Kenji Itō
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, also known by the nickname , is a Japanese
video game composer Video game music (or VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to ...
and musician. He is best known for his work on the ''
Mana According to Melanesian and Polynesian mythology, ''mana'' is a supernatural force that permeates the universe. Anyone or anything can have ''mana''. They believed it to be a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being ...
'' and '' SaGa'' series, though he has worked on over 30 video games throughout his career as well as composed or arranged music for over 15 other albums, concerts, and plays. He learned to play several instruments at a young age, and joined
Square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...
directly out of college as a composer in 1990 at the advice of a professor. He worked there for over a decade, composing many of his best-known scores. In 2001, he left Square to become a freelance composer, but has since continued to collaborate with the company. Since leaving Square, Ito has composed soundtracks to over a dozen games, and has branched out into composition and production of music for plays and albums for other performers. Ito's work has been performed in a concert dedicated to his pieces as well as general video game music events, and he has played the piano in additional concerts. Pieces of his from the ''SaGa'' and ''Mana'' series have been arranged as piano solos and published in sheet music books.


Biography


Early life

Born in Tokyo, Japan, on July 5, 1968, Ito became interested in music at the age of four. He began to learn to play the piano, becoming interested in it after hearing piano music coming from a classroom he passed by daily with his mother. He was also interested in
Electone Electone is the trademark used for electronic organs produced by Yamaha. With the exception of the top end performance models, most Electones are based on the design of the spinet electronic organ. Current models are completely digital and conta ...
music, but was discouraged from learning it by a piano teacher. By the time he began composing at the age of ten, he had learned to play alto saxophone, clarinet, and piano, and was interested in becoming a singer/songwriter. When he was close to graduating from college, he decided to pursue a career in composing music; when he asked a professor for advice, the professor recommended becoming a video game music composer, given the recent success in Japan of ''
Dragon Quest III ''Dragon Quest III: The Seeds of Salvation'', titled ''Dragon Warrior III'' when initially localized to North America, is a 1988 role-playing video game developed by Chunsoft and published by Enix. It is the third installment in the '' Dragon ...
''. During March 1990, after applying to several video game companies including
HAL Laboratory formerly shortened as HALKEN (derived from its native name), is a Japanese video game developer founded on 21 February 1980. While independent, it has been closely tied with Nintendo throughout its history, and is often referred to as a seco ...
, Ito began working at
Square In Euclidean geometry, a square is a regular quadrilateral, which means that it has four equal sides and four equal angles (90- degree angles, π/2 radian angles, or right angles). It can also be defined as a rectangle with two equal-length a ...
.


Career

His first project was a co-effort that same year between himself and
Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton ...
for the
Game Boy The is an 8-bit fourth generation handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan on April 21, 1989, in North America later the same year, and in Europe in late 1990. It was designed by the same t ...
title ''
Final Fantasy Legend II ''Final Fantasy Legend II'', known in Japan as ''SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu'', is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Game Boy. The second entry in the '' SaGa'' series, it was released in 1990 in Japan, and in 1991 in ...
'' (''SaGa 2''). It led the following year to the first album release of his music, '' All Sounds of SaGa'', which was a combination album of ''
The Final Fantasy Legend ''The Final Fantasy Legend'', known in Japan as ''Makai Toushi SaGa'', is a video game released for the Game Boy in December 1989 by Square Co. It is the first game in the ''SaGa'' series and the first role-playing video game for the system. S ...
'', ''Final Fantasy Legend II'', and ''
Final Fantasy Legend III ''Final Fantasy Legend III'', known in Japan as ''SaGa 3: Jikuu no Hasha'', is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Game Boy. The third entry in the '' SaGa'' series, it was released in Japan in 1991 and in North A ...
''; all of Ito's work on ''Legend II'' appeared on the album. Shortly after in 1991, he composed his first solo work, the soundtrack for ''
Final Fantasy Adventure ''Final Fantasy Adventure'', known in Japan as or simply and later released in Europe as ''Mystic Quest'', is a '' Final Fantasy'' spinoff and the first game in the ''Mana'' series. Published by Square in 1991 on the Game Boy, it saw a North ...
'' (''Seiken Densetsu''), another Game Boy title. He then returned to the ''SaGa'' series for the next few years, composing the soundtracks to the
Super Famicom The Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), commonly shortened to Super NES or Super Nintendo, is a Fourth generation of video game consoles, 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan and South ...
's ''
Romancing SaGa ''Romancing SaGa'' is a 1992 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. It is the fourth entry in the ''SaGa'' series. It was subsequently released for the WonderSwan Color in 2001 and mobile phones in 2009. ...
'', ''
Romancing SaGa 2 ''Romancing SaGa 2'' is a 1993 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. It is the fifth entry in the ''SaGa'' series. It received an expanded port for Japanese mobile devices from Square Enix in 2011. This ...
'', and ''
Romancing SaGa 3 ''Romancing SaGa 3'' is a 1995 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. The sixth entry in the '' SaGa'' series, it was also the last developed for the platform. Originally released on the Super Famicom sys ...
''. These soundtracks sparked Ito's first arranged albums; the first game was arranged in a French musical style by Masaaki Mizuguchi, while the other two were arranged by Ryou Fukui and Taro Iwashiro, respectively, into orchestral pieces. Ito was originally scheduled to continue on with the ''Mana'' series and compose the soundtrack to ''Seiken Densetsu 2'' (''
Secret of Mana ''Secret of Mana'', originally released in Japan as is a 1993 action role-playing game developed and published by Square (now Square Enix) for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the sequel to the 1991 game ''Seiken Densetsu'', rele ...
''), but was forced to hand the project off to
Hiroki Kikuta is a Japanese video game composer and game designer. His major works are ''Secret of Mana'', ''Trials of Mana'', ''Soukaigi'', and ''Koudelka'', for which he also acted as producer and concept designer. He has composed music for seven other game ...
as his first score due to the demand on his time for scoring ''Romancing SaGa''. 1995 marked the first time since he started composing that he worked on a title outside the ''Mana'' or ''SaGa'' series; he composed the music for ''Koi wa Balance'' and was a member of an eight-person team for ''
Tobal No. 1 is a fighting video game for the PlayStation developed by DreamFactory and published by Square in 1996. The game was DreamFactory's first release, as well as Square's first release on the CD-based console. ''Tobal No. 1'' marks Square's first i ...
''. He returned to the ''SaGa'' series in 1997 with ''
SaGa Frontier is a role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation and released in Japan on July 11, 1997. The game was later published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEA) in North America on March 25, 1998. It is the seventh game in the ...
'', and finished out the decade with '' Chocobo Racing'' and '' Chocobo's Dungeon 2''; for ''Chocobo Racing'' he only arranged previous works from the ''
Chocobo The is a fictional species created for the ''Final Fantasy'' franchise by Square Enix (originally Square). A galliform bird commonly having yellow feathers, they were first introduced in ''Final Fantasy II'' (1988), and have since featured in ...
'' and ''Final Fantasy'' series, and contributed only a few tracks to ''Chocobo's Dungeon 2''. He left Square in 2001 to become a freelance composer. He has said that this move was in order to give him the flexibility to work on more than just video game music. The first work that Ito composed after leaving Square was the soundtrack to '' Culdcept II'', which he regards as his best work. He attributes this feeling both to the fact that it was his first freelance piece and that he handled all aspects of the music production, from composition through arrangement and sound production. From there he returned to working with Square and the ''Mana'' series with the remake of his second soundtrack, ''Final Fantasy Adventure'', into the soundtrack of ''
Sword of Mana ''Sword of Mana'', originally released in Japan as , is a 2003 action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and Brownie Brown and published by Square Enix and Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is an video game remake, enhanced remake of ...
''. It was an act he would repeat two years later for Square, now Square Enix, with the remake of ''Romancing SaGa'', ''Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song''. He has since returned to the ''Mana'' series twice, with the soundtracks to ''
Children of Mana ''Children of Mana'' is a 2006 action role-playing game for the Nintendo DS handheld console. It was developed by Square Enix and Nex Entertainment, and published by Square Enix and Nintendo. It is the sixth game of the '' Mana'' series—follow ...
'' and ''
Dawn of Mana ''Dawn of Mana'' is a 2006 action-adventure game for the PlayStation 2. It was developed and published by Square Enix. It is the eighth game of the ''Mana'' series and the third entry in the ''World of Mana'' subseries, following the release ...
''. All of the video game soundtracks that he has composed since the third expansion pack for '' Cross Gate'' in 2004 have been with the assistance of other composers except for 2007's '' Hero Must Die'', though during those years he has branched out from video games into composing and producing albums and singles for performers as well as composing music for plays and concerts. He has also released an album of piano pieces that he has composed; only two of the eight tracks are from his video game works.


Legacy

Ito performed piano live during September 22, 2006 ''Press Start 2006 -Symphony of Games-'' live concert, at which several of his pieces were performed by an orchestra. This concert followed an concert of August 26, 2006 ''Manami Kiyota x Kenji Ito Collaboration Live'' in which he played the piano for songs composed by him for the event and sung by Manami Kiyota; he has also played the piano at concerts given by ''
The Black Mages The Black Mages were a Japanese instrumental rock band formed in 2002 by Nobuo Uematsu, Kenichiro Fukui and Tsuyoshi Sekito, who were three video game composers for Square and Square Enix. The band arranged Uematsu's ''Final Fantasy'' video game ...
'', a band composed of current or former Square musicians, before they expanded to include a full-time pianist. Music composed by Ito has also been performed at the ''Extra -Hyper Game Music Event 2007'' and ''Christmas Live 2008 "gentleecho -prelude-"'' concerts. Music composed by Ito was performed at a concert devoted to his music on February 21, 2009 titled "gentle echo meeting" at the Uchisaiwaicho Hall in Chiyoda, Tokyo. A group of five musicians performed eight of his songs, interspersed with performances by Ito and discussions about his music between himself and
Masahiro Sakurai is a Japanese video game director and game designer best known as the creator of the '' Kirby'' and '' Super Smash Bros.'' series. Apart from his work on those series, he also led the design of '' Meteos'' in 2005 and directed '' Kid Icarus: U ...
. The event began as a concert due to Ito's wish to host one based on his music, but after the space the organizing company, Harmonics International, rented turned out to be run by a high school classmate of Ito, at the classmate's insistence the discussions of Ito's music were added to the program. Music from the original soundtracks of ''Dawn of Mana'' and ''Sword of Mana'' has been arranged for the piano and published by DOREMI Music Publishing. Two compilation books of music from the series as a whole have also been published as ''Seiken Densetsu Best Collection Piano Solo Sheet Music'' first and second editions, with the first edition including tracks by Ito from ''Final Fantasy Adventure'' while the second added tracks he composed from ''Dawn of Mana''. All songs in each book have been rewritten by Asako Niwa as beginning to intermediate level piano solos, though they are meant to sound as much like the originals as possible. Additionally, KMP Music Publishing has published a book of the piano music included in the ''Sword of Mana'' soundtrack album, which Ito arranged from his original compositions. DOREMI Music Publishing also published music from the original soundtracks of some of the ''SaGa'' games that Ito composed as piano sheet music book; music from ''Romancing SaGa 3'', ''Romancing SaGa Minstrel Song'', and ''SaGa Frontier'' were written by Asako Niwa for piano solos of beginning to intermediate difficulty.


Musical style and influences

Ito's music is mainly inspired by images from the game rather than outside influences; however, he never played the games themselves. The only video games that he plays are
sports game A sports video game is a video game that simulates the practice of sports. Most sports have been recreated with a game, including team sports, track and field, extreme sports, and combat sports. Some games emphasize actually playing the sport ( ...
s; he has only seen up to the introductory movie for most of the role-playing games that he has written music for. While many of his pieces are orchestral, he enjoys working in a recording studio and enjoys composing "normal songs" as much as his orchestral works. His favorite video game music from other composers include the music from ''
Star Fox is an arcade style rail shooter and third person action-adventure video game series created by Shigeru Miyamoto, produced and published by Nintendo. The games follow the Star Fox combat team of anthropomorphic animals, led by chief protagon ...
'', '' Dragon Quest'', ''
Final Fantasy is a Japanese video game, Japanese science fantasy anthology media franchise created by Hironobu Sakaguchi and developed and owned by Square Enix (formerly Square (video game company), Square). The franchise centers on a series of fantasy and ...
'', ''
Wizardry ''Wizardry'' is a series of role-playing video games, developed by Sir-Tech, that were highly influential in the evolution of modern role-playing video games. The original ''Wizardry'' was a significant influence on early console role-playing ...
'' and ''
Nobunaga's Ambition is a series of turn-based grand strategy role-playing simulation video games. The original game was one of the first in its genre, being released in March 1983 by the Japanese video game developer Koei. ''Nobunaga's Ambition'' takes place during ...
''. Non-video game music that has inspired him includes Japanese popular music and soundtracks to
anime is hand-drawn and computer-generated animation originating from Japan. Outside of Japan and in English, ''anime'' refers specifically to animation produced in Japan. However, in Japan and in Japanese, (a term derived from a shortening of ...
works, as well as easy listening music such as
Paul Mauriat Paul Julien André Mauriat ( or ; 4 March 1925 – 3 November 2006) was a French orchestra leader, conductor of Le Grand Orchestre de Paul Mauriat, who specialized in the easy listening genre. He is best known in the United States for his mill ...
or
Richard Clayderman Richard Clayderman (; born Philippe Pagès , 28 December 1953 in Paris) is a French pianist who has released numerous albums including the compositions of Paul de Senneville, Olivier Toussaint and Marc Minier, instrumental renditions of popular ...
, especially string music. These influences have led him to wish to create music "that you can listen to while you relax". He also wishes to expand his compositions outside video game music and into ballads.


Works


Video games

;Composition *''
Final Fantasy Legend II ''Final Fantasy Legend II'', known in Japan as ''SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu'', is a role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Game Boy. The second entry in the '' SaGa'' series, it was released in 1990 in Japan, and in 1991 in ...
'' (1990) – with
Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton ...
*''
Final Fantasy Adventure ''Final Fantasy Adventure'', known in Japan as or simply and later released in Europe as ''Mystic Quest'', is a '' Final Fantasy'' spinoff and the first game in the ''Mana'' series. Published by Square in 1991 on the Game Boy, it saw a North ...
'' (1991) *''
Romancing SaGa ''Romancing SaGa'' is a 1992 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. It is the fourth entry in the ''SaGa'' series. It was subsequently released for the WonderSwan Color in 2001 and mobile phones in 2009. ...
'' (1992) *''
Romancing SaGa 2 ''Romancing SaGa 2'' is a 1993 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. It is the fifth entry in the ''SaGa'' series. It received an expanded port for Japanese mobile devices from Square Enix in 2011. This ...
'' (1993) *''Koi wa Balance: Battle of Lovers'' (1995) *''
Romancing SaGa 3 ''Romancing SaGa 3'' is a 1995 role-playing video game developed and published by Square for the Super Famicom. The sixth entry in the '' SaGa'' series, it was also the last developed for the platform. Originally released on the Super Famicom sys ...
'' (1995) *''
Tobal No. 1 is a fighting video game for the PlayStation developed by DreamFactory and published by Square in 1996. The game was DreamFactory's first release, as well as Square's first release on the CD-based console. ''Tobal No. 1'' marks Square's first i ...
'' (1996) – with
Yasunori Mitsuda is a Japanese composer, musician, and sound producer. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the ''Chrono'', '' Xeno'', ''Shadow Hearts'', and ''Inazuma Eleven'' franchises, among various others. Mitsuda began composing musi ...
, Masashi Hamauzu, Junya Nakano,
Ryuji Sasai 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. Befo ...
, Yasuhiro Kawakami,
Yoko Shimomura is a Japanese composer and pianist primarily known for her work in video games. She graduated from the Osaka College of Music in 1988 and began working in the video game industry by joining Capcom the same year. She wrote music for several game ...
, and Noriko Matsueda *''
SaGa Frontier is a role-playing video game developed by Square for the PlayStation and released in Japan on July 11, 1997. The game was later published by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEA) in North America on March 25, 1998. It is the seventh game in the ...
'' (1997) *'' Chocobo Racing'' (1999) *'' Chocobo's Dungeon 2'' (1999) – with
Tsuyoshi Sekito is a Japanese video game composer, arranger, and musician who has been employed at Square Enix since 1995. As a composer, he is best known for scoring ''Brave Fencer Musashi'' (1998), '' Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children'' (2005) and '' The Last ...
, Yasuhiro Kawakami, and Kumi Tanioka *''Gekikuukan Pro Baseball: The End of the Century 1999'' (1999) *''Wild Card'' (2001) *'' Culdcept Second'' (2001) *''
Sword of Mana ''Sword of Mana'', originally released in Japan as , is a 2003 action role-playing game developed by Square Enix and Brownie Brown and published by Square Enix and Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It is an video game remake, enhanced remake of ...
'' (2003) *'' Cross Gate Power Up Kit 2 Heavenly Eggs'' (2003) *'' Cross Gate Power Up Kit 3 Heavens' Knight and Fortune's Songstress'' (2004) *'' Shadow Hearts: Covenant'' (2004) – with
Yoshitaka Hirota is a Japanese video game composer and bass guitarist. His most notable works include the soundtracks to the ''Shadow Hearts'' series. Hirota was previously a sound effects programmer having worked on various Square titles. His first work as a vi ...
, Yasunori Mitsuda, Tomoko Kobayashi, and Ryo Fukuda *'' Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song'' (2005) – with Tsuyoshi Sekito *'' Hanjuku Hero 4: 7-Jin no Hanjuku Hero'' (2005) – with many others *'' Monster Kingdom: Jewel Summoner'' (2006) – with many others *''
Children of Mana ''Children of Mana'' is a 2006 action role-playing game for the Nintendo DS handheld console. It was developed by Square Enix and Nex Entertainment, and published by Square Enix and Nintendo. It is the sixth game of the '' Mana'' series—follow ...
'' (2006) – with
Masaharu Iwata is a Japanese video game composer. After graduating from high school, where his musical projects included composing on a synthesizer and playing in a cover band, he joined Bothtec as a composer. He composed the soundtrack to several games there ...
and Takayuki Aihara *''
Pop'n Music 13 Carnival , commonly abbreviated as ''Pop'n'', ''PM'' or ''PNM'' and stylized as ''pop'n music'', is a music video game series in the Bemani series made by Konami. The games are known for their bright colors, upbeat songs, and cute cartoon character graphic ...
'' (2006) – with many others *''
Dawn of Mana ''Dawn of Mana'' is a 2006 action-adventure game for the PlayStation 2. It was developed and published by Square Enix. It is the eighth game of the ''Mana'' series and the third entry in the ''World of Mana'' subseries, following the release ...
'' (2006) – with Tsuyoshi Sekito, Masayoshi Soken, and
Ryuichi Sakamoto is a Japanese composer, pianist, singer, record producer and actor who has pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his bandmates Haruomi Hosono and Yukihiro Takahashi, Sakamoto i ...
*''
Concerto Gate is a massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Ponsbic and Square Enix. The game was released in Japan in 2007, and a planned North American release was cancelled after a beta release in July 2008. Gameplay The battle style is a ...
'' (2007) – with
Hiroki Kikuta is a Japanese video game composer and game designer. His major works are ''Secret of Mana'', ''Trials of Mana'', ''Soukaigi'', and ''Koudelka'', for which he also acted as producer and concept designer. He has composed music for seven other game ...
*''Hero Must Die'' (2007) *''
Lux-Pain is a visual novel adventure video game developed by Killaware and published by Marvelous Entertainment for the Nintendo DS video game console. The game was released in Japan on March 27, 2008. It was published in North America by Ignition Enterta ...
'' (2008) – with Yasuyuki Suzuki *'' Pop'n Music 16 Party'' (2008) – with many others *'' Culdcept Saga'' (2008) – with many others *'' GuitarFreaks & DrumMania V6 Blazing'' (2009) – with many others *'' Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Survivor 2'' (2011) – with Atlus sound team *'' Half-Minute Hero: The Second Coming'' (2011) – with many others *''
Puzzle & Dragons is a puzzle video game with role-playing and strategy elements, developed and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for the iOS, Android, and Amazon Fire platforms. ''Puzzle & Dragons'' is a match-three puzzle game, requiring players t ...
'' (2012) – with Yukio Nakajima *''Culdcept'' (3DS) (2012) *'' Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory'' (2012) – with Kenji Kaneko and
Nobuo Uematsu is a Japanese composer and keyboardist best known for his contributions to the ''Final Fantasy'' video game series by Square Enix. A self-taught musician, he began playing the piano at the age of twelve, with English singer-songwriter Elton ...
*'' Demons' Score'' (2012) – with various others *'' Oceanhorn: Monster of Uncharted Seas'' (2013) – with Kalle Ylitalo and Nobuo Uematsu *''Getsuei Gakuen'' (2013) – with
Daisuke Ishiwatari is a Japanese video game developer, illustrator, musician, composer and voice actor. He is best known for creating the 2D fighting game series ''Guilty Gear''. He designed the characters and storyline, and wrote the music. He also provides the ...
*''
Puzzle & Dragons Z ''Puzzle & Dragons Z + Puzzle & Dragons: Super Mario Bros. Edition'' is a 2015 role-playing puzzle video game for Nintendo 3DS developed by GungHo Online Entertainment. It is a compilation of ''Puzzle & Dragons Z'' (2013) and ''Puzzle & Dragons ...
'' (2013) – with Yukio Nakajima *'' Rise of Mana'' (2014) – with
Hiroki Kikuta is a Japanese video game composer and game designer. His major works are ''Secret of Mana'', ''Trials of Mana'', ''Soukaigi'', and ''Koudelka'', for which he also acted as producer and concept designer. He has composed music for seven other game ...
, Yoko Shimomura, and
Tsuyoshi Sekito is a Japanese video game composer, arranger, and musician who has been employed at Square Enix since 1995. As a composer, he is best known for scoring ''Brave Fencer Musashi'' (1998), '' Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children'' (2005) and '' The Last ...
*'' Puzzle & Dragons Battle Tournament'' (2014) *'' Terra Battle'' (2014) – with Nobuo Uematsu, Yoko Shimomura, Yasunori Mitsuda, and
Hitoshi Sakimoto is a Japanese video game music composer and arranger. He is best known for scoring ''Final Fantasy Tactics'' and ''Final Fantasy XII'', though he has composed soundtracks for over 80 other games. He began playing music and video games in elemen ...
*''Chronos Ring'' (2015) – with Yoko Shimomura and
Evan Call Evan Call (born June 29, 1988) is an American composer and arranger working in Japan. He has composed music for multiple anime series such as ''Tokyo ESP'', '' Violet Evergarden'', and ''Appare-Ranman!''. Call is affiliated with the Japanese age ...
*''Chunithm: Seelisch Tact'' (2015) – "Gustav Battle" *''Shinyaku Arcana Slayer'' (2015) *'' Hero Must Die'' (2016) *''Culdcept Revolt'' (2016) *'' Puzzle & Dragons X'' (2016) – with
Yuzo Koshiro is a Japanese composer and sound programmer. He is often regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune and video game music, producing music in a number of genres including rock, jazz, symphonic, and various electronic genres ...
,
Akira Yamaoka is a Japanese composer and music producer. He is best known for composing music for several video games in the '' Silent Hill'' series by Konami, among other games. Yamaoka also worked as a producer on the series, as well as composing for the ' ...
, and Keigo Ozaki *'' SaGa: Scarlet Grace'' (2016) *''
Adventures of Mana ''Adventures of Mana'' is an action role-playing video game developed by MCF and Square Enix, and published by Square Enix. It is a 3D remake of the 1991 Game Boy game ''Final Fantasy Adventure'', the first game in the ''Mana'' series. It was re ...
'' (2016) *''Rakugaki Kingdom'' (2019) – with many others * ''Sin Chronicle'' (2022) – with many others ;Arrangement *''
Mabinogi The ''Mabinogion'' () are the earliest Welsh prose stories, and belong to the Matter of Britain. The stories were compiled in Middle Welsh in the 12th–13th centuries from earlier oral traditions. There are two main source manuscripts, create ...
'' (2008) *''
Super Smash Bros. Brawl ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' is a 2008 crossover fighting video game developed by Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The third installment in the ''Super Smash Bros.'' series, it was announced at a pre-E3 2005 press conferenc ...
'' (2008) – with many others *'' SaGa 2: Hihou Densetsu'' (2009) *'' Ar tonelico 3 Hymmnos Concert'' album (2010) – with many others *'' Deathsmiles'' Arranged Album (2010) – with many others *''
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and (colloquially and collectively referred to as ''Super Smash Bros. 4'' or ''Smash 4'') is a group of two 2014 crossover fighting video games developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS ...
'' (2014) – with many others *''
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate ''Super Smash Bros. Ultimate'' is a 2018 crossover fighting video game developed by Bandai Namco Studios and Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. It is the fifth installment in the '' Super Smash Bros.'' series, succeed ...
'' (2018) – with many others


Other

;Composition *''Kokoro no Takarabako'' (1999) – single by Hiromi Ōta *''Seishun no Fu / Midarete Atsuki Wagami niwa'' (2002) – concert *''~Canaria~'' (2002) – single by Muneyuki Satoh *''Touson Dairoku Shishu'' (2002) – album by Ikuyo Ueda *''Muneyuki Sato All Songs Collection'' (2003) – album by Muneyuki Satoh *''Hajimari no Daichi'' (2006) – album by Manami Kiyota *''Our Endless Night -The spring time of life'' (2006) – concert by Manami Kiyota; with many others *''Manami Kiyota x Kenji Ito Collaboration Live'' (2006) – concert by Manami Kiyota *''Maou Kourin Live SIDE & Evil SIDE'' (2006) – play with many others *''Kenji Ito Piano Works Collection ~Everlasting Melodies~'' (2006) – includes one piece from ''Romancing SaGa 2'', and one from ''Chocobo Racing'' *'' Kono Aozora ni Yakusoku o'' (2007) – anime *'' Boku wa Tomodachi ga Sukunai'' (2011) – anime ep 5 *''
The Girl in Twilight , is a multimedia franchise celebrating the 20th anniversary of the Animax channel. An anime television series ran from October 1 to December 17, 2018. The project also includes a free-to-play mobile game that was launched on October 15, 2018 ...
'' (2018) – anime; main theme *''Braverthday'' (2018) – album by
Nobuhiko Okamoto is a Japanese voice actor and singer affiliated with Raccoon Dog. He won the Best New Actor Award at the 3rd Seiyu Awards and Best Supporting Actor Award at the 5th Seiyu Awards. Voice acting career In an interview held at the Anime Expo, wh ...
; "Tsugi wa Kimi ga Shuyaku no Ban da" *'' Arad Senki: The Wheel of Reversal'' (2020) – anime ;Arrangement *''"Ai no Sumika"~"Hyouhaku no Toki /Komoro Nikki -Touson no Fuyuko" Stage Music Collection~'' (1999) – album by Kyoko Fujimoto *''Hyouhaku no Toki/ Touson to Fuyuko'' (2001) – concert *''Katakoi'' (2002) – single by Muneyuki Satoh *''Soredemo Kisetsu wa'' (2002) – single by Muneyuki Satoh *''Tougenkyo -Masashi Sada Chromatic Harmonica Music Collection-'' (2002) – album by Etsuko Kitani *''Mirai'' (2003) – album by Yusuke Matsumoto


See also

* Music of the ''Mana'' series * Music of the ''SaGa'' series * Music of the ''Chocobo'' series


Notes


References


External links

*
Kenji Ito's official English website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ito, Kenji 1968 births Freelance musicians Japanese composers Japanese male composers Japanese male musicians Living people Musicians from Tokyo Square Enix people Video game composers