Junichi Masuda | |
|---|---|
| 増田 順一 | |
 Masuda in 2007 | |
| Born | January 12, 1968 |
| Alma mater | Japan Electronics College |
| Occupations | |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Employers |
|
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Video game music |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, trombone |
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.
- ^ "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.