Support NeoGAF

[Deleted member 1159]

So I'm just wondering if Kondo is still working for Nintendo or whatever. Seems like he hasn't been seen since the N64 days, and I think the quality of his old franchises' music (Mario, Zelda, etc.) has dropped as others have filled in. From what I can tell, he's only accredited to Mario Sunshine, SSB:M and Wind Waker over the past generation, but for all I know that's just because those games include old compositions from previous games. Don't get me wrong, Wind Waker and Sunshine and pretty good music, but nothing like the old Kondo Klassics...What's the dealio with Mr. Kondo?

 

[Kobun Heat]

Yes. He's the head of their music department and MarkMcD recently became the first whitey to set foot in his secret lair.

 

[Mejilan]

Still around, and involved in the Zelda TP OST.

 

[Shaheed79]

ooo please whatever you do don't joking ask if Nintendo employees are still alive. Not that I'm supersticious but........yeah.

Didn't Kondo do the soundtrack to MKDS? Right now he is hard at work on Twilight Princess but I think he has a passion for working in midi.

 

[Deleted member 1159]

ooo please whatever you do don't joking ask if Nintendo employees are still alive. Not that I'm supersticious but........yeah.

Didn't Kondo do the soundtrack to MKDS? Right now he is hard at work on Twilight Princess but I think he has a passion for working in midi.

haha, whoops...sorry Gumpei

I'm a little disappointed if the MKDS was his work, because it was pretty lacking IMO...Hopefully Twilight Princess rocks

 

[Tony HoTT]

haha, whoops...sorry Gumpei

I'm a little disappointed if the MKDS was his work, because it was pretty lacking IMO...Hopefully Twilight Princess rocks

It was classic Kondo. The versions of the SNES Mario Kart were good too. Don't sleep.

 

[Error]

It was classic Kondo. The versions of the SNES Mario Kart were good too. Don't sleep.

yup Luigi's Circuit and Baby Park are awesome songs, I don't know if they were done by him though.

 

[MarkMacD]

The man in his studio.

edit: Better pic.

 

[Spencerr]

The man loves chocolate. Who doesn't?

 

[Vibri]

Red slippers and a business suit.... how NCL!

 

[dark10x]

haha, whoops...sorry Gumpei

I'm a little disappointed if the MKDS was his work, because it was pretty lacking IMO...Hopefully Twilight Princess rocks

I think we can just go ahead and say...

"I'm a little disappointed in his work on ****" and use that blanket statement to cover the last 5 years or so. I can't recall even ONE good Kondo soundtrack from the last 5 years or so. I've very nearly hated every one of them. He's done some amazing work in the past (obviously, I mean, everyone knows his tunes)...but those glory days are LONG gone.

I seriously hope they can put something GOOD together for Twilight Princess. Wind Waker's score (which was not solely his work, I know) was straight terrible IMO. Like, worse than the most generic "Tales of..." soundtrack that you could dig up, bad.

 

[SantaC]

Wind Waker's score (which was not solely his work, I know) was straight terrible IMO. Like, worse than the most generic "Tales of..." soundtrack that you could dig up, bad.

yeah it was terrible but they used 4 different composers so it's hardly Kondo's fault.

 

[dark10x]

yeah it was terrible but they used 4 different composers so it's hardly Kondo's fault.

Oh, I know. It's like Gensousuikoden III's soundtrack or something. They also had four different people working on it, and despite the fact that Michiru Yamane was involved, the whole thing was pretty crap (not WW crap, mind you, but still crap). Too many cooks in the kitchen...

 

[SantaC]

Oh, I know. It's like Gensousuikoden III's soundtrack or something. They also had four different people working on it, and despite the fact that Michiru Yamane was involved, the whole thing was pretty crap (not WW crap, mind you, but still crap). Too many cooks in the kitchen...

yeah exactly.


I think Zelda:OoT is Kondo's finest piece actually because the score was virtually flawless. No weak link to it.

from the mysterious kokiri forest music to the hypnotic forest temple track. Amazing.

 

[Zweisy1]

Yeah Wind Wakers OST was seriously disappointing. Gotta admit I wasnt crazy about Ocarina of Time's either. The thing that always annoyed me most about the music in 3D Zelda's is the fighting music..

Kondo's a great composer with a wonderful sense of melody. Absolutely love majority of his work.

I still prefer Kazumi Totaka and Kenji Yamamoto as far as Nintendo composers go. Kazumi Totaka is especially underrated.. I never hear him mentioned though he has composed some of the best Nintendo tracks ever.

 

[dark10x]

yeah exactly.


I think Zelda:OoT is Kondo's finest piece actually because the score was virtually flawless. No weak link to it.

from the mysterious kokiri forest music to the hypnotic forest temple track. Amazing.

Yeah, that was quite good (though I DID enjoy Zelda 3's more -- just can't get those tunes out of my head). There was ONE weak link, though, and it came back in WW (that awful "shop music"). Man, I couldn't believe it when that returned in Wind Waker. The one song I hated in OoT and, BAM, there it is in Wind Waker. :lol

The thing that always annoyed me most about the music in 3D Zelda's is the fighting music..

Ah yes, I agree with this too. It always sounded cheap and kinda hurt the atmosphere. Primal had a similar problem (f*cking rock music during battles), but you COULD disable it there. I don't understand why they felt the need to add in "battle music" to Zelda...

 

[SantaC]

Yeah, that was quite good (though I DID enjoy Zelda 3's more -- just can't get those tunes out of my head). There was ONE weak link, though, and it came back in WW (that awful "shop music"). Man, I couldn't believe it when that returned in Wind Waker. The one song I hated in OoT and, BAM, there it is in Wind Waker. :lol

lol the shop music is in Zelda Minish cap also if you played it

 

[argon]

I don't understand all the WW soundtrack hatred.. What parts do you specifically hate? I didn't like the battle music really.. But it had a great "airy" feeling which fit the game IMHO, and it has one of the best ending songs of the series.

 

[ToyMachine228]

Slightly off-topic but can someone give me the name of the guy who does the Metroid music? I knew if for a while but I seem to have forgotten.

 

[Mejilan]

Kenji Yamamoto is the most famous Metroid composer, IIRC. Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, etc.

 

[ToyMachine228]

Kenji Yamamoto is the most famous Metroid composer, IIRC. Super Metroid, Metroid Prime, Metroid Prime 2 Echoes, etc.

Yeah Googled it two seconds after I posted. And I believe he's been confirmed as the Composer for Metroid Prime 3 as well.

 

[SantaC]

Slightly off-topic but can someone give me the name of the guy who does the Metroid music? I knew if for a while but I seem to have forgotten.

Kenji Yamamoto sometimes along with Minako Hamano.

 

[Zweisy1]

Slightly off-topic but can someone give me the name of the guy who does the Metroid music? I knew if for a while but I seem to have forgotten.

There's been a few composer for the series.


Metroid : Hirokazu Tanaka

Metroid 2: Ryoji Yoshitomi

Super Metroid: Kenji Yamamoto

Metroid Fusion: Minako Hamano & Akira Fujiwara

Metroid Zero Mission: Kenji Yamamoto & Minako Hamano (Mostly arrangements from Tanaka's Metroid 1 compositions though)

Metroid Prime: Kenji Yamamoto

Metroid Prime 2: Kenji Yamamoto

 

[SantaC]

There's been a few composer for the series.


Metroid : Hirokazu Tanaka

Metroid 2: Ryoji Yoshitomi

Super Metroid: Kenji Yamamoto

Metroid Fusion: Minako Hamano & Akira Fujiwara

Metroid Zero Mission: Kenji Yamamoto & Minako Hamano (Mostly arrangements from Tanaka's Metroid 1 compositions though)

Metroid Prime: Kenji Yamamoto

Metroid Prime 2: Kenji Yamamoto

what happend to Ryoji Yoshitomi btw?

 

[Zweisy1]

what happend to Ryoji Yoshitomi btw?

He's made some music for Mario Paint, Warioland 4 and the first Warioware for example.

 

[SantaC]

He's made some music for Mario Paint, Warioland 4 and the first Warioware for example.

music in wario land 4 is awesome.

 

[Lizard]

Yoshitomi's latest work was as sound director for Nintendogs. (Hajime Wakai was the music composer though)

 

[human5892]

I really hope Kondo returns to form for TP. I loved the score for OoT, but WW was just so mind-numbingly mediocre (yes, I know it was mentioned that he wasn't the only one on WW's score, but still, he should've just kicked ass until it was better). Zelda needs some good new compositions (in addition to the classic theme, of course).

 

[Lizard]

I think the only new theme Kondo did for WW is the one playing on the title screen. The rest of the new themes was by the other three.

Kondo had more input on the SMS soundtrack where I think the work was split 50/50 between him and Shinobu Tanaka. The themes I know for sure Kondo did was the Delfino Plaza, Bianco Hills, Ricco Harbor, Gelato Beach, Special Stage and the End Credits. How the rest of the music was split up I don't know.

The last game he worked on as a composer was Zelda: Four Sword Adventure. Wether he did any of the new themes, which was very few to begin with, I don't know.

Edit: By the way, Kondo has never been involved with a Mario Kart title before so I doubt he worked on MK: DS

 

[Emotions]

I love the sailing music in wind waker as well as the dragon root island , i like some others here and there as well, and mario sunshine has some good music too, specially in the classic stages. I
don't find mario kart ds soundtrack bad either.

 

[Zweisy1]

music in wario land 4 is awesome.

Agreed, I loved the track that has singing in it. Some of the quirky Warioware music is wonderful too.

 

[el jacko]

Super Metroid: Kenji Yamamoto

Minako Hamano worked on Super Metroid too; she actually composed more music than Yamamoto IIRC.

 

[Zweisy1]

Yes you're right el jacko. She did work on Super Metroid too. Thanks, thought I forgot something.

 

[Ford Prefect]

Koji is God. If Song of Storms doesn't make it into TP [ala WW ] I will be insanely pissed off.

 

[..pakbeka..]

Gerudo Valley orchestraded > *

 

[Deleted member 1159]

Just thought I'd mention that Super Metroid has one of the best soundtracks ever. Oh, and I'm also playing through WW again on hard mode right now...I really do loath the battle music from the 3D games :|

5 more months till Twilight Princess...

 

[Mejilan]

Ganondorf/Phantom Ganondorf battle music is fucking awesome. The WW version in particular. I love how dynamic it was, how it reacted to your landing a solid blow (after stunning him, of course), or if he knocked you flat on your ass. Great stuff.