Yuzo Koshiro
From Sega Retro
Yuzo Koshiro |
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Place of birth: Hino, Tokyo, Japan |
Date of birth: 1967-12-20 (age 56) |
Employment history: |
Role(s): Musician, Composer, Producer |
Education: Nihon University Sakuragaoka High School |
Yuzo Koshiro (古代 祐三) is one of the well-known faces of Japanese video game music. In the 1980s and 1990s, he created the soundtracks for games including the popular Mega Drive titles The Revenge of Shinobi (with his name appearing on the title screen), Streets of Rage and Beyond Oasis, following up with the score for the Super Nintendo game ActRaiser. His latest work includes compositions for the highly acclaimed games Shenmue and Wangan Midnight Maximum Tune 2.
Koshiro is also partially responsible for composing the original soundtrack for Ys, a popular series of role-playing games. Unfortunately, he does not own the rights to any of his famous Ys compositions, and has indicated in interviews that he is bitter about that fact and finds their resulting international acclaim ironic.
Yuzo Koshiro is one of the pioneers in releasing soundtracks with his own music. The live orchestral version of ActRaiser was one of the industry's first of its kind. A live performance of this music 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. Koshiro is participating on PLAY! A Video Game Symphony, a symphonic world-tour featuring video game music. His arrangement of music from the Sonic the Hedgehog series is presented in every concert all over the world. He attended the concert on May 27, 2006, in Chicago. On August 23, 2006, his music from Revenge of Shinobi was performed at the fourth Symphonic Game Concert in Leipzig, Germany, in an arrangement done by himself.
His sister, Ayano Koshiro, is responsible for many of the character designs in the games for which Yuzo has composed music. One of the more popular examples is the Bare Knuckle (Streets of Rage) series on the Sega Mega Drive. She also worked on character design of Ys and ActRaiser.
Contents
- 1 Production history
- 2 Song credits
- 2.1 Romancia
- 2.2 Y's: The Vanished Omens (PC-88 version)
- 2.3 The Revenge of Shinobi
- 2.4 The Super Shinobi & Works
- 2.5 The GG Shinobi
- 2.6 Streets of Rage (Mega Drive version)
- 2.7 Sonic the Hedgehog (Master System and Game Gear versions)
- 2.8 Streets of Rage 2
- 2.9 Slap Fight MD
- 2.10 The Stickman is Back
- 2.11 Streets of Rage 3
- 2.12 Streets of Rage 4
- 2.13 Shenmue
- 2.14 Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- 2.15 Bare Knuckle Original Soundtrack
- 2.16 Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
- 2.17 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- 2.18 Mega Drive Mini
- 3 Magazine articles
- 4 Interviews
- 5 Photographs
- 6 External links
- 7 References
Production history
Games
- Sorcerian (Mega Drive; 1990) — Music Composed[1]
- The GG Shinobi (Game Gear; 1991) — Sound[2]
- Streets of Rage (Mega Drive; 1991) — Music by[3]
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Master System; 1991) — Rearrange and Original Music[4]
- Sonic the Hedgehog (Game Gear; 1991) — Re-Arranging and Original Music[5]
- Batman Returns (Game Gear; 1992) — Sound Management[6]
- Streets of Rage (Game Gear; 1992) — Music by[7]
- Shinobi II: The Silent Fury (Game Gear; 1992) — Sound[8]
- Streets of Rage 2 (Mega Drive; 1992) — Music Composition[9]
- Streets of Rage 2 (Mega Drive; 1992) — Sound Effect[9]
- Batman Returns (Master System; 1993) — Sound Management[10]
- Slap Fight MD (Mega Drive; 1993) — Sound Composed by[11]
- Streets of Rage 2 (Game Gear; 1993) — Music Composition[12]
- Streets of Rage 2 (Game Gear; 1993) — Sound Effects[12]
- Streets of Rage 3 (Mega Drive; 1994) — Sound Producer[13]
- Streets of Rage 3 (Mega Drive; 1994) — Music Producer[14]
- Streets of Rage 2 (Master System; 1994) — Music Composition[15]
- Streets of Rage 2 (Master System; 1994) — Sound Effects[15]
- Eye of the Beholder (Mega-CD; 1994) — Music[16]
- The Story of Thor: A Successor of the Light (Mega Drive; 1994) — Producer & Music Composer[17]
- Zork I: The Great Underground Empire (Saturn; 1996) — Music[18]
- The Story of Thor 2 (Saturn; 1996) — Produce & Music Compose[19] (as 古代 祐三)
- The Story of Thor 2 (Saturn; 1996) — Music Composed by[19]
- The Story of Thor 2 (Saturn; 1996) — Music Composer, Producer[20]
- Vatlva (Saturn; 1996) — サウンドプログラム[21] (as 古代 祐三)
- Vatlva (Saturn; 1996) — ゲーム音響監督[21] (as 古代 祐三)
- Vatlva (Saturn; 1996) — 音楽・効果音[21] (as 古代 祐三)
- Sega Ages Columns Arcade Collection (Saturn; 1997) — Sound Director[22]
- Shenmue (Dreamcast; 1999) — Music Composers
- US Shenmue (Dreamcast; 2001) — Music Composers
- Shenmue II (Dreamcast; 2001) — Music Composers
- Amazing Island (GameCube; 2004) — Original Concept
- Amazing Island (GameCube; 2004) — Sound Director
- Amazing Island (GameCube; 2004) — Sound Effects & Music Composition
- Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii; 2008) — Music Arrangement
- 7th Dragon (Nintendo DS; 2009) — Sound (as 古代 祐三)
- 7th Dragon 2020 (PlayStation Portable; 2011) — Sound Composer (as 古代 祐三)
- Sega Vintage Collection: Alex Kidd & Co. (Xbox 360; 2012) — Original Music Composer
- Sega Vintage Collection: Streets of Rage (Xbox 360; 2012) — Original Music Composers
- 7th Dragon 2020-II (PlayStation Portable; 2013) — Sound Composer (as 古代 祐三)
- Code of Joker (RingEdge 2; 2013) — Music Composer
- Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS (Nintendo 3DS; 2014) — Music Arrangement
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U (Wii U; 2014) — Music Arrangement
- 3D Streets of Rage 2 (Nintendo 3DS; 2015) — Original Music Composers
- 7th Dragon III Code: VFD (Nintendo 3DS; 2015) — Music Composer/Arranger
- Dennou Senki Virtual-On x Toaru Majutsu no Index: Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On (PlayStation Vita; 2017) — Keyboard
- Dennou Senki Virtual-On x Toaru Majutsu no Index: Toaru Majutsu no Virtual-On (PlayStation Vita; 2017) — Music Compose & Arrange
- Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (Nintendo Switch; 2018) — Music Arrangement
- 16Bit Rhythm Land (Mega Drive; 2019) — Music Compose
- Streets of Rage 4 (Windows PC; 2020) — Japanese Composer Tracks - Produced by Brave Wave Productions
- PAPRIUM (Mega Drive; 2020) — SPECIAL THANKS
- The Stickman is Back (Mega Drive; unreleased) — Music
- The Stickman is Back (Game Gear; unreleased) — Music
Videos
- Sonic 30th Anniversary Symphony () — Composed by
Music
- The Super Shinobi & Works (CD; 1989) — Artist
- The Super Shinobi & Works (CD; 1989) — Produced by
- The Super Shinobi & Works (CD; 1989) — Computer Programming & Keyboard
- Bare Knuckle (CD; 1991) — All Songs Composed and Arranged by
- Bare Knuckle (CD; 1991) — Produced by
- Streets of Rage 2 Original Soundtrack (CD; 1993) — Produced by
- Streets of Rage 2 Original Soundtrack (CD; 1993) — Special Thanks
- Bare Knuckle III (CD; 1994) — Produced by
- Early Collection 2nd (CD; 1998) — Artist
- Shenmue: Ichishou Yokosuka Original Sound Track (CD; 2000) — Sound Creator[23]
- The Very Best of Sega (CD; 2004) — Music by[24]
- 7th Dragon Original Soundtrack (CD; 2009) — Music Composer[25] (as 古代祐三)
- Legend of Joe Musashi: Shinobi Music Collection (CD; 2009) — SPECIAL THANKS to[26]
- 7th Dragon 2020 Original Sound Track (CD; 2011) — Artist
- Bare Knuckle Original Soundtrack (CD; 2012) — Original Music by[27]
- 7th Dragon 2020-II Original Soundtrack (CD; 2013) — Artist
- 7th Dragon 2020-II Original Soundtrack (CD; 2013) — Music Composer (as 古代祐三)
- 7th Dragon 2020 & 2020-II Hatsune Miku Arrange Tracks (CD; 2013) — original sound composer (as 古代祐三)
- Shenmue (Vinyl; 2015) — Music by
- Streets of Rage (Vinyl; 2015) — All music composed by[28]
- Streets of Rage 2 (Vinyl; 2016) — All music composed by[29]
- Streets of Rage 2 (Vinyl; 2016) — C2 by[29]
- The Revenge of Shinobi (Vinyl; 2016) — Music by[30]
- Streets of Rage 3 (Vinyl; 2017) — Composed by[31]
- Cyber Troopers Virtual-on Official Sound Data 18 (CD; 2018) — Keyboard
- Cyber Troopers Virtual-on Official Sound Data 18 (CD; 2018) — Music Compose & Arrange
- Mega Drive Mini: Celebration Album (CD; 2019) — Sound Supervisor
- Streets of Rage 4 The Definitive Soundtrack (Vinyl; 2020) — Artist
- Streets of Rage II Perfect Soundtrack (CD; 2020) — Artist
- Streets of Rage Perfect Soundtrack (CD; 2017) — Artist
- Streets of Rage Perfect Soundtrack (CD; 2017) — Special Thanks
- Sega 60th Anniversary Official Bootleg DJ Mix (CD; 2021) — Special Thanks[32]
- Go Sega: 60th Anniversary Album (CD; 2021) — Special Thanks[33]
- Mega Drive Mini 2: Celebration Album (CD; 2022) — Sound Producer
- Sega Archives - M2 Music Memorial - (CD; 2023) — Special Thanks
Hardware
- Mega Drive Mini (Mega Drive; 2019) — Theme Music Composed
- Mega Drive Mini 2 (Mega Drive; 2022) — Theme Music Composed
- Culdcept (1997)
- Tetris (Mega Drive Mini) (2019) — Music Driver
Song credits
- Main article: Yuzo Koshiro/Song credits.
Romancia
- Opening — Music & Arrangement
Y's: The Vanished Omens (PC-88 version)
- Feena (Title) — Music & Arrangement
- The Syonin (Shop 1) — Music & Arrangement
- Tears of Sylph (Shop 2) — Music & Arrangement
- First Step Towards Wars (Grasslands) — Music & Arrangement
- Palace (Temple 1) — Music & Arrangement
- Holders of Power (Powerful Character 1) — Music & Arrangement
- Palace of Destruction (Temple 2) — Music & Arrangement
- Beat of the Terror (Abandoned Mine) — Music & Arrangement
- Tower of the Shadow of Death (Tower) — Music & Arrangement
- The Last Moment of the Dark (Top Floor of the Tower) — Music & Arrangement
- Final Battle (Powerful Character 2) — Music & Arrangement
- Rest in Peace (After the Final Battle) — Music & Arrangement
- The Morning Glow (Ending 1) — Music & Arrangement
- See You Again (Ending 2) — Music & Arrangement
- Devil's Wind (Devil's Wind) — Music & Arrangement
- Dreaming — Music & Arrangement
- Chase of Shadow — Music & Arrangement
- Church — Music & Arrangement
- Over Drive — Music & Arrangement
- Departure — Music & Arrangement
- Crossroad of Sadness — Music & Arrangement
- Battle Ground — Music & Arrangement
- Mysterious Moment — Music & Arrangement
- Theme of Adoru — Music & Arrangement
- Dead-End Street — Music & Arrangement
- Sub-Mission — Music & Arrangement
- Tension — Music & Arrangement
- Fly with Me — Music & Arrangement
The Revenge of Shinobi
- Opening — Music & Arrangement
- Long Distance (Demo) — Music & Arrangement
- The Shinobi (Round 1) — Music & Arrangement
- Round Clear — Music & Arrangement
- Terrible Beat (Boss) — Music & Arrangement
- Sunrise Blvd. (Round 2-1) — Music & Arrangement
- Make Me Dance (Round 2-2) — Music & Arrangement
- Like a Wind (Round 3-1) — Music & Arrangement
- Run or Die (Round 3-2) — Music & Arrangement
- Ninja Step (Round 4) — Music & Arrangement
- The Dark City (Round 5) — Music & Arrangement
- China Town (Round 6) — Music & Arrangement
- Over the Bay (Round 7) — Music & Arrangement
- Labyrinth (Round 8) — Music & Arrangement
- The Ninja Master (Final Boss) — Music & Arrangement
- Silence Night (Bad Ending) — Music & Arrangement
- My Lover (Good Ending) — Music & Arrangement
- Failure — Music & Arrangement
- Game Over — Music & Arrangement
The Super Shinobi & Works
~Arranged version~
- Flash Flash Flash — Music & Arrangement, Computer Programming & Keyboard
- Make Me Dance — Music & Arrangement, Computer Programming & Keyboard
- China Town — Music & Arrangement, Computer Programming & Keyboard
- Blast Power — Music & Arrangement, Computer Programming & Keyboard
The GG Shinobi
- Opening — Music & Arrangement
- Select — Music & Arrangement
- Start — Music & Arrangement
- Rush (Highway 1) — Music & Arrangement
- Joe (Highway 2) — Music & Arrangement
- Boss 1 — Music & Arrangement
- Round Clear — Music & Arrangement
- Spirit (Valley 1) — Music & Arrangement
- Darkside (Valley 2) — Music & Arrangement
- First Step (Harbor 1) — Music & Arrangement
- Distant Thunder (Harbor 2) — Music & Arrangement
- Cavern (Woodland 1) — Music & Arrangement
- Forest (Woodland 2) — Music & Arrangement
- The Last Dungeon (Neo City) — Music & Arrangement
- Boss 2 — Music & Arrangement
- Ending — Music & Arrangement
- Miss — Music & Arrangement
- Game Over — Music & Arrangement
- Harakeri — Music & Arrangement [NOTE: Unused]
- Far Away — Music & Arrangement [NOTE: Unused - later used in The GG Shinobi II]
- Contact — Music & Arrangement [NOTE: Unused]
Streets of Rage (Mega Drive version)
- The Street of Rage — Music & Arrangement
- Player Select — Music & Arrangement
- Fighting in the Street (Round 1) — Music & Arrangement
- Attack the Barbarian (Boss) — Music & Arrangement
- Round Clear — Music & Arrangement
- Dilapidated Town (Round 2) — Music & Arrangement
- Moon Beach (Round 3) — Music & Arrangement
- Keep the groovin' (Round 4) — Music & Arrangement
- Beatnik on the Ship (Round 5) — Music & Arrangement
- Stealthy Steps (Round 6) — Music & Arrangement
- Violent Breathing (Round 7) — Music & Arrangement
- The Last Soul (Round 8) — Music & Arrangement
- You Became the Bad Guy! (Bad Ending) — Music & Arrangement
- Big Boss (Last Boss) — Music & Arrangement
- My Little Baby (Good Ending) — Music & Arrangement
- Game Over — Music & Arrangement
- Up & Up — Music & Arrangement [NOTE: Unused]
- The Super Threc — Music & Arrangement [NOTE: Unused]
- Name Entry — Music & Arrangement [NOTE: Unused]
Sonic the Hedgehog (Master System and Game Gear versions)
- Title — Rearrangement
- Start — Music & Arrangement
- Green Hill — Rearrangement
- Power Up — Rearrangement
- Stage Clear — Rearrangement
- Bridge — Music & Arrangement [NOTE: Also known as "Stage BGM A"]
- Jungle — Music & Arrangement [NOTE: Also known as "Stage BGM B"]
- Labyrinth — Music & Arrangement [NOTE: Also known as "Stage BGM C"]
- Scrap Brain — Music & Arrangement [NOTE: Also known as "Stage BGM D"]
- Sky Base — Music & Arrangement
- Boss BGM — Music & Arrangement
- Miss — Rearrangement
- Bonus Stage — Music & Arrangement
- Chaos Emerald — Music & Arrangement
- Staff Roll — Rearrangement
- Marble — Rearrangement [NOTE: Unused]
Streets of Rage 2
- S.O.R Super Mix — Music & Arrangement
- Player Select — Music & Arrangement
- Go Straight — Music & Arrangement
- Go Straight (Beat Mix) — Music & Arrangement
- In the Bar — Music & Arrangement
- In the Bar (Slow Mix) — Music & Arrangement
- Never Return Alive — Music & Arrangement
- Spin on the Bridge — Music & Arrangement
- Ready Funk — Music & Arrangement
- Dreamer — Music & Arrangement
- Alien Power — Music & Arrangement
- Under Logic — Music & Arrangement
- Too Deep — Music & Arrangement
- Slow Moon — Music & Arrangement
- Wave 131 — Music & Arrangement
- Jungle Base — Music & Arrangement (with Motohiro Kawashima)
- Back to the Industry — Music & Arrangement
- Revenge of Mr. X — Music & Arrangement
- Good End — Music & Arrangement
- Walking Bottom — Music & Arrangement
Slap Fight MD
- Sortie (Shutu-Geki) — Music & Arrangement
- Flight (Hi-Syou) — Music & Arrangement
- Rush (Tos-Shin) — Music & Arrangement
- Strategy (Saku-Sen) — Music & Arrangement
- Conflict (Kat-Tou/unused) — Music & Arrangement
- Contact (Ses-Syoku/unused) — Music & Arrangement [NOTE: Unused]
- Hope (Ki-Bou) — Music & Arrangement
The Stickman is Back
- Demon — Music & Arrangement
- History & Roots — Music & Arrangement
- Local, etc... — Music & Arrangement
- Rogue in the palace — Music & Arrangement
- Bee's Eye — Music & Arrangement
- In the Mountain — Music & Arrangement
- Pop & Deep — Music & Arrangement
- Get More Tea — Music & Arrangement
- Catman — Music & Arrangement
- Born Again — Music & Arrangement
- Who Am I ? — Music & Arrangement
- Clone & Taboo — Music & Arrangement
- Eat Max — Music & Arrangement
- Boo! Pee! — Music & Arrangement
Streets of Rage 3
- Beat Ambiance — Music & Arrangement
- Spinning Machine — Music & Arrangement
- Kama de Coco — Music & Arrangement
- Disco — Music & Arrangement
- Random Cross — Music & Arrangement
- Happy Paradise — Music & Arrangement
- Shinobi Reverse — Music & Arrangement
- BGM II (Mr. X) — Music & Arrangement
- Robo X — Music & Arrangement
- Crazy Train — Music & Arrangement
- BGM III (Bad Ending) — Music & Arrangement
- Inga Rasen — Music & Arrangement
- Ending — Music & Arrangement
- BGM IV — Music & Arrangement [NOTE: Unused]
Streets of Rage 4
- Main Theme - Composer / Producer
- Character Select Theme - Composer / Producer
- They're Back - Composer / Producer
- Mr. Y - Composer / Producer
- Mrs. Y - Composer / Producer
Shenmue
- The Sadness I Carry on My Shoulders — Music & Arrangement
- Rain — Music & Arrangement
- Setting off anew / Arranged by Y.Koshiro — Arrangement
- Shenmue ~Sedge Tree~ / Arranged by Y.Koshiro — Arrangement
- Shenhua ~Sedge Flower~ / Arranged by Y.Koshiro — Arrangement
- Hip De Hop — Music & Arrangement
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
- Main Theme (The Legend of Zelda) — Arrangement
- Norfair — Arrangement
Bare Knuckle Original Soundtrack
- Bare Knuckle - Legend Mix - — Music (with Motohiro Kawashima), Remixed by [NOTE: From Game Music Club Event "Legend" in 2002]
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U
- Battle! Trainer (Pokémon X / Y) — Arrangement
- Wrath of the Reset Bomb — Arrangement
- Pac-Man — Arrangement
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
- Now or Never! — Arrangement
- Guile Stage — Arrangement
- Psycho Soldier Theme — Arrangement
- Psycho Soldier Theme (Overseas Version) — Arrangement
Mega Drive Mini
- Menu Theme — Music & Arrangement
Magazine articles
- Main article: Yuzo Koshiro/Magazine articles.
Interviews
Some or all of the following content should be mirrored on Sega Retro (or Retro CDN). |
- Yuzo Koshiro interview by OPCFG (2002)
- Yuzo Koshiro interview by Sega (January 15, 2004)
- Yuzo Koshiro interview by Kikizo (October 14, 2005)
- Yuzo Koshiro interview by Square Enix Music (February 2011)
Photographs
- Main article: Photos of Yuzo Koshiro
External links
- Yuzo Koshiro on Twitter
- Sega Stars: Yuzo Koshiro article by Ken Horowitz at Sega-16
- Composer profile at OverClocked ReMix
- Yuzo Koshiro DJ'ing in a Japanese Club (youtube.com video)
References
- ↑ File:Sorcerian MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:GG Shinobi GG credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Streets of Rage MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Sonic the Hedgehog SMS credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Sonic the Hedgehog v1.1 GG credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Batman Returns GG credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Streets of Rage GG credits.pdf
- ↑ File:GG Shinobi II GG credits.pdf
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 File:Streets of Rage 2 MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Batman Returns SMS credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Slap Fight MD credits.pdf
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 File:Streets of Rage 2 GG credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Bare Knuckle III MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Streets of Rage 3 MD credits.pdf
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 File:Streets of Rage 2 SMS credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Advanced D&D Eye of the Beholder MCD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Story of Thor MD credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Zork I Sat JP Manual.pdf, page 10
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 File:Thor Seireioukiden Saturn credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Legend of Oasis Saturn credits.pdf
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 File:Vatlva Saturn credits.pdf
- ↑ File:Sega Ages Columns Arcade Collection Saturn credits.pdf
- ↑ File:ShenmueOST CD JP Booklet.pdf, page 15
- ↑ File:VBoS CD US back.jpg
- ↑ File:7thDragonOriginalSoundtrack CD JP Booklet.pdf, page 8
- ↑ File:ShinobiMusicCollection CD JP Booklet.pdf, page 11
- ↑ File:BareKnuckleOriginalSoundtrack CD JP Booklet.pdf, page 7
- ↑ File:StreetsofRage Vinyl UK back.jpg
- ↑ 29.0 29.1 File:SoR2 Vinyl UK back.png
- ↑ File:RoS vinyl UK back.jpg
- ↑ File:SoR3 Vinyl UK back.jpg
- ↑ File:Sega60th CD JP booklet.pdf
- ↑ File:GoSega60thAnniversaryAlbum CD JP Booklet.pdf, page 20