Ayako Saso.
Ayako Saso (佐宗 綾子) is a renowned video game music composer originally employed by Namco whose works with the company include Rolling Thunder 2, Galaxian³: Project Dragoon, Soukoban DX, and the original Ridge Racer.
History[]
Along with Shinji Hosoe she formed the core of the Sampling Masters unit (with Takayuki Aihara and Nobuyoshi Sano as additional members) and would work on titles such as Ridge Racer 2 and the console versions of Tekken and Tekken 2. She has also been credited as just Aya.
In 1996 she joined Arika along with Hosoe and Aihara and was a sub-composer for the Street Fighter EX series. They would all later join SuperSweep and contribute to the Street Fighter Tribute Album. Other works Hosoe was involved with during this era include Driving Emotion Type-S, Mega Man Network Transmission, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and The Nightmare of Druaga: Fushigino dungeon.
Saso has retained her ties with the Ridge Racer series and has also contributed as a guest arranger for multiple other games and albums.
Production History[]
- escape goat (CD) (1996)
- Street Fighter EX (1996) -- Sound Creator (as Ayako "Aya" Saso)
- Street Fighter EX -Arrange Sound Trax- (CD) (1997)
- Street Fighter EX Plus (1997) -- Sound Creator (as Ayako "Aya" Saso)
- Street Fighter EX Plus α (1997) -- Compose & Arrange
- Street Fighter EX2 (1998) -- Sound Creator
- Street Fighter EX2 Arrange Album (CD) (1998)
- Street Fighter EX2 Plus (1999) -- Sound Creator
- Street Fighter EX3 (2000) -- Composed and Arranged
- MegaMan Network Transmission (2003) -- Sound (Supersweep)
- Street Fighter Tribute Album (CD) (2003)
- Okami Arrange Collection Vol. 3, Lounge (CD) (2015)
Song Credits[]
escape goat
- cold pipe -- Composition & Arrangement
- Character Select -- Composition & Arrangement
- Light Guardian -- Composition & Arrangement
- Cold Pipe -- Composition & Arrangement
- Strange Sunset -- Composition & Arrangement
- Garnet Sky -- Composition & Arrangement
- New Challenger -- Composition & Arrangement
- Staff Roll -- Composition & Arrangement
Street Fighter EX -Arrange Sound Trax-
- Light Guardian -- Composition & Arrangement
- Strange sunset -- Composition & Arrangement
- Garnet Sky -- Composition
- Cold Pipe -- Composition
- Character Select -- Composition & Arrangement
- Light Guardian (Ken) -- Composition & Arrangement
- Spinning Bird (Chun-Li) -- Arrangement
- Cold Pipe (Zangief) -- Composition & Arrangement
- Strange Sunset (Guile) -- Composition & Arrangement
- Heat Wind (Dhalsim) -- Composition & Arrangement
- Garnet Sky (Jack) -- Composition & Arrangement
- New Challenger -- Composition & Arrangement
- Ending -- Composition & Arrangement
- Staff Roll -- Composition & Arrangement
- White Field -- Composition & Arrangement
- Lost Sea -- Composition & Arrangement
- Crowded Town -- Composition & Arrangement
- Crash Power Plant -- Composition & Arrangement
- Passage of Lotus -- Composition & Arrangement
- Ending -- Composition & Arrangement
Street Fighter EX2 Arrange Album
- white field -- Composition & Arrangement
- lost sea -- Composition & Arrangement
- crowded town -- Composition
- crash power plant -- Composition & Arrangement
- passage of lotus -- Composition
Street Fighter EX2 Plus (Arcade Version)
- Green Shower -- Composition & Arrangement
- Frozen Mist -- Composition & Arrangement
- The Battle of the Flame -- Composition & Arrangement
- The Battle of the Flame 2 -- Composition & Arrangement
- Regenerate -- Composition & Arrangement
Street Fighter EX2 Plus (PSX Version)
- White Field ~Snow Mountain Stage -- Composition & Arrangement
- Lost Sea ~Pirate Ship Stage -- Composition & Arrangement
- Crowded Town ~Hong Kong Stage -- Composition & Arrangement
- Green Shower ~Jungle Stage -- Composition & Arrangement
- Crash Power Plant ~Power Plant Stage -- Composition & Arrangement
- Frozen Mist ~Refrigerator Stage -- Composition
- Passage of Lotus ~Statue of Buddha Stage -- Composition
- The Battle of the Flame ~Vega Stage -- Composition & Arrangement
- The Battle of the Flame 2 ~Vega II Stage -- Composition & Arrangement
- Regenerate ~Ending -- Composition & Arrangement
- Final Battle -- Composition & Arrangement
- Character Edit -- Composition & Arrangement
- Biri-Biri Red Heat -- Composition & Arrangement
- Temptation Gun -- Composition & Arrangement
- Title -- Arrangement
- Eyecatch -- Composition & Arrangement
- Netto's Room -- Arrangement
- Bank Computer World -- Composition & Arrangement
- Clear -- Composition & Arrangement
- Game Center Computer World -- Composition & Arrangement
- New Determination -- Arrangement
- Legendary WWW Area -- Composition (w/Minae Fujii), Arrangement
- WWW Site Computer World -- Composition & Arrangement
- Zero's Restoration -- Composition & Arrangement
- Game Over -- Composition & Arrangement
- Chun-Li Stage -- Arranged & Remixed by
Okami Arrange Collection Vol. 3, Lounge
- Twin Demons - Moshirechik and Kotanechik Extermination -- Arrangement
Trivia[]
- The first musical works of Ayako Saso are very influenced by jazz. During her period in the 1990s, techno music is very present in her style. She's incredibly versatile and can do any kind of genre (such as rock, trance, dance, etc.). Her musical influences are dance music, Fumitaka Anzai, John Williams, Alfred Reed, Duran Duran, Shakatak, Jimmy Smith, Yellow Magic Orchestra, Casiopea, T-Square, Michael Jackson, Glenn Miller Orchestra, The Prodigy, Holy Noise and independent bands from the 1980s.[citation needed]