Rika Muranaka is a Japanese composer and music producer renowned for her songs in Konami’s Metal Gear video game series.
[5] Her debut CD Slice of Life, released in 1992, featured vocalists Dwight Dukes, Cynthia Harrell and Stephanie B and was result of collaboration with Michael Caruso, a Grammy-nominated songwriter.
[6] Reflecting on her work dynamics on Metal Gear Solid series, Rika Muranaka states that she had to be a “mind reader” as she did not know the story line or where the music was intended to be used and had to imagine what Hideo Kojima had envisioned.
[6][7][9] She also revealed that, when working on Metal Gear Solid, Hideo Kojima did not wish to hear any songs in English or any other language he would understand.
[4][6][9] She believes by doing so she has contributed to setting the trend of attracting film producers to the music composition in game industry.
[9][10] She involved jazz musicians, such as Gerald Albright, Kevin Eubanks and Hubert Laws, in creating music for the game series.