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I'm certainly not the most knowledgeable on this subject, but I was partially inspired by this thread to make one about some of Nintendo's internal composers.
So we all know Koji Kondo. He's probably the most renowned video game composer of all time, working on the first seven Super Mario console titles (if you count Yoshi's Island), most of the Zelda titles up to Majora's Mask, and more obscure titles like Shin Onigashima. But around the turn of the millennium, he would be placed in a more managerial position, with his last significant contribution for years being Super Mario Sunshine, composing for the first half of the levels in that game. Though he has made a bit of a resurgence in recent years, being the music lead for both Super Mario Maker games, as well as contributing to Super Mario Odyssey.
But I wanted to focus more on the other composers at the company, most of whom are overlooked. I'll be leaving out Kenji Yamamoto and Kazumi Totaka, as I feel those two are pretty well known. I'll also be excluding former Nintendo composers (Soyo Oka, Hirokazu Tanaka etc.). Maybe in a future thread?
Kenta Nagata
Joining the company in 1996, his first major project was composing the soundtrack for Mario Kart 64. Nagata would continue to be involved with the series, working on Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Kart 7, and Mario Kart 8. He was also the highest-credited composer for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. While we never got an OST release with full composer credits, we know that he was responsible for iconic themes such as The Great Sea and Dragon Roost Island. He's also worked on the New Super Mario Bros. series, specifically NSMB Wii and NSMB2. I know the NSMB games don't exactly have the best reputation when it comes to music, but I feel like the sound direction is extremely safe and no composer's ability should be judged by them. Other contributions include 1080° Snowboarding, Pokemon Stadium 0 (the original Japanese release), Pokemon Stadium 1 (the first western release), and the original Animal Crossing.
Notable tracks:
Hajime Wakai
Joining around the same time as Nagata, Hajime Wakai's first major title would be Star Fox 64, where he would compose all of the level themes. The most famous of these is Area 6, for which he also made two new arrangements of in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He was also the primary composer for the first two Pikmin games, while also contributing to The Wind Waker. He would later become instrumental to the Zelda series, becoming the sound director and lead composer for Skyward Sword, composing Ballad of the Goddess (though the final arrangement was done by Takeshi Hama). He would also be the sound director for Breath of the Wild, being responsible for its more ambient, piano-centric soundtrack. Wakai made a small contribution to F-Zero X, though the majority of the music was done by Taro Bando (who is still at Nintendo, but at some point the sound engineers were split from the dedicated musicians and Bando was in the former, so he no longer composes for games). Other games he worked on include Pokemon Stadium 1/2, Nintendogs, and New Super Mario Bros.
Notable tracks:
Toru Minegishi
Minegishi's first title would be Pokemon Stadium 0, which released the same year he joined Nintendo in 1998. After working on the sequel, he moved onto other projects like Majora's Mask, where he would compose the battle themes (except for the final boss), and Animal Crossing, where he worked on the K.K. Slider tunes. Like Nagata and Wakai, he also worked on The Wind Waker, being in charge of the cutscene music. He would later be the music lead for Twilight Princess, being responsible for the popular Midna's Lament. His first role in a mainline Mario game would be Super Mario 3D World. Again, the OST never had specific composer credits (Nintendo were really hit and miss with this until recent years), but the in-game file names indicate that he composed tracks such as Hisstocrat, Bowser's Highway Showdown, and WORLD Bowser. Minegishi is better known nowadays for being the sound director and primary composer for the Splatoon series, known for it's pretty unique style. Other games include The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass & Spirit Tracks, Wii Fit, Super Mario Maker 2, and the GameCube startup theme.
Notable tracks:
Shinobu Nagata
Joining Nintendo in 2000, Nagata's first two games would be the original Luigi's Mansion and Animal Crossing, both titles where Kazumi Totaka was in charge of the sound. We know she composed for the "Event BGM" for AC, which includes the Christmas and Happy New Year themes. Her next title would be Super Mario Sunshine, where she composed for the second half of the game's levels, which is very noticeable if you compare them to Kondo's music. She would then move on to the Mario Kart series, helping on Double Dash!! with Nagata, and composing the entirety of Mario Kart DS. Eventually, she would be moved from EAD to SPD, working on more experimental titles like Brain Age Express and Kiki Trick (which never released in the west). After both departments were merged into EPD, she would return to Animal Crossing with the Welcome amiibo expansion for New Leaf and New Horizons, though for the latter she's only credited for two tracks. I've heard that there may be some tracks missing from the OST, as another composer has no tracks credited to them at all.
Notable tracks:
Mahito Yokota
Probably the most well known composer at Nintendo behind Kondo, Yamamoto, and Totaka, and for good reason. First joining Koei, working on games like the Kessen series and Dynasty Warriors 4, he would move to Nintendo's newly formed Tokyo office in 2004 and worked on their first game, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. As the next Tokyo studio title would be Super Mario Galaxy, Yokota would naturally be the lead composer. However, it didn't exactly start well for him, with Kondo rejecting all of his initial work and telling him "Mario is cool, not cute". Despite Yokota being knowledgeable in orchestrated music, the game's sound direction was ultimately decided by Miyamoto, choosing the Egg Planet theme (which was composed by Kondo) as a basis. Yokota composed the vast majority of the music for both Galaxy games, including Gusty Garden Galaxy and Bowser's Galaxy Generator. His role in Super Mario 3D Land was downsized, as he was busy at the time working on the cinematic cutscene music for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, as well as implementing the original Ocarina of Time music into the 3DS remake. He would return as the lead composer for Super Mario 3D World, being behind such themes as Super Bell Hill and Double Cherry Pass. He was also responsible for the orchestral piece that plays during the E3 2005 trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. As of now, his last composing role was Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, which he worked on with Naoto Kubo. It seems like he might have moved into a management position similar to Kondo, with Kubo taking over as the music lead for EPD Tokyo's games.
Notable tracks (yes I know I went overboard here lol):
Asuka Hayazaki
Joining in 2003, Hayazaki's first main projects would be The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and Yoshi's Touch & Go. She would then go on to be the main composer for the first New Super Mario Bros. game. It's speculated that what eventually became Battle Theme 2 was originally meant to be the main Ground theme for the game, as it can be heard in the E3 2005 trailer. In the end, Kondo redid the theme himself, due to someone telling him that it "didn't quite sound like Mario music". She next worked on Twilight Princess with Minegishi, though the only confirmed track from her is the new arrangement of Zelda's Theme. Mario Kart Wii's soundtrack was led by her as well, working on the game's Rainbow Road. In later years, she's worked on Wii Fit Plus, Spirit Tracks, Nintendogs + Cats, Super Mario 3D Land, Pikmin 3, Super Mario Maker, Splatoon 2, and Ring Fit Adventure.
Notable tracks:
Ryo Nagamatsu
Joining in 2006, Nagamatsu would assist Shinobu Nagata with Wii Play which released later that year. He would go on to co-compose Mario Kart Wii with Hayazaki, and would later return to the series with Mario Kart 8, being responsible for themes like Mount Wario and Mute City. He would join Yokota and Kondo to work on the soundtrack to Super Mario Galaxy 2, with tracks such as Puzzle Plank Galaxy and Melty Monster Galaxy. Most fans best know him for his work on later Zelda titles, composing/arranging the entirety of A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes, and the Link's Awakening remake. Some of his other recent work has been for Splatoon 2 and Octo Expansion, where he primarily worked on the Salmon Run and single player tracks. Other titles include Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree, Wii Sports Resort, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Nintendo Land.
Notable tracks:
Manaka Kataoka
Despite being at Nintendo since 2006, Kataoka hasn't worked on many games. The ones she does work on tend to have pretty long development cycles. She's best known for being the main composer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, handling the majority of the field themes, along with some of the battle and cutscene music. But this wasn't her first Zelda game, previously working on Spirit Tracks as well. Her other major contribution has been to the Animal Crossing series, being the main composer for both City Folk and New Leaf.
Notable tracks:
Shiho Fujii
Joining in 2007, Fujii has been involved in a number of Mario titles, with two major ones being Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario Odyssey. For the former she composed various tracks such as Shy Guy Falls, Electrodrome, and Rainbow Road. For Odyssey, she composed most of the more laid-back level themes. For the first Splatoon, she composed all of the tracks performed in-game by the Squid Sisters, including Calamari Inkantation. She had a much smaller role for the sequel due to working on Odyssey, only composing the end credits theme, for the base game and two extra songs post-release. She has also worked on New Super Mario Bros Wii/U, Skyward Sword, and most recently Ring Fit Adventure.
Notable tracks:
Atsuko Asahi
We've gotten to the composers that joined in the 2010's, so the number of games they've worked on is pretty low. But these last three have already made a huge mark and are some of Nintendo's best, in my opinion. Asahi joined in 2010, first working on the often forgotten 3DS launch title, Steel Diver. After working on other projects like Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Pikmin 3, she would go on to compose many of the most popular tracks in Mario Kart 8. These include Sunshine Airport, Dolphin Shoals, and Cloudtop Cruise, among others. After this, she would go on to be the main composer for ARMS, as well as assisting on Super Mario Maker 2.
Notable tracks:
Yasuaki Iwata
Iwata only joined the company in 2013, but has worked on four major titles already. The first was Super Mario 3D World, though we have no confirmation on his tracks. We do for Mario Kart 8, where he primarily worked on the retro tracks. His biggest contribution would be to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where he would compose the majority of the town themes, boss battle themes, and all of the champions' themes. He would then assist Asahi on ARMS, before becoming the main composer for Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Notable tracks:
Naoto Kubo
Kubo joined Nintendo's Tokyo office in 2013, effectively replacing Takeshi Hama, who had only been a temporary contract employee and left the year prior. His first project would be Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, but the game contained many arrangements of tracks from Super Mario 3D World, so it was difficult to get an idea of his ability. He would also contribute to Super Mario Maker. Even though it's thought that Kondo did the vast majority of the soundtrack, it's also believed that Kubo composed the Airship (Super Mario Bros.) theme, as a part of it would go on to be used as a recurring piece in his next game. As mentioned above. Yokota apparently stepped back from being the main composer for EPD Tokyo. In fact, he didn't compose anything for Super Mario Odyssey at all, leaving it to Kubo. As the music lead, Kubo was responsible for the majority of the soundtrack, which naturally includes many of the standouts. Fossil Falls, New Donk City, and the two vocal themes; Jump Up, Super Star! and Break Free (Lead the Way). It would be a shame if Yokota was just a supervisor from now on, but even if he is, I think the music for future 3D Mario games is in good hands.
Notable tracks:
Thanks for reading. There are still more composers that I didn't touch on. Mainly because I'm not really familiar with most of their work (primarily on the SPD side) or they haven't been there long enough to give much of a summary. It doesn't help that most Nintendo games never receive an OST release, with the ones that do usually not having individual composer credits.
Sources/Images: Iwata Asks, Kyoto Report, Nintendo Wiki, and VGMdb.
So we all know Koji Kondo. He's probably the most renowned video game composer of all time, working on the first seven Super Mario console titles (if you count Yoshi's Island), most of the Zelda titles up to Majora's Mask, and more obscure titles like Shin Onigashima. But around the turn of the millennium, he would be placed in a more managerial position, with his last significant contribution for years being Super Mario Sunshine, composing for the first half of the levels in that game. Though he has made a bit of a resurgence in recent years, being the music lead for both Super Mario Maker games, as well as contributing to Super Mario Odyssey.
But I wanted to focus more on the other composers at the company, most of whom are overlooked. I'll be leaving out Kenji Yamamoto and Kazumi Totaka, as I feel those two are pretty well known. I'll also be excluding former Nintendo composers (Soyo Oka, Hirokazu Tanaka etc.). Maybe in a future thread?
Kenta Nagata
Joining the company in 1996, his first major project was composing the soundtrack for Mario Kart 64. Nagata would continue to be involved with the series, working on Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Mario Kart 7, and Mario Kart 8. He was also the highest-credited composer for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker. While we never got an OST release with full composer credits, we know that he was responsible for iconic themes such as The Great Sea and Dragon Roost Island. He's also worked on the New Super Mario Bros. series, specifically NSMB Wii and NSMB2. I know the NSMB games don't exactly have the best reputation when it comes to music, but I feel like the sound direction is extremely safe and no composer's ability should be judged by them. Other contributions include 1080° Snowboarding, Pokemon Stadium 0 (the original Japanese release), Pokemon Stadium 1 (the first western release), and the original Animal Crossing.
Notable tracks:
Hajime Wakai
Joining around the same time as Nagata, Hajime Wakai's first major title would be Star Fox 64, where he would compose all of the level themes. The most famous of these is Area 6, for which he also made two new arrangements of in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. He was also the primary composer for the first two Pikmin games, while also contributing to The Wind Waker. He would later become instrumental to the Zelda series, becoming the sound director and lead composer for Skyward Sword, composing Ballad of the Goddess (though the final arrangement was done by Takeshi Hama). He would also be the sound director for Breath of the Wild, being responsible for its more ambient, piano-centric soundtrack. Wakai made a small contribution to F-Zero X, though the majority of the music was done by Taro Bando (who is still at Nintendo, but at some point the sound engineers were split from the dedicated musicians and Bando was in the former, so he no longer composes for games). Other games he worked on include Pokemon Stadium 1/2, Nintendogs, and New Super Mario Bros.
Notable tracks:
Toru Minegishi
Minegishi's first title would be Pokemon Stadium 0, which released the same year he joined Nintendo in 1998. After working on the sequel, he moved onto other projects like Majora's Mask, where he would compose the battle themes (except for the final boss), and Animal Crossing, where he worked on the K.K. Slider tunes. Like Nagata and Wakai, he also worked on The Wind Waker, being in charge of the cutscene music. He would later be the music lead for Twilight Princess, being responsible for the popular Midna's Lament. His first role in a mainline Mario game would be Super Mario 3D World. Again, the OST never had specific composer credits (Nintendo were really hit and miss with this until recent years), but the in-game file names indicate that he composed tracks such as Hisstocrat, Bowser's Highway Showdown, and WORLD Bowser. Minegishi is better known nowadays for being the sound director and primary composer for the Splatoon series, known for it's pretty unique style. Other games include The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass & Spirit Tracks, Wii Fit, Super Mario Maker 2, and the GameCube startup theme.
Notable tracks:
Shinobu Nagata
Joining Nintendo in 2000, Nagata's first two games would be the original Luigi's Mansion and Animal Crossing, both titles where Kazumi Totaka was in charge of the sound. We know she composed for the "Event BGM" for AC, which includes the Christmas and Happy New Year themes. Her next title would be Super Mario Sunshine, where she composed for the second half of the game's levels, which is very noticeable if you compare them to Kondo's music. She would then move on to the Mario Kart series, helping on Double Dash!! with Nagata, and composing the entirety of Mario Kart DS. Eventually, she would be moved from EAD to SPD, working on more experimental titles like Brain Age Express and Kiki Trick (which never released in the west). After both departments were merged into EPD, she would return to Animal Crossing with the Welcome amiibo expansion for New Leaf and New Horizons, though for the latter she's only credited for two tracks. I've heard that there may be some tracks missing from the OST, as another composer has no tracks credited to them at all.
Notable tracks:
Mahito Yokota
Probably the most well known composer at Nintendo behind Kondo, Yamamoto, and Totaka, and for good reason. First joining Koei, working on games like the Kessen series and Dynasty Warriors 4, he would move to Nintendo's newly formed Tokyo office in 2004 and worked on their first game, Donkey Kong Jungle Beat. As the next Tokyo studio title would be Super Mario Galaxy, Yokota would naturally be the lead composer. However, it didn't exactly start well for him, with Kondo rejecting all of his initial work and telling him "Mario is cool, not cute". Despite Yokota being knowledgeable in orchestrated music, the game's sound direction was ultimately decided by Miyamoto, choosing the Egg Planet theme (which was composed by Kondo) as a basis. Yokota composed the vast majority of the music for both Galaxy games, including Gusty Garden Galaxy and Bowser's Galaxy Generator. His role in Super Mario 3D Land was downsized, as he was busy at the time working on the cinematic cutscene music for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, as well as implementing the original Ocarina of Time music into the 3DS remake. He would return as the lead composer for Super Mario 3D World, being behind such themes as Super Bell Hill and Double Cherry Pass. He was also responsible for the orchestral piece that plays during the E3 2005 trailer for The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. As of now, his last composing role was Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, which he worked on with Naoto Kubo. It seems like he might have moved into a management position similar to Kondo, with Kubo taking over as the music lead for EPD Tokyo's games.
Notable tracks (yes I know I went overboard here lol):
Asuka Hayazaki
Joining in 2003, Hayazaki's first main projects would be The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures and Yoshi's Touch & Go. She would then go on to be the main composer for the first New Super Mario Bros. game. It's speculated that what eventually became Battle Theme 2 was originally meant to be the main Ground theme for the game, as it can be heard in the E3 2005 trailer. In the end, Kondo redid the theme himself, due to someone telling him that it "didn't quite sound like Mario music". She next worked on Twilight Princess with Minegishi, though the only confirmed track from her is the new arrangement of Zelda's Theme. Mario Kart Wii's soundtrack was led by her as well, working on the game's Rainbow Road. In later years, she's worked on Wii Fit Plus, Spirit Tracks, Nintendogs + Cats, Super Mario 3D Land, Pikmin 3, Super Mario Maker, Splatoon 2, and Ring Fit Adventure.
Notable tracks:
Ryo Nagamatsu
Joining in 2006, Nagamatsu would assist Shinobu Nagata with Wii Play which released later that year. He would go on to co-compose Mario Kart Wii with Hayazaki, and would later return to the series with Mario Kart 8, being responsible for themes like Mount Wario and Mute City. He would join Yokota and Kondo to work on the soundtrack to Super Mario Galaxy 2, with tracks such as Puzzle Plank Galaxy and Melty Monster Galaxy. Most fans best know him for his work on later Zelda titles, composing/arranging the entirety of A Link Between Worlds, Tri Force Heroes, and the Link's Awakening remake. Some of his other recent work has been for Splatoon 2 and Octo Expansion, where he primarily worked on the Salmon Run and single player tracks. Other titles include Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree, Wii Sports Resort, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Nintendo Land.
Notable tracks:
Manaka Kataoka
Despite being at Nintendo since 2006, Kataoka hasn't worked on many games. The ones she does work on tend to have pretty long development cycles. She's best known for being the main composer for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, handling the majority of the field themes, along with some of the battle and cutscene music. But this wasn't her first Zelda game, previously working on Spirit Tracks as well. Her other major contribution has been to the Animal Crossing series, being the main composer for both City Folk and New Leaf.
Notable tracks:
Shiho Fujii
Joining in 2007, Fujii has been involved in a number of Mario titles, with two major ones being Mario Kart 8 and Super Mario Odyssey. For the former she composed various tracks such as Shy Guy Falls, Electrodrome, and Rainbow Road. For Odyssey, she composed most of the more laid-back level themes. For the first Splatoon, she composed all of the tracks performed in-game by the Squid Sisters, including Calamari Inkantation. She had a much smaller role for the sequel due to working on Odyssey, only composing the end credits theme, for the base game and two extra songs post-release. She has also worked on New Super Mario Bros Wii/U, Skyward Sword, and most recently Ring Fit Adventure.
Notable tracks:
Atsuko Asahi
We've gotten to the composers that joined in the 2010's, so the number of games they've worked on is pretty low. But these last three have already made a huge mark and are some of Nintendo's best, in my opinion. Asahi joined in 2010, first working on the often forgotten 3DS launch title, Steel Diver. After working on other projects like Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Pikmin 3, she would go on to compose many of the most popular tracks in Mario Kart 8. These include Sunshine Airport, Dolphin Shoals, and Cloudtop Cruise, among others. After this, she would go on to be the main composer for ARMS, as well as assisting on Super Mario Maker 2.
Notable tracks:
Yasuaki Iwata
Iwata only joined the company in 2013, but has worked on four major titles already. The first was Super Mario 3D World, though we have no confirmation on his tracks. We do for Mario Kart 8, where he primarily worked on the retro tracks. His biggest contribution would be to The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where he would compose the majority of the town themes, boss battle themes, and all of the champions' themes. He would then assist Asahi on ARMS, before becoming the main composer for Animal Crossing: New Horizons.
Notable tracks:
Naoto Kubo
Kubo joined Nintendo's Tokyo office in 2013, effectively replacing Takeshi Hama, who had only been a temporary contract employee and left the year prior. His first project would be Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, but the game contained many arrangements of tracks from Super Mario 3D World, so it was difficult to get an idea of his ability. He would also contribute to Super Mario Maker. Even though it's thought that Kondo did the vast majority of the soundtrack, it's also believed that Kubo composed the Airship (Super Mario Bros.) theme, as a part of it would go on to be used as a recurring piece in his next game. As mentioned above. Yokota apparently stepped back from being the main composer for EPD Tokyo. In fact, he didn't compose anything for Super Mario Odyssey at all, leaving it to Kubo. As the music lead, Kubo was responsible for the majority of the soundtrack, which naturally includes many of the standouts. Fossil Falls, New Donk City, and the two vocal themes; Jump Up, Super Star! and Break Free (Lead the Way). It would be a shame if Yokota was just a supervisor from now on, but even if he is, I think the music for future 3D Mario games is in good hands.
Notable tracks:
Thanks for reading. There are still more composers that I didn't touch on. Mainly because I'm not really familiar with most of their work (primarily on the SPD side) or they haven't been there long enough to give much of a summary. It doesn't help that most Nintendo games never receive an OST release, with the ones that do usually not having individual composer credits.
Sources/Images: Iwata Asks, Kyoto Report, Nintendo Wiki, and VGMdb.
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