Hello everyone. The following is the first part of the interview with Yasunori Mitsuda. It covers page 586 and a few paragraphs of 587, up to the point where they start discussing the DS version (which I realize is probably what is of the greatest interest to many... can't play all my cards just yet). I hope you enjoy it as much as I did; I think it has some interesting insight into Yasunori's career and thought process. It also presents a slightly different version of his conversation with Sakaguchi, as it had been reported previously that his salary was a key point in that discussion. Well, I leave you to make of it what you will.
It goes without saying that this is solely for educational purposes. Anyone who wants to reference or in any way make use of this particular translation, please contact me before doing so. Much appreciated. I should also point out that I definitely took some liberties to "naturalize" the interview. This is a far cry from a word-for-word, literal translation. I think it worked out fine, but some people may find it a bit too cavalier. C'est la vie. I'll try to get the last part of the interview up as soon as I get a chance. 楽しみにしてね＾＾
-- Chrono Trigger is crammed full of every idea I had about music at the time. --
Mitsuda Yasunori
Interview
When attempting to convey the charm of Chrono Trigger, one cannot forget to include the music of Yasunori Mitsuda. Whether it be stories from the days of the SNES version’s development or concerns about the DS version’s sound, we went and spoke with Mr. Mitsuda about all kinds of interesting topics.
I feel the “wild, unrefined quality” lends a lot of power to the music.
The SNES version of Chrono Trigger marked your debut at a composer in the game industry. Once more, could you please tell us how you came to be in charge of the music?
Mitsuda: From the start, I joined Square (now Square-Enix) because I wanted to compose songs. However, back then there were only a few people who could make sound effects and work as sound engineers, so for the first two years that was the only type of job they’d give me. Then, one day I went directly to Mr. Sakaguchi (Executive Producer Hironobu Sakaguchi) and said, “I want to write songs. I don’t care what kind of project it is, just please let me give it a shot.” At that time Mr. Sakaguchi said, “All right then, try this,” referring to some project that had just come up, a game called Chrono Trigger. So, it wasn’t like, “We need you for this project or else we’re doomed.” It was more like, “Well, if you really want to give it a shot, knock yourself out.” The whole decision was surprisingly nonchalant.
But, as far as you were concerned, this was finally the chance you had been waiting for, right?
Mitsuda: Well, to tell you truth, even when I was working in sound effects, I was still secretly writing and compiling songs. But no matter how many I made, I could never present them to anyone, so I was really frustrated those two years. Because of that, when I was assigned to Chrono Trigger, even though I had technically just begun work as a composer, I would go through the pile of songs I had already stored up and choose one that I thought fit the game world. If I felt that I didn’t already have a song to fit a particular scene, then I would go back and create a new piece of music.
Is the game’s main theme, “Chrono Trigger,” also one of the pieces you had stockpiled earlier?
Mitsuda: That song, “Chrono Trigger,” was one that I wrote only when the game’s development had begun in earnest. I wrote the whole thing in one sitting; I just couldn’t contain my excitement at finally being able to write music. The day after I was told, “Well, we’re leaving it up to you,” the final version was just about finished. I think the feeling of careening along in the intro part is all of my pent-up desire to be a composer finally bursting into existence.
Chrono Trigger spans several time periods, each composed of varied genres. This is another one of the game’s unique characteristics, isn’t it?
Mitsuda: I have always liked different genres myself, so challenging myself to create a variety of songs – without just milking one genre – was really a lot of fun. The “me” that existed back then, every time he thought, “I’d like try and make this kind of song,” he took all of those ideas and jammed them into the game. In a way, I suppose you could say that’s the meaning of “Chrono Trigger.” If I go back and try to listen to those songs again now, there are a lot of parts that are rough around the edges. It’s kind of embarrassing, but at the same time I feel like if you look at it in a positive way the wild, unrefined quality brings a lot of power to the work.
In your mind, is their a single theme that unites your entire oeuvre?
Mitsuda: If I were to try and put it into a few words, I’d say, “Music that can conjure up a scene.” Take, for example, the Middle Ages world map theme: rolling fields stretching into the distance, a lone windmill… I am driven to create the type of song that can allow you to clearly visualize that scene, even if you just listen to the music without looking at the screen. Songs can really strengthen something’s meaning. That’s because it makes it easy for most people to imagine the same scene and, when coupled with the game’s visuals, it can create for players an even stronger impression of that scene. With regard to that concept, it’s something that I knew I absolutely wanted to do ever since I began working on Chrono Trigger.
Which is your favorite song?
Mitsuda: Though I enjoy songs such as the main theme, I’d have to say the ending music, “To Far Away Times,” has a very special place in my heart. I’d go so far as to say it’s a song that I may not be able to write now. That song was based on a piece I wrote a long time ago. I mixed in a phrase from Chrono Trigger’s main theme and reworked it a bit, imagining scenes with Chrono and company and the thoughts that come with them. I wanted the piece to capture the kind of feelings you can’t truly express in words like, “After coming back from a long journey, I’m happy that we saved our planet’s future, but I’m sad because now I have to say good bye to all my friends.”
{NOTE: “To Far Away Times” is, as far as I can tell, literally translated as “To His Direction When Time Becomes Far Away” or “To Him When Time Grows Distant.” Obviously, this doesn’t quite have the ring of the name they eventually decided on.}
{NOTE: I chose the word “scenes” to describe what Yasunori is discussing about halfway through his response. I think this makes sense in context, and he uses a Japanese word for scene [シーン] several times over the course of this interview. However, I do have to point out that after zooming into the PDF a million times there is not doubt that the actual word in the Japanese version of the interview is ジーン. That means “gene,” like DNA and all that good stuff. Now, he could be using the term in a poetic way, referring to the more meme-like concepts of Chrono Trigger that continue to propagate themselves in the minds of players long after the adventure has concluded. He could. But I really don’t think so. I honestly suspect it is a typo as the two words are very similar – just two small dots separate them – and the idea of “scenes” fits much more readily with his response than that of some impromptu discussion of genetics. Regardless, for the sake of accuracy I just wanted to make a note. I’m certainly open to different opinions on this one.}
Did you really watch the in-game ending and then write that song?
Mitsuda: No, the visuals still weren’t done, so I composed the song first, based on what I had heard from someone in the planning department. Then the programmers created visuals that would fit the music. I had heard that the final sequence would show Chrono and company flying around in Epoch the so I thought I’d like to create a song with the feeling that you were careening through the entirety of the Chrono Trigger story. I’m sure you agree that the programmers did a great job matching visuals to that idea.
{NOTE: The Epoch is literally the Shiruba-do/Silver Bird, likely a pun similar to Jenosaido-mu/Genocide Dome, the Japanese name for Geno Dome}
By the way, there is a song called “MITSUDA” in the Music Room of the Gallery (see page 569) that doesn’t seem to be used anywhere in the game…
Mitsuda: You see I originally made that song to be used in the Developers’ Room (see page 562). I had heard that you can do whatever you want in the Developer’s Room, so I was going to have that song play when my comment came up. However, in the end it wasn’t used [smiles].
