Toru Minegishi
| Toru Minegishi | |
|---|---|
| Occupations | Composer, sound effects designer |
| Instruments | Keyboard, Guitar, Drums, Melodica |
| Years active | 1998–present |
| Labels | Pioneer Enterbrain Scitron Nintendo |
Toru Minegishi (峰岸 透 Minegishi Tōru) is a Japanese video game composer, best known for his work on Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda series. He was raised in a very musical family, and developed an interest in video games and their music from an early age. Minegishi did not receive any special education, but he gained experience as a musician during his school and college years. He later applied at Nintendo, where he became a member of the Entertainment Analysis and Development division's sound group. After he had gained experience with projects such as Animal Crossing, he was assigned to create the startup sound for the Nintendo GameCube video game console, and became the main composer for the action-adventure The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Minegishi cites the suite Pictures at an Exhibition by Modest Mussorgsky and the works of video game composer Koji Kondo as his biggest influences.
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[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Minegishi grew up in a very musical family; his parents were especially fond of Latin and tango music. He became interested in video games at the age of 10, when he saw a commercial for the action-adventure The Legend of Zelda, and was impressed with the quality of its music and sound effects. As he kept his promise of improving his performance in swimming school, his parents gave him a Family Computer Disk System with The Legend of Zelda as a present. One year later, he listened to Modest Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition for the first time, which is a suite of ten movements based on paintings by Viktor Hartmann. The suite's composition technique, which focused on matching music to visuals, had a big influence on Minegishi, and furthered his interest in video game music. Unlike other composers and professional musicians, he received no special musical education, and took no piano lessons when he was young; instead, Minegishi became interested in music by himself. He was percussionist of a school band in junior high, and later played drums in a band he had formed with his friends at college.[1]
[edit] Career
Minegishi kept pursuing his dream of becoming a video game sound designer and applied at Nintendo. After he had passed a composition examination and a written music test, he obtained a job at the sound group of the Entertainment Analysis and Development (EAD) division.[1][2] Minegishi often listens to music at home to make himself familiar with a variety of musical styles.[1] He prefers to create melodies in his head, but composes on the keyboard and the guitar as well.[1] The startup sound for the Nintendo GameCube is one of the musical pieces he had conceived without instruments.[1] Minegishi cites the development of sound effects for Super Mario Sunshine and the creation of 50 compositions from different musical genres for Animal Crossing as some of his greatest learning experiences.[1] He considers video game composer Koji Kondo, the manager of the EAD sound group, as big inspiration and a master of video game sound.[1] Minegishi's first involvement in the Legend of Zelda series was with the composition of three battle themes for Majora's Mask.[3] Later, he was assigned as the main composer for Twilight Princess.[2] Several of his compositions for Twilight Princess were arranged for orchestra by Jonne Valtonen, and performed at the concert Symphonic Legends in September 2010.[4]
[edit] Discography
| Year | Title | Role | Co-worker |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Pocket Monsters Stadium | Composition | Kenta Nagata and Hajime Wakai |
| 2000 | Mario Artist: Talent Studio | Composition | Kazumi Totaka and Kenta Nagata |
| The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask | Composition | Koji Kondo | |
| 2001 | Animal Crossing | Composition | Kazumi Totaka, Kenta Nagata, and Shinobu Tanaka |
| 2002 | Super Mario Sunshine | Sound effects | Mitsuhiro Hikino and Yoji Inagaki |
| The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker | Composition | Kenta Nagata, Hajime Wakai, and Koji Kondo | |
| 2003 | Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour | Sound effects | Various |
| 2004 | Mario Pinball Land | Sound effects | Taro Bando, Yoji Inagaki and Mitsuhiro Hikino |
| Mario Power Tennis | Voices | Various | |
| 2005 | Yoshi Touch & Go | Composition | Kazumi Totaka and Asuka Ota |
| Mario Superstar Baseball | Voices | Various | |
| 2006 | The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess | Composition | Asuka Ota and Koji Kondo |
| 2007 | The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass | Composition | Kenta Nagata |
| Wii Fit | Composition | Manaka Tominaga and Shiho Fujii | |
| 2008 | Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Arrangement | Various |
| Mario Super Sluggers | Voices | Various | |
| Wii Music | Composition | Kenta Nagata and Mahito Yokota | |
| 2009 | The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks | Composition | Manaka Tominaga, Asuka Ota and Koji Kondo |
| 2011 | Steel Diver | Composition | Atsuko Asahi |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g "Inside Zelda Part 13: The Sounds of Twilight". Nintendo Power (Nintendo of America, Inc.) (204). June 2006. Archived from the original on June 14, 2008. http://www.zelda.com/universe/game/twilightprincess/inside13.jsp.
- ^ a b "Iwata Asks: Wii Fit – Volume 4: A New Creation – Sound Design and Planning / From Zelda to Wii Fit". Nintendo of America, Inc. Archived from the original on April 9, 2008. http://us.wii.com/wii-fit/iwata_asks/vol4_page1.jsp. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
- ^ Zelda no Densetsu: Mujura no Kamen Original Soundtrack (Album notes). Pioneer LDC. 2000. PICA-2006.
- ^ "Symphonic Legends concert program". Merregnon Studios. Archived from the original on December 28, 2010. http://www.symphoniclegends.com/SymphonicLegends_ProgrammOnlineSheet.pdf. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
