Resident Evil Composer Controversy Rocks Fandom

The composer behind classic cult horror franchise Resident Evil is something of a legend in Japan. Sometimes called ‘Japan’s Beethoven,’ Mamoru Samuragoch claimed to have written some of the most iconic music in gaming history – while completely deaf. He’s accepted the praise for it for almost twenty years, until it’s come out that he didn’t actually write all of it, and he’s probably not even deaf.

Wait a second – what?! A composer known for writing great music while being deaf isn’t actually much of a composer, didn’t write that much music and he’s not deaf? It certainly seems that way.

The story comes in two parts, and was announced in English by Kotaku. Earlier this week, Japanese network NHK revealed that the composer had admitted to them that he hadn’t written many of the compositions he’d taken credit for.

“I started hiring the person to compose music for me around 1996, when I was asked to make movie music for the first time,” said Samuragoch. “I had to ask the person to help me for more than half of my work because my ear condition got worse.”

In an interview with Takashi Niigaki, the ghost writer who took on much of Mamoru’s work, Takashi revealed that this “ear condition” may not have even existed in the first place.

Reporter: [Samuragoch] has said that he cannot hear, but was there ever an incident where you doubted this fact?

Niigaki: From the first time I met him, I never felt that his hearing was impaired.

Reporter: You said you never felt that his hearing was impaired. Could you elaborate?

Niigaki: He listened to a tape I recorded and gave me instructions accordingly.

Reporter: As to [Samuragoch’s] hearing, how did it seem like to you?

Niigaki: We held normal interactions.

Reporter: Then why do you think [Samuragoch] went with that?

Niigaki: At first, he indicated that his hearing was deteriorating to me as well. But during our interactions, he returned to normal.

Reporter: Didn’t [Samuragoch] attempt to hide it at all?

Niigaki: He said that this (that he couldn’t hear) was how he was going to proceed.

It’s not going to be easy for Mamoru Samuragoch over the next few weeks. His lies are catching up with him, quickly enough that many are forgetting that there’s a reason he was a respected composer before he hired a ghost writer. Still, to accept praise and payment for other people’s work while pretending to be deaf; that’s the sort of thing that rarely pays off in the long run.