Junichi Masuda
増田順一
Masuda in 2011
Born	(1968-01-12) January 12, 1968 (age 57) Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
Alma mater	Japan Electronics College
Occupations	Composer director designer producer programmer
Years active	1989–present
Employers	Game Freak (1989–2022) The Pokémon Company (2022–present)
Musical career
Genres	Video game music
Instrument(s)	Piano, trombone
Musical artist

Junichi Masuda (増田順一, Masuda Jun'ichi, born January 12, 1968) is a Japanese video game composer, director, designer, producer, singer, programmer and trombonist, best known for his work in the Pokémon franchise. He was a member of Game Freak where he was an employee and executive at the company since 1989 when he founded it alongside Satoshi Tajiri and Ken Sugimori.^[1]^[2] In 2022, Masuda was appointed to be Chief Creative Fellow at The Pokémon Company.

With the development of new Pokémon games, Masuda took new roles in future projects. He began to produce and direct games, starting with Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, and became responsible for approving new character models. His style seeks to keep games accessible while still adding increasing levels of complexity. His work sticks to older mainstays of the series, including a focus on handheld game consoles and 2D graphics. His music draws inspiration from the work of celebrated modern composers like Dmitri Shostakovich, though he used the Super Mario series as a model of good video game composition.

Life

[edit]

Masuda was born on January 12, 1968, in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan.^[3] As a child, his family often vacationed in Kyūshū, where he spent his time catching fish and insects. Masuda was inspired by his time there to base the Pokémon series's Hoenn Region after it.^[4] In high school, Masuda played the trombone; he soon discovered classical music, and was drawn in by works like Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring and Shostakovich's Symphony No. 5.^[5]

Masuda attended the Japan Electronics College, a technical school in Shinjuku, Tokyo, where he studied computer graphics and the C programming language using a DEC Professional.^[6]^[7] His daughter Kiri was born in September 2002; he named a character in Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire after her.^[8]

Career

[edit]

Victory! Wild Pokémon

One of Pokémon songs by Masuda

Problems playing this file? See media help.

Masuda has worked at Game Freak since the company's inception in 1989,^[9]^[10] and has been involved in nearly every title that Game Freak has produced.^[10] Masuda was one of the original developers of the Pokémon series, beginning with Pokémon Red and Green.^[11] He was first hired to compose video game music, where his first game at Game Freak was Mendel Palace, a 1989 puzzle game for the Nintendo Entertainment System.^[12] After Mendel Palace, he worked on Yoshi, the company's first collaboration with Nintendo.^[12]

When the company first began releasing Pokémon titles, Masuda worked mainly as the composer, though he did minor programming work as well, and later began directing and producing them.^[12] His work on the first games included writing the program to play audio in the games, music, and sound effects.^[13] Masuda has been directly involved in the naming and design of many Pokémon. He has stated that one of the hardest aspects of design is making sure that a Pokémon's name and attributes will appeal to a global audience.^[11] Since Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Masuda has been one of the main employees who approve or reject designs for new Pokémon.^[14] He served as a member of the Game Freak board of directors.^[15]

On September 28, 2018, Masuda revealed that during the early years of developing Pokémon games, "game data was nearly lost in a computer crash". Masuda described it as "the most nerve-racking moment in development", saying "We were developing the game on these Unix computer stations called the Sun SPARCstation 1. We’re developing, and they’re these Unix boxes, and they crashed quite a bit."^[16]

On November 1, 2018, Masuda stated that Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee! would likely be his final time serving as director for the main series Pokémon games. The development torch to was passed to Shigeru Ohmori, who had previously assume lead director of Pokémon Sun and Moon.^[17] However afterwards, he served as a director for Pokémon Brillant Diamond and Shining Pearl, developed by ILCA.

Masuda produced the Japanese ending themes "Pokémon Shiritori" and "Batsugun Type" for Pokémon Journeys with Japanese electronic group Pasocom Music Club.^[18]

On June 1, 2022, Masuda left Game Freak to The Pokémon Company, acting as Chief Creative Fellow.^[19]

Influences and style

[edit]

Masuda approaches each of his games with the mindset that a beginner should be able to easily play it.^[20] In view of this, his games begin in an easily approachable and accessible style, with more layers of complexity being introduced as the player progresses through the game.^[12] He believes that handheld systems provide an opportunity for social interaction that cannot be found on non-handheld console systems.^[20] He has stated that the continued use of 2D computer graphics has been integral to Pokémon's success.^[21]

Masuda's musical style draws from a number of sources, particularly classical music and the works of Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich.^[14] His favorite musical genre is techno, and he has looked to the music of the Super Mario series as an example of video game music that works well.^[14] Most of his ideas draw inspiration from simply observing real life and visualizing how he would design or draw outside objects.^[13] As a rule, he does not use previous characters as inspirations for new ones, instead creating each new one from independent sources.^[13]

Works

[edit]

Year	Game title	Role
1989	Mendel Palace	Music, sound effects
1991	Yoshi
1992	Magical Taruruto-kun
1993	Mario & Wario	Programmer, music, sound effects
1994	Pulseman
1996	Pokémon Red, Green and Blue
1996	Bazaru de Gozaru no Game de Gozaru	Programmer
1997	Bushi Seiryūden: Futari no Yūsha	Programmer, music, sound effects
1998	Pokémon Yellow	Programmer, music, sound effects
1999	Click Medic	Director, game design, programmer
	Pokémon Gold and Silver	Sub director, game design, music, sound effects
	Pokémon Stadium	Advisor
2000	Pokémon Crystal	Director, game design, scenario, music, sound effects
2002	Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire	Director, game design, battle music, plot scenario
2003	Pokémon Box: Ruby and Sapphire	Director, planner
2004	Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen	Director, game design, music
2004	Pokémon Emerald	World director, game design, battle music, plot scenario
2005	Drill Dozer	Producer, additional tuning
2006	Pokémon Ranger	Game design advisor
2006	Pokémon Diamond and Pearl	Director, battle music, plot scenario
2008	Pokémon Ranger: Shadows of Almia	Game design advisor
2008	Pokémon Platinum	Producer, battle music, plot scenario
2009	Pokémon Rumble	Game design advisor
2009	Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver	Producer, music
2010	Pokémon Ranger: Guardian Signs	Game design advisor
2010	Pokémon Black and White	Director, producer, battle music, world & plot
2011	Pokémon Rumble Blast	Game design advisor
2011	Learn with Pokémon: Typing Adventure	Game design advisor
2012	Pokémon Black 2 and White 2	Producer, world & plot
2012	HarmoKnight	General producer
2013	Pokémon Rumble U	Game design advisor
	Pocket Card Jockey	General producer
	Pokémon X and Y	Director, producer, battle music, world & plot
2014	Pokémon Battle Trozei	Game design advisor
2014	Pokémon Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire	Producer
2015	Tembo the Badass Elephant	General producer
	Pokémon Rumble World	Game design advisor
	Pokémon Picross
2016	Detective Pikachu
	Pokémon Go	Music, game design assistance
	Pokémon Sun and Moon	Producer, battle music
2017	Giga Wrecker	General producer
2017	Pokémon Ultra Sun and Ultra Moon	Producer, battle music
2018	Pokémon Quest	General producer
2018	Pokémon: Let's Go, Pikachu! and Let's Go, Eevee!	Director, general producer, original music, concept
2019	Little Town Hero	General producer
2019	Pokémon Sword and Shield	Producer
2021	Pokémon Brilliant Diamond and Shining Pearl	Director, battle music, concept and plot
2022	Pokémon Legends: Arceus	Supervisor
2022	Pokémon Scarlet and Violet	Supervisor, music

References

[edit]

^ "Interview with Shinji Miyazaki and the Game Freak sound team - #pocketmonsters, your source for news about Pokémon and Pocket Monsters". Pocketmonsters.net. Archived from the original on 2012-06-20. Retrieved 2011-01-19.
^ "GAME FREAK Secret Base for GAME FREAK's 30th Anniversary | GAME FREAK". Archived from the original on 2019-12-15. Retrieved 2019-11-19.
^ Masuda, Junichi (2010). "Profile". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
^ Masuda, Junichi (9 September 2004). "No. 15". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
^ Masuda, Junichi (4 October 2007). "No. 109". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
^ Masuda, Junichi (12 June 2007). "No. 86". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
^ Masuda, Junichi (2 September 2004). "No. 13". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
^ Masuda, Junichi (28 October 2004). "No. 24". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
^ Padilla, Raymond (17 March 2009). "Junichi Masuda & Takeshi Kawachimaru Talk 'Pokemon Platinum', Particle Physics, Bridges, And More!". G4. G4 Media. Archived from the original on 11 January 2013. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
^ ^a ^b "Junichi Masuda Biography". IGN. News Corporation. 2010. Archived from the original on 24 March 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
^ ^a ^b Noble, McKinley. "Pokemon Platinum: Developer Interview!". GamePro. IDG. pp. 1–2. Archived from the original on 2010-08-06. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Nutt, Christian (3 April 2009). "The Art of Balance: Pokémon's Masuda on Complexity and Simplicity". Gamasutra. Think Services. pp. 1–3. Archived from the original on 12 May 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c Harris, Craig (23 February 2009). "Pokemon Creators on Platinum". IGN. News Corporation. p. 2. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
^ ^a ^b ^c Grimm, Michael (20 March 2009). "How Pokemon are born". GamesRadar. Future plc. pp. 1–3. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2010.
^ Haywald, Justin (2009). "Why Gamers Still Play Pokémon". 1UP.com. Hearst Corporation. p. 1. Archived from the original on 24 March 2009. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
^ "Pokemon Game Veteran Junichi Masuda Recalls 'Most Nerve-Racking Moment'". NDTV Gadgets360.com. Archived from the original on 2019-04-07. Retrieved 2018-09-29.
^ Nick Santangelo (November 2, 2018). "Pokemon Let's Go is 'Probably' the Last Pokemon Game Junichi Masuda Will Direct". IGN. Archived from the original on November 2, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2018.
^ Kanazawa, Takahiro; Carbutt, Jessie (2 June 2020). "Pasocom Music Club Interview: Finding Creativity in Limitation". Metropolis Magazine Japan. Archived from the original on 2022-09-02. Retrieved 2022-09-02.
^ "Junichi Masuda leaves Game Freak, appointed the Pokemon Company chief creative fellow". June 2022. Archived from the original on 2022-06-01. Retrieved 2022-06-01.
^ ^a ^b Hoggins, Tom (12 May 2009). "Pokémania continues with Pokémon Platinum". The Daily Telegraph. London. Telegraph Media Group. Archived from the original on 24 January 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2010.
^ Nutt, Christian (3 April 2009). "Pokemon's Masuda: 2D Brings 'Flavor' To Series' Visuals". Gamasutra. Think Services. Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 2 June 2010.

Pokémon

by The Pokémon Company, owned by Nintendo, Creatures Inc. and Game Freak

Video games

Main series

Generation II	Generation III	Generation IV	Generation V
Gold / Silver Crystal Pokémon Typhlosion Wooper Unown Delibird	Ruby / Sapphire Emerald FireRed / LeafGreen Pokémon Blaziken Gardevoir Mawile Regirock, Regice, and Registeel	Diamond / Pearl Platinum HeartGold / SoulSilver Pokémon Pachirisu Garchomp Lucario Regigigas	Black / White Black 2 / White 2 Pokémon Zoroark Chandelure

Generation VI	Generation VII	Generation VIII	Generation IX
X / Y Omega Ruby / Alpha Sapphire Pokémon Klefki	Sun / Moon Ultra Sun / Ultra Moon Let's Go, Pikachu! / Let's Go, Eevee! Pokémon Popplio, Brionne, and Primarina Mimikyu Meltan	Sword / Shield Expansion Pass Brilliant Diamond / Shining Pearl Legends: Arceus Pokémon Scorbunny Sobble Wooloo Galarian Corsola Fossil Pokémon Regieleki and Regidrago Kleavor	Scarlet / Violet Hidden Treasure of Area Zero "Celestial" "Biri-Biri" Legends: Z-A Pokémon Sprigatito, Floragato, and Meowscarada Fuecoco Tinkaton

Related

Characters

Spin-offs

Mystery Dungeon	Red and Blue Rescue Team Rescue Team DX Explorers of Time and Darkness Explorers of Sky Adventure Team Gates to Infinity Super Mystery Dungeon
Rumble	Rumble Blast U World Rush

Hey You, Pikachu!
Snap
- New Snap
Pinball
- Ruby & Sapphire
Project Studio
Puzzle League
- Puzzle Challenge
Channel
Dash
Trozei!
- Battle Trozei
Ranger
- Shadows of Almia
- Guardian Signs
PokéPark
- Wonders Beyond
Typing Adventure
Conquest
Art Academy
Shuffle
Pokkén Tournament
Picross
Detective Pikachu
- Returns
Duel
Magikarp Jump
Quest
Masters EX
Smile
Café ReMix
Unite
Sleep
Meowth's Party

Competitive play

World Championships (2023)

Wolfe Glick

Ray Rizzo

Park Se-jun

Other

Unofficial

Media

TV series

Episodes

Seasons 1–13	Indigo League "Pokémon, I Choose You!" 2.B.A. Master "Pokémon Theme" Adventures in the Orange Islands The Johto Journeys Johto League Champions Master Quest Advanced Advanced Challenge Advanced Battle Battle Frontier Diamond and Pearl Battle Dimension Galactic Battles Sinnoh League Victors
Seasons 14– present	Black & White Rival Destinies Adventures in Unova and Beyond "Te o Tsunagō" XY Kalos Quest XYZ Sun & Moon Ultra Adventures Ultra Legends Journeys Master Journeys Ultimate Journeys Horizons The Search for Laqua
Removed from rotation "Dennō Senshi Porygon" Chronicles

Characters

Films

Animated

Live-action

Detective Pikachu
- score
- "Carry On"

Manga

Miniseries

Music

Theme songs
- "Pokémon Theme"
"Biri-Biri"
"Carry On"
"Celestial"
"Electric"
"Flying Without Wings"
"One"
Pokémon 2.B.A. Master
Pokémon: The First Movie
- "Don't Say You Love Me"
"The Power of One"
Project Voltage
"Sora/Koe"
"Te o Tsunagō / Kindan no Karma"
"Toi et Moi"

Related

Related
People	Tsunekazu Ishihara Sayuri Ichiishi Junichi Masuda Shigeki Morimoto Atsuko Nishida Shigeru Ohmori Naoki Saito Takeshi Shudo Ken Sugimori Satoshi Tajiri Kunihiko Yuyama
Organizations	Ambrella Genius Sonority ILCA Wizards of the Coast
Community	MissJirachi Pokémon Challenges Nuzlocke
Marketing	Pokémon Center Pokémon Jet Burger King Pokémon container recall Poképark Pokéfuta Pokémon 25th Anniversary Pokémon Fossil Museum Project Voltage
Pop culture	Pikachurin Zbtb7 Mazuca strigicincta Binburrum articuno Nocticola pheromosa Aerodactylus Bulbasaurus Pikachu virus Tía Pikachu Pokémon and pornography doujinshi incident Fakemon

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