Sakimoto & Iwata

Photo from Final Fantasy Tactics OST (SSCX-10008 - released 6/21/97)

One of gaming’s greatest dynamic duos in the 90’s and 2000’s - Sakimoto and Iwata put together some of the most iconic scores during the era.

My first exposure to “Sakiwata” was in the late 90’s playing Final Fantasy Tactics on PS1. Almost three years later, I heard more from them in Ogre Battle 64: Person of Lordly Caliber (which also served as my introduction to Hayato Matsuo, the lead composer). Since playing through Final Fantasy Tactics and Ogre Battle 64 that generation, I became a big fan of SRPGs and of Ogre Battle in general (I love both, but I prefer the Ogre Battle style of gameplay to the Tactics Ogre/Final Fantasy Tactics style) and went back to play the original Ogre Battle and Tactics Ogre (which I couldn’t finish because I had an imported Super Famicom copy - I plan to play the remaster sometime this year or next). As such, I went through ‘Sakiwata’s catalog via the Ogre series.

Iwata

Sakimoto

There’s so much work these two have done that do not get a lot of recognition. In fact, this mix - a Sakiwata compilation of work on the Genesis/MegaDrive that I discovered today inspired this very blog post.

Most of their work since the founding of Basiscape has been easy to keep track off. Many Basiscape contracted scores see the entire team composing pieces for a given game. But they still do individual work on their own when not working as a duo or as a collective at Basiscape.

Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis

Sakimoto always seemed to get the bigger solo projects - Radiant Silvergun, Breath of Fire V, Vagrant Story, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Gradius V, etc. Meanwhile, Iwata worked on lesser known IP like Baroque solo and contributed to other scores after Final Fantasy Tactics before collaborating with Sakimoto again on Stella Deus.

There was one collaboration between the two between Final Fantasy Tactics and Stella Deus - Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis. For some reason, this game never recieved a soundtrack release. And it’s a shame too, because it’s a very good score and it was nice to hear what ‘Sakiwata’ could do on the GBA.

This pairing only ever produced one arranged album (or proper arranged album I should say because ‘The Entrance: Ogre Battle Image Album’ doesn’t count) - Ogre ~Grand Repeat~. Just like the absence of a The Knight of Lodis OST, I find it extremely interesting that Final Fantasy Tactics OST didn’t get similar treatment as that score was just begging for an orchestral album (and still is).

I’m hopeful we’ll get another ‘Sakiwata’ pairing at some point in the future that features just the two of them on a score - not everyone at Basiscape - just like old times! With all the HD-2D projects SquareEnix has been pumping out this gen, I’m hopeful we can get a remake or brand new Ogre entry in that gaphical style - with Sakiwata on the tracks!