Hamauzu (right) with Junya Nakano (left) and Nobuo Uematsu (middle), some time during the development of Final Fantasy X.
Masashi Hamauzu (浜渦正志, Hamauzu Masashi?) is a video game composer, best known his work on Final Fantasy X and the Final Fantasy XIII trilogy. He was employed by Square Enix from 1996 to 2010.
He was originally hired at Square as a trainee. His debut as a composer was with the game Chocobo no Fushigi na Dungeon. He has collaborated with fellow composer Junya Nakano on several other games since.
After Uematsu's departure from Square Enix in 2004, he took over as the lead composer of the company's music team. He incorporates various styles of music in his compositions, though most of the time he uses classical and ambient tones in his pieces.
He left Square Enix in 2010 to form his own studio, Monomusik, though he still works with the company as a freelance composer.
Hamauzu and Junya Nakano were hired by Square Enix to assist Nobuo Uematsu with the composition of the soundtrack of Final Fantasy X, as it proved too much for Uematsu to compose that much music at the time. He was the sole main composer of Dirge of Cerberus, which was largely performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra. Hamauzu was also the lead composer for Final Fantasy XIII's soundtrack.
Works within the Final Fantasy series
| Game | Hamauzu's Role(s) |
|---|---|
| Chocobo's Mysterious Dungeon | Composer, Arranger |
| Final Fantasy VII | Sephiroth Choir - Bass, Synthesizer for Joseph Haydn's "The Creation" |
| Final Fantasy X | Composer, Arranger |
| Dirge of Cerberus -Final Fantasy VII- | Composer, Arranger |
| Final Fantasy XIII | Composer, Arranger |
| Final Fantasy IV: The Complete Collection | Arranger |
| Final Fantasy XIII-2 | Composer, Arranger[1] |
| Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII | Composer, Arranger |
| Final Fantasy X HD Remaster | Composer, Arranger |
| World of Final Fantasy | Composer, Arranger |
Trivia
- Hamauzu and and one of Final Fantasy XIII vocalists, Mina Sakai, founded the musical group, IMERUAT, in 2011. Imeruat means "lightning" in the Ainu language, and the protagonist of Final Fantasy XIII is Lightning.
References
Soundtracks
Arrangements
Compilations
Other
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