Name: Hiroki Kikuta – 菊田 裕樹
Date of Birth: 29/Aug/1962, Aichi prefecture
Occupation: Composition, Concept Design and Game Planning
Best known for: Seiken Densetsu 2 & 3, Koudelka
Influences: Pink Floyd, Roger Eno, Akira Ifukube, John Williams, Prince, Isao Tomita, Barry Gray, Katsuhisa Hattori, Jerry Goldsmith
Website: Angel’s Fear – Kiss Twice (blog)
SD Credits: SoM (Composer, Sound Director), SD3 (Composer), DoM (Composer)

Hiroki Kikuta began wanting to be a singer/song-writer at the age of 12 when the Folk blues movement hit Japan, and studied acoustic guitar and creating songs. However, he admits not being the greatest singer. He felt however that after getting hold of a Yamaha SY-77 he was open to a whole new world of composing possibilities.

After graduating from Kansai University with a degree in philosophy, Kikuta composed the scores for two animation series, The Adventure of Robin Hood and the Legend of Snow White. He would soon after be hired by Square to work as a sound designer for the first Romancing Saga title, and later create one of the best know soundtracks in videogaming: Seiken Densetsu 2 (Secret of Mana).

After contributing another two scores to Square (Seiken Densetsu 3 and Soukaigi), he left to establish the company Sacnoth to try and bring forward his idea of breaking the current way visual expression was being handled in gaming, a freedom which he did not have at Square. With Sacnoth funded by SNK, he released Koudelka, which he had intended to have a battle system similar to that of Resident Evil. The employees wanted to release something similar to Square’s line of games. As a result of these and other internal quarrels, the game’s release was compromised, and combined with poor reviews and little exposure because of the imminent interest in the PS2 did not enjoy the success that had been hoped, in spite a promising prospect. He left to start his Nostrilia Corporation.

He later worked on other titles such as a 3D MMORPG called Bukyo (credited as Concept Designer, Game Planner and Composer, but the game did not make it past Beta stages), and several ergo visual novels as Composer, as well as releasing his original works prior to joining Square in the form of the album Lost Files (2006), and a single “Tennin so Kitan” to precede his novel by the same name.

Concerto Gate marks his return in 2007 to working with Square, contributing several tracks with his fellow Seiken Densetsu composer Kenji Ito.