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Takeharu Ishimoto made his start at Square as a sound programmer for such titles as Legend of Mana, Vagrant Story, and Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories. The first track credited to him that appeared on a published record was a "fight mix" arrangement of Hitoshi Sakimoto's opening music for Vagrant Story, one of the highlights of the remarkable original sound version, though the song never appeared in the game.

Ishimoto's versatility in synthesizer programming led to his becoming one of Square Enix Music's key figures on portable titles with limited sound capabilities. He worked with Yoko Shimomura on adapting her Playstation 2 Kingdom Hearts themes for the Game Boy Advance, accomplishing some impressive feats with the limited capabilities of the portable's sound card. He went on to compose the original score for Before Crisis and the anime OVA Last Order. The composer seems to get along with director and character designer Tetsuya Nomura. They are currently working on three games together.

At the Square Enix Party yesterday, sampler CDs of Ishimoto's music were made available to guests who waited in line to play demos of Subarashiki Kono Sekai and Crisis Core. Another two special discs could be obtained by attending the forty-minute trailer compilation in the closed theater and by purchasing an item at the CD shop booth. The former contains two tracks from Dissidia Final Fantasy, and the Square Enix Music sampler includes a song from Before Crisis, whose long-awaited OST appears to be canceled. With the sudden availability of these promotional materials, a representative sample of Takeharu Ishimoto's music has been made accessible for listening.

Square Music fans might wish to give his songs a listen. Click on the following thumbnails for a sound sample. More to come from the Square Enix Party.