下村陽子

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Yoko Shimomura (下村陽子, Shimomura Yōko, born October 19, 1967) is a Japanese composer and musician best known for her soundtracks for various video games.

Yoko Shimomura was born in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. Her parents enrolled her in piano lessons when she was five years old. She took quickly to the instrument, and she often pretended to be composing her own music by playing the piano randomly.

After high school, she enrolled as a piano major in Osaka Music University. Upon graduation, Shimomura intended to become a piano instructor. She had been a video gamer for many years, though, so on a lark, she sent some samples of her work to various video game companies. Capcom invited her in for an audition and interview, and she was offered a job there. Her family and instructors were dismayed with her change in focus (video-game music was still not mainstream in Japan at the time), but Shimomura accepted the job at Capcom. She was a member of Capcom’s in-house jazz band Alph Lyla, and composed the soundtrack of Street Fighter II.

In 1993, Shimomura transferred to another game company, Squaresoft. Her first project at the company was the score for the role-playing game (RPG) Live A Live in 1994. After this, she was paired with more experienced composers for a time. For example, she teamed with Noriko Matsueda on the strategy/RPG Front Mission in 1995.

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  • eebalcazar

    KH was ok but PE is the real shit

    15 Nov 12:38pm Reply
  • doulifee

    the parasite eve OST. <3

    29 Oct 11:30pm Reply
  • ojigbe

    happy birthday Yoko!

    19 Oct 3:31am Reply
  • ojigbe

    This woman is a genius. [6]

    19 Oct 12:13am Reply
  • ArkadiusRauresu

    This woman is a genius. [5]

    10 Oct 11:20pm Reply
  • Alexandre_GdA

    This woman is a genius. [4]

    9 Oct 8:53pm Reply
  • arktinensusi

    Radiant Historia ♥

    4 Oct 7:31pm Reply
  • flybygraffiti

    Kingdom Hearts soundtracks are pure epicness *___* [9]

    1 Oct 9:07pm Reply
  • lululusanji

    This woman is a genius. [4] Kingdom Hearts soundtracks are pure epicness *___* [8]

    29 Sep 9:52pm Reply
  • kingdom-key

    Thank you for making OSTs for Kingdom Hearts!

    29 Sep 12:39am Reply
  • Leonardo_Silva

    legend of mana OST is mind-blowing

    13 Sep 1:22pm Reply
  • teije1993

    Kingdom Hearts and Xenoblade Chronicle OSTs are beatiful. I love you, Yoko <3

    29 Aug 11:58am Reply
  • Lawlietfan

    This woman is a genius. [3] Kingdom Hearts soundtracks are pure epicness *___* [7]

    22 Aug 5:26pm Reply
  • Wizpig

    Mario RPG games <3

    12 Aug 9:13am Reply
  • AronniPepperoni

    I love you so much ! Are the best Compositer For me ! <3. <3

    9 Aug 9:17am Reply
  • shadetin

    This woman is a genius. [2] Kingdom Hearts soundtracks are pure epicness *___* [6]

    4 Aug 10:55pm Reply
  • Leafiana

    This woman is a genius. Kingdom Hearts soundtracks are pure epicness *___* [5]

    2 Aug 10:29pm Reply
  • BrunoSpatola

    The KH soundtrack is an absolute masterpiece. Moving, dark, hopeless, yet positive and overwhelmingly pure of heart in equal measure. A wonderful journey from inner turmoil to serenity and back again -- the game deals with very complex emotions that transcend its Disney visuals, and the music mirrors that perfectly. Not many OSTs fit this snugly with their game's story, characters and aesthetic design, and the fact it does proves how talented this woman is, IMO. Just goes to show how important the aural experience is in films and videogames alike. It'd be like seeing the world in black and white without it. Thank you, Yoko Shimomura; you completed me!

    29 Jul 1:52am Reply
  • DasShirou

    Kingdom Hearts soundtracks are pure epicness *___* [3]

    25 Jul 9:56pm Reply
  • Melon-Juice

    Kingdom Hearts soundtracks are pure epicness *___* [2]

    12 Jul 4:30pm Reply
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