Japan · Born 1972 · Composer
Yasunori Mitsuda composed Chrono Trigger and Xenogears at Square, then Xenosaga and various other acclaimed RPG soundtracks as an independent, blending Celtic folk, orchestral, and electronic elements.
Yasunori Mitsuda joined Square in 1992 as a sound programmer rather than a composer, working on technical audio implementation while Nobuo Uematsu composed the actual music. Frustrated by his support role, Mitsuda reportedly threatened to leave the company unless given a composing opportunity; producer Hironobu Sakaguchi assigned him to Chrono Trigger (1995). Mitsuda worked so intensively on the soundtrack — reportedly sleeping in the studio — that he developed serious stomach ulcers and had to hand the final portions of the score to Uematsu to complete. The resulting soundtrack, 64 pieces spanning multiple time periods each with distinct musical character, is considered one of the greatest game soundtracks ever composed. Mitsuda left Square in 1998 to found Procyon Studio, citing a desire to work independently and on his own terms. His post-Square work — Xenogears (1998), the Xenosaga trilogy, Xenoblade Chronicles — maintained the quality that Chrono Trigger had established. His compositional voice combines Celtic folk instrumentation (pennywhistle, bodhrán, uilleann pipes), orchestral arrangement, and electronic production in ways that feel both timeless and specific to him. Mitsuda has collaborated with orchestras worldwide and his music has been performed at major concert venues, reflecting the crossover between game music and classical concert programming that his generation of composers helped establish.