Interview with Noriyuki Iwadare (RocketBaby - December 2000)

The following interview was carried out by RocketBaby.net, a sadly defunct site that once interviewed numerous game composers. Square Enix Music Online is hosting the interview to avoid it being lost forever.

RocketBaby: What were your inspirations for the music of Grandia II?

Noriyuki Iwadare: "An adventure fighting scene" was the theme of the first Grandia and the theme is inherited to Grandia II. The age of the main characters allowed me to understand the movement of their hearts in Grandia II. It is the greatest inspiration for me to make music that understands the characters' feelings.

RocketBaby: How long did you work on Grandia II and how much music did you write?

Noriyuki Iwadare: The musical design was about one year. The real work was half a year. I wrote fifty pieces music that were included in the game. I wrote a lot more music that was not used.

RocketBaby: What is the biggest difference between the music of Grandia and Grandia II?

Noriyuki Iwadare: In Grandia II, the songs are the important point. A song helps the world. "A Deus" and "Can��o do Povo" are two songs that are the themes of Grandia II, The songs are the biggest difference.

RocketBaby: What are the differences between the Deus and Povo soundtracks?

Noriyuki Iwadare: In Grandia II, there are two themes that are faced several times. "Light and darkness," "a man and a woman uneasy with love", "an older and younger brother," "reason and feelings" and "Deus and Povo" ("God and people"). Each soundtrack expresses a different content. The music of a first half part of a game is on Deus and the music for the latter part of a game is on Povo.

RocketBaby: What is your favorite part of Grandia II's music?

Noriyuki Iwadare: I love "A Deus" and "Can��o do Povo", which are the themes of Grandia II. Miss Kaori Kawasumi's vocals are very beautiful and transparent — they do not disturb the flow of the game. She was also in charge of words. Of course I love the other music, too.

RocketBaby: Looking back, is there anything you would change about Grandia II's music?

Noriyuki Iwadare: Compared with the original Grandia, the music became more poppy. The music became more rocking. The music became freer. What do you think?

RocketBaby: How does the Dreamcast compare to the Saturn and PlayStation?

Noriyuki Iwadare: Dreamcast is a very superior machine. With music, it is a model that it is very easy to use. The music for the Grandia series uses streaming technology. In the case of Saturn and PlayStation Grandia games, the music was broken off when absorbed by a movie. However, with the Dreamcast, there is no such problem.

RocketBaby: What was the hardest aspect when creating music on Dreamcast?

Noriyuki Iwadare: There was none... If I had only one problem, it was adjusting the sound quality for television speakers.

RocketBaby: How do you create your melodies?

Noriyuki Iwadare: I try to always obtain the a feeling of a characters when I make music for a game. I want to understand why they feel what they do. When making music for a town, I try to remember situations that I have experienced when traveling to cities or towns.

RocketBaby: What is you dream project?

Noriyuki Iwadare: A concert of my music played by an orchestra.

RocketBaby: What is your next assignment?

Noriyuki Iwadare: I am developing a game for a network. It is big project! I hope you look forward to it.

RocketBaby: Any last words?

Noriyuki Iwadare: I am very happy, in addition to Japan, that people of the world feel emotions from my music. "Music is the world's common language". I want to make wonderful music from now on. Thank you.