Naoshi Mizuta

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Naoshi Mizuta
Born (1972-01-24) January 24, 1972 (age 52)
Kochi, Japan
Alma materChiba University
Occupation(s)Composer, musician
Years active1995–present
EmployerSquare Enix
Musical career
GenresRock
Instrument(s)Bass guitar

Naoshi Mizuta (水田 直志, Mizuta Naoshi, born January 24, 1972) is a Japanese video game composer and musician. He is best known for his work on Final Fantasy XI (with Nobuo Uematsu and Kumi Tanioka), but has also composed music for Mega Man & Bass, Street Fighter Alpha, and Parasite Eve II. He started his career at Capcom before moving to Square (now Square Enix) in 1998.

Biography[edit]

Born in Kōchi, Japan in 1972, Mizuta's interest in music began to grow when he "was in the second or third grade".[1] Although still interested in music, Mizuta studied law and economics at Chiba University. He composed his first song while in his last year there, and after graduating went to work for Capcom in 1995 as a composer. He began his career scoring the Street Fighter series where he was part of the sound team for Street Fighter Alpha in 1995.[1]

In 1998, while still working for Capcom, Mizuta applied to Square as a composer in response to an advertisement and was hired. His first assignment for Square was to score Parasite Eve II, for which he was the sole composer and spent a year and a half working on.[1] The original Parasite Eve game was scored by Yoko Shimomura, and Mizuta incorporated some of the original game's musical themes into the sequel. Mizuta's next role was as the main composer for Final Fantasy XI, with assistance from Nobuo Uematsu and Kumi Tanioka. Mizuta remained with the Final Fantasy XI project for over ten years, serving as the sole composer for the game's five expansions, and considers it his life's work.[2] During this period, Mizuta became involved in The Star Onions, a band composed of Square Enix composers for which he plays bass guitar.[3][4] Other members of the band, which plays arrangements of songs from Final Fantasy XI, include Tanioka, Hidenori Iwasaki, and Tsuyoshi Sekito. The band has since released two albums, Music from the Other Side of Vana'diel and Sanctuary.[4][5]

Mizuta has also worked on several other projects for Square Enix, including Blood of Bahamut and Guardian Cross. He has also worked on many other games in the Final Fantasy series, including Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light, Final Fantasy XIII-2, Final Fantasy XIV, Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn, and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII.

Musical style and influences[edit]

For games, Mizuta is primarily focused on creating music that fits the title and the scene at hand, without consideration for how it might sound in isolation.[2][3] On older consoles, the hardware restricted composers to three channels of audio. Working within these limitations, Mizuta was challenged to create strong, memorable melodies without the aid of atmospheric and accompanying lines.[3] Even without such constraints in modern titles, he feels that this style has its merits and is worth preserving. On the other hand, for alternative presentations of his music such as live performances or piano arrangements, Mizuta feels more free to have fun and play it however he likes.[3] Mizuta is heavily influenced by the work of Ryuichi Sakamoto, as well as Nobuo Uematsu, his superior at Square.[1] He also draws inspiration from a variety of film scores as well as fan remixes of his work on YouTube.[1][3]

Works[edit]

Year Title Notes
1995 Street Fighter Alpha Music with several others
1998 Resident Evil 2 "The Underground Laboratory"
Mega Man & Bass Music with Toshihiko Horiyama and Akari Kaida
1999 Parasite Eve II Music
2002 Final Fantasy XI Music with Nobuo Uematsu and Kumi Tanioka
Tetra Master Music
2003 Final Fantasy XI: Rise of the Zilart Music
2004 Final Fantasy XI: Chains of Promathia Music
2005 Hanjuku Hero 4 ~The 7 Heroes~ "Reckless Blood Manipulations", "Hidden Research"
2006 Final Fantasy XI: Treasures of Aht Urhgan Music
2007 Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess Music
The Shochu Bar Music
2009 Blood of Bahamut Music
Final Fantasy: The 4 Heroes of Light Music
Season of Mystery: The Cherry Blossom Murders Music
2010 Final Fantasy Dimensions Music
2011 Final Fantasy XIII-2 Music with Masashi Hamauzu and Mitsuto Suzuki
Final Fantasy XIV Music with Ryo Yamazaki and Tsuyoshi Sekito
2012 Guardian Cross Music
Demons' Score Main theme
2013 Final Fantasy XI: Seekers of Adoulin Music
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn Music with Masayoshi Soken, Tsuyoshi Sekito, and Ryo Yamazaki
Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII Music with Masashi Hamauzu and Mitsuto Suzuki
2014 Deadman's Cross Music
Glorious Blades Music
2015 Arcadia no Aoki Miko Music with YOHKA
Final Fantasy Dimensions II Music
2017 Final Fantasy XV: Episode Prompto Music
2022 Stranger of Paradise: Final Fantasy Origin Music with Hidenori Iwasaki and Ryo Yamazaki

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e "RocketBaby's interview w/Naoshi Mizuta". RocketBaby. 2000. Archived from the original on 2001-08-30. Retrieved 2009-04-14.
  2. ^ a b Napolitano, Jayson (2011-04-12). "Square Enix Composer Series: Naoshi Mizuta Talks FFXI and Parasite Eve". Original Sound Version. Archived from the original on 2016-02-06. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  3. ^ a b c d e Jeriaska (2011-03-29). "GameSetWatch Sound Current: 'Serializing RPG Storylines on Final Fantasy Legends'". Game Set Watch. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
  4. ^ a b Mattich, Ryan; Wilson, Mike. "The Star Onions ~ Final Fantasy XI - Music from the Other Side of Vana'diel". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2008-03-28.
  5. ^ Gann, Patrick (2009-06-18). "Sanctuary ~ Final Fantasy XI Music from the Other Side of Vana'diel - The Star Onions". RPGFan. Archived from the original on 2013-01-16. Retrieved 2009-07-15.

External links[edit]

Official website (in Japanese)

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