| This article is written from the Real Life point of view |  |
Kenji Yamamoto (山本 健誌 Yamamoto Kenji) is a Japanese video game musician working for Nintendo. He has composed the soundtrack for various games in the Metroid series, as well as other games. He also voiced Spore Spawn in Super Metroid.[1]
He is not to be confused with the Kenji Yamamoto who composed music for Dragon Ball Z and some of its related media.
Involvement with Metroid[]
He did not compose music for Metroid: Other M, as he was working on Donkey Kong Country Returns. He was replaced by Ninja Gaiden composer Kuniaki Haishima. While it was reported that Yamamoto was composing the music for Metroid Prime: Federation Force alongside Next Level Games' internal music team, he is not credited in the final game.[2] He did return as the music director of the newest Metroid title, Metroid: Samus Returns, re-arranging some of his own classic Metroid tracks (including the Theme of Samus, and Magmoor Caverns).[3]
Yamamoto and his lead sound designer (possibly Kouichi Kyuma) spent a week with Nintendo Software Technology composers Lawrence Schwedler and James Phillipsen, to guide them in their work for Metroid Prime Hunters. Despite this, Yamamoto nor Kyuma are not credited in the Western version of Hunters[4], although Yamamoto is in the Japanese version.[5]
An interview with Yamamoto, Yoshio Sakamoto and Kensuke Tanabe was published in Nintendo Dream volume 85 in March 2003, and republished on the Metroid Official Site soon after. An unofficial English translation was released by the Metroid Database on December 15, 2011[6], and can be accessed here.
Clark Wen describes Yamamoto as "very humble" for a person of his stature, and also "very demanding at times". On the night that Metroid Prime went gold, Yamamoto called Wen at 9:00pm to request some last-minute changes, which Wen spent four hours implementing. Wen stated that it was worth it, and credited Yamamoto with pushing him to make the best game possible.[7] Most of their communication was via phone, and it was not until after Wen left Retro Studios and was living in Japan that they met in person, an experience Wen described as "cathartic". According to him, Yamamoto is a guitarist and is from the birthplace of ninjutsu in Japan.[7]
Work[]
.jpg){kind=link}
Kenji Yamamoto, circa 1994.
Listed below are soundtracks he has created for various games:
Metroid[]
- Super Metroid (with Minako Hamano)
- Metroid Fusion (as sound designer)
- Metroid Prime (with Kouichi Kyuma)
- Metroid: Zero Mission (with Minako Hamano)
- Metroid Prime 2: Echoes
- Metroid Prime Pinball (with Masaru Tajima)
- Metroid Prime Hunters (as Sound Supervisor, only credited in the Japanese version)
- Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (with Minako Hamano and Masaru Tajima)
- Metroid: Samus Returns (music director, original Metroid music)
- Metroid Dread (music director, original Metroid music)
Other games[]
Nintendo Dream and Metroid Official Site interview.
- Advance Wars: Dual Strike (with Yoshito Hirano)
- Famicom Tantei Club
- Famicom Tantei Club II
- Galactic Pinball
- Hajimari no Mori
- Mario Kart Advance (sound support)
- Mike Tyson's Punch-Out!!
- Sakuchi Momoko no Ukiuki Cannibal (sound support)
- Excite Truck (with Masaru Tajima)
- Donkey Kong Country Returns (with Minako Hamano, Masaru Tajima, Shinji Ushiroda and Daisuke Matsuoka)
Super Smash Bros. Brawl[]
Kenji Yamamoto was one of the various composers contributing to Super Smash Bros. Brawl's soundtrack.[8]
Gallery[]
![An art print signed by Yamamoto, in Rafael Machó Alcaraz's collection.[9]](/wiki/File:Rafael_Mach%C3%B3_Alcaraz_Dread_collection_displayed.jpg "Rafael Machó Alcaraz Dread collection displayed.jpg (654 KB)")
References[]
- ^ https://metroiddatabase.com/old_site/sm/interview.php
- ^ Next Level handling Metroid Prime: FF’s music along with Nintendo’s Kenji Yamamoto. Nintendo Everything (2015-06-17). Retrieved on 2018-03-20.
- ^ Samus Archives Sound Selection CD-Text credits
- ^ Kiwi Talkz. "#118 - Lawrence Schwedler Interview (Metroid Prime Hunters, Digipen, Sound Design, Music Design etc)". YouTube. January 1, 2022. Retrieved July 11, 2022. (starts at 23:20)
- ^ いど. "【実況】このゲーム、オモロいどプライムハンターズ その１６（終）" YouTube. November 12, 2021. Retrieved October 3, 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3HPWJApKgI
- ^ https://www.metroiddatabase.com/old_site/news-archive.php?year=2011
- ^ a b "Interview: Clark Wen", Shinesparkers, 2018-06-02. Retrieved on 2018-06-02.
- ^ The Musicians. Smash Bros. DOJO!! (2007-05-22). Retrieved on 2007-09-10.
- ^ Rafael Machó Alcaraz (_NewRafa). "Se cumple un año del lanzamiento de #MetroidDread, un sueño hecho realidad y una de las mejores cosas que me han pasado en la vida. 💙🤍 ¶ La velocidad a la que pasa el tiempo debería de ser ilegal. No, en serio, una ley o algo. ¿Vamos a seguir permitiéndolo? Samus haz algo." ("One year has passed since the release of #MetroidDread , a dream come true and one of the best things that has ever happened to me. 💙🤍 ¶ The speed at which time passes should be illegal. No, seriously, a law or something. Are we going to continue to allow it? Samus do something.") 8 October 2022 4:07 a.m. Tweet. https://twitter.com/_NewRafa/status/1578658315323641856