Review: Dragon Ball Z – Ultimate Tenkaichi (PS3)

A few months ago I broke the exclusive that Akira Yamaoka – infamous for his sound work on Silent Hill and Dance Dance Revolution – left Konami after sixteen years with the company. Since then, the world has been crying out one simple question: what the hell would he do next?

Well, Yamaoka has finally answered. By way of an interview with Famitsu, 1UP.com report that Yamaoka has joined Japanese freelancer Kazutoshi Iida by dropping roots with Grasshopper Manufacture, creator of interesting titles like Killer 7 and No More Heroes.

“I really love Yamaoka,” said Grasshopper’s Goichi Suda. “Ever since I saw a video of Silent Hill 2 at the Tokyo Game Show nine years ago, I’ve always dreamed of working alongside him. That’s why I thought I’d invite him over when I started hearing rumors that he left [Konami].”

But what of Yamaoka himself? Maintaining a respectful silence since his departure, he has said very little about what prompted the move, or what he had hoped to do next. He broke his silence with the Famitsu interview, and stated that the Grasshopper offer came at just the right time.

“I knew about Suda long before I met him,” he says. “I saw Grasshopper as one of those few Japanese outfits whose games can appeal to an overseas audience. I had a chance to meet him in Los Angeles and we talked about this and that, and once we started discussing how we wanted to do something creative for a world audience, I was hooked on the company.”

To start with, Yamaoka will concentrate on what he’s most famous for – music and sound composition. But it’s Yamaoka’s hope is that he’ll be able to take what he’s learned producing at Konami, and apply that “total sum of experience” to new projects.

So what do you think? Could this confirm the end for Silent Hill‘s trademark sound, or simply signal the beginning of something new?