Falcom Sound Team JDK: The Masters of Video Game Music

Falcom Sound Team JDK is a Japanese video game music production company founded in 1984 by Masayuki Kato and Atsushi Shirakawa. Over the years, Falcom Sound Team JDK has become renowned for their exceptional compositions and arrangements in video game music, especially for their work on the popular role-playing game (RPG) series, Ys.

Early Years

The Falcom Sound Team JDK was established in 1984 as a subsidiary of Nihon Falcom Corporation, a video game developer and publisher. Masayuki Kato and Atsushi Shirakawa were the founding members of the team, with Kato serving as the lead composer and Shirakawa as the sound programmer.

One of their earliest works was the soundtrack for the first game in the Ys series, released in 1987. The soundtrack featured a unique blend of rock and classical music, which would become a signature style for the team.

Key Moments in Career

Over the years, the Falcom Sound Team JDK has composed music for many of Nihon Falcom's popular games, including the Ys and The Legend of Heroes series. In 1991, they released their first album, "Ys IV JDK Special," which featured arrangements of music from Ys IV: The Dawn of Ys.

One of the key moments in the team's career was the release of the soundtrack for Ys III: Wanderers from Ys in 1992. The soundtrack was a departure from the team's usual rock/classical style, instead featuring a more atmospheric, Eastern-inspired sound. The soundtrack was highly praised by critics and is still considered one of the best video game soundtracks of all time.

In 2005, the team composed the soundtrack for The Legend of Heroes VI: Sora no Kiseki, which was the first game in the series to feature fully voiced dialogue. The soundtrack was notable for its use of orchestral arrangements and featured a large number of vocal tracks, which was a departure from the team's usual instrumental music.

Most Famous Works

The Falcom Sound Team JDK is perhaps best known for their work on the Ys series. The soundtrack for Ys III: Wanderers from Ys is often cited as one of the team's greatest works, with its atmospheric and Eastern-inspired sound.

Other notable soundtracks include the music for The Legend of Heroes series, particularly The Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky, which featured a mix of rock, orchestral, and folk music. The team also composed the soundtrack for Brandish, a dungeon-crawler game released in 1991, which featured a dark and moody soundtrack.

Contributions

The Falcom Sound Team JDK has made numerous contributions to the video game music industry. Their unique blend of rock and classical music, as well as their use of atmospheric and Eastern-inspired soundscapes, has influenced many other video game composers.

Their work on the Ys series in particular has been highly influential, with many composers citing the series as an inspiration for their own work. The team's use of vocal tracks in The Legend of Heroes VI: Sora no Kiseki was also groundbreaking, and has since become a common feature in video game music.

Conclusion

The Falcom Sound Team JDK is a legendary video game music production company that has made numerous contributions to the industry over the years. Their unique blend of rock, classical, and Eastern-inspired music, as well as their use of vocal tracks, has influenced many other video game composers and has set a high standard for video game music production.

Their work on the Ys and The Legend of Heroes series, as well as other games such as Brandish, has left a lasting impact on the video game