After studying composition and arrangement at a vocational school, Nakano worked for Konami from 1991 to 1994, where he scored numerous arcade games.
After graduation, he joined the Kobe branch of Konami in 1991, where he contributed music to eight arcade games with several collaborators over a three-year period, including titles such as X-Men and Mystic Warriors.
Deciding he wanted to create more original music and have a chance to receive individual recognition, Nakano left Konami after completing the score for Golfing Greats 2 in 1994.
[2] He created four pieces for the 1996 video game Front Mission: Gun Hazard, which featured composers Nobuo Uematsu, Yasunori Mitsuda, and Masashi Hamauzu.
[10] Following Final Fantasy X, Nakano composed the soundtrack to Asmik Ace Entertainment's flight simulator Sidewinder F. Back at Square Enix, he created the music for Musashi: Samurai Legend with Hamauzu and the duo Wavelink Zeal (Takayuki and Yuki Iwai) in 2004.
[14] On December 31, 2009, Nakano confirmed that he had left Square Enix and would be joining his former mentor and collaborator Yuji Takenouchi's supergroup "GeOnDan", whom have since disbanded.
[15] Nakano's last projects for Square Enix before leaving were the soundtracks to Fullmetal Alchemist: Prince of the Dawn and Daughter of the Dusk.
[16] After joining Square, he started focusing on rhythm and timbre which he implemented in titles like Front Mission: Gun Hazard, Treasure Conflix, and Tobal No.