Koji Kondo
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Koji Kondo (近藤浩治 Kondō Kōji b. August 13, 1960) is a Japanese composer and musician best known for his scores for various video games produced by Nintendo.
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Biography
Kondo was born in Osaka, Japan. He took to music at an early age, writing simple tunes for fun even as a small child. At seventeen, he decided to pursue music professionally. He undertook classical training, and he learned to play several instruments.
In the 1980s, Kondo learned that a company called Nintendo was seeking musicians to compose music for its new video game system, the Famicom (Nintendo Entertainment System in North America and Europe). Kondo had never considered writing video game music before, but he decided to give the company a chance. He was hired in 1983.
Kondo found himself in a totally different environment at Nintendo. Suddenly, he was limited to only four "instruments" (Melody, Backup, bass, and percussion) due to the system's primitive sound chip. Though he and Nintendo's technicians eventually discovered a way to add a fifth channel (normally reserved for SFX), his music was still severely limited on the system.
Kondo has stayed with Nintendo through various consoles, including the Super Famicom (Super Nintendo in North America and Europe), the Nintendo 64, (originally the ultra 64) and most recently the Nintendo GameCube. These latter systems have vastly improved Nintendo's audio capabilities, and Kondo today composes music with CD quality sound.
Musical style and influences
Koji Kondo is one of the most acclaimed composers to have worked with Nintendo's video game music division. Critics cite as his greatest talent his ability to craft melodies that remain pleasant and even when looped over long periods of time and played through inferior sound equipment. His songs are certainly memorable; the Super Mario Bros. theme song, for example, is still a mainstream icon 20 years after it was written. Not unknown in the musical community, Mr. Kondo can count talent such as Paul McCartney among his fans. Kondo's music has been cited as being as integral to the Nintendo style as the game design of Shigeru Miyamoto.
Conversely, this familiarity is also the cause of most criticism of Kondo's work. Over nearly 20 years in video game music, his style has changed very little. The themes of Super Mario Bros. in 1985 are little different from those of Super Mario Sunshine in 2002, although the earlier game sounds more primitive due to technology constraints. This need for sameness over the years is something of a two-edged sword for Kondo; when he does try something different, as in The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998), his fans criticise him for abandoning the themes and styles they have grown to enjoy.
Koji Kondo's work shows at least three major influences: Latin music, jazz music, and classical music (mainly ragtime and march music), often with a strong cinematic flair. Latin is particularly evident in his bouncy themes throughout the Mario series, such as the soundtrack to Super Mario Bros. 3. The happy main theme has a slow, samba-like rhythm. The second theme offers a more upbeat, ragtime-like style. The Bowser theme would not sound out of place being played by a Mexican mariachi band. This influence also shows up in his more recent works, such as the Gerudo Valley theme from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time, a song with a certain Spanish flair.
Kondo's more jazz-influenced pieces also come from a wide variety of projects. One of the earliest examples of this is his minimalist underground theme from the first Super Mario Bros. Saria's theme from Ocarina of Time sounds almost Dixieland in places. All of this is hardly surprising; Kondo lists Henry Mancini as one of his most admired influences.
Kondo was trained as a classical musician, and this shows in his more ambitious projects, such as the soundtracks to the Zelda series. These pieces are distinctively cinematic, reminiscent of John Williams' work on Star Wars or Close Encounters of the Third Kind. The title theme to the 1986 The Legend of Zelda is grandiose for all its low fidelity.
Kondo's work is also highly influenced by Eastern Asian music, which might not be surprising given his country of birth. His songs are predominantly melody-based with little supporting harmony, which is in keeping with the Asian tradition. This makes him somewhat unique among the most popular video game composers, as his counterparts such as Nobuo Uematsu and Koichi Sugiyama produce more Western-sounding compositions for their games.
Video game soundtracks (incomplete)
- Devil World (with Akito Nakatsuka) (1984)
- Super Mario Bros. (1985)
- Nazo no Murasame-jou ("The Mysterious Castle of Murasame") (1986)
- The Legend of Zelda (1986, 1987)
- Shin Onigashima (1987)
- Super Mario Bros. 2 (1988)
- Super Mario Bros. 3 (1990)
- Super Mario World (1991)
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (1992)
- Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995)
- Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (with Yoko Shimomura and Nobuo Uematsu) (1996)
- Super Mario 64 (1996)
- Star Fox 64 (with Hajime Wakai) (1997)
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (1998)
- Super Smash Bros. (with several others) (1999)
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (with Toru Minegishi) (2000)
- Super Smash Bros. Melee (with several others) (2001)
- Super Mario Sunshine (with Shinobu Tanaka) (2002)
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (with Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, and Toru Minegishi) (2003)
- The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (2005)
Albums (incomplete)
- Super Mario Bros. Original Soundtrack (Cassette) (1986)
- Cat. Number: 10FC-2046
- Track 1 is original. Track 2 is an 'Orchestra Version'.
- Super Mario Brothers ~MARIO SYNDROME~ (Record) (1986)
- Cat. Number: K13A-748
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Disco/Dance-style Arrangements of Super Mario Bros., featuring vocals
- Famicom Music (1986; reprinted in 2002)
- Cat. Number: 28XA-69 (reprint: SCDC-00145)
- Tracks 1, 2, 4-6, and 9-11 are original. Tracks 3 and 7 are arrange versions.
- Arrangement by Yoshihiro Kunimoto
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Super Mario Bros. (1, 7)
- The Legend of Zelda (11)
- Nazo no Murasame-jou / The Legend of Zelda (1986)
- Cat. Number: 10FC-8001
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Features 'Orchestra Versions' of the music from the two games
- Famicom Music VOL.2 (1987; reprinted in 2002)
- Cat. Number: 28XA-197 (reprint: SCDC-00151)
- Tracks 1-5 and 7-10 are original. Track 8 is an arranged version.
- Arranged by Yoshihiro Kunimoto
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Shin Onigashima Part 1 (1)
- Doki Doki Panic (6)
- Nazo no Murasame-jou (8)
- Shin Onigashima Part 2 (10)
- Toy Music: Dancing Super Mario Brothers - Akihabara Electric Circus (1988)
- Cat. Number: CT32-5299
- Tracks 2-10 are arranged versions. Track 1 is original.
- Arranged by Akihabara Electric Circus
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Theme of Disc System (1)
- Nazo no Murasame-jou (2)
- Super Mario Bros. (4, 10)
- Shin Onigashima (6)
- The Legend of Zelda (9)
- Super Mario Bros. 3: G.S.M. (FC) Nintendo 1 (1988)
- Cat. Number: D25B-0005
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Tracks 1-4 are arranged versions. Track 5 is original.
- Arranged by Yoshihiro Kunimoto (1, 4) and Nobuyuki Ohnogi (2, 3)
- Fantastic World of Super Mario Bros. 3 (CD/Cassette) (1988)
- Cat. Number: BY12-5031 (Cassette version: KHY-1036)
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Tracks 1-4 are arranged versions. Track 5 is original.
- Super Mario Bros. 3 ~ Akihabara Electric Circus (1988)
- Cat. Number: CT32-5329
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- All tracks arranged by the Akihabara Electric Circus
- Super Mario Bros. 1.2.3.: Hop! Step! Jump! (1989)
- Cat. Number: CA-3393
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Tracks 1 & 2 are arranged versions. Track 3 is original.
- Arranged by the Mario Freaks Orchestra (1, 2)
- Super Mario Bros. Special (1990)
- Cat. Number: MECG-28003
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Tracks 1, 4, 6, 9, 12, 14, and 17 are Drama tracks. Tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 11, 13, 15, and 16 are Vocal arranges.
- Drama track voices:
- Mario: Nozomu Sasaki
- Kuribo (Goomba): Megumi Hayashibara
- Princess Peach: Maria Kawamura
- Singers:
- Game Music Graffiti (1990)
- Cat. Number: COCA-6969~70
- Contains arranged versions of music from Famicom and Game Boy games
- Arranged by the Mario Freaks Orchestra
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Disc 1:
- Super Mario Bros. (3)
- Super Mario Bros. 3 (3)
- Devil World (with Akito Nakatsuka, 4)
- Disc System Theme (10)
- The Legend of Zelda (11)
- Nazo no Murasame-jou (12)
- Super Mario Bros. 2 (not Super Mario Bros. USA, 13)
- Disc 2:
- Shin Onigashima (4)
- Disc 1:
- Super Mario World (1991)
- Cat. Number: WPCL-233~4
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Disc 1 contains arranged music from Super Mario Bros. 1, 3, and Super Mario World
- Disc 2 contains original music from Super Mario Bros. 1, 2, 3 and Super Mario World, as well as Sound Effects libraries from each
- Disc 1 arranged by Soichi Noriki
- Game Music Concert ~ The Best Selection (1991)
- Cat. Number: WPCL-560
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Super Mario Bros. (arranged by Nobuo Kurita, conducted by Kousuke Onozaki, 5)
- Super Mario World (arranged by Nobuo Kurita, conducted by Kousuke Onozaki, 6)
- The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods (arranged and conducted by Toshiko Watanabe, 7, 8)
- Performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
- Nintendo Super Famicom Game Music (1992)
- Cat. Number: TOCT-6429
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Super Mario World (8, 26-29)
- The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods (6, 7, 30-32)
- Tracks 1-8 are arranged versions. Tracks 9-32 are original.
- Arranged by Takami Asano
- Famicom Music ~ Best Selection (1992)
- Cat. Number: SRCL-2476
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Super Mario Bros. (1)
- The Legend of Zelda (3)
- Contains arrangements of popular Famicom game music
- Nintendo Super Famicom Game Music ~ Fun Together With Beyer (1993)
- Cat. Number: ACD-1143
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods (1-5)
- Super Mario World (27-31)
- Contains piano solo arrangements by Asako Niwa
- Super Mario Compact Disco: Ambassadors of Funk featuring M.C. Mario (1993)
- Cat. Number: ALCB-829
- Arrangements of music from various Mario games, rap/hip-hop style
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Super Mario World (1, 2, 10, 11, 20)
- Super Mario Bros. 3 (7)
- Super Mario Bros. USA (16)
- The Legend of Zelda: Sound and Drama (1994)
- Cat. Number: SRCL-2940~1
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Disc 1 contains arranged (1-8) and drama (9) versions of The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods. Disc 2 contains original music from The Legend of Zelda, and The Legend of Zelda: Triforce of the Gods.
- Disc 1 arranged by Yoshiyuki & Masumi Ito
- Game Music Concert 4 - Live Best Collection - (1994)
- Cat. Number: SRCL-2736
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
- Yoshi's Island Original Sound Version (1995)
- Cat. Number: PSCN-5040
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Game Music Concert 5 - Live Best Collection - (1996)
- Cat. Number: SRCL-2739
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Performed by the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra
- Super Mario RPG Original Sound Version (1996)
- Cat. Number: PSCN-5047~8
- Composition by Yoko Shimomura, Nobuo Uematsu, and Koji Kondo
- Koji Kondo composed:
- Disc 1: Tracks 2, 3, 5, 7, 26, 30, 37, and 38
- Disc 2, Tracks 15, 16, and 22
- Super Mario 64 Original Soundtrack (1996)
- Cat. Number: PCCG-00357
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Track 1 voiced by Charles Martinee
- Track 36 is a piano arrangement
- Star Fox 64 Original Soundtrack (1997)
- Cat. Number: PCCG-00421
- All composition by Hajime Wakai & Koji Kondo
- Koji Kondo (1-7, 32-39)
- Hajime Wakai (8-31)
- The Legend of Zelda The Ocarina of Time Original Soundtrack (1988)
- Cat. Number: PCCG-00475
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Original Soundtrack Vol. II ~ The Lost Tracks~ (1988)
- Cat. Number: 8110010
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- German promotional soundtrack
- Tracks 1-20 are original. Tracks 21-23 are arranged versions.
- Arrangement by Acoustic Department
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Hyrule Symphony (1999)
- Cat. Number: ZMCX-102
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- (String) Orchestra arrangements of The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Track 13 is a medley from the series.
- Arrangement by Ryuichi Katsumata
- The Legend of Zelda Ocarina of Time Re-Arranged Album (1999)
- Cat. Number: TKCA-71824
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Arrangement by MOKA
- N64Y2K: Millennium Trax (1999)
- Cat. Number: 3591040
- Koji Kondo composed tracks 1, 6, 8, 14-16, and 20
- Arrangements by Acoustic Department
- Nintendo All-Star Dairanto Smash Brothers (2000)
- Cat. Number: TECD-35446~7
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Super Mario Bros. (2, 10)
- The Legend of Zelda (4)
- The Legend of Zelda Majora's Mask Original Soundtrack (2000)
- Cat. Number: PICA-2006
- All composition by Koji Kondo, except for Disc 1: Tracks 36 & 52, and Disc 2: Track 7, composed by Toru Minegishi
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Orchestrations (2000)
- Cat. Number: FMCN-1003
- All composition by Koji Kondo and Toru Minegishi
- Arranged by the Majora Philharmonic Sound Orchestra
- Smash Brothers DX Orchestra (2002)
- Promotion album included with the December 2002 issue of Famitsu Cube+Advance Magazine
- Conducted by Taizo Takemoto
- Performed by the New Japan Philharmonic Orchestra
- Recorded at Tokyo Festival Hall, August 27, 2002
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- The Legend of Zelda (3)
- Star Fox 64 (with Hajime Wakai, 9)
- Super Mario Bros. (12)
- Yoshi's Island (12)
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (12)
- Super Mario Bros. 3 (12)
- Super Mario 64 (15)
- The Legend of Zelda: Takt of Wind Original Sound Tracks (2003)
- Cat. Number: SCDC-00250~1
- Composition by Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, Toru Minegishi, and Koji Kondo
- PEACH - Healing Music (2003)
- Cat. Number: CN-P004
- Promotional album, available only to members of Club Nintendo
- Tracks 1-22 are original. Tracks 23-26 are arranged versions: 'recorded musical perfomances with instruments, presented by the Nintendo Music Staff'
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Super Mario 64 (2, 3, 26)
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (7, 8, 10, 11)
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (9)
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (with Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, and Toru Minegishi, 12, 21, 24)
- Shin Onigashima: Part 1 (19)
- Super Mario Sunshine (with Shinobu Tanaka, 20)
- Super Mario Bros. 3 (22)
- Mario & Zelda Big Band Live (2003)
- Cat. Number: SCDC-00315
- Composition by Koji Kondo (1-7, 9-18), Kazumi Totaka (8), Kenta Nagata (9, 10), Hajime Wakai (9, 10), Toru Minegishi (9, 10), and Shinobu Tanaka (4, 17)
- Super Mario Bros. (1, 3, 5)
- Super Mario 64 (2, 18)
- Super Mario Sunshine (4, 12, 17)
- Super Mario Bros. 3 (6)
- Yoshi's Island (7)
- Yoshi's Story (8)
- The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (9, 10)
- The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (11, 14, 15)
- The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask (13)
- The Legend of Zelda (16)
- Famicom 20th Anniversary Original Sound Tracks Vol. 1 (2004)
- Cat. Number: SCDC-00317
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Super Mario Bros. (4-11)
- Devil World (with Akito Nakatsuka, 26-28)
- The Legend of Zelda (55-66)
- Nazo no Murasame-jou (67-75)
- Famicom 20th Anniversary Arrange Sound Tracks (2004)
- Cat. Number: SCDC-00320
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Shin Onigashima: The First Part (arranged by Takayuki "J99" Aihara, 5)
- Nazo no Murasame-jou (arranged by Yasuhisa "Yack." Watanabe, 6)
- Super Mario Bros. (arranged by Motoi Sakuraba, 8)
- The Legend of Zelda (arranged by Metal Yuuki Group, 9)
- Famicom 20th Anniversary Original Sound Tracks Vol. 3 (2004)
- Cat. Number: SCDC-00319
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Shin Onigashima: The First Part (1-13)
- Shin Onigashima: The Second Part (14-24)
- Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~: 01 Super Mario Bros. (2004)
- Cat. Number: SDEX-0010
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~: 10 The Legend of Zelda (2004)
- Cat. Number: SDEX-0019
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~: 11 Nazo no Murasame-jou (2004)
- Cat. Number: SDEX-0020
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~: 14 Shin Onigashima -Part 1- (2004)
- Cat. Number: SDEX-0023
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~: 15 Shin Onigashima -Part 2- (2004)
- Cat. Number: SDEX-0024
- All composition by Koji Kondo
- Game Sound Museum ~Famicom Edition~: S-3 Mario Bros. / Super Mario USA (2004)
- Cat. Number: SDEX-0027
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Super Mario USA (6-17)
- Famicom Sound History Series "Mario the Music" (2004)
- Cat. Number: SCDC-00360
- Composition by Koji Kondo, Hirokazu Tanaka, Akira Nobuya, and Noriko Tsutomu
- Koji Kondo's featured compositions:
- Super Mario Bros. (4-11)
- Super Mario Bros. 2 (12)
- Super Mario Bros. 3 (13-42)
- Super Mario USA (43-53)
- Nintendo Sound History Series "Zelda the Music" (2004)
- Cat. Number: SCDC-00395
- Contains music from througout Nintendo's history, from the Famicom to the GameCube
External links
- Fan remixes of Koji Kondo's work:
- OCRemix.org (http://www.ocremix.org/detailcomposer.php?compid=2)
- VGMix.com (http://vgmix.com/search.php?song_search=&song_type=0&game_name=&composer_name=Koji+Kondo&system_id=0&company_name=&wip=1&post_search=&post_type=0&username=&show_posts=1&show_songs=1&show_buzz=1&show_reviews=1)
- Video Game Sheet Music (http://individual.utoronto.ca/auyeun/vgsheetmusic.html)
- Partial Discographies:
- GMROnline.com (http://www.gmronline.com/results.asp?display=0&search=%22Koji+Kondo%22&go=Go+Find+It&searchType=Composer&browseType=Title&results=50)
- Gametrax.net (http://www.gametrax.net/composers/4197/index.html)
- The Mushroom Kingdom (http://www.classicgaming.com/tmk/mania/soundtracks.shtml) (Mario soundtracks only, includes non-Kondo work)
- Jeux-Europe.com (http://www.jeux-europe.com/suitearticle.php?idnews=7) (Biography, discography and pictures)de:Koji Kondo