Naoshi Mizuta
Template:Short description Template:Infobox person Template:Nihongo is a Japanese video game composer and musician. He is best known for his work on the Final Fantasy franchise, most notably Final Fantasy XI, and has also composed music for games such as Street Fighter Alpha, Mega Man & Bass, and Parasite Eve II. He started his career at Capcom before moving to Square (now Square Enix) in 1998.
Biography
Born in Kōchi, Japan in 1972, Mizuta's interest in music began to grow when he "was in the second or third grade".<ref name="rocketbaby">Template:Cite web</ref> Although still interested in music, Mizuta studied law and economics at Chiba University. He composed his first song while in his last year there, and after graduating went to work for Capcom in 1994 as a composer. His first work was composing for Street Fighter Alpha in 1995 as part of a team of composers, and also worked on arranging the music for the PlayStation version later that year.<ref name="rocketbaby"/>
In 1998, he composed for Mega Man & Bass with Akari Kaida and Toshihiko Horiyama. While still working for Capcom, Mizuta applied to Square as a composer in response to an advertisement and was hired. His first assignment for Square was to score Parasite Eve II, for which he was the sole composer and spent a year and a half working on.<ref name="rocketbaby"/> The original Parasite Eve game was scored by Yoko Shimomura, and Mizuta incorporated some of the original game's musical themes into the sequel. Mizuta's next role was as the main composer for Final Fantasy XI, with assistance from Nobuo Uematsu and Kumi Tanioka. Mizuta remained with the Final Fantasy XI project for over ten years, serving as the sole composer for the game's subsequent expansions, and considers it his life's work.<ref name="OSV">Template:Cite web</ref> During this period, Mizuta became involved in The Star Onions, a band composed of Square Enix composers for which he plays bass guitar.<ref name="GSW">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="RPGFTSO">Template:Cite web</ref> Other members of the band, which plays arrangements of songs from Final Fantasy XI, include Tanioka, Hidenori Iwasaki, and Tsuyoshi Sekito. The band has since released two albums, Music from the Other Side of Vana'diel and Sanctuary.<ref name="RPGFTSO"/><ref name="RPGFSANC">Template:Cite web</ref>
Mizuta has also worked on several other projects for Square Enix, including Blood of Bahamut and Guardian Cross. He has also worked on many other games in the Final Fantasy series, including Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.
Musical style and influences
For games, Mizuta is primarily focused on creating music that fits the title and the scene at hand, without consideration for how it might sound in isolation.<ref name="OSV"/><ref name="GSW"/> On older consoles, the hardware restricted composers to working with a limited number of channels, which challenged composers to create strong, memorable melodies without the aid of atmospheric and accompanying lines.<ref name="GSW"/> Even without such constraints in modern titles, Mizuta feels that this style has its merits and is worth preserving in modern games. On the other hand, for alternative presentations of his music such as live performances or piano arrangements, Mizuta feels more free to have fun and play it however he likes.<ref name="GSW"/> Mizuta is heavily influenced by the work of Ryuichi Sakamoto, as well as Nobuo Uematsu, his superior at Square.<ref name="rocketbaby"/> He also draws inspiration from a variety of film scores as well as fan remixes of his work on YouTube.<ref name="rocketbaby"/><ref name="GSW"/> He has cited acid jazz artists such as Jamiroquai, Incognito, and The Brand New Heavies as inspirations for his music while working at Capcom.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref>
Works
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Street Fighter Alpha | Arcade version; music with several others |
| PlayStation version; arrangements with Akari Kaida and Naoaki Iwami | ||
| 1996 | Ide Yōsuke Meijin no Shin Jissen Mahjong | Music with Naoaki Iwami, Makoto Tomozawa and Shusaku Uchiyama |
| 1998 | Resident Evil 2 | Music ("The Underground Laboratory") |
| Mega Man & Bass | Music with Toshihiko Horiyama and Akari Kaida | |
| 1999 | Parasite Eve II | Music |
| 2000 | All Star Pro-Wrestling | Music with Kenichiro Fukui, Tsuyoshi Sekito, and Kumi Tanioka |
| 2002 | Final Fantasy XI | Music with Nobuo Uematsu and Kumi Tanioka |
| Tetra Master | Music | |
| 2003 | Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart | Music |
| 2004 | Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia | Music |
| 2005 | Hanjuku Hero 4 ~The 7 Heroes~ | Music ("Reckless Blood Manipulations" and "Hidden Research") |
| 2006 | Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan | Music |
| 2007 | Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess | Music |
| The Shochu Bar | Music | |
| 2009 | Final Fantasy XI: A Crystalline Prophecy: Ode of Life Bestowing | Music |
| Final Fantasy XI: A Moogle Kupo d'Etat: Evil in Small Doses | Music | |
| Blood of Bahamut | Music | |
| Final Fantasy XI: A Shantotto Ascension: The Legend Torn, Her Empire Born | Music | |
| Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light | Music | |
| Season of Mystery: The Cherry Blossom Murders | Music | |
| 2010 | Final Fantasy Dimensions | Music |
| Final Fantasy XIV | Music with various others | |
| 2011 | Final Fantasy XIII-2 | Music with Masashi Hamauzu and Mitsuto Suzuki |
| 2012 | Guardian Cross | Music |
| Demons' Score | Music (main theme) | |
| 2013 | Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin | Music |
| Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn | Music with Masayoshi Soken, Tsuyoshi Sekito, and Ryo Yamazaki | |
| Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII | Music with Masashi Hamauzu and Mitsuto Suzuki | |
| 2014 | Deadman's Cross | Music |
| Dragon Sky | Music | |
| Glorious Blades | Music | |
| Groove Coaster EX | Music ("OWARANAI Groove") | |
| The Irregular at Magic High School: Lost Zero | Music with Mitsuto Suzuki | |
| 2015 | Arcadia no Aoki Miko | Music with YOHKA |
| Final Fantasy Dimensions II | Music | |
| Final Fantasy XI: Rhapsodies of Vana'diel | Music | |
| Mobius Final Fantasy | Arrangement ("The Infinite Warrior") | |
| Final Fantasy Grandmasters | Music | |
| 2016 | Akashic Re:cords | Music |
| Guardian Codex | Music | |
| 2017 | Pro Yakyuu ga Suki da! 2017 | Music |
| Final Fantasy XV: Episode Prompto | Music | |
| Pictlogica Final Fantasy | Music | |
| 2018 | Final Fantasy Record Keeper | DLC; music with various others |
| 2020 | Engage Souls | Music |
| Final Fantasy XI: The Voracious Resurgence | Music | |
| 2022 | Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin | Music with Hidenori Iwasaki and Ryo Yamazaki |
| 2023 | Shi-San-Sei Million Arthur | Music |
References
External links
- 1972 births
- 20th-century bass guitarists
- 20th-century Japanese composers
- 20th-century Japanese male musicians
- 21st-century Japanese bass guitarists
- 21st-century Japanese composers
- 21st-century Japanese male musicians
- Capcom people
- Chiba University alumni
- Japanese male bass guitarists
- Japanese male composers
- Japanese video game composers
- Living people
- People from Kōchi, Kōchi
- Square Enix people