Kenji Yamamoto | |
|---|---|
山本 健誌 | |
| Born | April 25, 1964 Japan |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, sound director, musician |
| Years active | 1987–present |
| Employer | Nintendo |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | Video game music |
| Instrument(s) | Piano, guitar |
Kenji Yamamoto (山本 健誌, Yamamoto Kenji, born April 25, 1964) is a Japanese video game musician working for Nintendo, notable for composing music in many titles of the Metroid series, mainly Super Metroid and the Metroid Prime trilogy. Yamamoto also plays a role as a music director at Nintendo, overseeing audio for several of their games. He frequently collaborates with fellow composers Minako Hamano and Masaru Tajima.
Yamamoto's music utilizes heavy drums, piano, voiced chants, clangs of pipes, and electric guitar.[1] In development of Super Metroid, Yamamoto came up with some of the game's themes by humming them to himself while riding his motorcycle home from work.[2][3][4]
He was asked to compose the music for Metroid Prime to reinforce the series' continuity.[4] Developers from Retro Studios noted how the process of fitting all the sound effects for a world in Metroid Prime into 6 MB of space was crucial in producing a quality aural experience, as each sound had to be of very high quality. Metroid Prime 3: Corruption took advantage of the increase in the amount of RAM that took place when the series switched from the GameCube to the Wii; this allowed for higher quality audio samples to be used and thus a better overall audio quality.[4]
Works
| Year | Title | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!![3] | Music with Yukio Kaneoka and Akito Nakatsuka |
| 1988 | Famicom Wars[3] | Music with Hirokazu Tanaka |
| 1989 | Famicom Detective Club: The Girl Who Stands Behind[3] | Music |
| 1994 | Super Metroid | Music with Minako Hamano[5] |
| 1995 | Galactic Pinball | Director, music with Masaru Tajima[6] |
| 1999 | Famicom Bunko: Hajimari no Mori | Music with Kozue Ishikawa |
| 2001 | Mario Kart: Super Circuit | Sound support |
| 2002 | Metroid Fusion | Sound director |
| Metroid Prime | Music with Koichi Kyuma | |
| 2004 | Metroid Prime 2: Echoes | Music |
| Metroid: Zero Mission[7] | Music with Minako Hamano[7] | |
| 2005 | Metroid Prime Pinball | Music with Masaru Tajima |
| Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day! | Sound director | |
| 2006 | English Training: Have Fun Improving Your Skills! | Sound director |
| Metroid Prime Hunters | Sound supervisor | |
| Excite Truck[2] | Music with Masaru Tajima | |
| 2007 | Metroid Prime 3: Corruption | Music with Minako Hamano and Masaru Tajima |
| 2008 | Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Arrangement |
| 2009 | Excitebots: Trick Racing | Music with Masaru Tajima and Shinji Ushiroda |
| 2010 | Photo Dojo | Sound supervisor |
| Donkey Kong Country Returns | Music with various others[8][9] | |
| 2011 | Rhythm Heaven Fever | Sound support |
| Pilotwings Resort | Music supervisor | |
| Sakura Samurai: Art of the Sword | Music director | |
| StreetPass Mii Plaza | Sound supervisor | |
| 2012 | Kiki Trick | Sound supervisor |
| Brain Age: Concentration Training | Sound supervisor | |
| 2013 | Donkey Kong Country Returns 3D | Sound supervisor |
| Tomodachi Life | Sound supervisor | |
| StreetPass Mii Plaza | Sound director | |
| Nintendoji | Music director | |
| 2014 | Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze | Music supervisor[10] |
| Pokémon Art Academy | Sound supervisor | |
| Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U | Arrangement with various others | |
| 2015 | Style Savvy: Fashion Forward | Sound supervisor |
| Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash | Sound supervisor | |
| Real Dasshutsu Game x Nintendo 3DS | Sound director | |
| Rhythm Heaven Megamix | Sound support staff | |
| Tokyo Mirage Sessions ♯FE | Sound support | |
| 2016 | Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge | Music supervisor |
| Disney Art Academy | Sound supervisor | |
| Miitopia | Sound supervisor | |
| 2017 | Hey! Pikmin | Sound progress management |
| Metroid: Samus Returns | Music director[11] | |
| 2018 | Sushi Striker: The Way of Sushido | Sound support |
| 2021 | Metroid Dread | Music director |
| 2023 | Metroid Prime Remastered | Music producer |
References
- ^ Mirabella III, Fran (11 November 2002). "Metroid Prime". IGN. Archived from the original on 10 December 2012. Retrieved 27 February 2008.
- ^ a b Yamamoto, Kenji (24 August 2010). "A Blast From The Past: Metroid Prime 3 With Kenji Yamamoto and Retro Studios". Original Sound Version (Interview). Interviewed by Napolitano, Jayson. Archived from the original on 11 May 2019.
- ^ a b c d Yamamoto, Kenji; Sakamoto, Yoshio. "Developer Interview, Volume 3" (Interview). Interviewed by Akinori Sao. Kyoto, Japan: Nintendo. Archived from the original on 9 April 2020. Retrieved 11 May 2020.
- ^ a b c "Interview with Metroid Prime 3: Corruption Sound Team at Retro Studios and Composer Kenji Yamamoto". Music4Games. 5 October 2007. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 19 March 2008.
- ^ Aversa, Jillian (23 October 2010). "Game music of the day: Super Metroid". GamesRadar. Archived from the original on 5 July 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
Composers: Kenji Yamamoto, Minako Hamano
- ^ "Galactic Pinball". Planet Virtual Boy. Archived from the original on 19 June 2017. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
- ^ a b Nintendo R&D1 (9 February 2004). Metroid: Zero Mission. Nintendo. Scene: Staff credits.
- ^ Harris, Craig (17 June 2010). "E3 2010: Kensuke Tanabe and the Metroid Palm Tree". IGN. Archived from the original on 19 September 2018.
- ^ Pearson, Kynan; Wikan, Mike; Ivey, Tom; Tanabe, Kensuke; Tabata, Risa (2010). "Iwata Asks: Donkey Kong Country Returns" (Interview). Interviewed by Iwata, Satoru. Nintendo. p. White-knuckled Action. Archived from the original on 17 February 2011.
- ^ Goergen, Andy (12 February 2014). "Donkey Kong Country, Through the Years". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on 3 July 2020. Retrieved 15 April 2020.
Original series composer David Wise has confirmed his return to work with Kenji Yamamoto to compose music for the game[...]
- ^ MercurySteam; Nintendo EPD (15 September 2017). Metroid: Samus Returns. Nintendo. Scene: Staff Credits.
External links
- Composer profile at OverClocked ReMix
- Kenji Yamamoto discography at MusicBrainz
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This page was last edited on 9 April 2024, at 05:20