Breaking Down the Doors of Destiny, Vol. 1: Outreach to Mitsuda

[justinstcharlesmusic]

I think we should keep focused on coming up with innovative/creative questions that will touch on his feelings and most inner thoughts/memories, deeply. I believe, the more generic the question - the less likely this interview will even come to pass. I'm sure if we all put our minds to it and try really hard, we will come up with some great questions. If we were to ask a total of 10 question, I think the first 6-7 questions should be this fashion, leaving the last few as lighter questions perhaps a bit more fun or quirky...if that makes sense.

Just think - what's the common link...why are we all here? CT of course. Having said that, try thinking of questions that are relevant exclusively to that time period, and even before then. Mr. Mitsuda has experienced a lot of success since those days...most of the time folks in that position tend to forget where they came from, at least in some aspects if not completely. We are presenting ourselves as being from ChronoPendium, the ultimate CT page. Therefore let's give him a dose of nostalgia in a very unique and attentive way.

[FaustWolf]

Yeah, better to come up with excellent questions than to rush the process; hopefully Mitsuda's Twitter account isn't going anywhere in the meantime. Maybe if each of us who are interested in this can come up with one truly thought-provoking question apiece, we'll have enough to go with.

We might even collaborate with the Xeno fan community on this, seeing as Xenogears Arrange is coming out soon and Mitsuda did some really amazing things with the Xenogears and Xenosaga: Episode I soundtracks.

[Magus22]

My fear is that the complexity of the question(s) may turn him off... that and I would not know if Mitsuda would want to delve over 15 years into the past about topics that may have been answered in previous interviews of that era (and most recently a section in the CTU scans). I agree we should definitely put some CT-era-related questions in, but do you think he would rather appreciate his fans asking about his current works/projects a little more than sifting through the past?

I was a mere child when Chrono Trigger came out, but I will definitely try to come up with a nostalgic quesiton for Mitsuda using the information we have collected over the years! I'll never give up!

[justinstcharlesmusic]

Hey guys. I was informed today that a friend of mine was killed. Her name is Charlene. She was driving with her friend and they seen a car accident, they both got out to help and both got hit and run by another car. They both perished. She's left behind 4 children and a husband.

I made a song for her and her family & friends, it's inspired by 'Too Far Away Times' - it's my own variant of it. I thought I'd share it here with you guys and remind you, time is short...so don't treat it like it is eternal.

http://soundcloud.com/justinstcharlesmusic/justin-st-charles-charlenes/

[Mr Bekkler]

That's terrible! I'm sorry man. Ill definitely give the song a listen

[FaustWolf]

Really sorry to hear about that justin. Having a friend wiped away suddenly is an experience we could all do without. At least you're able to pour your feelings into your art, and honor her memory while processing what's happened.

The instrumental would sound great in a videogame, hmm...

I wonder if Mitsuda's ever done something similar? Created a song with a particular person or experience in mind, I mean?

[justinstcharlesmusic]

Thank you.

That sounds like a great question my friend. A great mind at work here. That should def be on the list for a CT related question.

[Magus22]

Oh man... Justin this is terrible news. I feel especially sorry for your friends family as well. It's amazing how totally awesome your talent is that you can dedicate such an outstanding song in memorial. I wish the circumstances were different...

This has inspired me, kind of like what Faust said.

And you are right about time not being eternal.

EDIT: 

How do you handle mistakes during a performance?
(Rephrased) = During the recording or a rehearsal of CT / CC, was there a song that someone (or musical section) completely botched?

What are your fondest musical memories?
(Rephrased) = Was is the most memorable musical moment you recall when working on CT / CC ?

Do you get nervous before a performance or a competition?
(Rephrased) = Was there any time you felt like a song did not belong in a particular place (either in CT / CC or another game he did music for) ?

[Magus22]

I apologize for my absence. Mid-terms are approaching already!

Just wanted to touch base with everyone... does anyone have anymore more potential questions for Mr. Mitsuda?

If not, let us compile what we have gathered so far and create a rough draft for a translator. I can hopefully contribute to this next week when I have mid-semester break.

[FaustWolf]

Yeah, midterm coming up here too. It's that time of the season again!  

I see that the Xenogears arrange album (Myth, I think it's called?) was just released, maybe to coincide with Xenogears' appearance on PSN. Not to particularly rave reviews, ouch.

[utunnels]

offtopic:
 Can anyone tell me whether that 'SMALL TWO OF PIECES' from MYTH is exactly the same one sung by Joanne Hogg?

[chi_z]

the ending of CT was originally something he had been working on for quite sometime, dedicated to someone. he never said who though, I'll try and find the interview.

[FaustWolf]

For your reference utunnels, this is the original "Small of Two Pieces" vs. the one on Myth. Mitsuda's had enough contact with Joanne Hogg that I wouldn't be surprised if he had her sing for the new one, but I still have to wonder whether Mitsuda did a re-instrumentation but used the same vocal track as the original. They sound fairly similar.

Oh, yeah! Since these arrangements seem to contain only a selection of tracks from the original game, has Mitsuda ever divulged which tracks would be selected for Chrono Cross Arrange?

[chi_z]

not that I can recall, though obviously 'a narrow space between dimensions' is a likely candidate 

[Magus22]

I'm back! I finally have some free time in the upcoming days, so let's get started.

I have written a rough draft for Yasunori Mitsuda (untranslated) that I will be posting in the upcoming days. I have also extracted/organized the questions everyone's contributed thus far into a single-quoted post.

Now, due to the unforeseen disaster in Japan and the fact that Mitsuda is performing at a concert in the upcoming weeks, we should try to set a target-time date to send our mail interview to Mitsuda.

If anyone has more questions they want to contribute (in light of any recent or upcoming events), please feel free to post away! I'll have an update tomorrow afternoon if all goes according to plan.