Talk:Kōji Kondō

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Did he really do the soundtrack for DKC3? Wasn't it David Wise, who usually does Rare games?

--Jordan

The Starfox Adventures soundtrack was done by David Wise at RareWare. He used the primary Starfox melodies which were composed by Kondo, but he remixed them himself; Kondo had little involvement.
Actually, Kondo only worked on the Nintendo 64 version of the Star Fox series. The original game (on the Super Famicom) was composed by Hajime Hirasawa (although, I believe Kondo did work on the Sound Effects). Kondo worked with Hajime Wakai on Star Fox 64. Starfox Adventures used some melodies from the previous games, but David Wise composed most of the material from scratch.
Similarly, Dave Wise did the DKC3 soundtrack, but in the game, Wrinkly Kong owned an N64 that played Kondo's castle music from Super Mario 64. --Codeman38 18:06, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] NES sound hardware

"Kondo found himself in a totally different environment at Nintendo. Suddenly, he was limited to only three 'instruments' (melody, harmony, and percussion) due to the system's primitive sound chip. Though he and Nintendo's technicians eventually discovered a way to add a fourth channel (normally reserved for sound effects), his music was still severely limited on the system."

I feel this is inaccurate. I have made music on the NES myself and I know it has five channels, not four: two pulse waves (melody and harmony), a triangle wave (bass), noise (percussion), and DPCM (sampled instruments, usually percussion but can be, say, voice clips). I'm guessing the channel that had to be "discovered" was the DPCM channel, since, e.g., Super Mario Bros. used all the other four channels (many earlier games didn't use the noise channel but they were usually ports of arcade games that didn't use percussive sounds). Super Mario Bros. 3 used all five channels. I'm going to revise this now. --Furrykef 14:51, 11 Jun 2004 (UTC)

Thanks for the correction. Always nice to have people with actual expertise look after the rest of us! Amcaja 19:33, 14 Jun 2004 (UTC)
I second that comment :) - Fredrik (talk) 19:47, 14 Jun 2004 (UTC)

[edit] Opinions on Earthbound

I removed the following paragraphs:

A great example for fans (or otherwise) of Koji Kondo, who criticise for lack of style development / evolution, would be the soundtrack from Nintendo's 1994 hit RPG EarthBound. The music in this game is definitely different, to say the very least, and strays away from what most people who may be used to Koji's work would expect.

The musical styles enjoyed and used by Koji Kondo, are probably most noteable on the Super Famicom (SNES) title "EarthBound" (Nintendo/Hal Laboratories - June 27th, 1994 (US release)). In this RPG set in modern-day times, as many players and fans will tell you, the musical score was one of the most enjoyable, hard-hitting aspects of this game. The soundtrack was enough to inspire fans worldwide, and create somewhat of a "cult following", for Koji and his music. Alot of the main themes and overworld tunes for this game were actually converted from actual western music songs/albums, (note: Paula's theme and Runaway 5 theme, "Because I love you", "Smiles and Tears" (used as close of game theme)), and converted to NES sound channels. Sometime after this game caught on in the USA, there was an orchestrated version of this game soundtrack composed, and made available on the internet. Unfortunately, it seems as if this album of sorts has vanished for good. (cooey-at-cooey.org for anymore info regarding this game and it's soundtrack).

The reason is that this is unsourced personal opinion. If a source is added, we can reinstate this, working to reword it to follow the neutral point of view policy. —Amcaja 12:37, 14 December 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Birthplace

I honestly have no idea where the guy was born. But if someone wants to change it, please cite your source. Thanks! — Amcaja 12:38, 17 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Sound Support and Advising

These days, Kondo has done either of these roles in most games, only really working as a composer on a few. Is it okay to state in the Soundtracks listing whether he has been credited as these roles? --Chicobo329 20:30, 15 March 2006 (UTC)

Games he supported or advised on: Mario Golf, Mario Tennis, Mario Vs. Donkey Kong, The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (thanks for correcting me on that one, Brian!), The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons (in Special Thanks), The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages (in Special Thanks), Mario Kart Super Circuit. His role in the Smash Bros. games are also either support or advising (Hirokazu Ando did most of the work as actual composer, not Kondo) --Chicobo329 20:40, 15 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] neutralized one sentence

Original version (as of 5/30/06):

"...due to the system's primitive sound chip"

Edited version:

"...due to limitations of the system's sound chip"

The word "primitive" is not neutral and is relative. The sound chip had limitations. -R —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 72.43.142.237 (talk • contribs) .

Good call. Thanks for the summary. — Amcaja 17:11, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

I also edited a few bits and pieces for grammar and flow...very minor. -R

[edit] Citation frenzy

I don't think one needs a citation in order to judge the category of any artistic work - it is common knowledge that needs no reference.

I am referring to the 'Andalusian flair' that characterizes the Gerudo Valley theme. If one listens to the song, there is very little need for a citation to exorbitantly "confirm" that it has Spanish influences.

Disregarding the question of whether or not a citation is needed, I personally think "Andalusian flair" is not specific enough. The Gerudo Valley theme is clearly written as a flamenco guitar piece.
Exactly why a citation is needed. We are not supposed to be interpreting such things; professional reviewers and musicologists are. Thus, we need to find someone in a reliable source who describes the song in such a way and add a citation to that person's opinion. — Amcaja 22:33, 5 October 2006 (UTC)
Well said. It should be noted, then, for consistency, that the main Ocarina of Time article does refer to the Gerudo music as flamenco, presumably also without citation. Vogelfrei 16:37, 23 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] change of format

i think someone should take into consideration that this is not a discography but an encyclopedia entry, the fact that 3/4 of the page is an album listing might need to be reconsidered

I would concur... Although it looks like a lot of work went into the list of albums and games, it makes up most of the article. I don't want to step into a wasp's nest if this has been discussed and re-hashed before, but is this info really all that necessary in this format? If it needs to be in wikipedia, then perhaps there's another place for it. ----Steve 21:09, 2 March 2007 (UTC)
It seems as if it could be it's own article, Koji Kondo's Discography. --207.179.172.220 12:03, 30 May 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Correct year of birth?

There is a mismatch in the year (1960 vs. 1961) of birth between different language versions. Which one is correct?