Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem Composer On The Challenge Of Video Game Music

The official page of Genei Ibun Roku ♯FE, or what we’re calling Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem until it gets an official English title, has a new blog post featuring the game’s BGM composer Yoshiaki Fujisawa, who talks about his involvement in the upcoming RPG.

Yoshiaki Fujisawa has worked on plenty of music arrangements in the past, including arrangements for talents such as Kenichi “Hyadain” Maeyamada, music for some anime such as Nichijou, and more recently Love Live and GATE. For Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem he’s working for Avex Group, known for having produced many of Japan’s famous pop singers such as Ayumi Hamasaki.

Fujisawa says that his work with Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem all started back with a single phone call in late-fall of 2013.

“Fujisawa-san, are you busy?”

It was from Avex’s Aburai [George Aburai] who shot  the proposal, and from there, it was decided that he’d join the staff in the development of a new game, which would end up being Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem. From there, he met up with the developers and sound team, learned more about the game, and was a bit nervous, considering that he’s more familiar with working on music for anime an TV shows.

The first thing he felt was “it was very difficult!”

Fujisawa explains that he struggled a lot in the completely different mindset that is required for making video game music, as he’s more familiar with how things are done for TV shows. Everything from the timing, flow, and feelings of a song, were all different from the way he usually works on music; however, the sound team from Atlus gave him all kinds of advice that came in handy for his work.

Fujisawa notes that working with the team in an incredibly creative environment, where ideas shapes themselves up, was really fun. He recalls how excited he felt when they first checked out a demonstration of one of his songs, although he says that he was always nervous whenever it came to presenting the songs, nonetheless.

Since “entertainment” is a big theme of Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem, Fujisawa explains that the game is full of songs that bring out the feelings of the stages and floors, and plenty of groovy tracks.

“Especially for the battles—I just can’t help but want to dance [to the music] while fighting!” exclaims Fujisawa, as he explains that all the field and event scene tracks have been made with a variety of tracks that have been made through the challenges of ideas provided from the team.

“Oh, and everything about this title is overwhelmingly great, if I do say so myself.”

Fujisawa ended the blog post with a look at the above image. It’s actually a character that appears in the game, and it was modeled after the composer’s actual looks.

Shin Megami Tensei X Fire Emblem will release in Japan on December 26, 2015 for Wii U.