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| Patrick Gann |
Bandai Namco publicly apologizes, but no word yet as to the fate of the plagiarizing composer.
08.21.09 - 6:06 PM
Usually, when songs from other intellectual properties are used in a Super Robot Taisen game, it's done intentionally and with permission. After all, the series exists largely as a mash-up of popular mecha anime franchises.
But now, composer Kennosuke Suemura has been caught red-handed, dipping into the musical honeypots of Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger) and Yasunori Shiono (Estpolis, known to Americans as Lufia) in an attempt to re-use some of the best melodies of gaming's past.
Indeed, rumors and allegations that Suemura regularly plagiarizes the work of other composers to varying degrees, have been around for some time. Though it's never been formally acknowledged, many game music fans are already aware that Suemura has used music from the game Warcraft II without permission.
But this time, with the latest title, Bandai Namco has had to take the hit for Suemura's wrongdoings.
Recently, Bandai Namco issued an official, public apology. In it, they acknowledge that there are songs in Super Robot Taisen K that closely resemble "Battle With Maou" (Magus) from Chrono Trigger and "The One Who Will Save The Earth" from Lufia II, both popular Super Nintendo games. Bandai Namco goes on to apologize to all involved parties, especially Square Enix and Taito (the latter now being a part of the Square Enix empire) for the inconvenience caused by the issue. The apology also states that a settlement has been reached between the companies.
At this point, there has been no word as to what the fate of Kennosuke Suemura will be. Considering the prolific nature of Banpresto's Super Robot Taisen series, it won't be long until another game is announced and released, and we'll see if Suemura is still actively working on this series after this troubling fact about his career has been revealed.
Click on the links below to check out the official apology statement (in Japanese), as well as YouTube videos that will demonstrate for you the similarities between Suemura's "compositions" and the original music.
