is a

video game composer Video game music (VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to the s ...

and

voice actor Voice acting is the art of Acting, performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animation, animated, ...

. His most notable works are his soundtracks for

Nippon Ichi Software is a Video gaming in Japan, Japanese video game developer and video game publisher, publisher. The company was founded in 1991 and has developed several role-playing video games, most notably the ''Disgaea'' and ''Marl Kingdom'' series. Its mas ...

games, such as ''

Disgaea is a video game series, series of tactical role-playing game, tactical role-playing video games created and developed by Nippon Ichi. The series debuted in Japan on January 30, 2003 in video gaming, 2003, with ''Disgaea: Hour of Darkness'', later ...

'' and ''

Phantom Brave is a tactical role-playing game for the PlayStation 2 video game console, developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software. It was released on January 22, 2004 in Japan, on August 31, 2004 in North America and on February 4, 2005 in Europe. The No ...

''. He also provides voice-over for games and movies.

Biography

Sato was born in 1967 in Kawagoe,

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

and grew up in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

. He began playing piano at the age of six, and made his first composition, a piece for guitar, at the age of twelve. His first job was at

Telenet Japan was a Japanese Video game developer, video game and software developer founded in October 1983 by Kazuyuki Fukushima. The company had several video game divisions including: Wolf Team, Laser Soft, Renovation Game (Japanese publishing division), ...

, where he composed the score for the

action role-playing game An action role-playing game (often abbreviated action RPG or ARPG) is a video game genre that combines core elements from both the action game and Role-playing video game, role-playing game genres. Definition Action role-playing games empha ...

'' XZR'' and popular

side-scroller A side-scrolling video game (alternatively side-scroller) is a video game viewed from a side-view camera angle where the screen follows the player as they move left or right. The jump from single-screen or flip-screen graphics to scrolling graph ...

Valis II is a 1989 Action game, action-Platform game, platform video game originally developed by Telenet Japan, Laser Soft, published by Telenet Japan and NEC for the TurboGrafx-16#TurboGrafx-CD/CD-ROM², PC Engine CD-ROM²/TurboGrafx-CD. A home compute ...

''. After leaving Telenet, he joined Glodia, and together with Nobuhito Koise, composed the soundtrack to the

cult classic A cult following is a group of Fan (person), fans who are highly dedicated to a person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some List of art media, medium. The latter is often cal ...

Emerald Dragon is a role-playing video game developed by Glodia that was released for multiple platforms in Japan. It was released for NEC Corporation's PC-8800 Series, PC-8801 and PC-9800 Series, PC-9801 home computers on December 22, 1989, followed by conv ...

''. Later he would compose both ''Vain Dream'' with Abreath Nakamura and ''Bible Master II''. After leaving Glodia, he joined Birdy Soft, and produced soundtracks for four of their games. He has since spent much of his career working with

, which is where his music has gained its greatest recognition. Games he has composed for include the ''Rhapsody'' series, '' Disgaea: Hour of Darkness'', '' La Pucelle: Tactics'', and ''

''. A Nippon Ichi concert by the G-Dream 21 Ladies Orchestra was held on June 23 2024 in

Ginza Ginza ( ; ) is a district of Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo, located south of Yaesu and Kyōbashi, Tokyo, Kyōbashi, west of Tsukiji, east of Yūrakuchō and Uchisaiwaichō, and north of Shinbashi. It is a popular upscale shopping area of Tokyo ...

, Tokyo. Sato composed the orchestral arrangements of his work and attended as a special guest. In an interview, he commented that he was most looking forward to the orchestral arrangements of "Determination of a Little Princess" from the 1999 '' Rhapsody II'', a fan favorite track, and "Kill Real" from the 2015 ''

Disgaea 5 is a 2015 tactical role-playing video game developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software, and part of the ''Disgaea'' series. It was initially released for PlayStation 4 in Japan in March 2015, and by NIS America in North America and Europe in ...

'', which required major revisions to make a chaotic vocal song work for an orchestra.

Musical style and influence

Sato cites

Queen Queen most commonly refers to: * Queen regnant, a female monarch of a kingdom * Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king * Queen (band), a British rock band Queen or QUEEN may also refer to: Monarchy * Queen dowager, the widow of a king * Q ...

Claude Debussy Achille Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most influe ...

Ryuichi Sakamoto was a Music of Japan, Japanese musician, composer, keyboardist, record producer, singer and actor. He pursued a diverse range of styles as a solo artist and as a member of the Synthesizer, synth-based band Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). With his ...

, and

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

as major musical influences.

Works

*''XZR: Hakai no Gūzō'' (1988) - with Shinobu Ogawa and Yujiroh * ''XZR II: Kanketsuhen'' (''Exile'') (1988) - with Shinobu Ogawa *''Cyber City'' (1989) - with Shinobu Ogawa *''

'' (1989) - with Shinobu Ogawa, Masahiro Kajiwara, and Jizou Kurabo *''

'' (1989) - with Nobuhito Koise *''Vain Dream'' (1991) - with Nobuhito Koise and Ikki Nakamura *''Alshark'' (1991) *''Cal'' (1991) *''Beast'' (1991) *''Cal II'' (1991) *'' Task Force Harrier EX'' (1991) *''Joker 2'' (1992) *''Beast 2'' (1992) *''

Imperium In ancient Rome, ''imperium'' was a form of authority held by a citizen to control a military or governmental entity. It is distinct from '' auctoritas'' and '' potestas'', different and generally inferior types of power in the Roman Republic a ...

'' (1992) - with Tatsuya Sato and Hiroki Uematsu *''Beast 3'' (1993) *''Red: The Adventurous Sequence'' (1993) *''Alvaleak Continent'' (1993) - with Nobuhito Koise *'' Alien vs. Predator'' (1993) - with

Hisayoshi Ogura is a former member of Taito Corporation's "house band" Zuntata. He is best known for his musical compositions in the ''Darius'' arcade series. His musical style is often experimental electronica. However, in '' Zoids Infinity Ex'' he focused on m ...

*'' Shinseiki Odysselya'' (1993) - with Hisayoshi Ogura *''Bible Master II: The Chaos of Aglia'' (1994) *''Etemiburu: Tenjoumukyuu'' (1994) *''Magna Braban: Henreki no Yusha'' (1994) - with Tatsuya Sato *''Alshark (Sega CD)'' (1994) *''Super Street Basketball 2'' (1994) *'' Philip & Marlowe in Bloomland'' (1994) *''Eko Eko Azaraku: Wizard of Darkness'' (1995) *''Hard Blow'' (1997) *''Cocktail Harmony'' (1998) *'' Rhapsody: A Musical Adventure'' (1998) *''Combat Choro Q'' (1999) *'' Rhapsody II: Ballad of the Little Princess'' (1999) *''Magnetic Power Microman: Generation 2000'' (1999) *'' Brigandine: Grand Edition'' (2000) *'' Real Pool'' (2000) *''Play It Pinball'' (2000) *'' Rhapsody III: Memories of Marl Kingdom'' (2000) *'' Gadget Racers'' (2000) *'' Marl de Jigsaw'' (2001) *'' La Pucelle: Tactics'' (2002) *'' Marl Jong!!'' (2003) *'' Disgaea: Hour of Darkness'' (2003) *''The Conveni 3'' (2003) *''Baskelian'' (2003) *''

'' (2004) *''Gunslinger Girl Vol. 1'' (2004) *''Gunslinger Girl Vol. 2'' (2004) *''Gunslinger Girl Vol. 3'' (2004) *'' Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories'' (2006) *''Numpla & Oekaki Puzzle'' (2006) *''

Soul Nomad & the World Eaters ''Soul Nomad & the World Eaters'' is a strategy role-playing game (SRPG), developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software. The game was initially released for PlayStation 2 on February 15, 2007 in Japan, September 25 in North America, and June 2 ...

'' (2007) *'' Prinny: Can I Really Be the Hero?'' (2008) *'' Disgaea 3: Absence of Justice'' (2008) *'' Disgaea Infinite'' (2009) *'' Prinny 2: Dawn of Operation Panties, Dood!'' (2010) *'' Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten'' (2011) *''

Mugen Souls is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by Compile Heart with collaboration from GCREST and published in North America and the PAL regions by NIS America. Certain aspects of the original Western release were edited and some mini-games w ...

'' (2012) *'' Disgaea D2: A Brighter Darkness'' (2013) *''

Mugen Souls Z is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by Compile Heart with collaboration from GCREST and published in North America and the PAL regions by NIS America. Certain aspects of the original Western release were edited and some mini-games w ...

'' (2013) *''

The Witch and The Hundred Knight is a 2013 action role-playing video game developed and published by Nippon Ichi Software for the PlayStation 3. An enhanced port for the PlayStation 4, ''The Witch and the Hundred Knight: Revival Edition'', was released in 2015. The game's st ...

'' (2013) *'' Disgaea 5: Alliance of Vengeance'' (2015) *'' Trillion: God of Destruction'' (2015) *'' MeiQ: Labyrinth of Death'' (2015) *'' Labyrinth of Refrain: Coven of Dusk'' (2016) *'' Brigandine: The Legend of Runersia'' (2020) *'' Disgaea 6: Defiance of Destiny'' (2021)

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sato, Tenpei 1967 births Composers from Tokyo Japanese male composers Japanese male voice actors Japanese video game composers Living people