‘My father played trumpet at Dragon Quest’

Masayoshi Soken’s career as a composer has lasted more than two decades, but the 50 -year -old is more synonymous with his work for 2013 Final Fantasy xiv and the subsequent expansion packages.

In 2021, Sooken-San fans revealing that he had battled cancer while writing music for Shadow (a Ffxiv Add), but continued to work for the game while receiving hospital treatment.

Influenced by his father, who was a professional trumpet player and his mother, who taught him how to play an electric instrument, Sooken-San continued to produce music for games like 2010 Mario Sports Mix and 2023 Final Fantasy XVI. Its eclectic style often combines heavy guitar with soft pianos.

Soken-San was in London last weekend to attend this year’s distant worlds, a concert dedicated to music by Final imagination Games running since 2007. I talked to the musician about his life in video games, from the soundtrack that inspired him the most in a song he could hear forever.

What was the first game you liked?

Super Mario Bros In Nes. This was the first console he belonged to. There were so many games in it and I used to make promises to my family that if they bought them for me, I would study very hard.

Which soundtrack inspired you the most?

Dragon quest and Final imagination These are the two games that gave me a lot of inspiration. First, playing the games themselves inspired me, but my father was a member of the orchestra Dragon quest where he played the trumpet. Then we didn’t really have the meaning of music in games, but Dragon quest It was one of the first times that a game soundtrack was released [separately]

. I think this has led me to have a pretty special set of emotions towards game music.

Is there a specific memory gaming memory from your life that stands out?

There are too many moments to count, but there is a story that goes to mind. At the same time that PlayStation One was released, he belonged to Sega Saturn because I wanted to play Virtua Fighter 2. Then I discovered it Final Fantasy VII He was going to go out on PS1 only – I was so frustrated. Now, this little boy who was sad ended up working at Square Enix making music for Final imagination games. It is strange how life works.

Is there a kind of video games that you want to write music for a day?

I have no particular preference for what kind I write, but I have the desire to write about racing. I think speed and music are a good race. I always liked the Crazy taxi Soundtrack where many other artists such as descendants and bad religion were drawn.

What games are you playing at the moment?

Overwatch 2 – When I’m very busy with work, I don’t have much time to play games, but I try harder to get more play time.

If you could only hear a piece of music for the rest of the time, what would it be and why?

I would love to choose a rock song for this, but if I had to hear it in a loop, it would be quite difficult after a while. So, I would say, the Brazilian artist Antônio Carlos Jobim who is Bossa Noca artist and the song is the girl from iPanema. That could be out forever and it would be okay.

The remote worlds will run until January 31, 2026 and will return the next US tour on September 13, 2025 at the Miller High Life Theater in Milwaukee, Wi.