Ryuji Sasai

Ryuji Sasai (笹井隆司, Sasai Ryūji, born December 21, 1961) is a Japanese video game composer and bass guitarist. He is best known for his work on Xak, Final Fantasy Legend III and Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. His musical career came about when he was 15 years old, and he formed a band. Before entering the gaming industry, Sasai was involved in the anime department, scoring two television series and a film. After creating music for four games as a freelancer, he was employed at Square from 1991 to 1998, where he worked on five games in total. Sasai often collaborated with fellow composers Tadahiro Nitta and Chihiro Fujioka during his career. He has also been a member of the rock bands Novela and Action and is currently performing as a bassist.

Ryuji Sasai
Born (1961-12-21) December 21, 1961
Osaka Prefecture, Japan
GenresRock
Occupation(s)Composer, songwriter
Instrument(s)Bass guitar, vocals
Years active1982-present

Biography

Born in Osaka, Japan, Sasai began his musical career at the age of 15, playing instruments and forming a band.[1] In 1982, he joined the rock band Novela; he was an instrumentalist and songwriter for several albums.[2] During his stint with the band, he composed music for the anime series The Mysterious Cities of Gold (1982) and Adventures of the Little Koala (1984). After Novela dissolved in 1984, he provided the score for the 1986 film Windaria alongside Satoshi Kadokura. He became a member of the band Action in 1988, where he was a bass guitarist and a backing vocalist; the band was active for a decade.[2]

His debut as a video game composer came with Crystal Software's Mugen No Shinzo III in 1989 with Chihiro Fujioka.[2] After sending his demo tapes and résumé to every software house and game company listed in the PC-specialized magazines, he got one response from Micro Cabin.[1] He then composed music for three Xak games with Tadahiro Nitta: Xak: The Art of Visual Stage,[3] Fray in Magical Adventure,[2] and Xak II: The Rising of the Red Moon.[4] During this time, he was working as a freelance composer under pseudonyms for unspecified titles.[1] In 1991, after Square hired Fujioka to be a director, Sasai was invited to join the company as they needed composers to assist Nobuo Uematsu and Kenji Ito.[2] His first assignment was to create the soundtrack to the Game Boy title Final Fantasy Legend III.[2] Sasai composed the majority of the score, with director Fujioka handling four pieces.[2]

His subsequent work for Square was 1992's Final Fantasy Mystic Quest (known as "Mystic Quest Legend" in Europe), which he composed with Yasuhiro Kawakami;[5] it was the first game in the Final Fantasy series not composed by regular series composer Uematsu.[2] After a hiatus during the peak of Action's activity, Square assigned Sasai as the sole composer for the Japan-exclusive game Rudra no Hihō (1996).[6] Afterward, he contributed the track "Character Select" for the score to the multi-composer game Tobal No. 1; the games arranged album, Tobal No. 1 Remixes Electrical Indian, featured the song. The music team GUIDO completed the album's arrangement.[2][7]

After completing the score to Bushido Blade 2[8] and Action dispersed in 1998, Sasai left Square.[2] He was initially going to score two role-playing games after Bushido Blade 2, but it did not come to pass due to circumstances with the company. Since the company had not given him any other assignments, he decided to leave Square. Sasai is currently a bass guitarist for the Queen tribute band Queen Mania and the rock band Spiders from Cabaret.[1]

Musical style and influences

Sasai’s Bushido Blade 2 soundtrack consists of hard rock music and traditional Japanese instruments and harmonies.[9] A member of the tribute band Queen Mania, Sasai cites Queen as a significant musical influence.[2] Preferring the musical genres heavy metal and alternative rock, his favorite bands are Extreme, Judas Priest, and Red Hot Chili Peppers. He has said that he also listens to hard rock and progressive rock. When he started working in the game industry, he immersed himself in film and classical music.[1]

Works
Year Game Notes Ref.
1982 The Mysterious Cities of Goldanime with Haim Saban and Shuki Levy[2]
1984 Adventures of the Little Koalaanime
1986 Windariaanime with Satoshi Kadokura
1989 Xak: The Art of Visual StageTadahiro Nitta
1990 Fray in Magical Adventure
1990 Xak II: The Rising of the Red Moon
1991 Final Fantasy Legend IIIChihiro Fujioka
1992 Final Fantasy Mystic QuestYasuhiro Kawakami
1996 Rudra no Hihō
Tobal No. 1with several others
1998 Bushido Blade 2

References
  1. Napolitano, Jayson (September 9, 2009). "School of Rock: Interview with Squaresoft Composer Ryuji Sasai". Original Sound Version. Retrieved January 8, 2010.
  2. Chris Greening (September 10, 2007). "Ryuji Sasai Profile". Game Music Online. Retrieved September 22, 2014.
  3. Napolitano, Jayson (September 11, 2008). "Coolest Game Subtitle Ever: Xak ~ The Art of Visual Stage (Review)". Original Sound Version. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  4. Napolitano, Jayson (October 29, 2008). "Xak is Back: Xak II, An Action Game Without The Action Music (Review)". Original Sound Version. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  5. "Final Fantasy Mystic Quest Tech Info". GameSpot. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  6. Gann, Patrick. "Rudora no Hihou OSV". RPGFan. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  7. Harry; Dave. "Tobal No. 1 Remixes Electrical Indian :: Review by Harry and Dave". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved January 8, 2010.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  8. "Bushido Blade 2 Tech Info". GameSpot. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
  9. Kero Hazel. "Bushido Blade 2 Original Soundtrack :: Review by Kero Hazel". Square Enix Music Online. Retrieved January 13, 2010.
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