Koji Kondo facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Koji Kondo
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| 近藤 浩治 | |
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Kondo in 2015
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| Born | August 13, 1961 |
| Alma mater | Osaka University of Arts |
| Occupation |
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| Years active | 1984–present |
| Employer | Nintendo |
| Musical career | |
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| Instruments | Piano |
Koji Kondo (Japanese: 近藤 浩治, Hepburn: Kondō Kōji, born August 13, 1961) is a famous Japanese composer and a top executive at the video game company Nintendo. He is best known for creating the amazing music for the Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda games. His Super Mario Bros. theme song was even the first video game music to be added to the American National Recording Registry, which is a big deal!
Kondo joined Nintendo in 1984. He was their very first composer hired just to make music for games. Today, he is a Senior Officer in Nintendo's Entertainment Planning & Development division. In 2024, he was honored by being added to the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame.
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Koji Kondo's Early Life
Koji Kondo was born in Nagoya, Japan, on August 13, 1961. He started taking music classes when he was very young, learning to play the electronic organ at age five. In elementary school, Kondo also played the marimbas in his school band.
Later, he got even better at the electronic organ by playing in a cover band. This band played fun jazz and rock music. Kondo studied at the Art Planning Department of Osaka University of Arts. However, he didn't have formal training in classical music.
Kondo loved arcade video games like Space Invaders and the early Donkey Kong games. He felt that video games were the perfect place to create the kind of sounds he imagined. He learned to compose music, arrange pieces, and even program music using a piano and a computer. He programmed music for the Famicom using a tool called Famicom BASIC.
Kondo's Amazing Career at Nintendo
Kondo applied for a job at Nintendo in 1984. He was looking for a role where he could compose music and program sounds. He remembers seeing the Nintendo job ad and thinking it was the perfect fit. He loved making synthesizers and playing games. He only interviewed with Nintendo and has worked there ever since!
Kondo was the third person Nintendo hired to make game music and sound effects. But he was the first one who focused only on creating music.
First Projects and Big Hits
His first project at Nintendo was designing the audio for the 1984 arcade game Punch-Out!!. Soon after, the Famicom console became very popular in Japan. Kondo then started composing music for games on this console at Nintendo's new development team, Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development (EAD).
One of his early tasks was writing an instruction manual. It showed how to program Japanese popular music into the Famicom using a device called Family BASIC. By the end of his first year, he helped create music for Devil World.
In 1985, Nintendo launched the Famicom in other countries as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). This was a big step after a tough time for video games in 1983.
Creating Iconic Game Music
Super Mario Bros. was Kondo's first really big project. He designed the game's music so that short parts could repeat without players getting bored. The main theme of Super Mario Bros. is now super famous around the world. It has been played in over 50 concerts and used as a popular ringtone. Many musicians have also remixed or used parts of it in their own songs.
Kondo's music for The Legend of Zelda series is also very well-known. He created four main background songs for the first game. The music for the overworld (the main outdoor map) is almost as famous as the Super Mario Bros. theme.
After the success of The Legend of Zelda, he worked on music for two games released only in Japan: The Mysterious Murasame Castle (1986) and Shin Onigashima (1987). He also made the soundtrack for Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987). This game was later released outside Japan as Super Mario Bros. 2 in 1988.
Kondo continued to create music for the Super Mario series. He composed for Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) and Super Mario World (1990), which was a launch title for the SNES.
He also worked on sound for other games. He programmed sound for Pilotwings (1990) and composed its "Helicopter Theme." He also created sound effects for Star Fox (1993). In 1995, he composed music for Yoshi's Island, a sequel to Super Mario World.
Working with Teams and Supervising
Until the early 2000s, Kondo often wrote all the music for a game by himself. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time was the last game he worked on completely alone.
Since then, he has worked with other talented people at Nintendo. He now helps supervise and guide other musicians. He also adds his own compositions to games like Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and Super Mario 3D World.
Kondo was the sound director and main composer for Super Mario Maker and its sequel, Super Mario Maker 2. He also worked with Brian Tyler to compose music for The Super Mario Bros. Movie.
Concerts and Live Performances
Koji Kondo has also shared his music in live concerts. In May 2006, he attended the first "Play! A Video Game Symphony" concert in Illinois. A full orchestra performed his music from Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda series.
He also performed piano at a series of three concerts in late 2011. These concerts celebrated the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series. In December 2014, he played piano live with the American rock band Imagine Dragons at The Game Awards 2014 ceremony.
Kondo's Musical Style and Influences
Kondo's music for Super Mario Bros. was designed to match the feeling of movement in the game. This idea came from the game's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto. Miyamoto wanted the game's audio to have "substance" and to work perfectly with what was happening in the game. Because of this, Kondo based much of the music on dance styles, like Latin music and the waltz.
In the first The Legend of Zelda game, Kondo made the music for the overworld very different from the music played inside dungeons. He believes it's important for music to show distinct characters or places. This way, players know right away where they are in the game. Kondo used this idea of contrasting music in other games too, like Super Mario Bros.
Kondo has said that bands and artists like Deep Purple, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, and Casiopea influenced his music.
Images for kids
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Kondo in 2006
See also
In Spanish: Kōji Kondō para niños
