Junichi Nakatsuru
| Junichi Nakatsuru | |
|---|---|
| Native name | 中鶴 潤一 |
| Born | Japan |
| Genres | Orchestral |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, arranger |
| Instruments | Piano, trombone |
Junichi Nakatsuru (中鶴 潤一 Nakatsuru Junichi?) is a Japanese video game composer and sound director employed at Bandai Namco Games. He is best known for his work in the Soulcalibur series.
Biography
Growing up, Nakatsuru enjoyed music, playing around with instruments while listening to music on the radio as a boy. His parents provided him with classical piano lessons, and he would always play popular songs with his own arrangements instead of practicing for the lesson.[1] While attending high school, Nakatsuru played the trombone in a brass band, and was a keyboardist and band composer in his private life.[2] He majored in art at the university and studied music theory, acoustics, and desktop music (DTM), although he was more interested in making original songs and playing them in a band.[1]
Musical style and influences
Nakatsuru mostly incorporates orchestral tracks into his soundtracks. Commenting on the use of a live orchestra, he notes that it is vital for the scenes with a very emotional presentation and sampled instruments are not enough to express the emotion. On the other hand, he has stated that fierce battle scenes may need speed and tension that can only be done with a computer.[1] He feels that "Audio is a key element in making scenes more evocative and expressive, thereby empathizing with the players in various situations." Nakatsuru has said that the orchestral sound of John Williams' soundtrack to Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace has deeply influenced him.[2]
Works
| Video games | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Co-worker(s) |
| 1998 | Soulcalibur | Composition | several others |
| Time Crisis II (PS2) | Composition/sound effects | Kazuhiro Nakamura | |
| 2002 | Soulcalibur II | Composition | several others |
| 2004 | Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War | Composition | Keiki Kobayashi, Tetsukazu Nakanishi, and Hiroshi Okubo |
| Tekken 5 | Composition | several others | |
| 2005 | Urban Reign | Composition | several others |
| Critical Velocity | Composition | several others | |
| Soulcalibur III | Composition | Ryuichi Takada and Keiki Kobayashi | |
| Ridge Racer 6 | Composition | several others | |
| 2006 | Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War | Composition | Keiki Kobayashi, Tetsukazu Nakanishi, and Hiroshi Okubo |
| 2007 | Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation | Composition | several others |
| 2008 | Soulcalibur IV | Composition | Keiki Kobayashi, Hiroyuki Fujita, and Masaharu Iwata |
| 2009 | Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny | Composition | Keiki Kobayashi and Masaharu Iwata |
| Tekken 6 (PSP) | Composition (Ending Theme) | Yoshihito Yano | |
| 2012 | Soulcalibur V | Composition | several others |
| 2014 | Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U | Arrangement | several others |
