Good afternoon, this is Sakimoto.
For the writing style of these liner notes, I thought I would go with the
"gay slang" that I've been into lately, but I've made up my mind
to advance my writing style naturally, like if I were writing text messages
from a place near everyone. I think this is incoherent writing on the whole,
but if you stick with me, I would be grateful.
Around the time when I began work on Radiant Silvergun, when I first spoke with director Iuchi, I remember that I sensed instinctively that he had the same aura as me. Of course, we talked about work, but we were apt to unintentionally flow into conversations about retro games, blossoming into talks about still unnoticed games we played furiously; and rare games that didn't have much success commercially.
Through those nonsensical conversations, several key words necessary for work came out. Mr. Iuchi's first ideas were, "I want to go with an orchestra arrangement" and "because the story's character is clear, I want the theme to be passed along" ....and in addition I couldn't escape from hearing words like "I want to give it a taste of old style games".
I have often thought to myself, what is good about old game music. Games like The Tower of Druaga, Gradius, Section Z, Dragon Spirit, Ys, Xak 2, and Star Cruiser are praised to an endless degree, but despite the fact that I've deeply taken root in music observation, I can't attach a clear reason as to why this is. It doesn't seem to be to be related to melody; it seems as if care was being taken so as not to disrupt the game's craftsmanship…
I gained the conviction that, "it's just cheap sound, so that's not why it's good", through the numerous works I've been involved with in the past. Though I planned to put this conviction earnestly to use, I was in a place where I couldn't decide whether it was good or bad. But I couldn't give up yet. This time as well, I gained a sensation through my discussions with Mr. Iuchi, also known as our nonsensical chats, and decided to try one more time. The outcome of this expirment will certainly be determined by the principles of market selection.
For me, meeting the Treasure team was quite a vivid event. Mad with joy, I danced wildly that the image I had as a gamer who had played Treasure's exciting games was the same as the image I had from meeting and speaking directly with them. At the same time, I wanted to leave a good impression that this was a stimulating and valuable meeting.
We, like perhaps most everyone in this industry, are wrapped in a dilemma by doing something we really like as a job. By saying that, I mean that we have an ability to send our souls embedded in our work, to the market; but like-minded people, from the development group to the business team, must come together to make this happen. I'm proud that I was able to be one of those people.
For me, there can be no greater joy than if everyone who listens to this cd is reminded of their experiences and episodes playing Radiant Silvergun. Or if you've only heard this cd, and you feel something, by all means please try playing the game. For this cd to be heard is a great honor for me, but what we really wanted to express should be inside the game.
Today, I've tried to thoroughly spell out my feelings, including the
present.
To everyone who offers encouraging words while I continue to wonder, and
to everyone who has given me an opportunity, I appreciate you from the bottom
of my heart. To everyone who loves games and music; and to my fiery colleagues,
who carry game production with them, I hope that our thoughts will reach
you.
Until we meet again…
Radiant Silvergun Music Producer
Hitoshi "YmoH.S" Sakimoto
© 2004 Silver Translations