Yuzo Koshiro
Encyclopedia
is a Japanese video game music composer and audio programmer
. He is regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune
music and video game sound design
. He has produced music in various genres, including electronic music
(dance
, Eurobeat
, house
, jungle
, techno
, trance
), hip hop
, jazz
, classical
/orchestra
l, and synth rock.
According to Nintendo Power
, Koshiro was "arguably the greatest game-music composer of the 16-bit age
" and created "some of the most memorable game music of the late '80s and early '90s." He has produced some of the most influential role-playing video game
scores, for titles such as Nihon Falcom's Dragon Slayer and Ys series, as well as ActRaiser
(1990) and Eye of the Beholder (1994). According to GameAxis Unwired, his "progressive, catchy, techno-style compositions" for games such as The Revenge of Shinobi
(1989) and Streets of Rage series were "far more advanced than what players were used to" and set a "new high watermark for what music in games could sound like."
His influence also extends to the popular music
industry. His work remains highly regarded within the chiptune community, and has influenced artists outside of it, such as Ikonika
, Frente!
, Janet Jackson
, Labrinth
, Martyn
, Joker
, Darkstar, and Danger
. Koshiro's Streets of Rage soundtracks in particular has been compared to later grime
music, and has influenced electronica
and dubstep
producers.
on December 12, 1967. His mother, Tomo Koshiro, was a pianist
. She taught him how to play the piano
at the age of three, and by the age of five, he had a strong command of it. In 1975, he began taking music lessons from the classical composer Joe Hisaishi
(later known for his soundtracks to Hayao Miyazaki
films), and studied with him for three years. Everything Koshiro learnt after that has since been self-taught.
While he was still in high school
during the early 1980s, Koshiro began composing music on the NEC PC-8801
as a hobby, including mockup
s of early arcade game
music from Namco
, Konami
, and Sega
. The sequencing
skills and experience he gained from this would later be utilized in his early video game projects. The video games that influenced him most were The Tower of Druaga (1984), Space Harrier
(1985), and Gradius
(1985). The video game music soundtracks to these games inspired him to become a video game composer.
Xanadu Scenario II
, for its opening theme and several dungeon levels. He also contributed to the soundtrack of Falcom's Dragon Slayer Jr: Romancia that same year. His compositions for these early games were influenced by arcade game music and Japanese bands such as The Alfee
. He then produced the soundtrack to Dragon Slayer IV / Legacy of the Wizard
(1987), which was influenced by the sounds of early Konami games. His most well-known Falcom works are his soundtracks for Sorcerian
(1987) and the early Ys games, Ys I (1987) and Ys II (1988). These early music productions mainly featured rock
and fusion
music. He also contributed to the soundtrack of Ys III: Wanderers from Ys
(1989), alongside Mieko Ishikawa. The TurboGrafx-CD versions of the first three games (from 1989 to 1991) are notable for their very early use of Red Book audio in video games. The Ys soundtracks are today regarded as some of the best video game music ever composed. It also inspired video game composers outside of Japan, such as Chris Hülsbeck
who cited it as a direct influence. Music from the Ys games were also employed in the Ys anime
.
All of these early soundtracks were produced using the FM synthesis
sound chip
of the PC-8801. Despite later advances in audio technology, Koshiro would continue to use older PC-8801 hardware to produce many of his later video game soundtracks, including the Streets of Rage
and Etrian Odyssey soundtracks. His soundtracks for early Nihon Falcom games, such as the Dragon Slayer and Ys series, are widely regarded as some of the most influential role-playing video game
scores.
port of Bosconian
, Bothtec
's action role-playing game
The Scheme
(1988) for the PC-8801, and Enix
's visual novel
adventure game
Misty Blue for the PC-9801 in 1990. The latter two soundtracks featured early Eurobeat
music. His most notable freelance work was for Sega
, where he composed music for the Shinobi series
and the Streets of Rage series, as well as Quintet, where he composed the soundtracks to ActRaiser (1990) and ActRaiser 2
(1993).
His first freelance work for Sega was the soundtrack to The Revenge of Shinobi
(1989), for which he produced house
and "progressive, catchy, techno
-style compositions" that fused electronic dance music
with traditional Japanese musical instruments
. His soundtrack for ActRaiser
(1990), on the other hand, was mainly classical
and orchestra
l. While working on ActRaiser, in order to get around the SNES
's 64 KB
memory limitation which limited the number of instruments that can be used and prevented the reloading of samples
, Koshiro developed a sample loading system that worked with the ROM cartridge
memory, swapping samples from the ROM
data on the fly. This allowed him to "load parts of the music gradually as needed, and also change it quickly between stages or parts of a stage" which the "original system couldn't do it with its retrictions." A similar system was used by other companies for later SNES games such as Squaresoft
's Seiken Densetsu 3
(1995) and Namco Tales Studio
's Tales of Phantasia
(1995).
, which has contributed to the development of a number of games, such as Beyond Oasis
. The company was also founded by his mother, Tomo Koshiro, while his sister Ayano Koshiro works at the company as an art/character/graphic designer and was also the art designer for the ActRaiser games. His sister Ayano has designed characters and graphics for several games Koshiro has worked on, including the Streets of Rage (Bare Knuckle in Japan) series, Ys and ActRaiser.
While working with Ancient, he composed the soundtrack for the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog
in 1991. He adapted several pieces of music from the original 16-bit version, while the rest of the soundtrack consisted of his own original music. One of his original pieces, the "Bridge Zone" theme, was later sampled
in Janet Jackson
's best-selling single "Together Again" (1997). The "Bridge Zone" theme was also later sampled in Sonic Adventure
, for the Miles "Tails" Prower
theme song, "Believe in Myself" by Karen Brake. Another one of Koshiro's original pieces for the soundtrack, "Jungle Zone", was later sampled in the Australia
n hit single "Accidently Kelly Street" by Frente!
in 1992.
. According to Koshiro: "For Bare Knuckle I used the PC88 and an original programming language I developed myself. The original was called MML, Music Macro Language. It's based on NEC's BASIC
program, but I modified it heavily. It was more a BASIC-style language at first, but I modified it to be something more like Assembly
. I called it ‘Music Love'. I used it for all the Bare Knuckle Games."
The soundtracks for Streets of Rage
(1991) and Streets of Rage 2
(1992) were influenced by house
, techno
, and hardcore techno
. For the soundtrack to Streets of Rage 3
(1994), however, he created a new composition method called the "Automated Composing System" to produce "fast-beat techno like jungle
." It was the most advanced techno technique of the time, incorporating heavily randomized sequences. This resulted in innovative and experimental sounds
generated automatically that, according to Koshiro, "you ordinarily never could imagine on your own." This method was very rare at the time, but has since become popular among techno and trance music
producers to get "unexpected and odd sounds."
role-playing video game
developed by the American company Westwood Associates and published by Sega. That same year, his soundtrack for Beyond Oasis
utilized a late romantic
style of music, which he later also utilized for Legend of Oasis (1996), Merregnon
(2000), and Lost Regnum (2008).
He also composed the soundtrack for Sega's Shenmue
(1999) alongside Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
, with Koshiro contributing fifteen original compositions to the soundtrack. Three other staff members of Ancient also worked on Shenmue. He later composed the soundtracks for the Wangan Midnight
series (2001 onwards) and Namco × Capcom (2005). These were the first projects where he wrote the lyrics along with the music. For the Wangan Midnight series in particular, his compositions were mostly trance music
.
He composed the main theme of the French TV channel Nolife
, which launched in 2007. The theme was released as part of the album Tamiuta in 2008. Koshiro's latest work includes music for Etrian Odyssey
series (2007–2010), the Wangan Midnight
series (including 2004's Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune), and 7th Dragon
(2009).
could be heard in 2004 at the second Symphonic Game Music Concert
in Leipzig
, Germany
and in 2005 at the first Chamber Music Game Concert in Leipzig, Germany. Yuzo Koshiro was participating on PLAY! A Video Game Symphony
, a symphonic world-tour featuring video game music. He arranged music from Sonic The Hedgehog for the tour. He attended the world premiere on May 27, 2006 in Chicago.
On August 23, 2006, his music from The Revenge of Shinobi was performed at the fourth Symphonic Game Concert in Leipzig, Germany, in an arrangement done by him and was performed again in two concerts in Stockholm, Sweden in 2007 and in Prague, Czech Republic in 2008 as a part of PLAY! A Video Game Symphony.
On June 15, 2007 and June 16, 2007, Koshiro worked as a disc jockey
for selections of his most famous works including the Wangan Midnight- and Streets of Rage series for fans in Singapore at the PLAY! pre-concert events.
In 2007 Koshiro arranged music from New Super Mario Bros.
for the fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany on August 22, 2007. He attended the performance and the autograph session afterwards.
Yuzo Koshiro arranged music from Jim Power in Mutant Planet
for the Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert events that were taking place on August 23, 2008 in Cologne, Germany. The music was performed by the WDR Radio Orchestra and the FILMharmonic Choir Prague. Koshiro was in attendance at both concerts.
Other projects include Merregnon Soundtrack - Volume 2, Ten Plants, the Street Fighter Tribute Album
(for an M. Bison stage remix), FM Sound Module Maniax, and a guest arranging role on the Pink Sweets
soundtrack.
Contributions in:
Programming (music)
Programming is a form of music production and performance using electronic devices, often sequencers or computer programs, to generate music. Programming is used in nearly all forms of electronic music and in most hip hop music since the 1990s. It is also frequently used in modern pop and rock...
. He is regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune
Chiptune
A chiptune, also known as chip music, is synthesized electronic music often produced with the sound chips of vintage computers and video game consoles, as well as with other methods such as emulation. In the early 1980s, personal computers became cheaper and more accessible than they had previously...
music and video game sound design
Sound design
Sound design is the process of specifying, acquiring, manipulating or generating audio elements. It is employed in a variety of disciplines including filmmaking, television production, theatre, sound recording and reproduction, live performance, sound art, post-production and video game software...
. He has produced music in various genres, including electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
(dance
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
, Eurobeat
Eurobeat
Eurobeat is a form of italo-disco/hi-NRG music that developed in the late 1980s.In the United States, Eurobeat was sometimes marketed as Hi-NRG and for a short while shared this term with the very early freestyle music hits....
, house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, jungle
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
, techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
), hip hop
Hip hop music
Hip hop music, also called hip-hop, rap music or hip-hop music, is a musical genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted...
, jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
, classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
/orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l, and synth rock.
According to Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
, Koshiro was "arguably the greatest game-music composer of the 16-bit age
History of video game consoles (fourth generation)
In the history of computer and video games, the fourth generation began on October 30, 1987 with the Japanese release of Nippon Electric Company's PC Engine...
" and created "some of the most memorable game music of the late '80s and early '90s." He has produced some of the most influential role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
scores, for titles such as Nihon Falcom's Dragon Slayer and Ys series, as well as ActRaiser
ActRaiser
is a 1990 Super Nintendo Entertainment System action and city-building simulation game developed by Quintet and published by Enix that combines traditional side-scrolling platforming with urban planning god game sections. A sequel, ActRaiser 2, was released for the Super Nintendo in 1993...
(1990) and Eye of the Beholder (1994). According to GameAxis Unwired, his "progressive, catchy, techno-style compositions" for games such as The Revenge of Shinobi
The Revenge of Shinobi
The Revenge of Shinobi, published in Japan as is a video game developed and published by Sega in 1989. It was the first Shinobi game developed for the Sega Mega Drive, and was later released on the coin-operated version of that console, the Mega-Tech....
(1989) and Streets of Rage series were "far more advanced than what players were used to" and set a "new high watermark for what music in games could sound like."
His influence also extends to the popular music
Popular music
Popular music belongs to any of a number of musical genres "having wide appeal" and is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. It stands in contrast to both art music and traditional music, which are typically disseminated academically or orally to smaller, local...
industry. His work remains highly regarded within the chiptune community, and has influenced artists outside of it, such as Ikonika
Ikonika
Ikonika is an electronic musician, producer and DJ often associated with Hyperdub Records and the Dubstep genre.Her debut 12", "Please/Simulacrum" was released in 2008 on Hyperdub Records. She has released music on Planet Mu, as well as a remix of DJ Mujava’s "Township Funk", released by Warp...
, Frente!
Frente!
Frente! are an Australian alternative rock group, formed in 1991. The original lineup featured singer Angie Hart, founder and guitarist Simon Austin, bassist Tim O'Connor , and drummer Mark Picton...
, Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
, Labrinth
Labrinth
Timothy McKenzie , better known by his stage name Labrinth, is an English singer-songwriter and record producer. McKenzie is signed to Simon Cowell's record label Syco, becoming the first non-talent show signing in six years...
, Martyn
Martyn (musician)
Martijn Deykers, known professionally as Martyn, is a Dutch producer and DJ from Eindhoven. He started his career by DJing drum and bass in 1996 but began to include more of a dubstep influence after first hearing Kode9's "Sine of the Dub". He released his first 12" singles in 2005, incorporating...
, Joker
Joker (musician)
Joker is a UK-based musical artist who creates music in genres such as dubstep and grime. He was named "2009 king of bass music" by XLR8R Magazine and was featured in the September 2009 issue of The Wire magazine. He has contributed to two releases produced by the London-based record company Hyperdub...
, Darkstar, and Danger
Danger (musician)
Franck Rivoire, known by his stage name Danger, is a French electronic musician residing in Paris.-History:Rivoire's musical history started an early age, when his parents introduced him to the piano and saxophone. Growing up, he played in both jazz and punk bands, and other interests included...
. Koshiro's Streets of Rage soundtracks in particular has been compared to later grime
Grime (music)
Grime is a style of music that emerged from Bow, East London, England in the early 2000s, primarily as a development of UK garage, dancehall, and hip hop...
music, and has influenced electronica
Electronica
Electronica includes a wide range of contemporary electronic music designed for a wide range of uses, including foreground listening, some forms of dancing, and background music for other activities; however, unlike electronic dance music, it is not specifically made for dancing...
and dubstep
Dubstep
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in south London, England. Its overall sound has been described as "tightly coiled productions with overwhelming bass lines and reverberant drum patterns, clipped samples, and occasional vocals"....
producers.
Early life (1967–1985)
Yuzo Koshiro was born in TokyoTokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
on December 12, 1967. His mother, Tomo Koshiro, was a pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
. She taught him how to play the piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
at the age of three, and by the age of five, he had a strong command of it. In 1975, he began taking music lessons from the classical composer Joe Hisaishi
Joe Hisaishi
, known professionally as , is a composer and director known for over 100 film scores and solo albums dating back to 1981.While possessing a stylistically distinct sound, Hisaishi's music has been known to explore and incorporate different genres, including minimalist, experimental electronic,...
(later known for his soundtracks to Hayao Miyazaki
Hayao Miyazaki
is a Japanese manga artist and prominent film director and animator of many popular anime feature films. Through a career that has spanned nearly fifty years, Miyazaki has attained international acclaim as a maker of animated feature films and, along with Isao Takahata, co-founded Studio Ghibli,...
films), and studied with him for three years. Everything Koshiro learnt after that has since been self-taught.
While he was still in high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
during the early 1980s, Koshiro began composing music on the NEC PC-8801
NEC PC-8801
The NEC PC-8801 was an early Zilog Z80-based computer exclusively released in Japan, where it became very popular, by NEC Corporation in 1981. It was informally called the "PC-88"....
as a hobby, including mockup
Mockup
In manufacturing and design, a mockup, or mock-up, is a scale or full-size model of a design or device, used for teaching, demonstration, design evaluation, promotion, and other purposes...
s of early arcade game
Arcade game
An arcade game is a coin-operated entertainment machine, usually installed in public businesses such as restaurants, bars, and amusement arcades. Most arcade games are video games, pinball machines, electro-mechanical games, redemption games, and merchandisers...
music from Namco
Namco
is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of...
, Konami
Konami
is a Japanese leading developer and publisher of numerous popular and strong-selling toys, trading cards, anime, tokusatsu, slot machines, arcade cabinets and video games...
, and Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
. The sequencing
Music sequencer
The music sequencer is a device or computer software to record, edit, play back the music, by handling note and performance information in several forms, typically :...
skills and experience he gained from this would later be utilized in his early video game projects. The video games that influenced him most were The Tower of Druaga (1984), Space Harrier
Space Harrier
is a third-person rail shooter game, released by Sega in 1985. It was produced by Yu Suzuki, responsible for many popular Sega games. It spawned several sequels: Space Harrier 3-D , Space Harrier II , and the spin-off Planet Harriers ....
(1985), and Gradius
Gradius
The Gradius games, first introduced in 1985, make up a series of scrolling shooter video games published by Konami for a variety of portable, console and arcade platforms. In many games in the series, the player controls a ship known as the Vic Viper...
(1985). The video game music soundtracks to these games inspired him to become a video game composer.
Early career at Nihon Falcom (1986–1989)
Koshiro's first composing job was with Nihon Falcom in 1986 at the age of 18. Falcom used compositions from the PC-8801 demo tape he had sent them in their Dragon Slayer action role-playing gameAction role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
Xanadu Scenario II
Dragon Slayer II: Xanadu
is an action RPG developed by Nihon Falcom in 1985 for the PC-8801, PC-9801, FM-7, MSX and X1 computers. Enhanced remakes were released for the Sega Saturn, PC-9801 and Windows systems...
, for its opening theme and several dungeon levels. He also contributed to the soundtrack of Falcom's Dragon Slayer Jr: Romancia that same year. His compositions for these early games were influenced by arcade game music and Japanese bands such as The Alfee
The Alfee
The Alfee is a popular Japanese musical group composed of Masaru Sakurai , Kōnosuke Sakazaki and Toshihiko Takamizawa...
. He then produced the soundtrack to Dragon Slayer IV / Legacy of the Wizard
Legacy of the Wizard
is a fantasy-themed action role-playing platform game released for the MSX and Famicom in Japan and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States. Legacy of the Wizard is the fourth installment in Falcom's Dragon Slayer series...
(1987), which was influenced by the sounds of early Konami games. His most well-known Falcom works are his soundtracks for Sorcerian
Sorcerian
is an action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom, and the fifth in the Dragon Slayer line of games. It was originally released for the NEC PC-8801 in 1987, and was later ported to other PC platforms such as the NEC PC-9801, the NEC PC-88VA, the Sharp X1 Turbo, and the MSX 2, for which it...
(1987) and the early Ys games, Ys I (1987) and Ys II (1988). These early music productions mainly featured rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and fusion
Fusion (music)
A fusion genre is music that combines two or more styles. For example, rock and roll originally developed as a fusion of blues, gospel and country music. The main characteristics of fusion genres are variations in tempo, rhythm, i a sometimes the use of long musical "journeys" that can be divided...
music. He also contributed to the soundtrack of Ys III: Wanderers from Ys
Ys III: Wanderers from Ys
is an action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom Corporation. It is the third game in the Ys series.Ys III was initially released for the NEC PC-8801 and NEC PC-9801 in 1989, and versions for the MSX 2 and Sharp X68000 soon followed. In 1991, a number of console ports were produced:...
(1989), alongside Mieko Ishikawa. The TurboGrafx-CD versions of the first three games (from 1989 to 1991) are notable for their very early use of Red Book audio in video games. The Ys soundtracks are today regarded as some of the best video game music ever composed. It also inspired video game composers outside of Japan, such as Chris Hülsbeck
Chris Hülsbeck
Chris Hülsbeck is a video game music composer from Germany.He has written soundtracks for more than 70 titles, the latest being Star Wars: Rebel Strike for Nintendo GameCube. Many of his scores for the Commodore 64 are regarded as classics among enthusiasts today, most notably The Great Giana...
who cited it as a direct influence. Music from the Ys games were also employed in the Ys anime
Ys (anime)
are two different anime series, both of which are based on the video game series Ys. The first series spans seven episodes and covers the general plotline of the first game of the series, Ys I: Ancient Ys Vanished. The plot centers on Adol Christin as he journeys to the island of Esteria in search...
.
All of these early soundtracks were produced using the FM synthesis
Frequency modulation synthesis
A 220 Hz carrier tone modulated by a 440 Hz modulating tone with various choices of modulation index, β. The time domain signals are illustrated above, and the corresponding spectra are shown below ....
sound chip
Sound chip
A sound chip is an integrated circuit designed to produce sound . It might be doing this through digital, analog or mixed-mode electronics...
of the PC-8801. Despite later advances in audio technology, Koshiro would continue to use older PC-8801 hardware to produce many of his later video game soundtracks, including the Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage, known in Japan as , is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1991 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the first installment of the Streets of Rage series which was followed by Streets of Rage 2 and Streets of Rage 3. The game was also converted over to Sega's Game...
and Etrian Odyssey soundtracks. His soundtracks for early Nihon Falcom games, such as the Dragon Slayer and Ys series, are widely regarded as some of the most influential role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
scores.
Early freelance work (1988–1990)
Following his separation with Falcom, Koshiro became a freelancer, composing music for many other companies. His early freelance projects included the Sharp X68000Sharp X68000
The Sharp X68000, often referred to as the X68k, is a home computer released only in Japan by the Sharp Corporation. The first model was released in 1987, with a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM and no hard drive; the last model was released in 1993 with a 25 MHz Motorola 68030...
port of Bosconian
Bosconian
is a free-roaming multi-directional scrolling shooter arcade game that was developed by Namco and released in 1981. In contrast to the more linear shooter games of its time, Bosconian allows the player's ship to freely move across open space that scrolls in all directions. The game also features a...
, Bothtec
Quest Corporation
was a Japanese video game company founded in 1988. They were originally known as Bothtec, which had developed The Scheme, a Metroidvania-style open world action role-playing game featuring music by Yuzo Koshiro, that same year....
's action role-playing game
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
The Scheme
Quest Corporation
was a Japanese video game company founded in 1988. They were originally known as Bothtec, which had developed The Scheme, a Metroidvania-style open world action role-playing game featuring music by Yuzo Koshiro, that same year....
(1988) for the PC-8801, and Enix
Enix
The was a Japanese company that produced video games, anime and manga. The company was founded by Yasuhiro Fukushima on September 22, 1975 as and renamed Enix in 1982...
's visual novel
Visual novel
A is an interactive fiction game featuring mostly static graphics, usually with anime-style art, or occasionally live-action stills or video footage...
adventure game
Adventure game
An adventure game is a video game in which the player assumes the role of protagonist in an interactive story driven by exploration and puzzle-solving instead of physical challenge. The genre's focus on story allows it to draw heavily from other narrative-based media such as literature and film,...
Misty Blue for the PC-9801 in 1990. The latter two soundtracks featured early Eurobeat
Eurobeat
Eurobeat is a form of italo-disco/hi-NRG music that developed in the late 1980s.In the United States, Eurobeat was sometimes marketed as Hi-NRG and for a short while shared this term with the very early freestyle music hits....
music. His most notable freelance work was for Sega
Sega
, usually styled as SEGA, is a multinational video game software developer and an arcade software and hardware development company headquartered in Ōta, Tokyo, Japan, with various offices around the world...
, where he composed music for the Shinobi series
The Revenge of Shinobi
The Revenge of Shinobi, published in Japan as is a video game developed and published by Sega in 1989. It was the first Shinobi game developed for the Sega Mega Drive, and was later released on the coin-operated version of that console, the Mega-Tech....
and the Streets of Rage series, as well as Quintet, where he composed the soundtracks to ActRaiser (1990) and ActRaiser 2
ActRaiser 2
ActRaiser 2, released in Japan as , is a side-scrolling platform game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console developed by Quintet and published by Enix in 1993 and is the sequel to the popular game ActRaiser...
(1993).
His first freelance work for Sega was the soundtrack to The Revenge of Shinobi
The Revenge of Shinobi
The Revenge of Shinobi, published in Japan as is a video game developed and published by Sega in 1989. It was the first Shinobi game developed for the Sega Mega Drive, and was later released on the coin-operated version of that console, the Mega-Tech....
(1989), for which he produced house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
and "progressive, catchy, techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
-style compositions" that fused electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
with traditional Japanese musical instruments
Traditional Japanese musical instruments
Traditional Japanese musical instruments comprise a wide range of string, wind, and percussion instruments.-Plucked:*Biwa - pear-shaped lute*Ichigenkin - one-string zither*Koto - long zither*Junanagen - 17-stringed zither...
. His soundtrack for ActRaiser
ActRaiser
is a 1990 Super Nintendo Entertainment System action and city-building simulation game developed by Quintet and published by Enix that combines traditional side-scrolling platforming with urban planning god game sections. A sequel, ActRaiser 2, was released for the Super Nintendo in 1993...
(1990), on the other hand, was mainly classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
and orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
l. While working on ActRaiser, in order to get around the SNES
Super Nintendo Entertainment System
The Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
's 64 KB
Kilobyte
The kilobyte is a multiple of the unit byte for digital information. Although the prefix kilo- means 1000, the term kilobyte and symbol KB have historically been used to refer to either 1024 bytes or 1000 bytes, dependent upon context, in the fields of computer science and information...
memory limitation which limited the number of instruments that can be used and prevented the reloading of samples
Sampling (signal processing)
In signal processing, sampling is the reduction of a continuous signal to a discrete signal. A common example is the conversion of a sound wave to a sequence of samples ....
, Koshiro developed a sample loading system that worked with the ROM cartridge
ROM cartridge
A ROM cartridge, sometimes referred to as a cart, is a removable enclosure containing read-only memory devices designed to be connected to a computer or games console....
memory, swapping samples from the ROM
Read-only memory
Read-only memory is a class of storage medium used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be modified, or can be modified only slowly or with difficulty, so it is mainly used to distribute firmware .In its strictest sense, ROM refers only...
data on the fly. This allowed him to "load parts of the music gradually as needed, and also change it quickly between stages or parts of a stage" which the "original system couldn't do it with its retrictions." A similar system was used by other companies for later SNES games such as Squaresoft
Square (company)
was a Japanese video game company founded in September 1983 by Masafumi Miyamoto. It merged with Enix in 2003 and became part of Square Enix...
's Seiken Densetsu 3
Seiken Densetsu 3
is an action role-playing game developed and published by Square for Nintendo's Super Famicom as a part of the Mana series.The game features three lengthy main plotlines, six different characters, each with their own storylines, and a wide range of classes to choose from, which provides each...
(1995) and Namco Tales Studio
Namco Tales Studio
, formerly , was a Japanese video game development company founded in 1986. The company was renamed in 2003 when Telenet Japan sold part of its stake and made Namco the majority shareholder. Namco Tales Studio continues to be the primary developer of the Tales RPG series, as they had been since the...
's Tales of Phantasia
Tales of Phantasia
is a Super Nintendo game in the RPG genre published by Namco and released in Japan in 1995, selling 212,000 copies. It is the first mothership title in the Tales RPG series and was later remade/re-released on the PlayStation, Game Boy Advance and PlayStation Portable...
(1995).
Founding of Ancient (1990–1991)
In 1990, Koshiro helped found Ancient Corp.Ancient (company)
Ancient Corp. is a video game developer founded on April 1st, 1990, and managed by the game music composer Yuzo Koshiro. The company was founded by his mother, Tomo Koshiro, while his sister Ayano Koshiro also works at the company as an art/character/graphic designer...
, which has contributed to the development of a number of games, such as Beyond Oasis
Beyond Oasis
Beyond Oasis, known in Japan as and in Europe as The Story of Thor: A Successor of The Light, is a action role playing video game developed by Ancient and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. The game was later re-released to the Wii's Virtual Console on March 19th, 2007 in North...
. The company was also founded by his mother, Tomo Koshiro, while his sister Ayano Koshiro works at the company as an art/character/graphic designer and was also the art designer for the ActRaiser games. His sister Ayano has designed characters and graphics for several games Koshiro has worked on, including the Streets of Rage (Bare Knuckle in Japan) series, Ys and ActRaiser.
While working with Ancient, he composed the soundtrack for the 8-bit version of Sonic the Hedgehog
Sonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)
The game's soundtrack was composed by chiptune musician Yuzo Koshiro. He adapted several pieces of music from the original 16-bit version, while the rest of the soundtrack consisted of his own original music. One of his original pieces, the "Bridge Zone" theme, was later sampled in Janet Jackson's...
in 1991. He adapted several pieces of music from the original 16-bit version, while the rest of the soundtrack consisted of his own original music. One of his original pieces, the "Bridge Zone" theme, was later sampled
Sampling (music)
In music, sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or a different sound recording of a song or piece. Sampling was originally developed by experimental musicians working with musique concrète and electroacoustic music, who physically...
in Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson
Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American recording artist and actress. Known for a series of sonically innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows, television and film roles, she has been a prominent figure in popular culture for over 25 years...
's best-selling single "Together Again" (1997). The "Bridge Zone" theme was also later sampled in Sonic Adventure
Sonic Adventure
is a 1999 platform video game developed by Sonic Team and released on December 23, 1998, in Japan by Sega for the Dreamcast. One of its development titles was Sonic RPG...
, for the Miles "Tails" Prower
Miles "Tails" Prower
, better known by his nickname , is a character, as well as the main deuteragonist in the Sonic the Hedgehog series of video games, comics, animated series and film released by Sega....
theme song, "Believe in Myself" by Karen Brake. Another one of Koshiro's original pieces for the soundtrack, "Jungle Zone", was later sampled in the Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n hit single "Accidently Kelly Street" by Frente!
Frente!
Frente! are an Australian alternative rock group, formed in 1991. The original lineup featured singer Angie Hart, founder and guitarist Simon Austin, bassist Tim O'Connor , and drummer Mark Picton...
in 1992.
Streets of Rage series (1991–1994)
His soundtracks for the Streets of Rage series (known as Bare Knuckle in Japan) from 1991 to 1994 were composed using then outdated PC-8801 hardware alongside his own original programming languageProgramming language
A programming language is an artificial language designed to communicate instructions to a machine, particularly a computer. Programming languages can be used to create programs that control the behavior of a machine and/or to express algorithms precisely....
. According to Koshiro: "For Bare Knuckle I used the PC88 and an original programming language I developed myself. The original was called MML, Music Macro Language. It's based on NEC's BASIC
BASIC
BASIC is a family of general-purpose, high-level programming languages whose design philosophy emphasizes ease of use - the name is an acronym from Beginner's All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code....
program, but I modified it heavily. It was more a BASIC-style language at first, but I modified it to be something more like Assembly
Assembly language
An assembly language is a low-level programming language for computers, microprocessors, microcontrollers, and other programmable devices. It implements a symbolic representation of the machine codes and other constants needed to program a given CPU architecture...
. I called it ‘Music Love'. I used it for all the Bare Knuckle Games."
The soundtracks for Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage
Streets of Rage, known in Japan as , is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1991 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the first installment of the Streets of Rage series which was followed by Streets of Rage 2 and Streets of Rage 3. The game was also converted over to Sega's Game...
(1991) and Streets of Rage 2
Streets of Rage 2
Streets of Rage 2, known in Japan as , and in Europe as Streets of Rage II with a Roman numeral, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1992 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. The game is also playable in the game Sonic's Ultimate Sega Genesis Collection...
(1992) were influenced by house
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
, techno
Techno
Techno is a form of electronic dance music that emerged in Detroit, Michigan in the United States during the mid to late 1980s. The first recorded use of the word techno, in reference to a genre of music, was in 1988...
, and hardcore techno
Hardcore techno
Hardcore techno is a type of electronic music typified by the rhythmic use of distorted and atonal industrial-like beats and samples...
. For the soundtrack to Streets of Rage 3
Streets of Rage 3
Streets of Rage 3 is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1994 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the last part of the Streets of Rage series. It was later released for the Japanese version of Sonic Gems Collection for the GameCube and PlayStation 2, and for the Wii Virtual Console...
(1994), however, he created a new composition method called the "Automated Composing System" to produce "fast-beat techno like jungle
Drum and bass
Drum and bass is a type of electronic music which emerged in the late 1980s. The genre is characterized by fast breakbeats , with heavy bass and sub-bass lines...
." It was the most advanced techno technique of the time, incorporating heavily randomized sequences. This resulted in innovative and experimental sounds
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
generated automatically that, according to Koshiro, "you ordinarily never could imagine on your own." This method was very rare at the time, but has since become popular among techno and trance music
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
producers to get "unexpected and odd sounds."
Later career (1994–present)
In 1994, Koshiro composed a famous soundtrack for the Sega CD version of Eye of the Beholder, a dungeon crawlDungeon crawl
A dungeon crawl is a type of scenario in fantasy role-playing games in which heroes navigate a labyrinthine environment, battling various monsters, and looting any treasure they may find...
role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
developed by the American company Westwood Associates and published by Sega. That same year, his soundtrack for Beyond Oasis
Beyond Oasis
Beyond Oasis, known in Japan as and in Europe as The Story of Thor: A Successor of The Light, is a action role playing video game developed by Ancient and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. The game was later re-released to the Wii's Virtual Console on March 19th, 2007 in North...
utilized a late romantic
Romantic music
Romantic music or music in the Romantic Period is a musicological and artistic term referring to a particular period, theory, compositional practice, and canon in Western music history, from 1810 to 1900....
style of music, which he later also utilized for Legend of Oasis (1996), Merregnon
Merregnon
Merregnon is a soundtrack CD project for which video game music composers contribute new titles. By writing orchestral music the artists tell a story taking place in a newly created fantasy-universe....
(2000), and Lost Regnum (2008).
He also composed the soundtrack for Sega's Shenmue
Shenmue
is a 1999 open-world adventure video game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. Suzuki coined a genre title, "FREE" , for the game, based on the interactivity and freedom he wanted to give to the player...
(1999) alongside Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
Takenobu Mitsuyoshi
is a Japanese composer of video game music. He has composed music for various games produced by Sega, including Virtua Fighter 2 and Shenmue. He was also the voice actor of Bill in Sega-AM2's 1993 fighting arcade game, Burning Rival.-Biography:...
, with Koshiro contributing fifteen original compositions to the soundtrack. Three other staff members of Ancient also worked on Shenmue. He later composed the soundtracks for the Wangan Midnight
Wangan Midnight
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Michiharu Kusunoki and serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits since 1990, later in Kodansha's Young Magazine. In 1999, it won the Kodansha Manga Award for general manga....
series (2001 onwards) and Namco × Capcom (2005). These were the first projects where he wrote the lyrics along with the music. For the Wangan Midnight series in particular, his compositions were mostly trance music
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
.
He composed the main theme of the French TV channel Nolife
Nolife (TV channel)
Nolife is a French TV network. It describes itself as the TV "for geeks, nerds and otakus". It mainly deals with videogames, Japanese culture, technology and various other topics...
, which launched in 2007. The theme was released as part of the album Tamiuta in 2008. Koshiro's latest work includes music for Etrian Odyssey
Etrian Odyssey
Media Create/Famitsū reported that Etrian Odyssey had sold 119,584 copies in Japan as of July 1, 2007. Atlus' own July 2007 investors report listed US sales of the title at around 30,000 units, roughly 2 months after release....
series (2007–2010), the Wangan Midnight
Wangan Midnight
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Michiharu Kusunoki and serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits since 1990, later in Kodansha's Young Magazine. In 1999, it won the Kodansha Manga Award for general manga....
series (including 2004's Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune), and 7th Dragon
7th Dragon
is a role-playing video game for Nintendo DS developed by imageepoch and published by Sega in Japan on March 5, 2009.-Story:7th Dragon takes place in the world of Eden of which 80% is ruled by dragons, so the premise of the game is simple: Kill all the dragons, or the human race is going to be...
(2009).
Concert performances
A live performance of ActRaiserActRaiser
is a 1990 Super Nintendo Entertainment System action and city-building simulation game developed by Quintet and published by Enix that combines traditional side-scrolling platforming with urban planning god game sections. A sequel, ActRaiser 2, was released for the Super Nintendo in 1993...
could be heard in 2004 at the second Symphonic Game Music Concert
Symphonic Game Music Concert
The Symphonic Game Music Concerts are a series of award-winning, annual German video game music concerts initiated in 2003, notable for being the longest running and the first of their kind outside of Japan...
in Leipzig
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and in 2005 at the first Chamber Music Game Concert in Leipzig, Germany. Yuzo Koshiro was participating on PLAY! A Video Game Symphony
Play! A Video Game Symphony
PLAY! A Video Game Symphony is a concert series that features music from video games performed by a live orchestra. The concerts from 2006 to 2010 were conducted by Arnie Roth...
, a symphonic world-tour featuring video game music. He arranged music from Sonic The Hedgehog for the tour. He attended the world premiere on May 27, 2006 in Chicago.
On August 23, 2006, his music from The Revenge of Shinobi was performed at the fourth Symphonic Game Concert in Leipzig, Germany, in an arrangement done by him and was performed again in two concerts in Stockholm, Sweden in 2007 and in Prague, Czech Republic in 2008 as a part of PLAY! A Video Game Symphony.
On June 15, 2007 and June 16, 2007, Koshiro worked as a disc jockey
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
for selections of his most famous works including the Wangan Midnight- and Streets of Rage series for fans in Singapore at the PLAY! pre-concert events.
In 2007 Koshiro arranged music from New Super Mario Bros.
New Super Mario Bros.
is a side-scrolling platform video game published and developed by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. The game was released in North America and Japan in May 2006 and in Australia and Europe in June 2006...
for the fifth Symphonic Game Music Concert in Leipzig, Germany on August 22, 2007. He attended the performance and the autograph session afterwards.
Yuzo Koshiro arranged music from Jim Power in Mutant Planet
Jim Power in Mutant Planet
Jim Power in Mutant Planet is a platform game designed by Digital Concept and published by Loriciel for the Amiga, Atari ST and Amstrad CPC in 1992. The game features several contrasting modes of gameplay, including side-view platforming, top-view, and horizontal shoot 'em up...
for the Symphonic Shades - Huelsbeck in Concert events that were taking place on August 23, 2008 in Cologne, Germany. The music was performed by the WDR Radio Orchestra and the FILMharmonic Choir Prague. Koshiro was in attendance at both concerts.
Video games
- Xanadu Scenario IIDragon Slayer II: Xanaduis an action RPG developed by Nihon Falcom in 1985 for the PC-8801, PC-9801, FM-7, MSX and X1 computers. Enhanced remakes were released for the Sega Saturn, PC-9801 and Windows systems...
(PC-88, PC-98PC-98PC-98 may refer to:*PC-98, a 1998 computer guideline by Microsoft and Intel, see PC System Design Guide*NEC PC-9801, a line of Japanese computers by NEC from the 1980s to early 1990s...
) - Dragon Slayer Jr: RomanciaRomanciaDragon Slayer Jr: Romancia is an action-adventure game developed by Nihon Falcom in 1986 for the PC-8801, PC-9801, MSX, and X1 computers. A Famicom version was retooled and expanded by Compile and published by Tokyo Shoseki. An enhanced remake was released for Windows in 1999 by Unbalance...
(PC-88) - Dragon Slayer II: XanaduDragon Slayer II: Xanaduis an action RPG developed by Nihon Falcom in 1985 for the PC-8801, PC-9801, FM-7, MSX and X1 computers. Enhanced remakes were released for the Sega Saturn, PC-9801 and Windows systems...
(MSXMSXMSX was the name of a standardized home computer architecture in the 1980s conceived by Kazuhiko Nishi, then Vice-president at Microsoft Japan and Director at ASCII Corporation...
) - Legacy of the Wizard / Dragon Slayer IVLegacy of the Wizardis a fantasy-themed action role-playing platform game released for the MSX and Famicom in Japan and for the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States. Legacy of the Wizard is the fourth installment in Falcom's Dragon Slayer series...
(MSX, NES/FamicomNintendo Entertainment SystemThe Nintendo Entertainment System is an 8-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America during 1985, in Europe during 1986 and Australia in 1987...
) - SorcerianSorcerianis an action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom, and the fifth in the Dragon Slayer line of games. It was originally released for the NEC PC-8801 in 1987, and was later ported to other PC platforms such as the NEC PC-9801, the NEC PC-88VA, the Sharp X1 Turbo, and the MSX 2, for which it...
(PC-88, PC-98) - Ys (PC-88, PC-98)
- Ys II (PC-88, PC-98)
- Algarna (Sharp X1Sharp X1The X1 is a series of home computer released by Sharp Corporation from 1982 to 1988. It was based on a Z80 CPU.Despite the fact that the Computer Division of Sharp Corporation had released the MZ series, suddenly the Television Division released a new computer series called the X1...
) - BosconianBosconianis a free-roaming multi-directional scrolling shooter arcade game that was developed by Namco and released in 1981. In contrast to the more linear shooter games of its time, Bosconian allows the player's ship to freely move across open space that scrolls in all directions. The game also features a...
(Sharp X68000Sharp X68000The Sharp X68000, often referred to as the X68k, is a home computer released only in Japan by the Sharp Corporation. The first model was released in 1987, with a 10 MHz Motorola 68000 CPU, 1 MB of RAM and no hard drive; the last model was released in 1993 with a 25 MHz Motorola 68030...
) - The SchemeQuest Corporationwas a Japanese video game company founded in 1988. They were originally known as Bothtec, which had developed The Scheme, a Metroidvania-style open world action role-playing game featuring music by Yuzo Koshiro, that same year....
(PC-88, PC-98) - Ys III: Wanderers from YsYs III: Wanderers from Ysis an action role-playing game developed by Nihon Falcom Corporation. It is the third game in the Ys series.Ys III was initially released for the NEC PC-8801 and NEC PC-9801 in 1989, and versions for the MSX 2 and Sharp X68000 soon followed. In 1991, a number of console ports were produced:...
(PC-88, PC-98) - Misty Blue (PC-88, PC-98)
- Star Wars - Attack of the Death Star (X68000 arrangements)
- The Stickman is Back (Sega Mega DriveSega Mega DriveThe Sega Genesis is a fourth-generation video game console developed and produced by Sega. It was originally released in Japan in 1988 as , then in North America in 1989 as Sega Genesis, and in Europe, Australia and other PAL regions in 1990 as Mega Drive. The reason for the two names is that...
) - unreleased - The Revenge of Shinobi / The Super ShinobiThe Revenge of ShinobiThe Revenge of Shinobi, published in Japan as is a video game developed and published by Sega in 1989. It was the first Shinobi game developed for the Sega Mega Drive, and was later released on the coin-operated version of that console, the Mega-Tech....
(Mega Drive / Genesis) - Thrice (Slice)Thrice (video game)Thrice is a puzzle game created in 1990 by M.N.M. Software for the PC Sharp X68000, very popular in Japan.The game features the music of Yuzo Koshiro, and he said once it was his most difficult work. Some music from this game can be found in the CD ....
(Sharp X68000) - Streets of Rage / Bare KnuckleStreets of RageStreets of Rage, known in Japan as , is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1991 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the first installment of the Streets of Rage series which was followed by Streets of Rage 2 and Streets of Rage 3. The game was also converted over to Sega's Game...
(Mega Drive / Genesis) - ActRaiserActRaiseris a 1990 Super Nintendo Entertainment System action and city-building simulation game developed by Quintet and published by Enix that combines traditional side-scrolling platforming with urban planning god game sections. A sequel, ActRaiser 2, was released for the Super Nintendo in 1993...
(Super NES / Super FamicomSuper Nintendo Entertainment SystemThe Super Nintendo Entertainment System is a 16-bit video game console that was released by Nintendo in North America, Europe, Australasia , and South America between 1990 and 1993. In Japan and Southeast Asia, the system is called the , or SFC for short...
) - ActRaiser 2ActRaiser 2ActRaiser 2, released in Japan as , is a side-scrolling platform game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console developed by Quintet and published by Enix in 1993 and is the sequel to the popular game ActRaiser...
(SNES / SFC) - Super Adventure IslandSuper Adventure Islandis a side-scrolling platform game by Hudson Soft originally released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in and later re-released for the Wii's Virtual Console download service in . It was the first Adventure Island game released for the SNES and came out between the releases of the NES...
(SNES / SFC) - Sonic the HedgehogSonic the Hedgehog (8-bit)The game's soundtrack was composed by chiptune musician Yuzo Koshiro. He adapted several pieces of music from the original 16-bit version, while the rest of the soundtrack consisted of his own original music. One of his original pieces, the "Bridge Zone" theme, was later sampled in Janet Jackson's...
(Sega Master System / Game Gear) - Streets of Rage 2 / Bare Knuckle IIStreets of Rage 2Streets of Rage 2, known in Japan as , and in Europe as Streets of Rage II with a Roman numeral, is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1992 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. The game is also playable in the game Sonic's Ultimate Sega Genesis Collection...
(Mega Drive / Genesis) - with Motohiro Kawashima - Slap FightSlap Fight, also known as Alcon, is a 1986 vertically scrolling shooter arcade game developed by Toaplan and published by Taito.-Summary:It takes its inspiration from Xevious and Gradius...
(Mega Drive) - Japan only - Miracle Casino Paradise (SFC) - Japan only
- ShinobiShinobi (Game Gear)is a side-scrolling action game by Sega released for the Game Gear in . It was the first Shinobi game developed specifically for a portable game platform...
/ The GG Shinobi (Game Gear) - Shinobi II: The Silent FuryShinobi II: The Silent Furyis a side-scrolling action game by Sega released for the Game Gear in . It is the sequel to The G.G. Shinobi, an off-shoot of the Shinobi series created for Sega's portable platform...
/ The GG Shinobi II (Game Gear) - Batman ReturnsBatman Returns (video game)Batman Returns is a video game for various platforms based on the movie of the same name. The Sega console versions were published by Sega themselves while the NES and Super NES versions were developed and published by Konami...
(Game Gear, Master System) - Streets of Rage 3 / Bare Knuckle IIIStreets of Rage 3Streets of Rage 3 is a side-scrolling beat 'em up released by Sega in 1994 for the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. It is the last part of the Streets of Rage series. It was later released for the Japanese version of Sonic Gems Collection for the GameCube and PlayStation 2, and for the Wii Virtual Console...
(Mega Drive / Genesis) - with Motohiro Kawashima - The Story of Thor / Beyond OasisBeyond OasisBeyond Oasis, known in Japan as and in Europe as The Story of Thor: A Successor of The Light, is a action role playing video game developed by Ancient and published by Sega for the Mega Drive/Genesis console. The game was later re-released to the Wii's Virtual Console on March 19th, 2007 in North...
(Mega Drive / Genesis) - Eye of the BeholderEye of the Beholder (computer game)Eye of the Beholder is a role-playing video game for computers and video game consoles developed by Westwood Studios. It was published by Strategic Simulations, Inc. in 1990 for the DOS operating system and later ported to the Amiga, the Sega CD, and the SNES...
(Mega-CD) - Zork IZork IZork: The Great Underground Empire - Part I, later known as Zork I, is an interactive fiction computer game written by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Bruce Daniels and Tim Anderson and published by Infocom in 1980. It was the first game in the popular Zork trilogy and was released for a wide range of...
(Sega SaturnSega SaturnThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console that was first released by Sega on November 22, 1994 in Japan, May 11, 1995 in North America, and July 8, 1995 in Europe...
/ PlayStationPlayStationThe is a 32-bit fifth-generation video game console first released by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, .The PlayStation was the first of the PlayStation series of consoles and handheld game devices. The PlayStation 2 was the console's successor in 2000...
) - The Story of Thor 2 / The Legend of Oasis (Sega Saturn)
- Vatlva (Sega Saturn)
- CuldceptCuldceptis a turn-based strategy video game. It has drawn comparisons to other modern strategy titles, and also shares features with non-video games Monopoly and Magic: The Gathering. The first installment to reach North America was the expanded port of Culdcept Second released for the Sony PlayStation 2,...
(Sega Saturn) - with Takeshi Yanagawa - ShenmueShenmueis a 1999 open-world adventure video game developed by Sega AM2 and published by Sega for the Dreamcast, produced and directed by Yu Suzuki. Suzuki coined a genre title, "FREE" , for the game, based on the interactivity and freedom he wanted to give to the player...
(Dreamcast) - with Takenobu MitsuyoshiTakenobu Mitsuyoshiis a Japanese composer of video game music. He has composed music for various games produced by Sega, including Virtua Fighter 2 and Shenmue. He was also the voice actor of Bill in Sega-AM2's 1993 fighting arcade game, Burning Rival.-Biography:...
, Takeshi Yanagawa, Osamu Murata and Ryuji Iuchi - Wangan MidnightWangan Midnightis a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Michiharu Kusunoki and serialized in Shogakukan's Big Comic Spirits since 1990, later in Kodansha's Young Magazine. In 1999, it won the Kodansha Manga Award for general manga....
(Arcade, PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
) - Car Battler JoeCar Battler Joeis a car battling video game for the Game Boy Advance, developed by Ancient and published by Natsume. The game involves using cars to fight opponents in action-styled battles, with RPG game mechanics...
(Game Boy AdvanceGame Boy AdvanceThe is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
) - Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune (Arcade)
- Wangan Midnight R (Arcade)
- Amazing IslandAmazing IslandThe game received mostly modest reviews. IGN gave it a 6.7 "passable" rating. Game Spot gave it a 6.5 "fair" review. DL Game Reviews gave the game a 2/10, saying it was "very bad."-External links:* at Nintendo.co.jp...
(Nintendo GameCubeNintendo GameCubeThe , officially abbreviated to NGC in Japan and GCN in other regions, is a sixth generation video game console released by Nintendo on September 15, 2001 in Japan, November 18, 2001 in North America, May 3, 2002 in Europe, and May 17, 2002 in Australia...
) - Wangan Midnight: Maximum Tune 2 (Arcade)
- Namco × Capcom (PlayStation 2) - with flair
- Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 is the tenth home version of Dance Dance Revolution to be released in the United States. It was released by Konami on September 28, 2005 for the PlayStation 2 video game console...
(USA) / Dancing Stage MaxDancing Stage MaxDancing Stage Max, or Max, was released on November 25, 2005 by Konami to the Europeean PlayStation 2 gaming audience. Dancing Stage Max was modeled after Dance Dance Revolution Extreme 2 in America and Dance Dance Revolution Strike in Japan, containing the new Dance Master Mode and improved EyeToy...
(PAL) / Dance Dance Revolution STR!KE (JPN) (PlayStation 2) - provided the song "You Gotta Move It" with vocals by Julie Rugaard - Castlevania: Portrait of RuinCastlevania: Portrait of RuinCastlevania: Portrait of Ruin, known in Japan as , is an action video game developed and published by Konami. The game was released on November 16, 2006 in Japan, and in the US on December 5, 2006 for the Nintendo DS handheld game console...
(Nintendo DSNintendo DSThe is a portable game console produced by Nintendo, first released on November 21, 2004. A distinctive feature of the system is the presence of two separate LCD screens, the lower of which is a touchscreen, encompassed within a clamshell design, similar to the Game Boy Advance SP...
) - with Michiru YamaneMichiru Yamaneis a Japanese video game composer and musician. She is known primarily for her work on the Castlevania series and other Konami games, including Suikoden. Her debut composition was Twinbee... - Etrian OdysseyEtrian OdysseyMedia Create/Famitsū reported that Etrian Odyssey had sold 119,584 copies in Japan as of July 1, 2007. Atlus' own July 2007 investors report listed US sales of the title at around 30,000 units, roughly 2 months after release....
(Nintendo DS) - Wangan Midnight: Maximum Tune 3 (Arcade)
- Fuzion Frenzy 2Fuzion Frenzy 2Fuzion Frenzy 2 was universally not as well received as its predecessor. Many felt that Hudson had taken the series in an unwelcome direction, providing a "value title" at nearly full price...
(Xbox 360) - Warriors Of The Lost Empire (USA) / Lost Regnum (JPN) (PlayStation PortablePlayStation PortableThe is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
) - Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn! Dream Hyper Battle! (PlayStation 2PlayStation 2The PlayStation 2 is a sixth-generation video game console manufactured by Sony as part of the PlayStation series. Its development was announced in March 1999 and it was first released on March 4, 2000, in Japan...
, WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
) - with Tomonori Hayashibe and Motohiro Kawashima - Super Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. BrawlSuper Smash Bros. Brawl, known in Japan as , often abbreviated as SSBB or simply as Brawl, is the third installment in the Super Smash Bros. series of crossover fighting games, developed by an ad hoc development team consisting of Sora, Game Arts and staff from other developers, and published by...
(WiiWiiThe Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others...
) - with many other composers - Etrian Odyssey II: Heroes of LagaardEtrian Odyssey II: Heroes of LagaardEtrian Odyssey II: Heroes of Lagaard, released in Japan as is a role-playing video game by Atlus for the Nintendo DS. Heroes of Lagaard is the sequel to Etrian Odyssey.-Story:...
(Nintendo DS) - Otomedius G (Xbox 360) - arranged the Salamander song "Planet Ratis"
- 7th Dragon7th Dragonis a role-playing video game for Nintendo DS developed by imageepoch and published by Sega in Japan on March 5, 2009.-Story:7th Dragon takes place in the world of Eden of which 80% is ruled by dragons, so the premise of the game is simple: Kill all the dragons, or the human race is going to be...
(Nintendo DS) - Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 DX (Arcade)
- Etrian Odyssey III: The Drowned CityEtrian Odyssey III: The Drowned Cityis a 3D dungeon crawler role-playing video game by Atlus for the Nintendo DS. The title was released in Japan on April 1, 2010 and in North America on September 21, 2010.The Etrian Odyssey series is well known for its old-school style and difficult adventures...
(Nintendo DS) - Dragon Ball OnlineDragon Ball Onlineis a massive multiplayer online role-playing game being developed simultaneously in Japan and South Korea by NTL, set in the Dragon Ball universe, first introduced by the Dragon Ball Japanese manga in 1984...
(PCPersonal computerA personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end-user with no intervening computer operator...
) - Protect Me Knight (Xbox LiveXbox LiveXbox Live is an online multiplayer gaming and digital media delivery service created and operated by Microsoft Corporation. It is currently the only online gaming service on consoles that charges users a fee to play multiplayer gaming. It was first made available to the Xbox system in 2002...
) - Otomedius X (Xbox 360Xbox 360The Xbox 360 is the second video game console produced by Microsoft and the successor to the Xbox. The Xbox 360 competes with Sony's PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles...
) - Criminal Girls (Sony PSP)
- 7th Dragon 20207th Dragonis a role-playing video game for Nintendo DS developed by imageepoch and published by Sega in Japan on March 5, 2009.-Story:7th Dragon takes place in the world of Eden of which 80% is ruled by dragons, so the premise of the game is simple: Kill all the dragons, or the human race is going to be...
(Playstation PortablePlayStation PortableThe is a handheld game console manufactured and marketed by Sony Corporation Development of the console was announced during E3 2003, and it was unveiled on , 2004, at a Sony press conference before E3 2004...
)
Other projects include Merregnon Soundtrack - Volume 2, Ten Plants, the Street Fighter Tribute Album
Street Fighter II
is a competitive fighting game originally released for the arcades in . It is the arcade sequel to the original Street Fighter released in and was Capcom's fourteenth title that ran on the CP System arcade hardware...
(for an M. Bison stage remix), FM Sound Module Maniax, and a guest arranging role on the Pink Sweets
Pink Sweets - Ibara Sorekara
is a manic shooter by Cave, with heavy Raizing influences. It was released in Japanese arcades during the second Quarter of 2006. Pink Sweets is the sequel to Ibara, and features the stage 1-5 bosses from Ibara as playable characters. Pink Sweets has been announced for release on Xbox 360 in a...
soundtrack.
Discography
His original soundtrack album releases include:- Original Sound of Dragon Slayer IV: Dragon Slayer Family (21 September 1987, Apollon Music Industrial Corp., KHY-1020, with Mieko Ishikawa)
- Music from Ys (5 November 1987, Starchild Records / King Records, K30X-7701, with Mieko Ishikawa)
- All Sounds of Sorcerian (21 April 1988, Polystar, H30X-20006)
- Music from Sorcerian (21 April 1988, Starchild Records / King Records, K30X-7703)
- Music from Ys II (21 June 1988, King Records, K32X-7704, with Mieko Ishikawa)
- Symphony Ys (5 November 1988, King Records, K32X-7710, with Mieko Ishikawa)
- Symphony Sorcerian (5 July 1989, King Records, 276A-7707)
- Beep Special Project: Falcom Super Mega Mix (April 1989, Softbank Publishing)
- The Scheme (21 December 1989, Alfa Records, 25A2-8)
- The Super Shinobi & Works (25 December 1989, Alpha Records, 25A2-53)
- Misty Blue (2 April 1990, Enix Corporation, E-G241)
- ActRaiser OST (25 January 1991, Alfa Records, ALCA-105)
- Misty Blue (21 April 1991, Alfa Records, ALCA-123)
- Bare Knuckle (Streets of Rage) OST (21 September 1991, Alfa Records, ALCA-181)
- ActRaiser Symphonic Suite (21 September 1991, Alpha Records, ALCA-182, with the Japan Shinsei Symphony Orchestra)
- Super Adventure Island (21 January 1992, Alfa Records, ALCA-242)
- Yuzo Koshiro Early Collection (21 July 1992, Alfa Records, ALCA-328)
- Bare Knuckle II (Streets of Rage 2) OST (21 January 1993, Alfa Records, ALCA-443, with Motohiro Kawashima)
- Bare Knuckle III (Streets of Rage 3) OST (24 August 1994, Alfa Records, ALCA-5006, with Motohiro Kawashima)
- Yuzo Koshiro Early Collection 2nd (1 August 1998, Ancient, PRD-688)
- Culdcept OST (21 January 1998, First Smile, FSCA-10028, with Takeshi Yanagawa)
- Streets of Rage 2 OST (1 February 2000, Mars Colony Music, MCM-10106-2, with Motohiro Kawashima, rerelease)
- Legend 80's "The Scheme Soundtrack" (21 August 2002, Scitron, SCDC-00199, remastered with new tracks)
- Wangan Midnight OST (4 September 2002, Scitron, SCDC-00188)
- Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 2 OST (6 April 2005, King Records, KICA-1361/1362)
- Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 3 OST (27 September 2007, Marvelous Entertainment, MJCD-20102)
Contributions in:
- All Over Xanadu (5 July 1987, Apollon Music Industrial Corp., BY30-5170)
- Romancia Sound Fantasy (21 November 1987, Apollon Music Industrial Corp., BY30-5176)
- Falcom Game Music (10 November 1987, G.M.O. Records / Alfa Records, 28XA-179)
- Music from Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (21 October 1989, King Records, 276A-7715)
- Perfect Collection Ys (5 August 1990, King Records, KICA-1012/1013)
- Perfect Collection Ys II (5 September 1990, King Records, KICA-1014/1015)
- Perfect Collection Ys III: Wanderers from Ys (15 March 1991, King Records, KICA-1021/2)
- Perfect Collection Sorcerian Vol. 2 (21 September 1991, King Records, KICA-1037/1038)
- Perfect Collection Sorcerian Vol. 3 (21 November 1991, King Records, KICA-1039/1040)
- Great Wall (16 August 1993, Troubadour Records, TTRC-0002)
- Perfect Collection Ys IV - The Dawn of Ys Volume 1 (23 February 1994, King Records, KICA-1139)
- Little Princess Puppet Princess of Marl's Kingdom 2 OST (8 March 2000, Toshiba EMI/Future Land, TYCY-10031)
- Shenmue Chapter 1 - Yokosuka OST (23 March 2000, Future Land, TYCY-10034/10035)
- Street Fighter Tribute Album (17 December 2003, Suleputer, CPCA-1083)
- Merregnon Soundtrack - Volume 2 (19 May 2004, Totentanz (Soulfood Music), TOT 23009)
- Merregnon Soundtrack - Volume 2 (19 January 2005, Dex Entertainment, DECX-0018, rerelease)
- Namco x Capcom OST (23 August 2005, Suleputer, CPCA-10118)
- Dance Dance Revolution Festival & Strike Original Soundtrack (15 February 2006, Toshiba EMI, TOCP-64291/64292)
- Yuusha 30 Original Soundtrack (22 July 2009, Marvelous Entertainment, MJCD-20165)
External links
- Ancient Corp. website
- Artist profile at OverClocked ReMixOverClocked ReMixOverClocked ReMix, also known as OC ReMix and OCR, is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and paying tribute to video game music through arranging and re-interpreting the songs with new technology and software, as well as by various traditional means...
- VGMdb profile
- Yuzo Database (Spanish)
- Yuzo Koshiro MUSIC FILES (Japanese)
- Yuzo Koshiro Fan Website. www.yuzokoshiro.com
- "Yuzo Koshiro Interview" Kikizo: (Oct. 14, 2005)
- "The OPCFG Interview with Yuzo Koshiro" Organization for the Preservation of Classic Forms of Gaming: Strangman, Rob
- "Sega Stars" Yuzo Koshiro biography at Sega-16.com
- MegaDriver, a Brazilian band, have released an album entitled "Sword, Shurikins and Fists"http://www.megadriver.com.br/mp3/YuzoTribute/MegaDriver%20-%202007%20-%20A%20Tribute%20To%20Yuzo%20Koshiro.zip, a tribute to Yuzo Koshiro.