Koji Kondo

Koji Kondo (近藤 浩治, Kondō Kōji, born August 13, 1961) is a Japanese video game composer and sound director who has been employed at Nintendo since 1984. He is best known for his involvement in numerous titles in the Mario and The Legend of Zelda series of video games.

Biography

Early life

Kondo was born in Nagoya, Japan, on August 13, 1961. He began taking lessons in the electronic organ from the age of five. He improved his skills in the instrument in a cover band that played jazz and rock music. Kondo studied at the Art Planning Department of Osaka University of Arts, but was never classically trained or particularly dedicated to music. However, he gained some experience in composing and arranging pieces, using both the piano and a computer to assist him. During his senior year, Nintendo sent a recruitment message to his university stating that they were interested in hiring people dedicated to composition and sound programming. An LCD and arcade gamer, Kondo successfully applied for the job in 1984 without requiring any demo tapes.

Super Mario

Super Mario (Japanese: スーパーマリオ, Hepburn: Sūpā Mario) is a series of platform video games created by Nintendo featuring their mascot, Mario. Alternatively called the Super Mario Bros. (スーパーマリオブラザーズ, Sūpā Mario Burazāzu) series or simply the Mario (マリオ) series, it is the central series of the greater Mario franchise. At least one Super Mario game has been released for every major Nintendo video game console and handheld.

The Super Mario games follow Mario's adventures in the fictional Mushroom Kingdom, usually with Mario as the player character. He is usually joined by his brother, Luigi, and occasionally by other members of the Mario cast. As in platform video games, the player runs and jumps across platforms and atop enemies in themed levels. The games have simple plots, typically with Mario rescuing the kidnapped Princess Peach from the primary antagonist, Bowser. The first title in the series, Super Mario Bros., released for the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) in 1985, established gameplay concepts and elements prevalent in nearly every Super Mario game since. These include a multitude of power-ups and items that give Mario special magic powers such as fireball-throwing and size-changing into giant and miniature sizes.

Super Mario World

Super Mario World (Japanese: スーパーマリオワールド, Hepburn: Sūpā Mario Wārudo), subtitled Super Mario Bros. 4 (スーパーマリオブラザーズ4, Sūpā Mario Burazāzu fō) for its original Japanese release, is a 1990 platform video game developed and published by Nintendo as a pack-in launch title for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) and is the fifth game in the Super Mario series. Development was handled by Nintendo Entertainment Analysis and Development, led by Shigeru Miyamoto, who produced the game.

The game centers on the quest of Mario and Luigi to save Dinosaur Land from Bowser, the series' antagonist. The two brothers must travel across seven worlds to restore order to Dinosaur Land. It built on the gameplay of previous Mario games, introducing new power-ups that augment character abilities, and established conventions that were carried over to future games in the series. Super Mario World marks one of the first appearances of Yoshi, Mario's dinosaur sidekick and riding mount.

Super Mario World was a critical and commercial success, selling over 20 million copies worldwide, and is considered by many critics to be one of the best games ever made. It has been re-released four times, first as part of a combo with Super Mario All-Stars on the SNES in 1993. Secondly, it was released on the Game Boy Advance as Super Mario Advance 2 (スーパーマリオアドバンス2, Sūpā Mario Adobansu Tsū) in 2001 and outside Japan as Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 in 2002 with modified gameplay. The third re-release was for the Wii's Virtual Console in Japan in 2006 and in North America and PAL regions in 2007; there were no changes from the original SNES version. It was also released for the Wii U's Virtual Console which integrated Off-TV Play and Miiverse features to the game.

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time

The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (Japanese: ゼルダの伝説 時のオカリナ, Hepburn: Zeruda no Densetsu: Toki no Okarina) is a 1998 action-adventure video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was released in Japan and North America in November 1998, and in Europe and Australia in December 1998. Originally developed for the 64DD peripheral, the game was instead released on a 256-megabit (32-megabyte) cartridge, the largest-capacity cartridge Nintendo produced at that time. Ocarina of Time is the fifth game in the The Legend of Zelda series, and the first with 3D graphics. It was followed by the direct sequel, The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask, in 2000.

The player controls the series' hero, Link, in the land of Hyrule. Link sets out on a quest to stop Ganondorf, King of the Gerudo tribe, from obtaining the Triforce, a sacred relic that grants the wishes of its holder. He travels through time and navigates various dungeons to awaken the sages, who have the power to seal Ganondorf away forever. Music plays an important role; to progress, the player must learn to play several songs on an ocarina. The game was responsible for increased interest in and rise in sales of the instrument.

Legend (disambiguation)

A legend is a historical narrative, a symbolic representation of folk belief.

Legend, Legends, The Legend or The Legends may also refer to:

Narrative

Books, comic books, and theatre

Film