Takenobu Mitsuyoshi

[Nathan]

Sorry this took so long, but here is part of my interview with Mitsuyoshi - san. Enjoy!


Me:
Hello!

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
hi
I already sent mail to you.Please check it out.

[You]
Yes, I got it.
Could I ask you questions here or would you prefer a message/

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
7:57pm
Alright,I can do that there
there
here
sorry

[You]
7:57pm
It's ok.
First question, can you describe to be your roll at SEGA?
role*

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
7:59pm
I'm just sound creator in SEGA.may be as you know.=D=D
Well,and my charge of work is arcade video game.

[You]
8:00pm
So do you work only on sounds and music in SEGA's arcade division?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:01pm
yes

[You]
8:01pm
What games have you worked on? I know Shenmue I and Daytona USA you have listed on your Facebook, did you work on Shenmue II? What else?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:05pm
My first work was GP-RIDER,and then R-360,Virtua racing,Virtua Figter 1,2 saturn,and VF3
also sega rally championship

[You]
8:05pm
So you didn't compose anything for Shenmue II?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:05pm
yeah,I was sound director in Shenmue 1
Unn...just little bit
that's why as I said,I was director for sound section,so I didin't have a time for composing
But I've composed main theme and few songs somehow.

[You]
8:09pm
Do you mean this main theme? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swzFo_p9Ud8

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:10pm
yes,this song is my composing
and actually orchestra arrangement version exist too

[You]
8:11pm
This one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqaPYz1XNJU

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:13pm
No,this is just theme for heroine.
main theme's orchestra version is here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0SmPIyo ... re=related

[You]
8:15pm
Ah, ok. So in composing these songs, was it just you? A lot of times, all of Shenmue's music is credited to you, Yuzo Koshiro, Ryuji Iuchi, and a few others. Did you all compose every single song as a team?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:17pm
yes,Shenmue's special sound team were about 10 persons.They have composed a lot of songs everyday like a horse.

[You]
8:18pm
It's really remarkable to know that. This music is beautiful, not just to me, but the entire video game community. Pretty much anyone who enjoys music likes this soundtrack.
So the two songs you specifically mentioned, were they done by the team or just you alone?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:21pm
Thanks
main theme and a new journey are my composing,but heroine's theme is Mr,Iuchi

[You]
8:23pm
Can you tell me who did some of the other songs from the official soundtracks?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:24pm
If my memory is correct,shenmue's composers are Yuzo Koshiro,Ryuji Iuchi,Takeshi Yanagawa,Osamu Murata and so on...and me.

[You]
8:25pm
So the team composed the rest of the songs aside from A New Journey, Main Theme, and Shenhua's Theme?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:28pm
yeah
Anyway we have composed huge songs each other.

[You]
8:29pm
What about the in game music...aside from the heavier, orchestral stuff. Like the music from inside the arcade, or the music when meeting Chai. Was that all done by the entire team?
You mean seperately?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:31pm
Yes,we've worked on seperately.

[You]
8:35pm
What about the in game music?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:36pm
My opinion for shole game music?or just only shenmue's?
whole game music

[You]
8:37pm
Yes...who composed it and what do you think of it?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:38pm
ah you want to know who composing of "meeting chai"?
well...sure..Mr.Nitta.may be
That song is amazing.I can't compose like this song.

[You]
8:43pm
Mr. Nitta? What was his first name?
And the in game tracks such as the Hazuki Home theme, Chai's theme, and the music in the Ramen shop...are there specific composers for each and every music track in the game?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:45pm
Tadahiro Nitta...sorry I can't bring back correctly.
yes,we've composed songs for several situations,shops,chrators.
charactors

[You]
8:46pm
Ah, ok. Can you remember any other songs that might have been composed just by one person?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:47pm
Basically,1 song by 1 person.
I can't tell you composers name each songs.Because songs are so many.

[You]
8:50pm
Yeah, when you said "1 song by 1 person", did you mean that you could remember one specific song or or that each in game track was done by one person?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:51pm
Oh...I can't choice only one.haha

[You]
8:51pm
Oh.
So the in game songs were done by individuals, while the entire team worked on the soundtrack?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:55pm
No,soundtrack was made by me.
I've choose songs for soundtrack in huge songs in game,and audio mastering and some work for soundtrack.

[You]
8:56pm
You mean the physical discs? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenmue_OS ... _Yokosuka~ That one and the one with the purple face and eye on it?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:57pm
yes,both

[You]
8:57pm
So you hand picked everything that went on both soundtracks?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
8:58pm
yes

[You]
8:58pm
Interesting...I love both of the soundtracks for the game.
What about the Jukebox Soundtrack that came with the limited edition of Shenmue 1? Did you play the same roles?

[Takenobu Mitsuyoshi]
9:00pm
yeah some songs made by me

That's it for now. What do you think?

[cube_b3]

This has to be rewritten essay style or something for the interview section.

[Nathan]

~Via Facebook~

Part I


Me
Hello!

Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
Hi.

First question, can you describe to be your role at SEGA?

I'm a sound creator at SEGA, I mainly work on arcade video games.

So do you work only on sounds and music in SEGA's arcade division?

Yes.

What games have you worked on? I know Shenmue I and Daytona USA you have listed on your Facebook, did you work on Shenmue II? What else?

My first work was GP-RIDER, and then R-360, Virtua Racing, Virtua Fighter 1, Virtua Fighter 2 Saturn, and Virtua Fighter 3, and SEGA Rally Championship.

So you didn't compose anything for Shenmue II?

Yeah, I was a sound director in Shenmue I. I composed a little bit for II, but since I was director of the sound section, I didn't have much time left to compose. Though I did do a few songs.

Do you mean this main theme? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=swzFo_p9Ud8

Yes, this song is my composition.
There is actually an orchestra arrangement of it as well.

This one? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqaPYz1XNJU

No, that is just the theme for the heroine.
The main theme's orchestra version is here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0SmPIyo ... re=related

Ah, ok. So in composing these songs, was it just you? A lot of times, all of Shenmue's music is credited to you, Yuzo Koshiro, Ryuji Iuchi, and a few others. Did you all compose every single song as a team?

Yes, Shenmue's special sound team consisted of about 10 people. They have composed a lot of songs everyday, they worked liked horses.

It's really remarkable to know that. This music is beautiful, not just to me, but the entire video game community. Pretty much anyone who enjoys music likes this soundtrack.
So the two songs you specifically mentioned, were they done by the team or just you alone?

Thanks. The main theme and "A New Journey" are my compositions, but the heroine's theme is Mr. Iuchi's.

Can you tell me who did some of the other songs from the official soundtracks?

If my memory is correct, Shenmue's composers were Yuzo Koshiro, Ryuji Iuchi, Takeshi Yanagawa, Osamu Murata, and so on...and me.

So the team composed the rest of the songs aside from A New Journey, Main Theme, and Shenhua's Theme?

Yes, and we all worked on a few bigger songs.

You mean separately?

Yes, separately.

What about the in game music...aside from the heavier, orchestral stuff. Like the music from inside the arcade, or the music when meeting Chai. Was that all done by the entire team?

Ah, you want to know who composed "Meeting Chai"?
Well...maybe it was Mr. Nitta. That songs is amazing. I can't compose like this song.

Mr. Nitta? What was his first name?
And the in game tracks such as the Hazuki Home theme, Chai's theme, and the music in the Ramen shop...are there specific composers for each and every music track in the game?

Tadahiro Nitta...sorry I can't recall correctly.
Yes, we composed songs for several situations, shops, characters.

Ah, ok. Can you remember any other songs that might have been composed just by one person?

Basically, it was one song by one person. I can't tell who composed each and every song, there were so many.

Yeah, when you said "one song by one person", did you mean that you could remember one specific song or or that each in game track was done by one person?

Oh...I can't choose only one! *laughs*

So the in game songs were done by individuals, while the entire team worked on the soundtrack?

No, the soundtrack was made by me.
I chose songs for the soundtracks from huge songs in game, and mastered the audio.


You mean the physical discs? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shenmue_OS ... _Yokosuka~ That one and the one with the purple face and eye on it?

Yes, both.

So you hand picked everything that went on both soundtracks?

Yes.

Interesting...I love both of the soundtracks for the game.
What about the Jukebox Soundtrack that came with the limited edition of Shenmue I? Did you play the same roles?

Yes, some of the songs were mine.

[Sharky]

Very interesting! good read.
Well done Supa!

[CrazyT]

Wow supa. This is some great stuff!!

[Mengels7]

How'd you land that? Cool stuff. A bit heavy on the Shenmue though don't you think? :-P

[Nathan]

Heh, well, it was kind of meant to be a Shenmue interview. If anybody has any other questions, Shenmue or otherwise, throw them my way. I'll ask him next time he is online. And like I said, you are welcome to put this on the front page.

[Sega Uranus]

Ah, you are really lucky. This was a pretty cool read, but I am more interested in his other work.

I only talked to the guy very briefly in the past, but he really seems like a class act. Hopefully SEGA gives him some more console game related jobs in the future. His work on Bayonetta was great and he made Sonic 06 almost playable by his wonderful music.

[Nathan]

Everyone post some questions! I'll be happy to send each and every one.  And why hasn't this been front paged yet?

[Mengels7]

Aw you don't go bugging him every time he's logged onto Facebook do you?

[Nathan]

Ha, no. I'm very polite when it comes to all of these interviewers, because i understand that they have work to do that doesn't rest on them talking about a decade old project that is currently inactive.