| Kazumi Totaka | |||||||
| Birth Date: | 23 August 1967 | ||||||
| Birth Place: | Tokyo, Japan | ||||||
| Alma Mater: | Kunitachi College of Music | ||||||
| Years Active: | 1990–present | ||||||
| Employer: | Nintendo | ||||||
| Native Name: | 戸高一生 | ||||||
| Module: |
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[1] is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who is best known for his various compositions in many Nintendo games. He occasionally does voice acting as well, most notably voicing Yoshi from the Mario series. He also directed the development of Wii Music.
Totaka has worked for Nintendo since 1990. One of his most famous compositions is the 19-note "Totaka's Song", which is left as an easter egg in many games he has composed for.
| Year | Title | Role(s) | Totaka's Song? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | X | Music | ||
| Mario Paint | Music with Hirokazu Tanaka and Ryoji Yoshitomi | |||
| The Frog For Whom the Bell Tolls | Music | |||
| Music | ||||
| 1993 | Music with Minako Hamano and Kozue Ishikawa | |||
| 1995 | Virtual Boy Wario Land | Music | ||
| 1996 | Wave Race 64 | Music | ||
| 1997 | Yoshi's Story | Music | ||
| 1999 | Mario Artist: Paint Studio | Music with Chris Jojo, Martin Goodall, and Suddi Raval | ||
| 2000 | Mario Artist: Talent Studio | Music with Kenta Nagata and Toru Minegishi | ||
| Mario Artist: Polygon Studio | Music | |||
| 2001 | Animal Crossing | Sound director, music with Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi, and Shinobu Tanaka | ||
| Luigi's Mansion | Music with Shinobu Tanaka | |||
| Machop at Work | Music with Takuto Kitsuta and Yasushi Ida | |||
| Kingler's Day | Music with Takuto Kitsuta and Yasushi Ida | |||
| 2004 | Pikmin 2 | Sound director, music with Hajime Wakai | ||
| 2005 | Yoshi Touch & Go | Sound director, music with Asuka Hayazaki and Toru Minegishi | ||
| Sound director, music with Asuka Hayazaki | ||||
| 2006 | Yoshi's Island DS | Sound supervisor | ||
| Music | ||||
| Wii Sports | Sound director, music | |||
| Kenkou Ouen Recipe 1000: DS Kondate Zenshuu | Music | |||
| 2008 | Super Smash Bros. Brawl | Arrangements | ||
| Wii Music | Director | |||
| Sound director, music with Manaka Kataoka and Shiho Fujii | ||||
| 2010 | X-Scape | Music | ||
| 2012 | Sound director, music with Manaka Kataoka and Atsuko Asahi | |||
| 2013 | Sound supervisor | |||
| Wii Sports Club | Music | |||
| 2014 | Yoshi's New Island | Sound director | ||
| Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U | Arrangements | |||
| 2015 | Yoshi's Woolly World | Main theme | ||
| Sound director, music | ||||
| 2016 | Music supervisor | |||
| 2017 | Mario Kart 8 Deluxe | Music with several others | ||
| 2018 | Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | Arrangements | ||
| Mario Tennis Aces | Sound supervisor | |||
| 2019 | Yoshi's Crafted World | Sound supervisor | ||
| Luigi's Mansion 3 | Sound supervisor | |||
| 2020 | Sound director, music with several others |
Totaka has portrayed several characters for Nintendo games. He mostly voices Yoshi (first appearing in Super Mario World), but he also voices Professor E. Gadd, Captain Olimar,[2] Birdo, and K.K. Slider, as well as portraying Shy Guy from 1997 to 2002.
The character K.K. Slider in Animal Crossing is named Totakeke (とたけけ) in the Japanese version. This name could be derived from how Totaka's name is said in Japanese (Totaka K.) as last names usually come before personal names in the language. K.K Slider is said to be an animal version caricature of Totaka.[3]
At the Mario & Zelda Big Band Live concert, some fans shouted "Totakeke" while the host grabbed a guitar and gave it to Totaka. Totaka then sat down on a chair like K.K. Slider while Shigeru Miyamoto held a picture of K.K. Slider next to Totaka.
"Totaka's Song" is a short, 19-note, 8-bar song hidden in almost every game Totaka has written music for as an easter egg.[4] [5] Its first appearance was in the Game Boy game X, released in 1992. Later that year, it appeared in Mario Paint, where the song was first discovered; it plays if the player clicks on the O in "Mario Paint" on the title screen.[6] It also plays in (1992) on the game over screen.[7]
The song appears through two different methods in (1993), as well as its 1998 re-release and 2019 remake; one is if the player waits in the house owned by the character Richard, the other is if they name their player character "Totakeke" or "Zelda" when starting the game. The latter method was only available in the Japanese 1993 and 1998 versions of the game, using the "Totakeke" method (spelled as "とたけけ"). The 2019 remake added the "Totakeke" method to international releases, as well as the "Zelda" method which plays a remixed version.[8] [9] The song plays during the closing credits of Virtual Boy Wario Land (1995). It plays in Yoshi's Story (1997) if the player stays on the Trial Mode stage select screen.[10]
In Luigi's Mansion (2001), Totaka's Song will play if the player stays on a screen describing the game's controls.[11] In some games of the Animal Crossing series, K.K. Slider will play it on his guitar if the player selects "K.K Song" for him; after this, the song will be available for the player to listen to in their house. In Pikmin 2 (2004), there are two ways to hear the song. One is if the player stays on the "Treasures Salvaged" info screen. The second appears if the player enters one of the game's cave dungeons without a memory card in their GameCube, and stays on the screen telling them to insert a memory card or else they cannot save their game. The latter method was discovered in 2019.[12] In (2008), the character Kapp'n will whistle the song if the player stays on a screen in which he is present.[13] In 2010, Totaka's Song appeared in X-Scape, the sequel to X.
In Mario Kart 8 (2014), one of the Yoshis standing on the side of multiple racetracks in the game will sing Totaka's Song.[14] [15] Totaka sung it as the voice actor for Yoshi in the game.[13] In (2015), if the player scans in the K.K. Slider amiibo card with their 3DS, the next time the player uses a turntable, Totaka's Song will play.[16]