Key Facts

Mobile RPG Megido 72 ended its online service on Mar 9 2025 19:02 JST, exactly 7 years 2 months after launch.
Despite closure, the title hit No. 1 on Japan’s X trend list and kept fans buzzing.
5-CD best album “Megido 72 -Music Destinations-” released Jun 11 2025 via Victor Entertainment (¥7,200; ¥19,720 Ltd. set).
“Megido 72 THE CONCERT -Tracing Battle Memories-” will play Sept 13–14 2025 at Hitotsubashi Hall, Tokyo.
Interview features Producer Taro Kanno (DeNA) & Composer Ryo Yorizaki (Media Vision) on using game music as narrative.

In February 2025, the mobile RPG Megido 72 celebrated its “7.2-year anniversary.” Although its online service ended on March 9 at 7:02 p.m., the title continued to trend at No.1 on X in Japan, demonstrating an extraordinary level of post-service enthusiasm. On June 11, a best album of the game’s music was released. We spoke with Megido 72 producer Taro Kanno and composer Ryo Yorizaki about the stories behind the music and the upcoming concert.

Expressing the Characters’ Backstories Through Sound

—First off, could you share your feelings now that the best album Megido 72 -Music Destinations- is complete?

Kanno: With this, I feel like we’ve finally made a true culmination—an all-encompassing best album. There are just so many tracks included… How many are there, again?

Yorizaki: I actually don’t know right off the bat (laughs).

Kanno: Right? There are just too many to keep count (laughs). In Megido 72, every time a new story or character was introduced, Ryo created music tailored to that world. So when you listen to the music now, it brings back how you felt while playing at the time. Even if you don’t remember the title of a song, just hearing it will make you go, “Ah, that’s the track from that moment.” I think this album captures that feeling.

Yorizaki: Structurally, it reflects the full 7 years and 2 months of Megido 72 up until its conclusion. We also reworked details so that even those who already own the 2021 soundtrack can enjoy it—linking different tracks and making refinements throughout. The limited edition consists of 5 CDs. Discs 2–5 focus on tracks released after 2021 (Disc 1 is the same as the regular edition).

Kanno: I never gave Ryo any specific requests regarding the music. He talked directly with the scenario writers and composed based on the narrative’s worldbuilding. And I trusted that completely. That’s because Megido 72 isn’t a simple story where the protagonist defeats evil and peace is restored—it’s a game where each character has a deeply personal story, and I wanted the music to reflect that.

Yorizaki: That’s why most of the songs are actually for the antagonists. There aren’t many composed from the protagonist’s point of view. Most of the music is battle-themed, shaped by the enemies’ emotions.

Kanno: The players project themselves onto the protagonist, which can lead to complex emotions. But through music that expresses the backgrounds of characters not directly explained in the game, the players can immerse themselves even deeper. That’s why I see Ryo’s compositions not just as background music, but as a core element that constructs the narrative.

Yorizaki: I also felt that I was emotionally in sync with the players while composing. Since it was a live-service game, we received real-time reactions from players, which only deepened our shared emotional connection and inspired me to write the next song.

Kanno: Are we not going to talk about Chihiro? (laughs) (*Chihiro Yorizaki, a fellow composer and Ryo’s wife, also contributed to Megido 72’s music.)

Yorizaki: Right. It may sound like I’m bragging, but Chihiro’s compositions really enriched the musical palette of Megido. She’d spend a long time crafting each piece—while I’d compose three, she’d work meticulously on one. So many of her songs really stuck with the players.

Kanno: With Chihiro involved too, Ryo really became a full-fledged participant in the Megido world. That’s why he’s as popular among the players as any of the game’s characters. We even joked around and created a character modeled after Ryo (laughs). Honestly, to me, the music is the real centerpiece—sometimes it even feels like the game is the extra (laughs).

Yorizaki: No, no, it’s the other way around (laughs). But I always approached music as a way to enrich the game. And having been able to help bring the story to its conclusion with our own hands—I’m really happy about that.

Kanno: Most mobile social games don’t manage to conclude their story because they shut down when they’re no longer viable as a business. But with Megido 72, we set out from the beginning with a plan to complete the story, and we were able to do that at the symbolic 7.2-year mark. That allowed us to properly say farewell. And the fans celebrated that “conclusion.”

Yorizaki: We never used the word “termination” in official messaging, did we?

Kanno: No, we used “conclusion.”

Yorizaki: Even on social media, there was a celebratory tone—“Thank you for bringing it to a close.”

From Vocal Tracks to Jazz and Classical Elements

—One notable feature of your compositions for Megido 72 is how adventurous they were—lots of vocal songs, jazz elements—unusual for game music.

Yorizaki: In game music, there are two types of tracks: the kind that follows genre “tropes,” and the kind that lets you do what you really want. I perform best in the latter. Since I’m especially skilled in jazz and classical styles, those naturally came to the forefront. One of the songs I put the most effort into was the final boss battle music. Usually, it takes me about 3–7 days to compose one track, but that one took 2–3 months. It’s a violin concerto about 15 minutes long—the first time I spent that much time on a single Megido 72 track. It’s rare to have the opportunity to write a full classical-style piece like that, so I’m really glad I got to do it.ges from day to night—pure whimsy, but people love it. It’s music made for enjoyment, not merely to be heard.

Source : ORICON NEWS