Team – Face your Destiny: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBuhQNUFCVI

Interestingly, all these examples show they try to separate themselves from the standard AABA structure. Nobuo Uematsu shows variation on the same theme in his battle theme in Final Fantasy IV. Angel’s Fear is a jewel on itself. There is no repeating. It’s solely composed based on the images of the introduction of Secret of Mana.

Playstation defeats Nintendo.
I think everyone remember the awkward joysticks of the Nintendo 64. Typically Nintendo, they wanted to come with creative ideas to support their financials. The Nintendo 64 was a success, but not for the role-playing genre. Playstation came with Final Fantasy VII. The game made the Playstation a rpg console. Final Fantasy VII had a huge impact on me the time I played it. When I reflect on this time. Final Fantasy VII didn’t do much more than what Lufia: Rise of the Sinistrals already did, but because of effective promotions by Squaresoft, Lufia became a ‘hardcore-gem’ while everyone know Final Fantasy VII. Nonetheless, Final Fantasy VII was a great game. What did Final Fantasy VII brought to the gaming industry? It basically showed that a videogame can have a storyline just as strong as any other form of media. Lufia: Rise of the Sinistrals already did this, but the impact of Final Fantasy VII was immense. The new sound chip of the Playstation gave the composers even more freedom. This lead to the epic One-Winged Angel of Nobuo Uematsu. In this track we can clearly here that game composers are classically educated. However, they didn’t forget about the roots of videogame music. There is a clear continuously development in how they compose their tracks. I guess the best example to analyze the new development is Aerith’s theme by Nobuo Uematsu. This track doesn’t only function as a strong leidmotif for Aerith, it simply made gamers cry. At the first listen you can hear Nobuo Uematsu developed his composition style. The track starts by introducing the theme. The entire track is based on this one theme. Different instruments – piano, oboe, violin – all play this theme with variations. Typically for Uematsu’s composition style, on the background you hear a harp playing the same repeated harp sequence. There is also another hidden reference in this track that many listeners aren’t aware of. The theme is awfully similar to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto in A-major, KV. 622. II. Adagio. Just listen:
Nobuo Uematsu – Aerith’s Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4CK2hx377iU
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart – Clarinet Concerto in A Major – KV 622 – II. Adagio: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxgmorK61YQ

Structure is similar. First Mozart introduces the clarinet as solo, followed by a response from the orchestra. Uematsu did the same in Aerith’s Theme. Both compositions follow the same path. My point is, these composers got the freedom now to compose classical music in videogame music. Uematsu isn’t the only composer who referred to classical composers. Motoi Sakuraba also did it frequently. Videogame music became classical music, but with a twist. Videogame music is influenced by the earlier era’s. Which means, videogame must be catchy, must follow song structures that are understandable for everyone. Therefore, videogame music is the new ‘pop’ version of classical music. The classical music scene frowns upon this observation and rather keep their elitist status, but the fact remains that the Japanese are currently popularizing classical music through their videogames.

However, another side developed that saw the new sound produced by the sound chips of the consoles as a new esthetic. Motoi Sakuraba showed the best example of this development. The music of Valkyrie Profile is a good example of this stream. Sakuraba doesn’t try to imitate classical music, but he uses the electronic sound as a new esthetic. This lead to some fantastic game music. Some good examples:

(Valkyrie Profile)Motoi Sakuraba – Confidence in the Domination: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ertvporcCZI
(Valkyrie Profile)Motoi Sakuraba – To the Last Drop of My blood:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRT1kfJ2o5g
(Golden Sun)Motoi Sakuraba – Isaac’s Battle Theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFMc40qxJK4

In the next generation Sakuraba also went on the same path as Uematsu. His compositions became more classical orientated and less synthesized. However, some composers stayed with synthesized music. Some of them did because it was cheaper, but also some of them chose for this because of esthetic reasons.

Playstation II: Heaven for any RPG fan.
Exactly as I say. The Playstation II was the heaven for Japanese role-playing fans. The Gamecube still had a few good rpgs too. Musically, the only one worth mentioning is Skies of Arcadia. Originally a Dreamcast rpg, the game got ported to the Gamecube. Just listen to the theme of Little Jack, and notice how classical videogame music became:

(Skies of Arcadia)Yutaka Minobe & Takayuki Maeda– Little Jack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFcH84oNU6s

This track is very, very classical in his character. However, we hear some clear influences from the development in the scene. The composer(s?) decided to base the song on one theme. They repeat the theme, but alternate it at the end. The track starts with an introduction, and then followed by the theme. The theme is repeating with variation. Around 1:45 they increase the speed, but keep on building on the same theme. The nice part is at the end of the track, when they alternate the theme, by increasing the pitch instead of lowering it. Once again the composer builds on musical expectation and breaks the pattern to create a cold shiver to the listener – the same shiver that will trigger nostalgia when you hear this song years, and years later.

It’s hard to say which Japanese role-playing games are most important on the Playstation II. There are so many, so it’s hard to select. Some people see the downfall of Final Fantasy in this generation. I politely agree with this. Musically, Final Fantasy X was still remarkable, but after that it all became a downward spiral. I decided to analyze a track from Gust’s Ar Tonelico. The reason for this is that Gust’s composer’s team makes us of most of the composition styles from the past of videogame music.

(Ar Tonelico) Ken Nakagawa, Daichuke Achiwa – Loki: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsFYXts6EeE

The composer said they made use of samples that sound ‘synthesized’ on purpose. This fits with Motoi Sakuraba’s Valkyrie Profile and Golden Sun soundtracks. The music is highly melodic, but also sound obviously synthesized. There are clear layers, and you can’t really speak of a ‘classical’ composition anymore. The composers used the new technology to give their own twist to videogame music. It’s an interpretation that I really like. To stay on this path, Shoji Meguro push it even farther in his Mass Destruction for Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3.

(Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3)Shoji Meguro – Mass Destruction: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9E3VR8Fnj0

This song has nothing to do with classical music anymore. This is simply hip hop. What does it proof? Videogame music breaks the boundary of any genre. Videogame music can be any music. As long as it first the game.

However, other composers focused on a more classical approach in their composition. The music started to sound more and more like a classical composition, and slowly lost its identity of ‘videogame music’. Motoi Sakuraba suffered this heavily. To him, the Playstation II era was a transition. A transition from synthesized music to classical music. To give a few examples:

(Tales of Symphonia)Motoi Sakuraba – Final Destination: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aq_KSW3xric
(Baten Kaitos)Motoi Sakuraba – Mystery Crystal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3uZ_7JnHyRE
(Valkyrie Profile 2)Motoi Sakuraba – Battle theme: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dHZADdy_pmM

There is also much experimentation with new genres of music, to give a few examples:
(Suikoden III)Himekami – Exceeding Love: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TNuMpkic_Zg
(Arc the Lad IV: Twilight of the Spirits)Yuko Fukushima – Natural Selection: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V6tX5S-gM0Y

All by all, videogame music became really varied in this period. Basically any genre is represented by at least one composer. Some composers decided to make references to classical music, other composers decided to go their own way. One thing is certain: Tetris and Mario can be heard in all the compositions.

Current games and music.
It’s hard to say how music in Japanese role-playing games is these days. Some composers went for a very classical approach. A good example is Uematsu’s composition for Lost Odyssey. However, we can also clearly hear that this isn’t just his fascination for classical music speaking. There are many new influences. Motoi Sakuraba became even more classical orientated. His soundtrack for Eternal Sonata had many classical references(besides Chopin, of course). Other compositions are exploring more popular genres, like hiphop or jazz. A good example are Shoji Meguro’s compositions for the Shin Megami Tensei games.

Most importantly, Japanese role-playing music, and videogame music, developed an own individual style thanks to the fathers of the genre. They made the standards. The modern composers fused these standards in the genres they are familiar with and create new interesting compositions. These new compositions can be of any genre. Most fascinating is that classical music is more mainstream than people think thanks to videogame music. Not only that, videogame music became a genre on its own, still in a continuously development. It will be interesting to see how this music will development in the future.
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