Kevin Penkin is credited to the 2013 SYMPHONIC REUNION Ringing Medley orchestral arrangement for Steins;Gate.
| Steins;Gate post of destiny | 2013 SYMPHONIC REUNION Ringing Medley orchestral arrangement |
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Related productions for Steins;Gate
Kevin Penkin was explicitly credited as the orchestral arranger for the 2013 SYMPHONIC REUNION Ringing Medley.
Early methods for working with game soundtracks and performance music
In a 2012 interview, Kevin Penkin explained that he tends to let a small number of core musical concepts evolve and transform repeatedly, accumulating emotional meaning.
He continued to send recent works to contacts in Japan, and later received work emails from Ogawa, allowing him to participate in 'Thirteen Branches ~Crescent Moon Three Kingdoms~', working on the same project as Nobuo Uematsu.
The game's soundtrack is based on received visual images, Chinese instruments and scales set in the Three Kingdoms setting, Japanese RPG style, and includes inverted harp and piano samples, as well as bow guitar. Orchestral sampling mainly comes from the Vienna Symphonic Library.
In Video Games Unplugged, he created sheet music for some tracks, transcribed percussion for Halo and Uncharted, and rearranged tracks for tracks with too many or insufficient instruments.
About three weeks before adapting Uematsu's theme song from 'Thirteen Branches,' he first arranged One Winged Angel and Liberi Fatali for orchestral arrangements, experimenting with methods for handling Uematsu's works.
In his independent electroacoustic ensemble Cycle~440, he plays a piano equipped with a microphone, while Sam Gillies records and processes live sounds, transforming them into electronic textures.
Early inspiration for animated works
Kevin Penkin recalls that "Earth Girl Arjuna" made him realize for the first time that animation could simultaneously embrace story, music, social observation, and visual expression. This work was also one of his favorite animations during his formative years.
The starting point and invitation of animation score work
In the label Q&A, Penkin listed "Norn9," which aired in January 2016, as his first animated soundtrack project.
A co-producer of "Tower of God" had heard Penkin's music for "From the Abyss" and "The Rising of the Shield Hero," felt his style suited the work, and subsequently invited him to compose music.
Career Starting Point and Early Trigger
In a 2019 interview, Penkin reflected that he has been working professionally as a game composer since 2011. His early exposure to Nintendo games sparked his interest in composing and further exposed him to Japanese culture, sparking his desire to write music for animation.
At that time, indie games were on the rise, and his friends had already started working in the industry, making him feel that composing for games was a viable path. He listed Defender's Quest, Norn9, and Florence as several projects that later changed his own development.
Related entries
- Participated Works:Steins;Gate
- Featured Tracks:Ringing Medley（SYMPHONIC REUNION）
References
- RPGFan/Patrick Gann: SYMPHONIC REUNION Track-by-Track Review
- VGMO: Kevin Penkin talks about early game and live music production
- Milan Records: Five Questions interview with Kevin Penkin
- PocketGamer.biz: Kevin Penkin looks back on the beginnings of his professional game composition
Data compiled on: 2026-10-16.