Junichi Masuda

Japan · Born 1968 · Composer, Programmer, Director

A founding Game Freak employee who composed Pokémon Red and Green and wrote the code that played their music — then rose to direct and produce the series.

Junichi Masuda was born in Yokohama on 12 January 1968 and joined Game Freak when it became a company in 1989, hired as a music composer. His first project was the NES puzzle game Mendel Palace (1989), followed by work on Yoshi. Masuda was one of the original developers of Pokémon. On Pokémon Red and Green (1996) he was both composer and programmer, writing not only the music and sound effects but the program that played audio in the games. The soundtrack — bright, memorable themes for towns, routes and battles, built from the Game Boy's four sound channels — became one of the most recognised in gaming as the series spread worldwide. He continued as a composer on Pokémon Gold and Silver. From Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire onward Masuda took on the role of director and later producer, became a member of Game Freak's board, and was one of the main people responsible for approving new Pokémon designs. On 1 June 2022 he moved from Game Freak to The Pokémon Company as its Chief Creative Fellow.