Episode Details

This week, we discuss Masayoshi Sokens history within Square Enix. Enjoy!

Spotlight: Masayoshi Soken

By Joseph DeGolyer

Look, it's hard to follow up after a huge success.

To every first generation of Saturday night live hosts, there's always a second generation.

Like Irvine Kershner after George Lucas.

Like Jason Newsted after Cliff Burton.

Like Andrew Johnson after Abraham Lincoln.

Like Commodus after Marcus Aurelius.

Some, like Kershner, rise to meet the challenge. Others, like Andrew Johnson, do so terribly their effects sour generations. Even more are just forgotten with time.

For Example,

Can you name the musical composer for Final Fantasy 12?

How about 13?

For most of us, these names probably don't pop so easily into our heads… (They are Hitoshi Sakimoto, Hayato Matsuo, Masaharu Iwata for FF12 and Masashi Hamauzu for 13 By the way---and yes, I did have to look those up.)

How can you possibly follow a legend like Nobuo Uematsu? With 12 main series Final Fantasy games composed primarily by him.

With pieces like "theme of Love" from FF4 being taught to schoolchildren in Japan, and having the second-highest selling video game single ever (Eyes on Me, yes I still hate it, although I won't deny the accomplishment), how can someone possibly fill his shoes.

You've heard the rumors… Is the next Uematsu here?

HAS THE CHOSEN ONE ARRIVED?

On that, who knows?

But let's talk about him anyway.

This is our special Spotlight on Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn composer, Masayoshi Soken!!!

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Masayoshi Soken was born on January 10th, 1975 in La Paz Mexico. His father was a Trumpet Player in the NHK Symphony Orchestra for many years, as well as a professor at the Okinawa Prefectural University of Art.

Why was his pregnant mother in mexico at the time of Soken's birth?

Who knows!

Because he went straight from Mexico to Tokyo, Japan.

There he grew to love music, learn piano, learn the guitar, and get into the Tokyo University of Science.

Now I've desperately been searching for what he got his degree in at University… There are departments there in Science, engineering, innovation studies, chemical sciences, pharmaceutical sciences, management, fire science, math, technology, and biology….

Basically, no music or sound design school.

Students are required to take some liberal arts stuff, according to the university's website.

I figured, for fun, I'll list off their principles on liberal arts-supplemented education:

"Leaders in science and technology are required to remain motivated to tackle, in cooperation with like minded people from different fields, cross-sectional and complex issues that transcend the borders of specialties, while maintaining a foothold in science and technology. We believe that cultivating such ability and supporting outstanding specialized skills are the role of liberal arts education.

For this purpose, organizing a curriculum for liberal arts education should aim to cultivate the following types of ability.

• Ability to adopt a bird's-eye perspective of nature, people, and society
• Ability to think logically and critically
• Communication skills
• Internationalism (ability to understand different cultures, languages, ethnic groups, and international issues)
• Self-management ability"

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