Naofumi Hataya

From Sega Retro

Naofumi Hataya.jpg

Naofumi Hataya, born November 13 in Saitama, Japan, is a musician and composer working for Wave Master. He graduated from Rikkyo University, where he played in a band. Though Hataya did not want a career in music, he was looking to improve his skills, so he sought a job at a music-related company. In 1992, he took a job at SEGA, and the rest is history.

Aliases

Hataya is presumably frequently credited under the aliases Masayuki Nagao, Nao Chan, "N.GEE", and Nagao N. Gee. While there is no clear direct evidence that all these names are pseudonyms, various similarities can be noted between these names to link them together, as well as several motifs shared between many of the songs that these names are associated with also are found in Hataya's work.

For example, the chord progression and arrangement for Sky High Zone and Underground Zone from Sonic 2 Game Gear shares similarities to music for the strategy game The Hybrid Front, the "REPLAY" music from the 32X version of Virtua Racing, and the "Chance" BGM from Chuu Kyuukai Miracle Nine; all of these games were composed by Hataya.

Most of the games with the credit N.Gee or Nagao seem to favor funk-inspired basslines in several tracks, like Shinobi III's Shinobi Walk, Sonic Drift 2's Mystic Cave and Death Egg, Sonic Chaos' Turquoise Hill and Aqua Planet (among others), and most of the music he composed for The Hybrid Front.

In addition, the music for the stage Ocean Palace in Sonic Heroes bears a melodic similarity to the theme songs to Sonic 2 and Sonic Chaos, which are credited to Nao Chan (which is a diminutive form of Naofumi, similar to how Jimmy and Jimbo are diminutives of James in English) and Nagao N. Gee respectively. The Ocean Palace BGM is credited as being composed by Hataya, though it is performed by Jun Senoue.

Production History

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