Difference between revisions of "Wave Master"
From Sonic Retro
| Line 85: | Line 85: | ||
* ''[[Panzer Dragoon Saga]]''(1998) ([[Sega Saturn]]) | * ''[[Panzer Dragoon Saga]]''(1998) ([[Sega Saturn]]) | ||
* ''[[Sonic Adventure]]'' (1998) ([[Dreamcast]]) | * ''[[Sonic Adventure]]'' (1998) ([[Dreamcast]]) | ||
| − | * '' | + | * ''Air Nights'' (Cancelled) (1998) ([[Dreamcast]]) |
* ''[[ChuChu Rocket!]]'' (1999) ([[Dreamcast]], [[Game Boy Advance]]) | * ''[[ChuChu Rocket!]]'' (1999) ([[Dreamcast]], [[Game Boy Advance]]) | ||
* ''[[Samba de Amigo]]'' (2000) ([[Dreamcast]], [[Arcade]]) | * ''[[Samba de Amigo]]'' (2000) ([[Dreamcast]], [[Arcade]]) | ||
| Line 98: | Line 98: | ||
* ''[[Rez]]'' (2001) ([[Dreamcast]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox 360]]) | * ''[[Rez]]'' (2001) ([[Dreamcast]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox 360]]) | ||
* ''[[Sonic Mega Collection]]'' (2002) ([[Nintendo GameCube]]) | * ''[[Sonic Mega Collection]]'' (2002) ([[Nintendo GameCube]]) | ||
| − | * '' | + | * ''Skies of Arcadia Legends'' (2002) ([[Nintendo GameCube]]) |
| − | * '' | + | * ''Jet Set Radio Future'' (2002) ([[Xbox]]) |
* ''[[Sonic Adventure 2: Battle]]'' (2002) ([[Nintendo GameCube]]) | * ''[[Sonic Adventure 2: Battle]]'' (2002) ([[Nintendo GameCube]]) | ||
* ''[[Sonic Advance]]'' (2002) ([[Game Boy Advance]]) | * ''[[Sonic Advance]]'' (2002) ([[Game Boy Advance]]) | ||
| Line 119: | Line 119: | ||
* ''[[Feel the Magic: XY/XX]]'' (2004) ([[Game Boy Advance]]) | * ''[[Feel the Magic: XY/XX]]'' (2004) ([[Game Boy Advance]]) | ||
* ''[[Sega Superstars]]'' (2004) ([[PlayStation 2]]) | * ''[[Sega Superstars]]'' (2004) ([[PlayStation 2]]) | ||
| − | * '' | + | * ''Astro Boy'' (2004) ([[PlayStation 2]]) |
| − | * '' | + | * ''Puyo Pop Fever'' (2004) ([[PlayStation 2]], [[Dreamcast]], [[Nintendo GameCube]], [[Xbox]], Mac OS, [[Game Boy Advance]], Microsoft Windows, Pocket PC, Personal digital assistant, [[PlayStation Portable]], [[Nintendo DS]], [[Arcade]]) |
* ''Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst'' (2004) ([[Nintendo GameCube]]) | * ''Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst'' (2004) ([[Nintendo GameCube]]) | ||
* ''Phantasy Star Online Episode 4'' (2005) ([[Nintendo GameCube]]) | * ''Phantasy Star Online Episode 4'' (2005) ([[Nintendo GameCube]]) | ||
| − | * '' | + | * ''Puyo Pop Fever 2'' (2005) ([[PlayStation 2]], [[PlayStation Portable]], [[Nintendo DS]]) |
* ''[[The Rub Rabbits!]]'' (2005) ([[Nintendo DS]]) | * ''[[The Rub Rabbits!]]'' (2005) ([[Nintendo DS]]) | ||
* ''[[Sonic Gems Collection]]'' (2005) ([[Nintendo GameCube]], [[PlayStation 2]]) | * ''[[Sonic Gems Collection]]'' (2005) ([[Nintendo GameCube]], [[PlayStation 2]]) | ||
* ''[[Sonic Rush]]'' (2005) ([[Nintendo DS]]) | * ''[[Sonic Rush]]'' (2005) ([[Nintendo DS]]) | ||
* ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog (game)|Shadow the Hedgehog]]'' (2005) ([[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox]], [[Nintendo GameCube]]) | * ''[[Shadow the Hedgehog (game)|Shadow the Hedgehog]]'' (2005) ([[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox]], [[Nintendo GameCube]]) | ||
| − | * '' | + | * ''Fifth Phantom Saga'' (Cancelled) (2005) ([[PlayStation 3]]) |
* ''[[Sonic Riders]]'' (2006) ([[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox]], [[Nintendo GameCube]]) | * ''[[Sonic Riders]]'' (2006) ([[PlayStation 2]], [[Xbox]], [[Nintendo GameCube]]) | ||
* ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 game)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' (2006) ([[PlayStation 3]], [[Xbox 360]]) | * ''[[Sonic the Hedgehog (2006 game)|Sonic the Hedgehog]]'' (2006) ([[PlayStation 3]], [[Xbox 360]]) | ||
| Line 138: | Line 138: | ||
* ''[[NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams]]'' (2007) ([[Nintendo Wii]]) | * ''[[NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams]]'' (2007) ([[Nintendo Wii]]) | ||
* ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games]]'' (2007) ([[Nintendo Wii]], [[Nintendo DS]]) | * ''[[Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games]]'' (2007) ([[Nintendo Wii]], [[Nintendo DS]]) | ||
| − | * '' | + | * ''Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary'' (2007) ([[Nintendo DS]], [[PlayStation 2]], [[PlayStation Portable]], [[Nintendo Wii]]) |
* ''[[Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity]]'' (2008) ([[PlayStation 2]], [[Nintendo Wii]]) | * ''[[Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity]]'' (2008) ([[PlayStation 2]], [[Nintendo Wii]]) | ||
* ''[[Sega Superstars Tennis]]'' (2008) ([[PlayStation 2]], [[PlayStation 3]], [[Xbox 360]], [[Nintendo Wii]], [[Nintendo DS]]) | * ''[[Sega Superstars Tennis]]'' (2008) ([[PlayStation 2]], [[PlayStation 3]], [[Xbox 360]], [[Nintendo Wii]], [[Nintendo DS]]) | ||
| − | * '' | + | * ''Phantasy Star Portable'' (2008) ([[PlayStation Portable]]) |
* ''[[Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood]]'' (2008) ([[Nintendo DS]]) | * ''[[Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood]]'' (2008) ([[Nintendo DS]]) | ||
* ''[[Sonic Unleashed]]'' (2008) ([[PlayStation 2]], [[PlayStation 3]], [[Xbox 360]], [[Nintendo Wii]]) | * ''[[Sonic Unleashed]]'' (2008) ([[PlayStation 2]], [[PlayStation 3]], [[Xbox 360]], [[Nintendo Wii]]) | ||
* ''[[Let's Tap]]'' (2008) ([[Nintendo Wii]]) | * ''[[Let's Tap]]'' (2008) ([[Nintendo Wii]]) | ||
* ''[[Sonic and the Black Knight]]'' (2009) ([[Nintendo Wii]]) | * ''[[Sonic and the Black Knight]]'' (2009) ([[Nintendo Wii]]) | ||
| − | * '' | + | * ''Phantasy Star Zero'' (2009) ([[Nintendo DS]]) |
* ''Puyo Puyo 7'' (2009) ([[Nintendo DS]], [[PlayStation Portable]], [[Nintendo Wii]]) | * ''Puyo Puyo 7'' (2009) ([[Nintendo DS]], [[PlayStation Portable]], [[Nintendo Wii]]) | ||
* ''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games'' ([[Nintendo Wii]], [[Nintendo DS]]) | * ''Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games'' ([[Nintendo Wii]], [[Nintendo DS]]) | ||
Revision as of 09:04, 30 April 2009
Game music has come a long way since the days of shrill beeping noises. The game soundtracks of today consist of rich orchestral scores, multi-layered guitars, and thumping modern beats. Sega has a long history of great game music, and much of it has come from one company -- Wave Master. This award-winning team has created some of the most memorable scores in gaming history. They have also branched out into other endeavors, including game development and music for television.
Wave Master (formerly known as Sega Digital Media) employs nearly 30-40 sound designers and recording engineers at their Tokyo office. The company is overseen by president Yukifumi Makino, a veteran of the game music industry. Makino's love for music began at an early age, where he was influenced by everything from The Beatles to the Jaws soundtrack. Makino has directed and produced some of Sega's most famous soundtracks, including Sonic CD, NiGHTS, and Space Channel 5.
At the heart of Wave Master's operations is their state-of-the-art recording studio. It is composed of three rooms: a control room with a high-end 56-channel mixing console, a 4.6 x 5 meter "live" room with acoustic reflectors, and a 4 x 6.2 meter "dead" room with sound dampening properties.
Many of the most popular Sega soundtracks have come from Wave Master, including Panzer Dragoon Saga, Phantasy Star Online, and the Sonic the Hedgehog series. Wave Master's music has received critical acclaim, and has been recognized by the International Game Developers Association and the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences for excellence in the field. In addition to releasing game scores, Wave Master has put out remixes and compilation albums of their music.
Some of Wave Master's most powerful works feature technology that dynamically changes the music based on game situations. When flying your airship in Skies of Arcadia, the main musical theme subtly changed based on your location in the world. Jet Grind Radio's pumping hip-hop tracks blended together in a way that mirrored a DJ mixing records on turntables. The main theme of Space Channel 5 progressively decomposed the worse you did in the game.
There's more to Wave Master than just game music. In 2000, Wave Master entered the world of game development with a quirky life simulation title called Roommania #203. They also handled the Japanese versions of Visual Concepts' Sega Sports 2K series. Other Wave Master projects include Radio DC (an Internet radio program featuring Sega game music), the Sonic Cafe suite of mobile phone applications, and jingles for TV shows and commercials in Japan.
Contents
Team's Employees
Wave Master is also notable for achieving popular music in their games. There are a number of popular composers that have stuck with the developer for a long time, and are well known around the fanbase:
- Yukifumi Makino (head of Wave Master from 1991-2004 now moved to Delfi Sound Inc.)
- Fumie Kumatani
- Tomoya Ohtani
- Kenichi Tokoi
- Runblebee- (works with Kenichi Tokoi)
- Hideaki Kobayashi
- Tomonori Sawada
- Naofumi Hataya
- Mariko Nanba
- Jun Senoue (also works with Sonic Team)
- Yutaka Minobe (left in Wave Master in 2005 now moved to Delfi Sound Inc.)
- Seirou Okamoto
- Taihei Sato
- Takahito Eguchi
- Masaru Setsumaru
- Tatsutoshi Narita
- Fumitaka Shibata (now head of Wave Master and Sega Digtal Studio)
- Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
- Tomoko Sasaki
- Hideki Naganuma
- Saori Kobayashi
Music Composers
Wave Master is also notable for achieving popular music in their games. There are a number of popular composers that have stuck with the developer for a long time, and are well known around the fanbase:
- Yukifumi Makino (head of Wave Master from 1991-2004 now moved to Delfi Sound Inc.)
- Fumie Kumatani
- Tomoya Ohtani
- Kenichi Tokoi
- Runblebee- (works with Kenichi Tokoi)
- Hideaki Kobayashi
- Tomonori Sawada
- Naofumi Hataya
- Mariko Nanba
- Jun Senoue (also works with Sonic Team)
- Yutaka Minobe (left in Wave Master in 2005 now moved to Delfi Sound Inc.)
- Seirou Okamoto
- Taihei Sato
- Takahito Eguchi
- Masaru Setsumaru
- Tatsutoshi Narita
- Fumitaka Shibata (now head of Wave Master and Sega Digtal Studio)
- Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
- Tomoko Sasaki
- Hideki Naganuma
- Saori Kobayashi
Games developed by Wave Master
- Roomania #203 (2000) (Dreamcast, PlayStation 2)
- Switch (2002) (PlayStation 2)
- New Roommania: Porori Seishun (2003) (PlayStation 2)
Music & Sound developed by Wave Master
- Sonic the Hedgehog (1991) (Sega Genesis)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 2 (1992) (Sega Genesis)
- Sonic CD (1993) (Sega CD)
- Sonic the Hedgehog 3 (1994) (Sega Genesis)
- Sonic & Knuckles (1994) (Sega Genesis)
- Sonic 3 & Knuckles (1994) (Sega Genesis)
- Sonic Crackers (Cancelled) (1994) (Sega Genesis)
- Knuckles Chaotix (1995) (Sega 32X)
- Panzer Dragoon (1995) (Sega Saturn)
- Sonic Xtreme (Cancelled) (1996) (Sega Saturn)
- NiGHTS into Dreams (1996) (Sega Saturn)
- Christmas NiGHTS (1996) (Sega Saturn)
- Panzer Dragoon Zwei (1996) (Sega Saturn)
- Sonic 3D Blast (1996) (Sega Saturn)
- Sonic Jam (1997) (Sega Saturn)
- Sonic R (1997) (Sega Saturn)
- Burning Rangers (1998) (Sega Saturn)
- Panzer Dragoon Saga(1998) (Sega Saturn)
- Sonic Adventure (1998) (Dreamcast)
- Air Nights (Cancelled) (1998) (Dreamcast)
- ChuChu Rocket! (1999) (Dreamcast, Game Boy Advance)
- Samba de Amigo (2000) (Dreamcast, Arcade)
- Samba de Amigo Ver.2000 (2000) (Dreamcast)
- Sonic Shuffle (2000) (Dreamcast)
- Jet Set Radio (2000) (Dreamcast)
- Skies of Arcadia (2000) (Dreamcast)
- Phantasy Star Online (2000) (Dreamcast)
- Roommania #203 (2000) (Dreamcast)
- Sonic Adventure 2 (2001) (Dreamcast)
- Phantasy Star Online Ver.2 (2001) (Dreamcast)
- Rez (2001) (Dreamcast, PlayStation 2, Xbox 360)
- Sonic Mega Collection (2002) (Nintendo GameCube)
- Skies of Arcadia Legends (2002) (Nintendo GameCube)
- Jet Set Radio Future (2002) (Xbox)
- Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (2002) (Nintendo GameCube)
- Sonic Advance (2002) (Game Boy Advance)
- Panzer Dragoon Orta (2002) (Xbox)
- Sonic Adventure 3 (Cancelled) (2002) (PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube)
- Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 (2002) (Xbox, Nintendo GameCube)
- Switch (2002) (PlayStation 2)
- Space Channel 5: Part 2 (2002) (Dreamcast, PlayStation 2)
- New Roommania: Porori Seishun (2003) (PlayStation 2)
- Phantasy Star Online Episode 1 & 2 Plus (2003) (Xbox, Nintendo GameCube)
- Phantasy Star Online Episode 3: Card Revolution (2003) (Xbox, Nintendo GameCube)
- Billy Hatcher and the Giant Egg (2003) (Nintendo GameCube)
- Sonic Adventure DX (2003) (Nintendo GameCube)
- Sonic Advance 2 (2003) (Game Boy Advance)
- Sonic Battle (2004) (Game Boy Advance)
- Sonic Heroes (2004) (Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC)
- Sonic Mega Collection Plus (2004) (PlayStation 2, Xbox, PC)
- Sonic Advance 3 (2004) (Game Boy Advance)
- Feel the Magic: XY/XX (2004) (Game Boy Advance)
- Sega Superstars (2004) (PlayStation 2)
- Astro Boy (2004) (PlayStation 2)
- Puyo Pop Fever (2004) (PlayStation 2, Dreamcast, Nintendo GameCube, Xbox, Mac OS, Game Boy Advance, Microsoft Windows, Pocket PC, Personal digital assistant, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS, Arcade)
- Phantasy Star Online: Blue Burst (2004) (Nintendo GameCube)
- Phantasy Star Online Episode 4 (2005) (Nintendo GameCube)
- Puyo Pop Fever 2 (2005) (PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo DS)
- The Rub Rabbits! (2005) (Nintendo DS)
- Sonic Gems Collection (2005) (Nintendo GameCube, PlayStation 2)
- Sonic Rush (2005) (Nintendo DS)
- Shadow the Hedgehog (2005) (PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube)
- Fifth Phantom Saga (Cancelled) (2005) (PlayStation 3)
- Sonic Riders (2006) (PlayStation 2, Xbox, Nintendo GameCube)
- Sonic the Hedgehog (2006) (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360)
- Sonic the Hedgehog Genesis (2006) (Game Boy Advance)
- Phantasy Star Universe (2006) (PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PC)
- Phantasy Star Universe: Ambition of the Illuminus (2007) (PlayStation 2, Xbox 360, PC)
- Sonic and the Secret Rings (2007) (Nintendo Wii)
- Sonic Rush Adventure (2007) (Nintendo DS)
- NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams (2007) (Nintendo Wii)
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (2007) (Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS)
- Puyo Puyo 15th Anniversary (2007) (Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo Wii)
- Sonic Riders: Zero Gravity (2008) (PlayStation 2, Nintendo Wii)
- Sega Superstars Tennis (2008) (PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS)
- Phantasy Star Portable (2008) (PlayStation Portable)
- Sonic Chronicles: The Dark Brotherhood (2008) (Nintendo DS)
- Sonic Unleashed (2008) (PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii)
- Let's Tap (2008) (Nintendo Wii)
- Sonic and the Black Knight (2009) (Nintendo Wii)
- Phantasy Star Zero (2009) (Nintendo DS)
- Puyo Puyo 7 (2009) (Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, Nintendo Wii)
- Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Winter Games (Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS)
- Sonic Mega Collection 3 (2010) (PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Nintendo Wii)