The soundtrack of a video game is one of the most important aspects of it. Another fundamental element is the sound elements. Well, today we get interesting statements about these sections in Monster Hunter Rise.
In a recent Capcom meeting with Monster Hunter Rise’s sound director, Kosuke Tanaka, and the main composer, Satoshi Hori, details about how the game will delight us through our ears have been confirmed. Here’s what they shared about the goals of the soundtrack:
The overall theme of the sound was “catchy and easy to understand.” If the sound design for Monster Hunter: World and Iceborne could be described as “Fine Layered Art” then I would say that the sound design for Monster Hunter Rise is “to convey everything with a concentrated effect.” That is what we were looking for.
Also, we wanted to treat the previous titles in the Monster Hunter series with respect, so while there are a lot of new sound effects in this game, we are also intentionally using some nostalgic sounds.
As to the instruments used, mention the following:
Oh yeah, we recorded a lot of traditional Japanese instruments: shakuhachi, shamisen, shinobue, and koto, of course, but also biwa, hichiriki, ryūteki, taiko, atarigane, kagura suzu, and horagai. There are even some very unusual instruments that you wouldn’t normally hear. In addition to these Japanese instruments, we also recorded live orchestral performances to convey the strength of the monsters and the scale of the world in a way that you would expect from a Monster Hunter game.
The orchestral performances were held in Japan, Los Angeles, and London, depending on where the music would be used and what monster track we were recording. For particularly fearsome monsters and music that required a great sense of scale, we mainly used Abbey Road in London.
Finally, they point out the following about the hunter’s voice:
Hunters no longer just grunt, this time they have real dialogue, and each type of voice represents a certain “personality.” Our writer had to come up with different settings and a lot of lines for each type of voice, but we think he did an excellent job. It really speaks to the imagination: “A hunter with a voice like this probably lives his hunting life in such and such a way,” you know? I really think players will enjoy reflecting on which voice they will choose.
And you can even choose between Japanese, English, or Monster Hunter! I look forward to spending hours on the character creation screen! Of course, if you just want grunts and straining like in the previous titles, there is an option for that, and you can even adjust the frequency of the spoken dialogue, so you can enjoy it however you want!
What do you think?
