Dragon Quest composer Koichi Sugiyama dies at age 90

Square Enix announced the passing of Dragon Quest composer Koichi Sugiyama. He died on Sept. 30 at the age of 90. According to DragonQuest.jp, Sugiyama died due to a septic shock.

During his career, he composed the original main score in 1986 for the first Dragon Quest game (released years later as Dragon Warrior in the US for the NES). He has also composed the main theme for every Dragon Quest title, including for the upcoming title Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate.

For many people in Japan, he has been a major influence for fans of Japanese game music composers.

He became one of the first video game composers to conduct a live orchestra. Also, he composed more than 500 tracks.

Among some of his achievements:

• He was selected as the Person of Cultural merit in 2020
• He received the Guinness World Record in 2016 for the oldest composer in the world to compose game music
• His Dragon Quest music was played at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics

Though he is very much recognized by his contributions to music and gaming, his right-wing and conservative political views were controversial. He publicly denied the events of the Nanking Massacre and downplayed the role of “comfort women” during WWII.

Square Enix released comments by President and CEO Yosuke Matsuda about the passing of Sugiyama:

“I would like to take this opportunity to offer my deepest sympathy to Koichi Sugiyama’s friends and loved ones. Words cannot express the scale of the contribution made by Koichi Sugiyama from the birth of the DRAGON QUEST series until now. I remember seeing him conduct the orchestra in a DRAGON QUEST concert as if it were yesterday.
I thank and honor him for his long years of service and the many wonderful pieces of music he has written for our games, and offer my heartfelt prayers for the repose of his soul.”

The Dragon Quest FB page also posted a similar message:

“We deeply regret to announce the passing of Koichi Sugiyama, on September 30th, 2021, at the age of 90. For over 35 years, Koichi Sugiyama worked on the music for DRAGON QUEST and contributed to the development of the series, which involved single-handedly composing more than 500 tracks. His music will forever hold a place in our memories. We would like to express our immense appreciation for his lifetime’s work, and offer our sincerest condolences to his friends and loved ones.”

Check out the following videos of his work as a composer:

[Sources]: DragonQuest.jp: 訃報　すぎやまこういち氏　ご逝去 – [Archive]. Square Enix: Square Enix mourns loss of composer Koichi Sugiyama – [Archive].