Kazumi Totaka | |
---|---|
戸高一生 | |
Born | Tokyo, Japan | August 23, 1967
Alma mater | Kunitachi College of Music |
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1990–present |
Employer | Nintendo |
Musical career | |
Genres | Video game music, jazz, easy listening |
Instruments | |
Kazumi Totaka (戸高 一生, Totaka Kazumi, born August 23, 1967)[1] is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who is best known for his various compositions in many Nintendo games. He occasionally does voice acting as well, most notably voicing Yoshi from the Mario series. He also directed the development of Wii Music.
Works
Year | Title | Role(s) |
---|---|---|
1992 | X | Music |
Mario Paint | Music with Hirokazu Tanaka and Ryoji Yoshitomi | |
The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls | Music | |
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins | Music | |
1993 | The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | Music with Minako Hamano and Kozue Ishikawa |
1995 | Virtual Boy Wario Land | Music |
1996 | Wave Race 64 | Music |
1997 | Yoshi's Story | Music |
1999 | Mario Artist: Paint Studio | Music with Chris Jojo, Martin Goodall, and Suddi Raval |
2000 | Mario Artist: Talent Studio | Music with Kenta Nagata and Toru Minegishi |
Mario Artist: Polygon Studio | Music | |
2001 | Animal Crossing | Sound director, music with Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi, and Shinobu Tanaka |
Luigi's Mansion | Music with Shinobu Tanaka | |
Machop at Work | Music with Takuto Kitsuta and Yasushi Ida | |
Kingler's Day | Music with Takuto Kitsuta and Yasushi Ida | |
2004 | Pikmin 2 | Sound director, music with Hajime Wakai |
2005 | Yoshi Touch & Go | Sound director, music with Asuka Hayazaki and Toru Minegishi |
Animal Crossing: Wild World | Sound director, music with Asuka Hayazaki | |
2006 | Yoshi's Island DS | Sound supervisor |
Default Wii Channels | Music | |
Wii Sports | Sound director, music | |
Kenkou Ouen Recipe 1000: DS Kondate Zenshuu | Music | |
2008 | Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Arrangements[a] |
Wii Music | Director | |
Animal Crossing: City Folk | Sound director, music with Manaka Kataoka and Shiho Fujii | |
2010 | X-Scape | Music |
2012 | Animal Crossing: New Leaf | Sound director, music with Manaka Kataoka and Atsuko Asahi |
2013 | Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon | Sound supervisor |
Wii Sports Club | Music | |
2014 | Yoshi's New Island | Sound director |
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U | Arrangements[b] | |
2015 | Yoshi's Woolly World | Main theme |
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer | Sound director, music | |
2016 | Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge | Music supervisor |
2017 | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | Music with several others |
2018 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Arrangements[c] |
Mario Tennis Aces | Sound supervisor | |
2019 | Yoshi's Crafted World | Sound supervisor |
Luigi's Mansion 3 | Sound supervisor | |
2020 | Animal Crossing: New Horizons | Sound director, music with several others |
Characters portrayed
Totaka has portrayed several characters for Nintendo games. He mostly voices Yoshi (first appearing in Super Mario World), but he also voices Professor E. Gadd, Captain Olimar,[2] Birdo, and K.K. Slider, as well as portraying Shy Guy from 1997 to 2002.
K.K. Slider
The character K.K. Slider in Animal Crossing is named Totakeke (とたけけ) in the Japanese version. This name could be derived from how Totaka's name is said in Japanese (Totaka K.) as last names usually come before personal names in the language. K.K Slider is said to be an animal version caricature of Totaka.[3]
At the Mario & Zelda Big Band Live concert, some fans shouted "Totakeke" while the host grabbed a guitar and gave it to Totaka. Totaka then sat down on a chair like K.K. Slider while Shigeru Miyamoto held a picture of K.K. Slider next to Totaka.[4]
Totaka's Song
"Totaka's Song" is a short, 19-note tune hidden in almost every game Totaka has written music for as an easter egg.[5] It was first discovered on the title screen of Mario Paint and was later discovered as having originated in the Game Boy game X,[6] which predated Mario Paint by two months.
Notes
References
- ^ 「ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島」開発スタッフ名鑑. Nintendo Official Guide Book – The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (in Japanese). Shogakukan Inc. July 1993. p. 120. ISBN 4-09-102448-3.
- ^ "1-2 開発スタッフインタビュー" (in Japanese). Nintendo. Archived from the original on September 12, 2020. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
- ^ Jackson, Kai (May 8, 2013). "Profile: Kazumi Totaka - The Man Behind Animal Crossing's K.K. Slider". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- ^ 1Button (2010-03-12), p-nintendo.com — Totaka, Mario & Zelda Big Band Live, 2003, archived from the original on 2021-12-19, retrieved 2018-03-25
{{citation}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Kubba, Sinan (January 13, 2015). "Nintendo's famous easter egg song discovered in Mario Kart 8". Engadget. Verizon Media. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
- ^ "'Kazumi Totaka's Song'". NinDB. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015.