Shogo Sakai Shogo Sakai in 2025 Details Born September 23, 1960 Role(s) Composer Employer(s) HAL Laboratory (formerly) Notable works VariousKirby titles, starting withKirby: Nightmare in Dream Land

This box: view • talk • edit

Shogo Sakai (酒井省吾Sakai Shōgo, born September 23, 1960) is a video game composer. He initially worked atData East, but in 1996 he moved toHAL Laboratory, becoming one of their primary composers and music librarians. He is best known for his work onMother 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.^[1]

List of works[edit]

Kirby series[edit]

• Kirby: Nightmare in Dream Land (withJun 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 (withMegumi Ohara)
• Kirby Battle Royale (with Megumi Ohara)
• Kirby's Dream Buffet (withYuuta Ogasawara, Jun Ishikawa, Hirokazu Ando, Megumi Ohara, andYuki Shimooka)
• Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World (withYuki Kato, Megumi Ohara, Hirokazu Ando, Yuuta Ogasawara, Yuki Shimooka, Jun Ishikawa, andMomo Kodama)
• Kirby Air Riders (withNoriyuki Iwadare and various others)

Kirby albums[edit]

• 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")
• The Sound of Kirby Café - Jazz Style - (withYuko Komiyama, Hirokazu Ando, Megumi Ohara, Yuki Shimooka, Momo Kodama, and Jun Ishikawa)

Super Smash Bros. series[edit]

• 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[edit]

• Donald Land (with other composers)
• MOTHER 3
• Heracles no Eikō IV: Kamigami kara no Okurimono (Glory of Heracles IV: Gift from the Gods) (lead, with other composers)
• Part Time UFO
• Minnesota Fats: Pool Legend (with other composers)
• Face Raiders
• Free ni Natte Yokatta (Glad I'm Free)

Song credits[edit]

The following are allKirby songs Shogo Sakai has been credited for being in charge of:

Kirby Air Ride[edit]

Kirby and the Rainbow Curse[edit]

The Sound of Kirby Café[edit]

Kirby 25th Anniversary Orchestra Concert[edit]

Kirby Memorial Arrangements[edit]

The Sound of Kirby Café 2[edit]

Kirby's Dream Buffet[edit]

Kirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World[edit]

Kirby Air Riders[edit]

The Sound of Kirby Café - Jazz Style -[edit]

Trivia[edit]

• InKirby's Dream Buffet and a video on theKirby JP Twitter,^[4] Shogo Sakai is represented withlavender notes when music is playing.
  • InKirby and the Forgotten Land – Nintendo Switch 2 Edition + Star-Crossed World, his work is instead represented bymagenta notes.

External Links[edit]

• Shogo Sakai's Youtube
• Shogo Sakai's Twitter
• Shogo Sakai's Instagram
• Shogo Sakai's Bluesky

References

• Staff