Koji Kondo (Japanese: 近藤 浩治, Hepburn: Kondō Kōji; born August 13, 1961) is a Japanese composer and important leader at the video game company Nintendo. He is most famous for creating music for the Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda video game series. His music for Super Mario Bros. was the first video game song added to the American National Recording Registry. Kondo joined Nintendo in 1984 as its first full-time music creator. He currently holds the title of Senior Officer in Nintendo’s Entertainment Planning & Development division.
Early life
Kondo was born in Nagoya, Japan, on August 13, 1961. He started taking Yamaha Music classes in kindergarten and learned to play the electronic organ when he was five years old. In elementary school, he also played the marimba in his school band. Later, he joined a cover band that performed jazz and rock music, where he improved his electronic organ skills. Kondo studied at the Art Planning program of Osaka University of Arts, but he was not classically trained or focused on music in an academic way.
Kondo enjoyed playing arcade video games like Space Invaders and early Donkey Kong games. He said video games were the only place where he could find the kind of sound creation he wanted. He gained experience in composing music, arranging pieces, and computer programming by using the piano and a computer to write music for the Famicom with Famicom BASIC.
Career
In 1984, Kondo applied for a job in music composition and sound programming at Nintendo while he was in his senior year of high school. He remembers, "I saw the Nintendo ad on the school's job board. I loved making synthesizers and playing games, so I thought Nintendo was the right place for me. I interviewed with Nintendo, and I have worked there ever since." Kondo was the third person hired by Nintendo to create music and sound effects for its games, joining Hirokazu Tanaka and Yukio Kaneoka. He was the first person at Nintendo to focus entirely on musical composition.
Kondo's first work at Nintendo was designing the audio for the 1984 arcade game Punch-Out!!. As the Famicom became popular in Japan, Kondo was assigned to compose music for future games at Nintendo's new development division, Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development (EAD). His second task was writing an instruction manual that taught how to play Japanese pop music on the Famicom using the Family BASIC device. At the end of his first year, he helped create some of the music for Devil World with Akito Nakatsuka. In 1985, Nintendo began selling the Famicom abroad as the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) to take advantage of the 1983 video game crash, which had hurt other companies like Atari, Inc. Super Mario Bros., released that year, was Kondo's first major musical score. The game's music was designed to repeat short melodies during gameplay without causing boredom. The main theme became famous and has been played in over 50 concerts, used as a popular ringtone, and remixed by many musicians.
Kondo's work on The Legend of Zelda scores is also well-known. He created four main pieces of background music for the first game in the series, including the overworld theme, which is as popular as the Super Mario Bros. main theme. After the success of The Legend of Zelda, Kondo composed music for two Japanese-exclusive games: The Mysterious Murasame Castle (1986) and Shin Onigashima (1987). He also made the soundtrack for Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic (1987), which was later renamed Super Mario Bros. 2 when released outside Japan in 1988.
Kondo returned to the Super Mario series to create music for Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988) and the SNES launch title Super Mario World (1990). A jazz version of Super Mario World's music was performed at the first Orchestral Game Musical Concert in 1991. After finishing the Super Mario World soundtrack, Kondo worked on sound programming for Pilotwings (1990), including composing the "Helicopter Theme," and created sound effects for Star Fox (1993). In 1995, he composed the music for Yoshi's Island, the sequel to Super Mario World. Until the early 2000s, Kondo usually wrote all music for a project alone, including the score for The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Since then, he has worked with other Nintendo staff, advising on music and adding compositions to games such as Super Mario Galaxy, The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, and Super Mario 3D World. Kondo was the lead composer for Super Mario Maker and Super Mario Maker 2. He also served as a consultant for the music in The Super Mario Bros. Movie (2023).
Musical style and influences
Kondo's music for Super Mario Bros. was created to match how players feel when they move. This followed the belief of the game's creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, who wanted the music to have "substance" and match the game's actions. Because of this, Kondo used music styles often found in dancing, like Latin music and the waltz, for much of the score.
In the first The Legend of Zelda, Kondo contrasted the music that plays in the open world with the music that plays inside dungeons. Kondo explained that using different music helps players quickly recognize where they are in the game. He used this technique in other games, including Super Mario Bros.
Kondo mentioned that musicians like Deep Purple, Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Casiopea, and The Beatles influenced his work.
Legacy and awards
Kondo's work has been recognized for helping game music change from simple melodies to more complex musical compositions. He attended the world premiere of Play! A Video Game Symphony at the Rosemont Theater in Chicago in May 2006. At this event, a full symphony orchestra played music from the Super Mario Bros. and The Legend of Zelda series. Kondo also attended and performed in three concerts that marked the 25th anniversary of The Legend of Zelda series in late 2011. In December 2014, he played piano with the American rock band Imagine Dragons during the The Game Awards 2014 ceremony. In 2024, he was inducted into the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences' Hall of Fame.