Staff Roll: Manabu Saito – PA101

We begin a new chapter of Pixelated Audio with our first solo show, and our first full-length tribute episode, this time honoring Manabu Saito. Saito was a prolific composer for System Sacom from 1987 to 1991, composing and arranging the music for over 15 games.

You may have heard his music in Yuurei-kun on Episode 91, but this time we take a deeper dive over his entire career. Listen to Saito’s growth as a composer over four years and 25 songs in a wide range of styles.

“Yuurei-kun” key production staff. Manabu Saito (left)

---

Episode Track List:

• 0:00:06 Opening – Euphory (Sharp X1 – OPM)
• 0:04:36 Vertes – Euphory (Sharp X1 – PSG)
• 0:07:13 Track 2 – Fire Rock (Famicom Disk System)
• 0:09:58 The Dome – Dome (X68000 – OPM)
• 0:14:52 RPG Theme – Soft and Hard Stories (X68000 – OPM)
• 0:17:27 Bar – Chatty (PC88 – OPNA)

• 0:22:43 Stage 1 – Evolution (FM Towns)
• 0:29:12 Cave of Plateau – Providence (PC88 – OPNA)
• 0:32:18 Hell Hole – Yuurei-kun (MSX2 – PSG)
• 0:35:15 Grassland – Valna (PC88 – OPNA)
• 0:39:48 Driving Before Dawn – Soft and Hard Stories 2 (X68000 – OPM)

• 380,000km of Emptiness / 38 Man Kilo no Kokuu
• 0:43:55 A Pack of Cigarettes (X68000 – MT-32)
• 0:47:02 Snappy Time  (X68000 – OPM)
  • Manabu Saito and Sumeya Kunihiro

• The Darkness of Kin / Yami no Ketsuzoku
• 0:50:44 Masayuki Izawa (X68000 – OPM)
• 0:53:22 Ending (X68000 – OPM)

• The Darkness of Kin: The Final Chapter / Yami no Ketsuzoku: Kanketsu-hen
• 0:57:12 Kumaha’s Attack (X68000 – OPM)
• 0:59:27 Lean Burned (X68000 – OPM)

• The Darkness of Kin: Special / Yami no Ketsuzoku Special
• 1:02:53 Opening (FM Towns)
  • All Darkness of Kin music composed by Manabu Saito and Haruo Hosoya

• Gemini Wing
• 1:05:33 Stage 6 (Arcade – OPL2)
  • Composed by Mikio Saito
• 1:06:20 Stage 6 (X68000 – CM-64)
  • Arranged by Manabu Saito

• 1:09:14 Darkness – Jerry Boy (Super Famicom)
  • Akira Yamaoka, Hirohiko Fukuda and Manabu Saito

• 1:12:49 Big Boss Attacks – Yuurei-kun (MSX2 – PSG)
• 1:13:42 Big Boss Attacks (Unused) – Valna (PC88 – OPNA)
• 1:14:58 Vertes Waterway – Euphory (Sharp X1 – OPM)
• 1:16:17 Vertes Waterway (Unused) – Soft and Hard Stories  (X68000 – OPM)

• 1:22:53 Ending (Unused 3) – The Darkness of Kin: The Final Chapter (X68000 – OPM)
  • Manabu Saito and Haruo Hosoya

---

LINKS GALORE!

Purchase Manabu Saito’s music at Egg Music (JP)

Manabu Saito Memorial Website (JP), Additional memorial site (JP)

Research sites: VGMRips, Zophar’s Domain, VGMPF, VGMDB, GDRI, Mobygames

Other great podcasts mentioned: Game Music Gaiden, The Diad Presents, Forever Sound Version

 

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:26:41 — 151.1MB)

Subscribe: Spotify | RSS