Now reading...
GAMEFREAK’s Junichi Masuda Talks Pokemon Music

masuda-interview

To celebrate the release of the Pokemon Black & White 2 Soundtrack on iTunes, Pokemon.com has interviewed original GAMEFREAK member and Pokemon XY director Junichi Masuda about his role as music composer for the Pokemon games.

The interview provides some insight into the challenges of making music for the early games and the ways in which Masuda’s music has evolved with the series.

Mr. Masuda’s role in the music and sounds of the original Pokémon Red and Pokémon Blue games can’t be understated. “We’d write music directly on the Game Boy using a special device. For those games, I wrote all the songs and created all the Pokémon cries. I was definitely able to pour everything I had into those sounds,” he explains. Because of the primitive graphics of the original Game Boy, the music served a greater role in setting the mood and indicating where the player was in the game. “When I listen to this soundtrack, I hear things that I’d like to go back and fix and make changes to, but the majority I really like. I’ll listen and think, ‘Wow, this is really good. I can’t believe I made this!’” Mr. Masuda laughs.

You can read the rest of the interview at the official Pokemon website.


Ongoing Conversation