In anticipation of the FACE to FACE “Returns” -Kenji Ito & Stella Magna- concert, Dengeki Online brought together Kenji Ito, composer for the SaGa and Final Fantasy series, and Tsutomu Narita, who composed music for Granblue Fantasy, for an interview. The two veteran musicians and stars of the said concert had a chat about video game music and the difficulties composers face in the industry, while also sharing some advice for up-and-coming composers.
Many game musicians are put in a difficult position when it comes to getting their work recognized. As Narita explains, “it’s really a chicken and egg situation.” No matter how good a composer you are, your future audience will not be able to discover you if the game itself does not become a hit. On the other hand, even if the game is a hit, its fame will not be able to offset a lackluster soundtrack.
But even when somebody manages to make a good, memorable soundtrack for a great game, most of the time, the soundtrack ends up taking on a life of its own rather than being tied to the composer’s name. And while the accomplishment of having shaped the memories of many generations of gamers itself is a dream for some, there’s no doubt composers may feel frustrated about not getting the recognition they deserve as individual authors. Ito confesses to having been in a similar position, especially around the time when he left Square to pursue a freelance career.
“It was like that around the time I went independent. The fanbases were extremely divided – even if they knew about SaGa, they had no idea who Kenji Ito was. Or, even if they’d heard of Puzzle & Dragons, the name SaGa didn’t ring a bell. I thought the only way to bridge that gap was to put myself out there,” he explained.
Rather than just “letting it happen,” throughout his career, Ito kept making efforts to promote his work and name, taking every chance he got, even if it wasn’t directly related to music. “I would use my speaking skills to my advantage, appearing at all kinds of events just so people would be aware of my existence, telling them, Hey, this is the music I made. You shouldn’t wait for it to happen. Those are the kinds of grassroots efforts I’ve been making for decades, and I finally feel like it has started to bear fruit,” Ito said.
As he’s getting ready to celebrate 35 years in the industry next year with a big commemorative concert, it seems like both 2025 and 2026 are going to be quite busy for Ito. On top of preparing for the collaborative concert with Narita next month, the composer has also been touring across Japan on his first ever solo piano tour.
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