The Work of Yoko Shimomura | Media: Music

Yoko Shimomura is a world-renowned game composer and pianist, especially known for her contributions to the Mario series, Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy and other famous Japan-based video game series. Throughout her career, she has composed the scores wholly or in part for over 16 games in Capcom and Square Enix; in total, her compositions are featured on more than 45 game soundtracks. She is described as “the most famous video game music composer in the world” and her music has received multiple commemorations, covers, awards, and more.

Born in 1967 in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, Yoko Shimomura’s love for music developed when she began taking piano lessons at a young age. From this, she began “pretending” to compose music and playing the piano randomly. Ultimately, she attended the Osaka College of Music as a piano major and graduated in 1988. Although she originally intended to be a piano teacher, she accepted a position at Capcom instead, to her family’s dismay. As a child, she adored video games and was ecstatic when Capcom offered her a position. But, working in the video game industry was not well respected, especially since she had graduated from a prestigious and expensive music school. Nevertheless, Shimomura went against her family’s wishes and began working at Capcom.

Shimomura stated that as she was raised around the presence of classical music, her greatest musical influences include Beethoven, Chopin, and Ravel. On her website, she stated that she also enjoys “lounge-style jazz”. The music she has composed contains a wide variety of inspirations, including: rock, electronica, oriental, ambient, industrial, pop, symphonic, operatic, chiptune, and more.

When composing, though, the inspiration for her writing comes from simple things in life that move her emotionally; as she stated, “Anything that moves my emotion gives me inspiration”. She is an adamant believer in using music to portray a message of some sort. Rather than writing specific and blunt themes within her music, she wishes for her listeners to interpret them and let the imagination of the listener to flow.

Shimomura’s favorite track of her own work is Dearly Beloved, which appears at the title screen of the various Kingdom Hearts games. Dearly Beloved is one of her many songs that embody the many themes she wishes her music to convey: emotion and adventure through music.

Dearly Beloved is a simple, yet powerful track. It begins with a short,uncomplicated piano melody. As the song progresses, it is overlaid by a series of string instruments and accentuated by a flute and harp, until it fades out with the last sound being the piano melody once again. With such a simple melody, the song strikes a nostalgic feeling within the listener. It’s a homely and comfortable sensation, especially when the string instruments are introduced and the melody becomes soothing and calming. The song has the ability to make the listener happy, yet simultaneously melancholic.

As this song is meant to be played in conjunction of the title screen of the Kingdom Hearts games, much of the emotion is associated with its connection to the game. Although the song is beautiful independently, the game would lost so much of its emotional value without such a song. Dearly Beloved was masterfully crafted by Shimomura to convey the emotion in the game, from the sadness and heartbreak to the joy and laughter. To one who has never played the game, it is a beautiful song and utterly relaxing. But, to someone who has, it’s an entirely different emotion; it spurs the feelings from the game’s climax, reminds the listener of the sad moments and the happy.

There are actually 11 different versions of Dearly Beloved, each piece different for each game. This is a unique factor and especially characteristic of the song, with the way Shimomura changes the style with every game’s version.For example, the Chain of Memories version includes a subtle vibraphone and a sped up melody for a more childish and peppy tune. On the other hand, the Kingdom Hearts II version begins with the strings, leading into the piano. Through these small changes, Shimomura was able to change the song’s message and emotion entirely.

Whether viewed with or without the context of the game, the music of Shimomura in collaboration with the Kingdom Hearts series, Dearly Beloved especially, is just one display of her abilities to masterfully create and manipulate the emotions of music.

On the complete other side of the spectrum is the more fast-paced, action-oriented music. One of these songs is Gratia Mundi, a song composed for the upcoming Final Fantasy XV game. The song first appeared in the 2014 trailer for the game scheduled to release the fall of 2016. Unlike Dearly Beloved, Gratia Mundi is almost waltz-like with a much faster tempo and full orchestra. Gratia Mundi conveys a much different story than Dearly Beloved and her works for Kingdom Hearts, and thus, a different story.

As background, the Final Fantasy games, XV especially, are much more different from the Kingdom Hearts series. While the two are both produced under Square, the Final Fantasy games tend to deal with heavier, darker themes.

Gratia Mundi features a full orchestra, and is a fairly peppy and royal song. Although it generally features one melody, the different interpretations by the different instruments allow for different styles to emerge. As there is currently little to no Final Fantasy XV to relate this song to, there is less associative emotion; the audience has the ability to interpret the song as they will. Nevertheless, in the trailer, the song plays in the royal city and around the palace. This is portrayed throughout the song, the upbeat tempo conveying a royal and almost pompous theme.

(For the record, the player plays as a young prince, around the age of 7, while this song plays and the player is running about the city. It’s quite fitting music for a curious young boy exploring a wide, vast city).

Nevertheless, the song conveys a much different story from Dearly Beloved. It almost allows the listener to go on an adventure as the song progresses, from loud to soft to slow to fast. Although short and simple, the song takes the reader through a musical adventure. Such themes of adventure are also portrayed in Shimomura’s other works for Final Fantasy XV, such as Veiled in Black which is specifically battle-oriented music. It’s a fast paced song, the speed invigorating and it pulls the listener along.

Although the interpretations of the song may change depending on the game and its associations, standing alone, the songs present unique portrayals of emotion and adventure unique to the style of Yoko Shimomura.

It’s almost impossible to not associate Shimomura’s work with the games she produces for--they’re nothing without the other. The games are the reason I found Shimomura’s music, and Shimomura’s music is why I love the games. Without Shimomura’s music, the video games she composed for would lose so much emotional value and player intrigue. It’s thanks to her music the games have such current success as they do now.

I personally find Shimomura’s music beautiful for a variety of reasons. Primarily, the musicality--Shimomura’s music is just gorgeous. She has the ability to change her style, tune, emotion, and genre in the blink of an eye, and it still sounds good. She has hundreds of compositions for so many different games, yet no two are alike. Each song is unique and conveys a different message and meaning from another song. One of my favorite songs of hers is “Noctis’ Dream”. It’s a beautiful song that mixes piano and electronic music to create a playful and childish song, reflective of the dream-world in the game.

Another one of my favorite songs is “Musique pour la Tristesse de Xion”, or simply Xion’s Theme. Without going into the complex nature of Xion’s character, it is important to know that her character derives from three other ones. The theme songs of these characters are melded together to create Xion’s Theme. It’s amazingly clever, yet incredibly emotional as well. This is another reason as to why I find Shimomura’s music so beautiful; she is so clever with her compositions, playing with the tunes and subtly changing them to match the scene she is trying to depict or the story she is trying to tell.

Nevertheless, such stories end up being some of the most striking parts of her work. Referencing Xion’s Theme again, said theme plays at the saddest part of the game 358/2 Days. Thus, the song is associated with the sad scene, and evokes a sad feeling within the listener after playing the game. It’s almost nostalgic as well, listening to the song a while after playing the game.

On the other side of the spectrum, quite possibly my favorite composition of Shimomura’s is Somnus, composed for Final Fantasy XV (everything I’ve picked has been from these 2 series, sorry, I’m a little biased). It’s a beautiful track that especially pulls the listener through a musical and emotional adventure, what with the piano and violin accompaniment. The emotions conveyed through the song are indescribable; while calming, it’s also depressing. While romantic, it’s also melancholic, almost regretful. It’s such a strong piece with a multitude of strong emotions fighting to be heard. Without a doubt, this is one of her most iconic pieces, and it certainly deserves the most praise with its future release.

The music of Yoko Shimomura is beautiful inside and outside of the games they are presented with. Although they allow a past player to reminisce the game, they’re also beautiful on their own. Her music should be appreciated for all the work and emotions they convey. While it’s almost disgraceful to simply call Shimomura’s work “pretty”, her compositions convey so much emotion it’s impossible to find the words that truly represent the emotions within her works.

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Aesthetics

The Work of Yoko Shimomura | Media: Music