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Old Oct 25, 2010, 03:59 PM
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Jormungand Jormungand is offline
 
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Location: Wisconsin, USA
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This discussion is long overdue.

Another score to check out is:
http://vgmdb.net/album/1689
http://snesmusic.org/v2/profile.php?...33&profile=set

Yamamoto handled the stages and endings for Birdie and Adon; Takehara did the same for Nash and Rose. Perhaps listening to those might help inform us about either composer's style. Nash in particular made me think of Slashman from MM7, which is already confirmed to be Takehara's composition.

Yuki Iwai's score to X2 is quite unique. She surprises us with introductions that don't suggest the main body of a piece; she likes mixed, compound, and sometimes synthesthetic rhythms; and she often has some pretty wild percussion going on. These features are useful when examining what she might have done for X1. For example, the unusually long and unpredictable introduction of Chill Penguin followed by the triplet figure rhythm in the main body makes me think it's her work.

I'm no expert on Yamamoto, but his style seems fairly rudimentary--at least compared to Iwai, whose music for X2 seems to be constantly alert and in motion. She's also more likely to use chromatic movement in her melodies, and often harmonizes the melody with a second melody instrument which is also used for counterpoint (adding to the effect of constant motion). Takehara, as we well know, tends to gravitate toward simpler arrangements and conventional, deliberate chord progressions.

I can't say anything about Tomozawa, and Horiyama I'm only familiar with through Rockman & Forte.

In general, I feel Takehara did not have a large role in X1. Although I'm pretty sure she did the Dr. Light theme. And as I pointed out above, Chill Penguin seems most like Iwai's work. I think Sigma Fortress 2 might be hers too. As for Yamamoto, he's certainly the best candidate for Flame Mammoth, Sigma Battle 1, the title screen, and the stage select themes.

Sigma Battle 2 and Sigma's Defeat obviously belong to the same person.

I'm also going to have to go against the grain here and say that I think Iwai did the intro stage and Storm Eagle. Just have a listen to Wheel Gator from X2. Whomever the composer, I think it's likely s/he did both Storm Eagle and the intro stage.

I'd like to revisit this thread and try for a more detailed breakdown, but in the meantime, I hope the discussion continues and more people will post their thoughts.
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