Kazumi Totaka
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, including Yoshi from the Mario series. He also directed the development of Wii Music.
Kazumi Totaka 戸高一生 | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 23, 1967 Tokyo, Japan |
| Genres | Video game music, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Composer, sound director, voice actor |
| Instruments | Piano, guitar, bass, vibraphone |
| Years active | 1990–present |
Works
| Title | Year | Role(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| X | 1992 | Composer | |
| Mario Paint | With Hirokazu Tanaka and Ryoji Yoshitomi | ||
| Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru | |||
| Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins | |||
| The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening | 1993 | With Minako Hamano and Kozue Ishikawa | |
| Tetris & Dr. Mario | 1994 | With Hirokazu Tanaka and Yumiko Kameya | |
| Virtual Boy Wario Land | 1995 | ||
| Wave Race 64 | 1996 | ||
| Yoshi's Story | 1997 | ||
| Mario Artist: Polygon Studio | 1999 | ||
| Mario Artist: Paint Studio | With Chris Jojo, Martin Goodall, and Suddi Raval | ||
| Mario Artist: Talent Studio | 2000 | With Kenta Nagata and Toru Minegishi | |
| Machop at Work | 2001 | With Takuto Kitsuta and Yasushi Ida | |
| Luigi's Mansion | With Shinobu Tanaka | ||
| Kingler's Day | With Takuto Kitsuta and Yasushi Ida | ||
| Animal Crossing | Composer, sound director | With Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi, and Shinobu Tanaka | |
| Pikmin 2 | 2004 | Sound director | |
| Yoshi Touch & Go | 2005 | Composer | With Asuka Ohta and Toru Minegishi |
| Animal Crossing: Wild World | Composer, sound director | With Asuka Ohta | |
| Yoshi's Island DS | 2006 | Sound supervisor | |
| Default Wii Channels | Composer | ||
| Wii Sports | Composer, sound director | ||
| Kenkou Ouen Recipe 1000: DS Kondate Zenshuu | Composer | ||
| Wii Music | 2008 | Director | |
| Animal Crossing: City Folk | Sound director | ||
| X-Scape | 2010 | Composer | |
| Animal Crossing: New Leaf | 2012 | Sound director | |
| Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon | 2013 | Sound supervisor | With Koji Kondo and Yoji Inagaki |
| Yoshi's New Island | 2014 | Sound director | |
| Wii Sports Club | Composer | ||
| Yoshi's Woolly World | 2015 | With Misaki Asada and Tomoya Tomita | |
| Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer | Composer, sound director | ||
| Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge | 2016 | Music supervisor | |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | 2018 | Arranger | With various others |
| Mario Tennis Aces | Sound supervisor | ||
| Yoshi's Crafted World | 2019 | ||
| Luigi's Mansion 3 | |||
| Animal Crossing: New Horizons | 2020 | Sound director |
Characters portrayed
Totaka has portrayed several characters for Nintendo games, including Yoshi (first appearing in Yoshi's Story), Shy Guy (1998-2002), Professor E. Gadd, Captain Olimar,[2] Birdo, and K.K. Slider.
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, as last names usually come before personal names in the language. Totaka K. Totakeke 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. It was first discovered on the title screen of Mario Paint and was later discovered as having originated in the Game Boy game X,[5] which predated Mario Paint by two months.
Appearances
Totaka's song has been confirmed in the following games:[5]
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. 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, retrieved 2018-03-25
- "'Kazumi Totaka's Song'". NinDB. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015.
- "Is Totaka's Song Still in Zelda: Link's Awakening? + Other Musical Easter Eggs (Game Boy vs Switch)". GameXplain. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
- Sofka, Samantha (2015-01-12). "Gaming Daily: Kim Jong Un Game Pulled From Kickstarter, Secret Nintendo Song Discovered in MARIO KART 8". Archived from the original on 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
- "Video: Totaka's song in Yoshi's New Island". Nintendo Everything. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
- Lane, Gavin (22 March 2020). "Feature: The Minds Behind Animal Crossing: New Horizons". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
The appearance of infamous Easter Egg Totaka's Song in Animal Crossing is perhaps the most obvious of the lot. It's called K.K. Song and Slider will usually play it on request.
External links
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