Koji Kondo Research Paper

Elton John has stated, "Music has healing power." It can take people out of themselves for a few hours." Similarly, video games provide the player with the ability to escape reality while in their virtual world. Utilizing music within the video game intensifies this fantasy. The influence of music on video games enhances the video game experience. Specifically, the influence of music within the Nintendo video game world played an important role in enhancing gameplay experiences, shaping emotional connections with players, and contributing to the cultural impact of the iconic franchise and its pivotal role in the evolution and success of the Nintendo gaming universe. Music and video games have played an essential role in my personal life and

He was born on August 13, 1961, in Nagoya, Japan. Koji first learned to play the electric organ at five years old. His love of music was expressed in his teenage years through playing in a cover band, playing mainstream music at the time. During this time, Koji was heavily interested in liquid-crystal display (LCD) and arcade games. In 1984, Koji received a recruitment letter from Nintendo to be a sound programmer. This began his legendary career as a composer of many musical compositions for the Nintendo organization. Koji is the mastermind behind many Nintendo titles. His first project was for the game Punch-Out! in 1984; this was the first game Koji had composed and programmed the entire musical overlay. Koji was also responsible for the composition of the original Super Mario Bros. franchise and The Legend of Zelda series. Today, he still composes games for Nintendo, but also performs his music live. In 2014, he performed with Imagine Dragons at The Game

This improved game system brought upgrades to the graphics, along with superb quality sound. This improvement allowed the composers to develop music that imitated various instruments. This digital sound system provides composers with the ability to create orchestral-like sounds with a multitude of instruments. To allow the SNES to handle this musical improvement, the technology also had to improve with the addition of upgraded sound chips. An example of this technological orchestral sound is from the "Overworld", the theme found in the game Super Mario World, composed by Koji Kando. This composition is written on a cyclic theme. This repetitive melody repeats throughout the game with variations depending on the level that is being played. These basic changes could include different instruments being played, different time signatures, the tempo, key, and the register of the melody could be changed. However, the melody itself remains relatively unchanged. Figure 2: Composed by Koji Kondo, arranged by Moritz1508. Overworld Theme - Super Mario World, pp.