It’s been almost a month since the release of NINJA GAIDEN: Ragebound, and honestly, I’m so happy with the reviews and the reception! Even while I was on vacation, I couldn’t stop reading articles and fan comments. What a blast!

It is a very special game, and I think it’s managed to connect not only with much of the old-school fan base, but also with many younger players who never experienced the original trilogy back in the day. The reveal trailer debut was thrilling… https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

As for the reception of the music, I have to say I’ve been quite overwhelmed by the positive comments and messages I’ve received over these days. TYSM to everyone! I hope the game’s music stays with all of you after completing (or mastering) the adventure. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

When I found out I’d have the chance to handle the music for a new 2D NINJA GAIDEN installment, at first I was pretty blown away… and soon I realized the tremendous responsibility it entailed.

The music of the original trilogy is among the most beloved in video game history, and I knew I’d have to work extremely hard to reach the required level of quality. It wasn’t an easy task so I gave it all and pushed myself as much as possible.

For a long time, I wondered whether the soundtrack should stay in the realm of our beloved NES (whose sound I’m a huge fan of), whether it should be more of a “hybrid chiptune thing”, or whether I should push a little further and look for a more modern approach.

Aesthetically, the game can more or less be placed in the early 32-bit era, when CD-based titles already featured digital audio, so I thought that was the best choice… while still leaving a few chiptune touches here and there.

On top of that, it’s a story set in the 80s/90s, so the music had to match the period to some extent. Also, unlike the original trilogy, which took place in America, Kenji and Kumori’s adventure is set in Japan. That was great news for me!

I’m a huge fan of 80s/90s anime music, so I could pour a lot of those influences into the OST. Of course I also took inspiration from other ninja games and progressive music in general. I soon created a “music mood board” as a production guideline.

Little by little, I narrowed down my sound palette, largely based on gear and synthesizers from that era: Yamaha CS-15, Roland Juno 106, Roland JV1080/2080, Korg TR-Rack, etc., complemented by some more modern software sounds.

I also made special use of the Korg N5, the first hardware synth I ever owned. It’s not especially powerful, but to me it has a special sound. You can hear it in some strings, pads and leads.

The guitars I recorded myself were split between a G&L ASAT and a PRS Fiore, while those recorded by my teammate Leo were, mostly Solar. We used a combination of BOGREN amp simulators and an Axe-FX system.

Speaking of teammates! This wasn’t a solo job. My good friend Leo Peña handled the digital mixing and mastering, as well as re-recording some guitar parts. Sometimes I hadn’t enough time to track clean takes by myself 😅

He’s been an amazing partner and incredibly patient with me—THANK YOU so much. Some of the tracks went through a lot of mixing iterations, so believe me if I say that he really knows how to handle artists.

Meanwhile, our friends at @KidKatanaRec, the record label publishing the OST, gave us the chance to collaborate with external composers… and of course, the names of the original trilogy’s musicians came up right away.

@kidkatanarec The memories we all carry of our favorite game soundtracks are, without a doubt, one of the things that impacts us most as players, so I felt it was essential for fans to reconnect with the original creators.

Thanks to @BraveWaveMusic, we had the honor of working with the legendary @MoreYamasan, @kajiyamusic, and @ipanema0202. What a privilege! They contributed very different and high-quality tracks.

Many years have passed since the release of the original trilogy, and it was essential to let the original artists reconnect with their players. I’m deeply grateful for the contributions of these three masters—without their work, our mission would have been incomplete.

We decided the best slots for the collaborations would be the boss fights and opening levels, as they were “content islands” with more freedom in terms of sound and style. I think the final result turned out really well!

KOEI-TECMO GAMES also gave us the chance to make rearrangements of some classic tracks. Making the selection was really tough! There were a lot of tracks in the catalog and we were short of time, so we had to be very selective.

The original NES tracks, due to the memory limitations of the time, were a bit short, so I was allowed to extend them and add new sections to give players more variety. I hope you enjoy the new sections in these classic tunes.

“Unbreakable Determination” was a MUST! Everyone was waiting for that one. When I finished the arrangement I thought “maybe the intro is a little too long,” but then I remember fans waited for 30 years… 20 seconds extra is not a big deal :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

“Bravery: On the Clutches” was the biggest challenge, since the original has a very special bass line which evolves in a very unique way… It’s a much more complex track than it seems! It was a real pleasure to study the classic pieces in detail. https://www.youtube.com/watch?...

The only premise I was given for this project was that the music had to be super HIGH ENERGY. I struggled playing some guitar parts… 😅 I really had to focus on practice a lot. I’m very thankful also to my teacher Mr. Miguelo Delgado, an amazing guitar player and maestro.

I used some motifs to represent characters, objects, and situations, always keeping in mind that the most important thing was to support the gameplay. There are even some secrets in some tracks “à la Rush”... Can you spot them?

With so many fast and dense tracks, I was worried that I couldn’t give players' ears a break, so I used the slots from the map, the shop, and some cutscenes to slow down the pace. And of course: the credit roll! A bit of relaxation after slaying hundreds of monsters never hurts…

Since the very beginning of the project I thought we needed a pop song for the credit roll. I love songs at the end of video games and movies! They’re a great opportunity to refresh the listener’s ear and give them something different.

I was willing to write something in a City Pop style, and for that, we had the chance to work with @hitomitoijoy, a phenomenal artist whose discography I highly recommend to everyone 🎶🎶

@hitomitoijoy Hitomitoi wrote the lyrics and performed “Kaze no Chronicle”, in which we tried not only to describe the adventure of our beloved Kenji and Kumori, but also that of all the development team members who made this project possible.

@hitomitoijoy We had the collaboration of Jorge Cordero on bass, Alex Penso and Domingo Muñoz on the brass section and Dani Pastor on lead guitar. We were really tight on time, but thanks to everyone’s joint effort, we pulled it off! Arranging the brass was lots of fun…

@sergiodeprado you're amazing

@Dotemu Thanks for the opportunity and your support! ❤️

@sergiodeprado Super wow. I’ve read every single word and shouted aloud every single punctuation you typed in this thread. DOT COMMA EXCLAMATION MARK. Listen to me biggest of fucking bros Sergio, know that the owner of this page will always love you. 3 billion dollars and kisses for you.

@sergiodeprado https://www.youtube.com/watch?... One of my favorite tracks 🔥🔥🔥🔥