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 ...

Biography

Iwadare was born in

Matsumoto City is a city located in Nagano Prefecture, Japan. Matsumoto is designated as a core city since 1 April 2021. , the city had a population of 239,466 in 105,207 households and a population density of 240 persons per km2. The total area of the city ...

Nagano Prefecture is a landlocked prefecture of Japan located in the Chūbu region of Honshū. Nagano Prefecture has a population of 2,052,493 () and has a geographic area of . Nagano Prefecture borders Niigata Prefecture to the north, Gunma Prefecture to the ...

, Japan. He began to compose video game music after years of being involved with university bands. He began composing for

Toaplan was a Japanese video game developer based in Tokyo responsible for the creation of a wide array of Shoot 'em up#Scrolling shooters, scrolling shooters and other arcade games. The company was founded in 1979 but its gaming division was establis ...

, arranging their

arcade video game An arcade video game takes player input from its controls, processes it through electrical or computerized components, and displays output to an electronic monitor or similar display. Most arcade video games are coin-operated, housed in an arca ...

soundtracks for their

Sega Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

home console A home video game console is a video game console that is designed to be connected to a display device, such as a television, and an external power source as to play video games. Home consoles are generally less powerful and customizable than ...

ports, notably the Mega Drive version of ''

Zero Wing is a 1989 side-scrolling shooter arcade video game developed by Toaplan and originally published in Japan by Namco and in North America by Williams Electronics. Controlling the ZIG space fighter craft, players assume the role of protagonist Tre ...

'' (1990), before composing for other companies such as

Game Arts is a Japanese developer and publisher of video games located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. Originally established in 1985 as a computer software company, it expanded into producing for a number of game console and handheld systems. Its President and CEO i ...

on their ''

Lunar Lunar most commonly means "of or relating to the Moon". Lunar may also refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Lunar'' (series), a series of video games * "Lunar" (song), by David Guetta * "Lunar", a song by Priestess from the 2009 album ''Prior t ...

'' and ''

Grandia is a series of role-playing video games developed by Game Arts and published over the years by Entertainment Software Publishing, Sony Computer Entertainment, Ubisoft, Hudson Soft, Enix, Square Enix and GungHo Online Entertainment. Games in th ...

'' series. The first award he won the Best Game Music award, the

Mega Drive/Genesis The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit Fourth generation of video game consoles, fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master Syst ...

category for '' Lunar: The Silver Star'' in 1991. He also won the Best Game Music award in the

Sega Saturn The is a home video game console developed by Sega and released on November 22, 1994, in Japan, May 11, 1995, in North America, and July 8, 1995, in Europe. Part of the fifth generation of video game consoles, it was the successor to the succ ...

Music category for ''

'' in 1997 and in the

Dreamcast The is a home video game console released by Sega on November 27, 1998, in Japan; September 9, 1999, in North America; and October 14, 1999, in Europe. It was the first sixth-generation video game console, preceding Sony's PlayStation 2, N ...

category for '' Grandia 2'' in 2000. Iwadare first composed music for

Tokyo Disney Resort The (local nickname ''TDR'') is a theme park and vacation resort located in Urayasu, Chiba, Japan, just east of Tokyo. The resort is fully owned and operated by The Oriental Land Company under a licence from The Walt Disney Company, who constru ...

, in addition to Japanese dance programs, television programs, and radio programs. He dreams to have orchestral arrangements of his musical works, while he himself has done several times, as with the ''Gyakuten Meets Orchestra'' arrangements (orchestral arrangements of the ''

Ace Attorney ''Ace Attorney'' is a series of visual novel adventure video games developed by Capcom. With storytelling fashioned after legal dramas, the first entry in the series, ''Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney'', was released in 2001; since then, five f ...

'' series music). He was a special guest at the 11th French

Japan Expo Japan Expo is a convention on Japanese popular culture - the largest of its kind in the world - taking place in Paris, France, although it has branched out into a partnership festival - Kultima - and expanded to include some European and US pop c ...

that was held on July 2010 in Paris.

Works

Composition

*''Space Invaders: Fukkatsu no Hi'' (1990) *''Space Invaders '90'' (1990) *''

'' (1990) -

Mega Drive The Sega Genesis, known as the outside North America, is a 16-bit fourth generation home video game console developed and sold by Sega. It was Sega's third console and the successor to the Master System. Sega released it in 1988 in Japan a ...

version (arranged) *'' Wings of Wor'' (1991) *''

Langrisser is a fantasy tactical role-playing video game series created by Masaya Games. The main development team is Career Soft, first as Team Career within Masaya Games for the first three games and then as an independent studio for ''Langrisser IV'' ...

'' (1991) - with Hiroshi Fujioka and Isao Mizoguchi *''

Blue Almanac is a futuristic role-playing video game for the Sega Mega Drive. It was released only for Japan on June 22, 1991 and had a US release as ''Star Odyssey'' planned and advertised but it was cancelled at the time. North American publisher Super Fi ...

'' (1991) - with Masaru Suzuki, Yoshiaki Kubotera, Hiroshi Fujioka, and Isao Mizoguchi *''

Head Buster is a 1991 video game for the Game Gear handheld console. It involves robots fighting in combat sequences. Gameplay The object is to earn more gold by winning matches and spending that money on better weapons like rifles, Shoulder-launched missi ...

'' (1991) - with Hiroshi Fujioka and Isao Mizoguchi *'' Parasol Stars'' (1991) *'' Steel Empire'' (1992) - with Isao Mizoguchi and Yoshiaki Kubotera *''Sotsugyou: Graduation'' (1992) *''

Gley Lancer is a 1992 scrolling shooter video game originally developed by NCS Corporation, published in Japan by Masaya and in South Korea by Samsung for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It was re-released in 2019 by Japanese publisher Columbus Circle. A port ...

'' (1992) - with Masanori Hikichi, Yoshiaki Kubotera, and Isao Mizoguchi *'' Lunar: The Silver Star'' (1992) - with Hiroshi Fujioka, Isao Mizoguchi, and Yoshiaki Kubotera *''Kishi Densetsu'' (1993) - with Isao Mizoguchi *''Maten no Soumetsu'' (1993) - with Isao Mizoguchi *''

SimEarth ''SimEarth'' is a life simulation game, life simulation video game, the second designed by Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright and published in 1990 by Maxis. In ''SimEarth'', the player controls the development of a planet. English scientis ...

'' (Sega CD) (1993) *''Tanjou: Debut'' (1993) *''Langrisser: Hikari no Matsuei'' (1993) - with Masanori Hikichi, Hiroshi Fujioka, Isao Mizoguchi, Miyoko Takaoka, Naoyuki Ito *'' Alien vs Predator: The Last of His Clan'' (1993) *''

Langrisser II ''Langrisser II'' is a tactical role-playing game for the Sega Mega Drive console. It is the sequel to ''Langrisser'', and was never released outside Japan. ''Langrisser II'' was remade for the Super Famicom by Masaya as ''Der Langrisser'', whic ...

'' (1994) - with Isao Mizoguchi *'' Wing Commander (Sega CD)'' (1994) - with Isao Mizoguchi, Kenichi Okuma, Maki Tanimoto *'' Lunar: Eternal Blue'' (1994) *''Sotsugyou II: Neo Generation'' (1994) - with Maki Tanimoto, Kenichi Okuma, Isao Mizoguchi *'' Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie (Game Boy)'' (1994) - with Kenichi Okuma *''Mercurius Pretty'' (1994) *''

Der Langrisser ''Langrisser II'' is a tactical role-playing game for the Sega Mega Drive console. It is the sequel to ''Langrisser'', and was never released outside Japan. ''Langrisser II'' was remade for the Super Famicom by Masaya as ''Der Langrisser'', whic ...

'' (1995) *'' Dōkyūsei'' (TG-CD) (1995) - "Opening Theme" - with Go Oami, Hiroyuki Hamada, Kenichi Okuma, Masaki Sugo, Tatsuro Yamashita, Yoshiyuki Kadooka *'' Lunar: Walking School'' (1996) *''Monstania'' (1996) *''Tanjou S'' (1996) *'' Lunar: Silver Star Story'' (1996) *''Doukyuusei if'' (1996) - "Opening Theme" *''

True Love Story is a series of four dating sims.Note: Citation for dating sim is needed due to common confusion with the visual novel genre. Since thofficial website calls it a "恋愛シミュレーションゲーム" (love simulation game), it is considered a ...

'' (1996) - with Kenichi Okuma, Maki Tanimoto, Ataru Sumiyoshi *'' Doukyuusei 2'' (Sega Saturn) (1997) - "Opening Theme" - with Go Oami, Isao Mizoguchi, Taro Hara *''

Langrisser IV ''Langrisser IV''Some parts of the game feature "The Art of The Swords War" as a subtitle. is the sequel to ''Langrisser III'', and has never been released outside Japan. There is a fan-translated English patch available for the PlayStation ...

'' (1997) - with Makoto Asai, Yuichiro Honda *'' Magic School Lunar!'' (1997) *''

'' (1997) *'' Langrisser V: The End of Legend'' (1998) *'' Lunar 2: Eternal Blue'' (1998) *''True Love Story 2'' (1999) *''Yuukyuu no Eden'' (1999) *'' Growlanser'' (1999) *''

Grandia II is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts originally for the Dreamcast console as part of their ''Grandia'' series. Initially released in Japan in August 2000 by Game Arts, the game was later made available in English for North America ...

'' (2000) *''Mercurius Pretty: End of the Century'' (2000) *''True Love Story 3'' (2001) *''

Grandia Xtreme is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts and published by Enix for the PlayStation 2 video game console. The game is part of the ''Grandia'' series. Gameplay ''Grandia Xtreme'' plays very similarly to the rest of the games in the ''G ...

'' (2002) *'' Wind: A Breath of Heart'' (2002) - with Maki Tanimoto *''True Love Story: Summer Days, and Yet…'' (2003) *''

Mega Man X7 ''Mega Man X7'', known as in Japan, is a video game developed by Capcom for the PlayStation 2 console. It is the seventh main game in the ''Mega Man X'' series and the first in the series to appear on the sixth generation of gaming consoles. '' ...

'' (2003) ("Higher The Air ~ Air Force Stage") *'' Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Trials and Tribulations'' (2004) *''

Radiata Stories ''Radiata Stories'' is an Action role-playing game, action role-playing video game. It was Video game developer, developed by tri-Ace and Video game publisher, published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2. It was released on January 27, 2005, i ...

'' (2005) *''

Grandia III is a role-playing video game developed by Game Arts and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 2 console. Originally released in Japan in August 2005, the game was released in English in North America in February 2006, and is the first main ...

'' (2006) *'' KimiKiss'' (2006) *''Project Wiki'' (2006) *''Kanji no Wataridori'' (2006) *'' Elvandia Story'' (2007) - with

Norihiko Hibino is a Japanese video game composer and saxophonist. Biography Hibino was born in Osaka. He graduated from the Osaka University School of Human Sciences in 1996. After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1997, he moved to Kansas City to s ...

*'' KimiKiss: Pure Rouge'' (2007) - with

Hikaru Nanase is a Japanese unisex given name meaning "light" or "radiance". Possible writings Hikaru can be written using different kanji characters and can mean: * 光, "light" * 輝, "radiance" The name can also be written in hiragana or katakana. It is m ...

and

Masaru Yokoyama is a Japanese composer and arranger, known for his work on television dramas and anime series. Biography Yokoyama was born in Nagano Prefecture. He started to take piano lessons at the age of three, taught by his aunt who is an alumna of Kunit ...

*''True Fortune'' (2008) *''

Amagami , is a Japanese dating simulation game for the PlayStation 2 and the spiritual successor to '' KimiKiss'', both of which were developed and published by Enterbrain. Amagami was released on March 19, 2009. , six manga adaptations have be ...

'' (2009) *'' Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth'' (2009) - with Yasuko Yamada *'' Lunar: Silver Star Harmony'' (2009) *''

Grandia Online was a Japanese free-to-play massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by Game Arts and published by GungHo Online Entertainment for Microsoft Windows as part of their ''Grandia'' series. Although originally announced in 2004, the g ...

'' (2010) *'' Ace Attorney Investigations 2'' (2011) *''

Otomedius Excellent is a scrolling shooter video game, developed and published by Konami for the Xbox 360 video game console. It is the sequel to the 2008 game '' Otomedius G (Gorgeous!)'', a spin-off of the ''Gradius'' series. It was released in 2011 on April 21 ...

'' (2011) - with various others *'' Kid Icarus: Uprising'' (2012) - with

Motoi Sakuraba is a Japanese composer and keyboardist. He is known for his numerous contributions in video games, such as for '' Tales'', ''Star Ocean'', ''Mario Golf'', ''Mario Tennis'', '' Golden Sun'', and ''Dark Souls'' series, as well as several other ani ...

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 ...

Masafumi Takada is a Japanese composer and sound designer, best known for his work on the soundtracks for '' killer7'', ''God Hand'', '' No More Heroes'', and the '' Earth Defense Force'' and '' Danganronpa'' series. Takada often collaborates with guitarist and ...

, Takahiro Nishi, and

Yasunori Mitsuda is a Japanese composer, musician, and sound producer. He is best known for his work in video games, primarily for the ''Chrono (series), Chrono'', ''Xeno (series), Xeno'', ''Shadow Hearts'', and ''Inazuma Eleven (series), Inazuma Eleven'' franch ...

*'' Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney - Dual Destinies'' (2013) *'' Langrisser Re:Incarnation Tensei'' (2015) *''Zombie Tokyo'' (2015) - composition with

Michiko Naruke (born August 13, 1967) is a Japanese video game music composer, well known for her work in the '' Wild Arms'' series. Composing career She used to work for Telenet Japan and Riot, but many people who worked for these two companies left, and ...

*'' Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney − Spirit of Justice'' (2016) - with Toshihiko Horiyama and Masami Onodera *''Reco Love: Blue Ocean'' and ''Gold Beach'' (2016) *''

'' (Android) (2019) *''Rakugaki Kingdom'' (2019) - with various others *''

Ninjala ''Ninjala'' is a free-to-play multiplayer action video game developed and published by GungHo Online Entertainment. Unveiled at E3 2018, it was released on June 24, 2020 for the Nintendo Switch. The game received mixed reviews, with many prais ...

'' (2020) - with various others *''Loop8: Summer of Gods'' (2023)

Arrangement

*''

After Burner II is an Arcade video game, arcade vehicular combat game developed and released by Sega in 1987. The player assumes control of an American Grumman F-14 Tomcat, F-14 Tomcat fighter jet, and must clear each of the game's eighteen unique stages by des ...

(Mega Drive)'' (1990) *'' Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (Mega Drive)'' (1991) - with Yoshiaki Kubodera *''Urusei Yatsura: Dear My Friends'' (Mega-CD) (1994) *'' Crusader of Centy'' (1994) *''

Super Smash Bros. Brawl ''Super Smash Bros. Brawl'' is a 2008 List of crossovers in video games, crossover fighting game, fighting video game developed by Sora Ltd. and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The third installment in the Super Smash Bros., ''Super Smash ...

'' (2008) - with various others ("Yoshi's Island" from ''

Yoshi's Island ''Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island'' is a 1995 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). The player controls Yoshi, a friendly dinosaur, on a quest to reunite baby Mario with his ...

'', "Meta Knight's Revenge" from ''

Kirby Super Star ''Kirby Super Star'', released as ''Kirby's Fun Pak'' in PAL regions, is an anthology Platform game, platform video game developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1996. It is part of the ...

'', "With Mila's Divine Protection" from ''

Fire Emblem Gaiden is a tactical role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Famicom. Released in March 1992, it is the second installment in the ''Fire Emblem'' series and the last to be developed for the Famicom. It bui ...

'') *''

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 various others ("Gear Getaway" from ''

Donkey Kong Country Returns ''Donkey Kong Country Returns'' is a 2010 side-scrolling platform game developed by Retro Studios and published by Nintendo for the Wii console. The game was released first in North America in November 2010, and in PAL regions and Japan the ...

'', "In the Space-Pirate Ship" from '' Kid Icarus: Uprising'', "Air Man Stage" from ''

Mega Man 2 ''Mega Man 2'' is an action game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It was released in Japan in 1988 and in North America and PAL regions the following years. ''Mega Man 2'' continues Mega Man (character), ...

'') *''

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 various others ("City Trial" from ''

Kirby Air Ride ''Kirby Air Ride'', known in Japan as , is a 2003 racing video game starring Kirby, developed by HAL Laboratory and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. ''Kirby Air Ride'' has the players and computer-controlled racers ride on Air Ride Machin ...

'', "Delfino Plaza" from ''

Super Mario Sunshine is a 2002 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the GameCube. It is the second 3D game in the ''Super Mario'' series, following '' Super Mario 64'' (1996). The game was directed by Yoshiaki Koizumi and Kenta Usui, produced b ...

'', "Top Man Stage" from ''

Mega Man 3 ''Mega Man 3'' (stylized as ''Mega Man III'') is an action- platform video game developed and published by Capcom for the Nintendo Entertainment System. It is the third game of the original ''Mega Man'' series and was originally released in ...

'', "Light Plane" from '' Pilotwings'', "Electroplankton" from ''

Electroplankton is an interactive music video game developed by indieszero and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console, handheld video game console. It was first released in Japan in 2005, and was later released in North America and Eur ...

'', "Kurikinton" from ''

Fatal Fury 2 ''Fatal Fury 2'', known as in Japan, is a 1992 fighting video game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home platforms, and later ported to several other home systems. It is the sequel to '' Fatal Fury: King of Fighters'' (1991) and the ...

'', "Stormy Saxophone 2" from ''

The King of Fighters '96 ''(KOF '96)'' is a fighting game released by SNK for the Neo Geo arcade and home consoles in 1996. It is the third game in ''The King of Fighters'' series, following ''The King of Fighters '95''. Like its predecessor, the game was ported to the N ...

'')

References

External links

Noriyuki Iwadare's official English website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Iwadare, Noriyuki 1964 births Freelance musicians Japanese composers Japanese male composers Living people Lunar (series) Musicians from Nagano Prefecture People from Matsumoto, Nagano Video game composers