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.
When the company first began releasing Pokémon titles, Masuda worked mainly as the composer, though he did minor programming work as well, and later began directing and producing them.[12] His work on the first games included writing the program to play audio in the games, music, and sound effects.[13] Masuda has been directly involved in the naming and design of many Pokémon. He has stated that one of the hardest aspects of design is making sure that a Pokémon's name and attributes will appeal to a global audience.[11] Since Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire, Masuda has been one of the main employees who approve or reject designs for new Pokémon.[14] He served as a member of the Game Freak board of directors.[15]
On September 28, 2018, Masuda revealed that during the early years of developing Pokémon games, "game data was nearly lost in a computer crash". Masuda described it as "the most nerve-racking moment in development", saying "We were developing the game on these Unix computer stations called the Sun SPARCstation 1. We’re developing, and they’re these Unix boxes, and they crashed quite a bit."[16]
Masuda produced the Japanese ending themes "Pokémon Shiritori" and "Batsugun Type" for Pokémon Journeys with Japanese electronic group Pasocom Music Club.[18]
On June 1, 2022, Masuda left Game Freak to The Pokémon Company, acting as Chief Creative Fellow.[19]
Influences and style
Masuda approaches each of his games with the mindset that a beginner should be able to easily play it.[20] In view of this, his games begin in an easily approachable and accessible style, with more layers of complexity being introduced as the player progresses through the game.[12] He believes that handheld systems provide an opportunity for social interaction that cannot be found on non-handheld console systems.[20] He has stated that the continued use of 2D computer graphics has been integral to Pokémon's success.[21]
Masuda's musical style draws from a number of sources, particularly classical music and the works of Igor Stravinsky and Dmitri Shostakovich.[14] His favorite musical genre is techno, and he has looked to the music of the Super Mario series as an example of video game music that works well.[14] Most of his ideas draw inspiration from simply observing real life and visualizing how he would design or draw outside objects.[13] As a rule, he does not use previous characters as inspirations for new ones, instead creating each new one from independent sources.[13]
^Masuda, Junichi (2010). "Profile". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Archived from the original on 30 August 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
^Masuda, Junichi (9 September 2004). "No. 15". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
^Masuda, Junichi (4 October 2007). "No. 109". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
^Masuda, Junichi (12 June 2007). "No. 86". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
^Masuda, Junichi (2 September 2004). "No. 13". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Archived from the original on 11 March 2012. Retrieved 3 June 2010.
^Masuda, Junichi (28 October 2004). "No. 24". Hidden Power of Masuda: Director's Column. Game Freak. Archived from the original on 4 August 2020. Retrieved 6 July 2020.
.jpg)
