Junya Nakano

Template:Short description Template:Infobox musical artist Template:Nihongo is a Japanese video game composer. After working for Konami in the early 1990s, he was employed by Squaresoft and then Square Enix from 1995 to 2009. He is best known for scoring Threads of Fate and co-composing Final Fantasy X for Squaresoft, arranging for Dawn of Mana and the Nintendo DS version of Final Fantasy IV for Square Enix, and scoring arcade video games such as X-Men and Mystic Warriors for Konami. Nakano has collaborated with Masashi Hamauzu on a number of games.

He was introduced to music at the age of three when his parents offered him lessons in the electronic organ. After studying composition and arrangement at a vocational school, Nakano worked for Konami from 1991 to 1994, where he scored numerous arcade games. Nakano is noted for his ambient style and for using percussion, timbre, and rhythm in his compositions.

Biography

Junya Nakano was born in Kyoto, Japan.<ref name="NakanoBiography">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His parents introduced him to music when he was three years old, offering him lessons in the electronic organ through the Yamaha Music Foundation; they also encouraged him to join some brass bands. After playing the 1979 arcade game Lunar Rescue, he developed an interest in video games and subsequently began to enjoy chiptune music. By frequently listening to the radio, he started composing MIDI music using the NEC PC-9801 in 1985. In 1987, he attended a vocational school to study composition and arrangement in hopes of entering the gaming industry. After graduation, he joined the Kobe branch of Konami in 1991, where he contributed music to eight arcade games with several collaborators over a three-year period, including titles such as X-Men and Mystic Warriors. Deciding he wanted to create more original music and have a chance to receive individual recognition, Nakano left Konami after completing the score for Golfing Greats 2 in 1994.<ref name="Biography" />

Nakano joined Square (now Square Enix) in 1995.<ref name="Biography"/> He created four pieces for the 1996 video game Front Mission: Gun Hazard, which featured composers Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, and Masashi Hamauzu.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His first solo project came about with Satellaview's Treasure Conflix the same year.<ref name="Biography"/> In 1996, Nakano joined several of Square's composers to create the soundtrack for the fighting game Tobal No. 1;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> he contributed three compositions.<ref name="Biography"/> Hamauzu and Nakano became friends after working on Front Mission: Gun Hazard and Tobal No. 1, and they have later collaborated on several titles.<ref name="Biography">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1997, Nakano served as synthesizer programmer for the score to Front Mission: Alternative.<ref name="Biography"/> Nakano composed the soundtrack for the Japan-only adventure game Another Mind,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> which he was given a deadline of two months to complete.<ref name="Biography"/> His subsequent score to the 1999 title Threads of Fate (known as "Dewprism" in Japan) gave him worldwide recognition.<ref name="Biography"/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Since scoring Threads of Fate, Nakano has collaborated with several composers on major projects instead of being the sole composer.<ref name="Biography"/> In 2001, Nakano and Hamauzu were chosen to assist Uematsu in the production of the score for the critically acclaimed Final Fantasy X,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> based on their ability to create music that was different from Uematsu's style;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nakano created 20 pieces.<ref name="Biography"/> One of his tracks from the game, "Guadosalam", was arranged for the piano and featured in the album Piano Collections Final Fantasy X (2002).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Following Final Fantasy X, Nakano composed the soundtrack to Asmik Ace Entertainment's flight simulator Sidewinder F.

Back at Square Enix, he created the music for Musashi: Samurai Legend with Hamauzu and the duo Wavelink Zeal (Takayuki and Yuki Iwai) in 2004.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2006, Nakano created seven tracks for the Xbox 360 game Project Sylpheed, which also featured several other composers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Later the same year, he arranged four pieces from the Mana series for Dawn of Mana (known as "Seiken Densetsu 4" in Japan).<ref name="Biography"/> He was also selected to arrange half of Final Fantasy IVTemplate:'s Nintendo DS remake under the supervision of Uematsu,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and composed the soundtrack to its 2008 sequel, Final Fantasy IV: The After Years.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On December 31, 2009, Nakano confirmed that he had left Square Enix and would be joining his former mentor and collaborator Yuji Takenouchi's supergroup "GeOnDan", whom have since disbanded.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nakano's last projects for Square Enix before leaving were the soundtracks to Fullmetal Alchemist: Prince of the Dawn and Daughter of the Dusk.<ref name="Biography" />

Musical style and influences

Nakano is best known for creating ambient music with percussive, timbral, and rhythmic elements.<ref name="Biography"/> According to an interview conducted by the website RocketBaby.net, Nakano was composing music focusing on an instrument's tone and acoustics until 1995, while after that time, he slowly moved his focus toward studying the harmony and melody important to music as a whole.<ref name="Interview"/> After joining Square, he started focusing on rhythm and timbre which he implemented in titles like Front Mission: Gun Hazard, Treasure Conflix, and Tobal No. 1.<ref name="Biography"/> The music in Threads of Fate contains many different styles like ambient, jazz, and Spanish music;<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the tracks have been described as "mellow" and "upbeat".<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> For Final Fantasy X, Nakano was responsible for most of the ambient-styled compositions, which featured percussion, timbre, and rhythm.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Nakano stated in the original soundtrack's liner notes that he wanted to create music with a "vibrant and dynamic feel" that tied together his years of experience with game music.<ref>Uematsu, Nobuo; Hamauzu, Masashi; Nakano, Junya. Final Fantasy X Original Soundtrack liner notes. DigiCube. 2001-08-01. SQEX-10013. Template:Usurped. Retrieved on 2009-08-08.</ref>

When starting out in the field of music, he was influenced by brass bands he was involved with and electronic organ music; however, he could not think of a specific musician who influenced him. Nakano cites Hamauzu as the colleague he admires most at Square Enix, and is particularly interested in the sounds he creates. When asked about his thoughts of Uematsu and how he had influenced his work, Nakano replied: "He is a very youthful and active person, but he hasn't influenced my work."<ref name="Interview">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Works

All works listed below were composed by Nakano unless otherwise noted.

Year	Title	Notes	Template:Abbr
1992	Asterix	Music with various others	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
	X-Men	Music with Seiichi Fukami, Yuji Takenouchi, and Ayako Nishigaki	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
	Hexion	Music with Yuji Takenouchi, Satoko Miyawaki, and Ayako Nishigaki	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
1993	Martial Champion	Music with Keiji Sugisawa	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
	Mystic Warriors	Music with Yuji Takenouchi and Inoue	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
1994	Polygonet Commanders	Music with Yuji Takenouchi	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
	Golfing Greats 2	Music with Yuji Takenouchi	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
1995	Five A Side Soccer	Music
1996	Front Mission: Gun Hazard	Music with Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, and Masashi Hamauzu	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
	Treasure Conflix	Music	<ref name="Interview"/>
	Tobal No. 1	Music with various others	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
1997	Front Mission Alternative	Synthesizer programming	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
1998	Another Mind	Music	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
1999	Threads of Fate	Music	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
2001	Final Fantasy X	Music with Nobuo Uematsu and Masashi Hamauzu	<ref name="Interview"/>
	Lethal Skies Team SW: Elite Pilot	Music	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
2004	Fullmetal Alchemist: Dream Carnival	Music with various others
2005	Musashi: Samurai Legend	Music with Masashi Hamauzu, Takayuki Iwai, and Yuki Iwai	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
2006	Project Sylpheed	Music with various others	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
	Dawn of Mana	Arrangements with Hirosato Noda	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
2007	Final Fantasy IV (Nintendo DS)	Arrangements with Kenichiro Fukui	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
2008	Final Fantasy IV: The After Years	Music	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
2009	Fullmetal Alchemist: Prince of the Dawn	Music	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
	Fullmetal Alchemist: Daughter of the Dusk	Music	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
	Final Fantasy XIII	Arrangements with various others	<ref name="NakanoBiography"/>
2013	Final Fantasy X/X-2 HD Remaster	Arrangements with various others	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2023	Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis	Music with various others
2025	Hotel Barcelona	Music with various others
	Bounty Sisters	Music with Miki Higashino and Takako Yumishima

External links

• Junya Nakano's profile Template:In lang
• Junya Nakano's profile from Square Enix
• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 2709523

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