Shogo Sakai

Shogo Sakai in 2009.

Shogo Sakai (酒井省吾 Sakai Shōgo, born September 23, 1960) is a video game composer. He initially worked at Data East, but in 1996 he moved to HAL Laboratory, becoming one of their primary composers and music librarians. He is best known for his work on Mother 3. He plays guitar, both electric and acoustic, on many of his songs.

In 2023, Sakai retired from HAL Laboratory and began working as a freelance composer.

List of works

Kirby series

• Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land (with Jun Ishikawa, Hirokazu Ando, Tadashi Ikegami)
• Kirby Air Ride (with Hirokazu Ando, Jun Ishikawa, and Tadashi Ikegami)
• Kirby: Squeak Squad (with Hirokazu Ando, Tadashi Ikegami, and Jun Ishikawa)
• Kirby Mass Attack
• Kirby's Dream Collection Special Edition (with Hirokazu Ando and Jun Ishikawa)
• Kirby and the Rainbow Curse (with Megumi Ohara)
• Kirby Battle Royale (with Megumi Ohara)
• Kirby's Dream Buffet (with Yuuta Ogasawara, Jun Ishikawa, Hirokazu Ando, Megumi Ohara, and Yuki Shimooka)

Kirby albums

• The Sound of Kirby Café (with Hirokazu Ando, Jun Ishikawa, and Megumi Ohara)
• Kirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert (lead orchestration, with Megumi Ohara; conductor for "Kirby Air Ride Medley")
• Kirby Memorial Arrangements (with Hirokazu Ando, Jun Ishikawa, and Megumi Ohara)
  • "Take off!" (arrangement, electric guitar)
  • "The Apple Juice Song" (acoustic and electric guitar)
• The Sound of Kirby Café 2 (with Hirokazu Ando, Jun Ishikawa, Megumi Ohara, Yuuta Ogasawara, and Yuki Shimooka)
• Kirby 30th Anniversary Music Festival (conductor for "Kirby Endings"; electric guitar for "King Dedede Medley")

Super Smash Bros. series

• Super Smash Bros. Melee (with Hirokazu Ando, Tadashi Ikegami, and Takuto Kitsuta)
• Super Smash Bros. Brawl (with Takahiro Nishi, Masaaki Iwasaki, Yutaka Iraha, Keigo Ozaki, and Kentaro Ishizaka)

Other selected works

• Donald Land
• Bad Dudes
• Minnesota Fats: Pool Legend
• Mother 3
• Face Raiders
• Picross 3D: Round 2 (with Hirokazu Ando and Megumi Ohara)
• Part Time UFO

Trivia

• In Kirby's Dream Buffet, Shogo Sakai is represented with purple notes when music is playing.