Tomoko Sasaki

From Sega Retro

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Tomoko Sasaki
Place of birth: Gonohe, Aomori prefecture (Touhoku area)
Date of birth: 1968-09-27 (age 55)
Employment history:
Sega Enterprises (1992-04[1][2] – )
Divisions:
Sega (?? – 2004[2])
Divisions:
Role(s): Composer, Voice Actress, Lyricist
Twitter: @tokioheidi

Tomoko Sasaki (佐々木 朋子, ササキ トモコ) is a Japanese musician and former Sega of Japan composer known for her numerous contributions to popular first-party games like Ristar and NiGHTS into Dreams. Alongside her soundtrack work, she created (and sometimes performed) many of the lyrics of the company's vocal at the turn of the century, and even provided voice acting talent for a number of characters in the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise. She is one of the original concept creators for Space Channel 5 and was the brains behind Roommania #203. For said game, she established the fictional artist Serani Poji, which soon became a real artist in its own right[6] and arguably outlived the game it was based on.

Sasaki is married to fellow Sega of Japan composer Naofumi Hataya[7]. She retired from Sega in 2004[2], but continued to work with the company regularly until about 2007. Since then she has only occasionally returned to collaborate with Hataya and director Takumi Yoshinaga[7] on Uta Kumi 575 and Space Channel 5 VR Kinda Funky News Flash!.

Tomoko is part of the duo Tokioheidi with her younger sister Wakaba Sasaki, an illustrator[8][2]. Tomoko is an artist in her own right, known for her "so bad it's good" art[9] in magazines and her Tokioheidi blog. She also created the official websites for Wave Master and Roommania #203[6].

Tomoko Sasaki is self-described as a shy[10], nervous person who struggles with conversation, but can seem very talkative when writing[11]. She has various hobbies, consuming magazines, movies, manga and music as well as shopping, but mostly experiences the shallow stuff[11].

Early life

Tomoko Sasaki was born in Aomori prefecture to a father who was an audiophile and a mother who was an English teacher[2]. In her youth, she aspired to become either an insect doctor[6] or a pianist[6][12]. In the latter's case, she began learning piano during elementary school, graduating from the electric organ that a friend of hers owned and she played on[12][2]. After discovering techno, she became absorbed in the "dark world of home recording"[6]. As she was barred from watching TV, her hobby was listening to Ryuichi Sakamoto's radio show Sound Street[12], and her earliest music credits, at 18 years old, are on the album Demo Tape 1, a collection of music submitted to said radio show, alongside another future Sega sound designer, Seirou Okamoto[13]. Eventually, largely because she didn't understand how many synthesizers like the VCF and VCO worked, she considered a more flashy world of music[14]

After entering university, Sasaki tried to start an all-female new wave punk band named Goruji-tai (ゴルジ隊, Goruji Squad)[6][14][12]. Goruji-tai saw some success in the wake of their original song "Ohimesama no Onara" (お姫様のおなら, The Princess' Fart), being accepted to play at a university festival[12]. This event was cancelled due to rain, but Sasaki was so passionate about it she scheduled a "revenge live" show[12].

She eventually would be discouraged from their stage performances and wasn't sure it was the right direction for her[6]. She then got hooked on folk music and wrote a research paper entitled Nakitaku naru Ongaku no Jouken (泣きたくなる音楽の条件, Music that brings you to tears), but it was not received well and she failed her graduation exam[14]. She missed out on a year of job hunting and was left behind by her friends as they all became employed before her[6].

Sasaki moved to Tokyo for work, but was insecure about her Aomori accent, so isolated herself for a month and recorded her voice on casette everyday, not talking to anyone until she could speak standard Japanese[12]. She applied for various music and publishing jobs, but eventually gave up and applied for public relations jobs at home appliance manufacturers[15]. She spent some time in poverty, living in the boarding house of a liquor store, her only comfort being video games[6]. She was then inspired, especially while playing the game EarthBound (Mother in Japan)[12], to pursue her passions and join Sega Enterprises as a video game composer[6].

Career

Early Sega career (1992~1996)

Tomoko Sasaki playing ukulele at Sega's new employee welcoming party in 1992

File:SSM JP 19970328 1997-09.pdf Although Tomoko Sasaki became a composer at Sega, she did not originally apply for this position. Instead, she applied to work in human resources, but the person in HR she met with noticed that her resume included "Hobby: Music", so suggested she submit a demo tape to apply for a sound job[15]. Sasaki officially joined in April 1992, and at the new new employee welcoming party, she was personally gifted a Mega-CD by then-president Hayao Nakayama[15].

Her first project was the Mega Drive game World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck[6]. She was nearly fired from it as her superior had added her to the project under the impression she would make orchestral music, but she made songs more in the style of country to go with the character Donald Duck, which the project manager was fortunately in favour of[16][17]. She also contributed to game Panic!, and later remixed some of its music for Radio DC.

At some point around 1993/1994, Tomoko Sasaki was assigned to work on Ristar, which, while not a massive success at the time, has since received a cult following and many re-releases[18][19]. Sasaki has called it a memorable project and her first as lead composer[19], though she worked closely with the game's planner Akira Nishino, who had a very particular vision for its sound effects[15], and she received some music/jingle contributions from her seniors Masafumi Ogata and Naofumi Hataya. Just a few months before Ristar released, Sasaki herself had done the same for the Hataya-led project Virtua Racing Deluxe. She has cited the stage 1 theme "Shooting Ristar" as an especially important song, because it is the first song she made which used drums[16]. Interestingly enough, the alias she was credited by for World of Illusion (Maguro, her favourite word as put in Harmony when she was a new Sega employee[20]) was used as a cheat code in Ristar that fully unlocked the game's sound test and added a filter (aka Onchi Mode) to the game's music.

Sasaki was then one of the 3 composers of NiGHTS Into Dreams, most notable for composing and writing the lyrics for its main theme, "Dreams Dreams"[21]. The game's musical received acclaim and its success led to her performing live with Kenji Eno at the Warp booth at Tokyo Big Sight in April 1997, alongside Naofumi Hatay] and Jun Senoue[22] Her voice can also be heard in the Sonic Team 1996 jingle created for the game, and she is the Japanese narrator for Christmas NiGHTS[23], in addition to her behind-the-scenes role in building the worldview of Christmas NiGHTS[24]. At one point, she was also the only composer penned to work on Christmas NiGHTS, before eventually asking Hataya to return[25]. She also established the NiGHTS Sound Box, a website dedicated to the game's sound team, with various musings and news articles written by Sasaki. She then became a monthly writer and illustrator for Sega Saturn Magazine in early 1997 with her series Tomoko Sasaki Presents: manamoon[3][26]. The name manamoon comes from a song she included in the album Olio, independently created by the Sega Sound Team, and this song would later be remixed for Roommania #203 in the Serani Poji album manamoon[26].

NiGHTS has had a lasting impact on Tomoko Sasaki since release. For most years after its release, lead game designer Takashi Iizuka, who also joined Sega in 1992, would send her New Year's cards saying "Let’s make a sequel this year"[15][27].

Career after NiGHTS (1997~2004)

Tomoko Sasaki recording vocals for the Burning Rangers song "I Just Smile".

Following the success of NiGHTS, Tomoko Sasaki's range of talents had grown to include the aforementioned voice-over work, illustration and web design. She sang the vocals for "I Just Smile" in Burning Rangers and wrote most of the game's Japanese lyrics with composer Naofumi Hataya[28]. She is also credited with discovering the song "Mexican Flyer" for Space Channel 5[7], used in the original presentation video[29][30] and eventually becoming the main theme of the Space Channel 5 series. One of her most well-known roles is that she provided the voice of the various Chao[31] types throughout the Sonic series which are still used today[32].

File:DCM JP 19990917 1999-28.pdf Her most notable project was Roommania #203, a game for which she created the original concept, worldview and much of its sound design, and even supervised merchandise production[6]. While working in the Digital Media Department, which specialised in sound creation for console games but also had a research & development subgroup, she and other members got the suggestion to create a game which had nothing to do with music. Many of them submitted rough ideas, hers being named XXX-san no Tsuitachi (○○○さんの一日, XXX's One Day), in which the player would follow a certain as-yet-unrevealed Digital Media employee around for a day. She was at the time obsessed with a website that promoted the childhood rooms of idols, so she was also researching different live cam sites[15]. This blossomed into the idea of keeping a camera trained on someone's room and imagining various strange things happening in it[15]. The game is loosely based on her own experiences as a lonely university student, such as being a country-raised person living in the big city[12]. She also named the main character Neji, meaning Screw, after the many screw factories near Sega headquarters[33]. While she was meant to also design the game, she had to take 6 months off of work due to illness, so by the time she returned for work, all the essential designs had already been completed by other members[10].

Serani Poji members Yumi Higashino and Tomoko Sasaki.

An aspect of the game which took on a life of its own was the fictional artist Serani Poji, which she created with vocalist Yukichi and producer Yukihiro Fukutomi, and following the album manamoon (released 3 months before the game itself), released 2 more albums, a EP and 2 remix albums by other artists[34]. It went through a couple member iterations, replacing Yuki with Yumi Higashino, with Sasaki herself taking on vocal duty for the 2010 comeback album Merry Go Round Jailhouse[35]; Fukutomi was succeeded by arranger Masayuki Kumahara with the EP bomber minmi[36][37] and arrangement duties gradually went to Sega's own Naofumi Hataya, Tomoya Ohtani and Yutaka Minobe.

With Digital Media expanding into a Sega subsidiary in 2000, as well as changing its name to Wave Master, its policy changed to also provide audio production services to third-party companies, rather than just Sega. One of the earliest of these projects they worked on was Super Galdelic Hour, for which Tomoko Sasaki was sound director, lead composer and sound designer[6][38]. She was also music producer alongside Masanori Ikeda from Mansfield[31][38]. Some of the music would be used on Wave Master's internet radio show Radio DC (based on the earlier album of the same name), and be adapted on Serani Poji's albums one-room survival and Ocharmekan. As for the aforementioned Radio DC, Sasaki frequently hosted episodes of the program, including the eventual Monthly Tomokosan (月いちトモコサン) series[39].

For the sequel to Roommania #203, New Roommania: Porori Seishun, Sasaki designed over half of the game's scenarios and was involved with all aspects besides programming and art[10], and also invited many of her family to play roles in development: her younger sister designed the game's website, her younger brother helped with filming and photographing Serani Live, and her mother voiced Nejihaha. Mother also created the Ponchakku doll, which is voiced by Tomoko[40][10].

Post-Sega (2004~present)

Tomoko Sasaki and a Morolian.

After briefly moving from Wave Master to Sega Creative Center in 2004[5], Tomoko Sasaki retired from Sega, likely making Feel the Magic: XY/XX (a DS game she created jingles for and sang in the ending theme) her last work as an employee. However, she still regularly collaborated with Sega, most famously providing narration for Akadoko & Kimishine♥Ai no Densetsu CD♥ and being the lead music composer for NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams, until 2007, with the Wave Master releases of Crossword Tengoku -Kuroten no Uta- Sasaki Tomoko to Makijita Ikka and Porori Seishun Meikyoku Album Zouryouban, an extended reprint of the New Roommania: Porori Seishun soundtrack[41].

In 2000[42], Tomoko Sasaki and her sister Wakaba established the private group Tokioheidi[6]. Wakaba Sasaki is the group's illustrator, while Tomoko writes their music and scripts.[8][2] Tomoko gradually became more involved with and public about this project, with many of her works being listed under Others in her Wave Master work history[6]. After leaving Sega, she was sometimes credited as part of Tokioheidi/Tokio Heidi even in her solo outings[43][44].

Tokioheidi have run a YouTube channel aimed at children since at least 2011[45]. An English channel named TOKIOHEIDI KIDS uploaded videos between 2016 and 2019, beginning with Brush Your Teeth Song, the group's most popular song in both languages (as of December 2023 the English version has 2.3 million views[46] and the Japanese original has 99 million[47]) that's also been sold as a DVD[8]. The group's work can mostly be grouped into corporate promotional music videos (including at least 4 promoting Meiji Saite Oishii Mozzarella Cheese), PR/migration videos for towns and cities, and seveeral picture books[8][48].

In terms of video games, Sasaki has contributed to titles such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the Xbox 360 version of DeathSmiles II X[49]. Some of her most notable works, according to Tokioheidi[48], are co-writing a character song for Okaasan To Issho Tomodachi 8 Nin with her mother[50], writing several songs for the BEMANI project HinaBitter♪[51][52] and writing several songs for THE iDOLM@STER franchise[53][54][55], a feat she shares with former Sega/Wave Master composer Yutaka Minobe.

As for contributions to Sega games, Sasaki has only occasionally made reappearances since 2007 and only returned to work with previous Space Channel 5 director Takumi Yoshinaga, with her husband Naofumi Hataya acting as liaison[7]. Uta Kumi 575 is one example of this, for which she wrote song lyrics[56]. She is also the current Japanese voice actress of the Morolians from the Space Channel 5 series, starting with Space Channel 5 VR Kinda Funky News Flash![57][58].

Production history

Games

Videos

Music

Discography

Song credits

Main article: Tomoko Sasaki/Song credits.

Virtua Racing Deluxe

  • Time Attack — Music & Arrangement
  • Fastest Lap — Music & Arrangement
  • Laps 1 — Music & Arrangement

Ristar (Mega Drive Version)

  • Sega Theme — Music & Arrangement
  • Ebony Force (Opening Theme 1) — Music & Arrangement
  • Pray!!Pray!!Play!! (Opening Theme 2) — Music & Arrangement
  • Shooting Ristar (Round 1-1) — Music & Arrangement
  • Formation Lap ~ Ready..Go!! !! (Bonus Stage) — Music & Arrangement
  • Dancing Leaves (Round 1-2) — Music & Arrangement
  • Concentration (Battle Entry, Round 7) — Music & Arrangement
  • Crazy Kings (Boss) — Music & Arrangement
  • Beyond Space (Round Clear 2) — Music & Arrangement
  • Splash Down!! (Round 2-1) — Music & Arrangement
  • Break Silence (Round 2-2) — Music & Arrangement
  • Busy Flare (Round 3-1) — Music & Arrangement
  • Under Magma (Round 3-2) — Music & Arrangement
  • Intension ~ Boss Jingle (Round 4-1 Pre-Song) — Music & Arrangement
  • Du-Di-Da!! (Round 4-1 Boss) — Music & Arrangement
  • On Parade (Round 4-2) — Music & Arrangement
  • Crazy Kings [Onchi Ver.] (Round 4-2 Boss) — Music & Arrangement
  • Ring Rink (Round 5-1) — Music & Arrangement
  • Ice Scream (Round 5-2) — Music & Arrangement
  • Lock Up!! (Round 6-2) — Music & Arrangement
  • Once More.. (Continue) — Music & Arrangement
  • Greedy Game (Final Boss) — Music & Arrangement
  • Star Humming (Ending 1) — Music & Arrangement
  • Next Cruise (Ending 2) — Music & Arrangement

NiGHTS into Dreams

  • Dreams Dreams — Words & Music
  • <Jingle> Sonic Team 1996 — Voice
  • Fragmented Nights — Music & Arrangement
  • <Event> Dreaming Youngsters : Claris Ver. — Music & Arrangement
  • Gate of Your Dream — Music & Arrangement
  • Paternal Horn — Music
  • Paternal Horn : Sweet Ver. — Music
  • Paternal Horn : Bitter Ver. — Music
  • Paternal Horn : Spicy Ver. — Music & Arrangement
  • <Jingle> Acrobat Time — Music
  • After the Dream — Music
  • The Amazing Water : Sweet Ver. — Arrangement
  • <Jingle> Pia Over — Music
  • She Had Long Ears — Music & Arrangement
  • <Jingle> Mare Over — Music
  • Gloom of the N.H.C. — Music & Arrangement
  • Gloom of the N.H.C. : Sweet Ver. — Music & Arrangement
  • Gloom of the N.H.C. : Bitter Ver. — Music
  • Gloom of the N.H.C. : Spicy Ver. — Music
  • Message from Nightopia — Music
  • Take the Snow Train : Sweet Ver. — Arrangement
  • E-LE-KI Sparkle — Music & Arrangement
  • Dreams Dreams : In Silent Memory — Music
  • NiGHTS — Music
  • Suburban Museum — Music & Arrangement
  • Suburban Museum : Sweet Ver. — Music & Arrangement
  • Suburban Museum : Bitter Ver. — Music
  • Suburban Museum : Spicy Ver. — Music
  • The Mantle — Music & Arrangement
  • Under Construction : Sweet Ver. — Arrangement
  • Growing Wings — Music & Arrangement
  • D'Force Master — Music & Arrangement
  • Peaceful Moment — Music
  • <Event> On to the Audition — Music & Arrangement
  • <Event> NiGHTS, Forever in Our Heart — Music & Arrangement
  • Sowing Seeds — Music & Arrangement
  • Dreams Dreams : Kids Ver. — Words & Music
  • Fragmented Nights : Epilogue Ver. — Music
  • Know Thyself! — Music

Christmas NiGHTS

  • Dream Bells — Arrangement
  • <Event> Twinkle Star — Music & Arrangement
  • Dreams Dreams : A-Cappella Ver. — Original Music
  • Winter Sleep — Music & Arrangement
  • Jack Frost's Chime — Music & Arrangement
  • Jack Frost's Chime : Sweet Ver. — Music & Arrangement
  • Jack Frost's Chime : Bitter Ver. — Music
  • Jack Frost's Chime : Spicy Ver. — Music
  • New Year's "9th" — Music (with Ludwig van Beethoven)
  • Dreams Dreams : Sweet Mix in Holy Night — Music
  • Dreams Dreams : Nightopian Ver. — Music

Burning Rangers (Japanese edition)

  • Burning Hearts ~Burning Angel~ — Words (with Naofumi Hataya)
  • I Just Smile — Words, Lead Vocal

Radio DC

Roommania #203

  • Spiral da-hi! — Co-produced by
  • Futa Go no Koi — Written & co-produced by
  • Moji Moji — Written & co-produced by
  • manamoon — Written & co-produced by
  • 128-Go no Nazo — Written by (with Yukihiro Fukutomi), co-produced by
  • Octopus Daughter — Written & co-produced by
  • Uchusen wa Doko e Itta? — Written & co-produced by
  • 15-Byo — Written by (with Yukihiro Fukutomi), co-produced by
  • Boku no Mashu... — Written & co-produced by
  • Yuki no Deru Uta — Written & co-produced by

Samba de Amigo Ver. 2000

  • Vamos a Carnaval — Lyrics

Space Channel 5 Part 2

  • This is my happiness — Words

Feel the Magic XY/XX

  • Kimi Shine Jingle 1 — Music & Arrangement
  • Kimi Shine Jingle 2 — Music & Arrangement
  • Kimi Shine Jingle 3 — Music & Arrangement

The Rub Rabbits!

  • Akadoko Jingle 1 — Music & Arrangement
  • Akadoko Jingle 2 — Music & Arrangement

NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams

  • NiGHTS : Journey of Dreams — Original Music
  • <Event> Solitude — Music & Arrangement
  • Eloquent Echo — Music
  • Eloquent Echo : Fluffy Catch — Music
  • Eloquent Echo : River Rescue — Music
  • Wandering Wildness — Music
  • Wandering Wildness : Bomb Panic — Music, Arrangement (with Naofumi Hataya)
  • Wandering Wildness : Coaster Rescue — Music
  • Electrical Entertainment — Music
  • Electrical Entertainment : Neon City Battle — Music
  • Electrical Entertainment : Broadway Guide — Music
  • Growing Wings — Original Music
  • Persona Non Grata — Original Music
  • D'Force Master — Original Music
  • <Event> Win a Goal — Music
  • Dreams Dreams : Will Ver. — Original Music & Arrangement
  • Dreams Dreams : Adult Ver. — Music & Arrangement
  • <Event> Conscience — Music & Arrangement
  • Crystal Choir — Music
  • Crystal Choir : Labyrinth Guide — Music & Arrangement
  • Crystal Choir : Jewel Fever — Music, Arrangement (with Naofumi Hataya)
  • Merry Memory Go Round — Music
  • Merry Memory Go Round : Forest Adventure — Music
  • Dreams Dreams : Sky Concert — Original Music
  • Cruising Together — Original Music, Arrangement (with Naofumi Hataya)
  • Sonatinas for Two Violins — Music
  • <Event> Applause — Music & Arrangement
  • Dreams Dreams : Helen Ver. — Music & Arrangement
  • <Event> On the Way Back — Music & Arrangement
  • Memento of NiGHTS — Music & Arrangement
  • Dreams Dreams : Sweet Snow — Original Music, Re-Arrangement (with Naofumi Hataya)
  • Dreams Dreams : Kids Ver. — Original Music
  • NiGHTS : Journey of Dreams (Short Ver.) — Original Music
  • Gate of Your Dream — Original Music & Arrangement
  • When the Night Falls — Music & Arrangement
  • Al-Di-La : Lavender Ver. — Music & Arrangement
  • Al-Di-La : Sandal Wood Ver. — Music
  • <Event> Twist of Fate — Music & Arrangement
  • Al-Di-La : Peppermint Ver. — Music
  • Al-Di-La : Bergamot Ver. — Music
  • Precious Orgel — Music & Arrangement
  • <Event> Sentimental Separation — Music & Arrangement

Super Smash Bros. Brawl

  • Ashley's Song — Arrangement
  • Ashley's Song (JP) — Arrangement, Vocals (with The Small Circle of Friends)
  • 2:00 a.m. — Arrangement

Merry Go Round Jailhouse

  • Dear Heroes — Vocals
  • Robo no Shiawase — Vocals [NOTE: Also known as "The Robot's Happiness"]
  • Warau kaeru — Vocals [NOTE: Also known as "Laughing Frog"]

Magazine articles

Main article: Tomoko Sasaki/Magazine articles.

Interviews

Some or all of the following content should be mirrored on Sega Retro (or Retro CDN).

Photographs

Main article: Photos of Tomoko Sasaki

External links

References

  1. https://nights.sega.jp/nights1/snd/nsnd/box/_.html
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 https://note.com/beep21/n/n78a2156af1b8
  3. 3.0 3.1 Sega Saturn Magazine, "1997-09 (1997-03-28)" (JP; 1997-03-14), page 89
  4. Sega Saturn Magazine, "1997-13 (1997-04-25)" (JP; 1997-04-11), page 75
  5. 5.0 5.1 https://www.sega.jp/fb/segavoice/041125/01_2.html (Wayback Machine: 2023-09-22 11:00)
  6. 6.00 6.01 6.02 6.03 6.04 6.05 6.06 6.07 6.08 6.09 6.10 6.11 6.12 6.13 6.14 htt (Wayback Machine: 2004-07-23 01:51)
  7. 7.0 7.1 7.2 7.3 File:SC520AGGS CD JP card4.pdf
  8. 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 http://tokioheidi.com/about (Wayback Machine: 2017-04-20 08:05)
  9. https://w.atwiki.jp/gamemusicbest100/pages/318.html (Wayback Machine: 2023-05-05 23:33)
  10. 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 http://dengekionline.com/soft/recommend/roomania/index.html (Wayback Machine: 2016-08-04 09:05)
  11. 11.0 11.1 http://tokioheidi.com/profile.html (Wayback Machine: 2003-08-01 12:10)
  12. 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 12.4 12.5 12.6 12.7 12.8 http://sega.jp/community/creators/vol_12/1.html (Wayback Machine: 2005-11-04 15:50)
  13. https://vgmdb.net/album/102991
  14. 14.0 14.1 14.2 htt (Wayback Machine: 2001-01-27 00:01)
  15. 15.0 15.1 15.2 15.3 15.4 15.5 15.6 http://sega.jp/community/creators/vol_12/2.html (Wayback Machine: 2005-02-08 04:05)
  16. 16.0 16.1 http://www.wave-master.com/promo/sega/segakon1.html (Wayback Machine: 2002-06-15 21:42)
  17. World of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck/Production credits
  18. https://vgmdb.net/album/73385
  19. 19.0 19.1 File:MDLAH CD JP Booklet.pdf, page 9
  20. @tokioheidi on Twitter (Wayback Machine: 2022-05-23 00:36)
  21. Sega Saturn Magazine, "1996-14 (1996-08-23)" (JP; 1996-08-09), page 62
  22. http://nights.sega.jp/nights1/snd/nsnd/cesa.html (Wayback Machine: 2007-12-29 07:22)
  23. http://nights.sega.jp/nights1/snd/nsnd/box/voibox/fvoi.html (Wayback Machine: 2012-12-22 16:38)
  24. Sega Saturn Magazine, "1996-20 (1996-11-22)" (JP; 1996-11-08), page 42
  25. Sega Saturn Magazine, "1996-20 (1996-11-22)" (JP; 1996-11-08), page 43
  26. 26.0 26.1 Dreamcast Magazine, "1999-28 (1999-09-17)" (JP; 1999-09-03), page 69
  27. http://www.originalsoundversion.com/a-blast-from-the-past-tomoko-sasaki-and-naofumi-hataya-nights-interview/ (Wayback Machine: 2011-01-05 10:47)
  28. Sega Saturn Magazine, "1998-02 (1998-01-09,16)" (JP; 1997-12-26), page 49
  29. @Space_Channel5 on Twitter (archive.today)
  30. @Space_Channel5 on Twitter (archive.today)
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  32. http://sasakitomoko.jp/profile/
  33. Dreamcast Magazine, "1999-28 (1999-09-17)" (JP; 1999-09-03), page 68
  34. https://vgmdb.net/artist/58116
  35. https://vgmdb.net/album/122454
  36. https://vgmdb.net/album/122452
  37. https://www.discogs.com/release/20173666-Serani-Poji-Bomber-Minmi
  38. 38.0 38.1 https://vgmdb.net/release/13169
  39. http://www.wave-master.com:80/rdc/back.html (Wayback Machine: 2004-10-10 13:39)
  40. http://sega.jp/community/creators/vol_12/4.html (Wayback Machine: 2005-02-08 05:14)
  41. htt (Wayback Machine: 2008-05-24 08:50)
  42. http://www.tokioheidi.com/ (Wayback Machine: 2001-03-01 23:50)
  43. https://vgmdb.net/album/125335
  44. NiGHTS: Journey of Dreams/Production credits
  45. [ ]
  46. https://www.youtube.com/@TOKIOHEIDIKIDS/videos
  47. https://www.youtube.com/@tokioheidijapan/videos
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  49. http://www.originalsoundversion.com/matron-maestras-tomoko-sasaki-spotlight/ (Wayback Machine: 2014-12-09 18:05)
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  51. http://sasakitomoko.jp/2017/02/%E3%81%B2%E3%81%AA%E3%83%93%E3%82%BF%E2%99%AA%E4%BB%8A%E5%A4%9C%E3%81%AF%E3%83%91%E3%82%B8%E3%83%A3%E3%83%9E%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3/ (Wayback Machine: 2017-08-18 02:45)
  52. http://sasakitomoko.jp/2014/03/post_563/ (Wayback Machine: 2016-05-19 12:30)
  53. http://sasakitomoko.jp/2018/03/%E3%83%95%E3%83%AC%E3%83%87%E3%83%AA%E3%82%AB%E3%80%81%E7%8C%AB%E3%82%84%E3%82%81%E3%82%8B%E3%82%88/ (Wayback Machine: 2018-03-14 17:29)
  54. http://sasakitomoko.jp/2017/04/%E3%82%AD%E3%83%A9%E3%83%83%EF%BC%81%E6%BA%80%E9%96%8B%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9E%E3%82%A4%E3%83%AB/ (Wayback Machine: 2017-04-05 10:05)
  55. https://sc5-vr.com/news/432/
  56. https://vgmdb.net/album/105812
  57. https://sc5-vr.com/news/432/ (Wayback Machine: 2020-02-23 03:47)
  58. @tokioheidi on Twitter (Wayback Machine: 2019-11-21 01:49)
  59. File:World of Illusion MD credits.pdf
  60. File:Switch MCD credits.pdf
  61. File:Panic MCD credits.pdf
  62. File:Sonic CD MCD JP credits.pdf
  63. File:Sonic Triple Trouble GG credits.pdf
  64. File:Virtua Racing 32X credits.pdf
  65. File:Ristar MD credits.pdf
  66. 66.0 66.1 File:NiGHTS into Dreams Saturn credits.pdf
  67. File:SADLCOST CD JP booklet1.pdf, page 2
  68. 68.0 68.1 File:SC5OST CD JP card4.pdf, page 2
  69. File:MDSA2OST poster1.pdf, page 1
  70. File:SA2OST CD US booklet.pdf, page 10
  71. File:SC5P2MMCRS CD JP card4.pdf, page 2
  72. 72.0 72.1 File:RadioDCNo3 CD JP Box.jpg
  73. File:VBoS CD US back.jpg
  74. File:Sega01 book.pdf
  75. File:MDLAH Music JP inlay front.png
  76. 76.0 76.1 File:SC520AGGS CD JP card6.pdf, page 2
  77. 77.0 77.1 77.2 http://sasakitomoko.jp/0000/12/disco_000/