A good score can definitely change a game to me, but yeah if you’re going to claim “staff” from legendary games I’d assume more than one guy, and people who had a hand in design.

I know and like lots of games scored by Sakuraba, and not that I don’t like his music but… I don’t know, it tends to sound very same-y and almost random at times. Especially in that 00’s era. There was a corny melody pattern he put in all of his big themes at the time, Tales of Symphonia, Baten Kaitos, Golden Sun all had it somewhere, and I couldn’t hear anything else when it happened.

That said, when it works, it works and it’s pretty unique. True Mirror and Valedictory Elegy from Baten Kaitos are very good, and a perfect fit for their games.