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Motoi Sakuraba
| Overview | Biography | Discography | Game Projects | Interviews |
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Date of Birth: | August 5, 1965 (Akita) |
| Education: | Graduated from the University of Meiji | |
| Musical Influences: | Yellow Magic Orchestra, Chick Corea, Pink Floyd | |
| General Interests: | Audio Equipment, Progressive Rock | |
| Instruments: | Piano, Synthesizer | |
| Employment: | Wolfteam (1989 - 1995), Freelance (1995 - ) | |
| Game Works: | Tales, Star Ocean, Mario Sports, Baten Kaitos |
Motoi Sakuraba is a prolific progressive rock musician that principally composes for video games. Having initially been the keyboardist and composer for the band 'Deja vu', Sakuraba produced a solo album after the band split. He went on to join the game company Wolfteam, working initially on scores such as the Zan and Arcus series and, after assimilation into Telenet Japan, Tales of Phantasia.
Sakuraba's links to Wolfteam have largely been responsible for his vast array of works as a freelancer. He and Shinji Tamura are responsible for nearly all the instalments to Namco's Tales series. He also regularly works with Camelot Software Planning under his former collaborator Masaaki Uno, producing the scores to the Mario Sports and Golden Sun series, among others.
Sakuraba has also regularly worked on behalf of tri-Ace, whose game projects are published by Square Enix. His works on behalf of their Star Ocean and Valkyrie Profile series have been chiefly responsible for his mainstream popularity and he has interpreted these works in several arranged albums, voice mix albums, and live concerts. He also scored tri-Crescendo's Baten Kaitos series and Eternal Sonata.
