Kazumi Totaka
Kazumi Totaka 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, including Yoshi from the Mario series. He also directed the development of Wii Music.
Works
| Title | Year | Role | Notes |
| X | 1992 | Composer | |
| Mario Paint | 1992 | Composer | With Hirokazu Tanaka and Ryoji Yoshitomi |
| Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru | 1992 | Composer | |
| ' | 1992 | Composer | |
| ' | 1993 | Composer | With Minako Hamano and Kozue Ishikawa |
| Tetris & Dr. Mario | 1994 | Composer | With Hirokazu Tanaka and Yumiko Kameya |
| Virtual Boy Wario Land | 1995 | Composer | |
| Wave Race 64 | 1996 | Composer | |
| Yoshi's Story | 1997 | Composer | |
| Mario Artist: Polygon Studio | 1999 | Composer | |
| Mario Artist: Paint Studio | 1999 | Composer | With Chris Jojo, Martin Goodall, and Suddi Raval |
| Mario Artist: Talent Studio | 2000 | Composer | With Kenta Nagata and Toru Minegishi |
| Machop at Work | 2001 | Composer | With Takuto Kitsuta and Yasushi Ida |
| Luigi's Mansion | 2001 | Composer | With Shinobu Tanaka |
| Kingler's Day | 2001 | Composer | With Takuto Kitsuta and Yasushi Ida |
| Animal Crossing | 2001 | Composer, sound director | With Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi, and Shinobu Tanaka |
| Pikmin 2 | 2004 | Sound director | |
| Yoshi Touch & Go | 2005 | Composer | With Asuka Ohta and Toru Minegishi |
| ' | 2005 | Composer, sound director | With Asuka Ohta |
| Yoshi's Island DS | 2006 | Sound supervisor | |
| Default Wii Channels | 2006 | Composer | |
| Wii Sports | 2006 | Composer, sound director | |
| Kenkou Ouen Recipe 1000: DS Kondate Zenshuu | 2006 | Composer | |
| Wii Music | 2008 | Director | |
| ' | 2008 | Sound director | |
| X-Scape | 2010 | Composer | |
| ' | 2012 | Sound director | |
| ' | 2013 | Sound supervisor | With Koji Kondo and Yoji Inagaki |
| Yoshi's New Island | 2014 | Sound director | |
| Wii Sports Club | 2014 | Composer | |
| Yoshi's Woolly World | 2015 | Composer | With Misaki Asada and Tomoya Tomita |
| ' | 2015 | Composer, sound director | |
| ' | 2016 | Music supervisor | |
| Super Smash Bros. Ultimate | 2018 | Arranger | With various others |
| Mario Tennis Aces | 2018 | Sound supervisor | |
| Yoshi's Crafted World | 2019 | Sound supervisor | |
| Luigi's Mansion 3 | 2019 | Sound supervisor | |
| 2020 | Sound director |
Characters portrayed
Totaka has portrayed several characters for Nintendo games, including Yoshi, Shy Guy, Professor E. Gadd, Captain Olimar, Birdo, and K.K. Slider.K.K. Slider
The character K.K. Slider in Animal Crossing is named Totakeke in the Japanese version. This name could be derived from how Totaka's name is said in Japanese, as last names usually come before personal names in the language. Totaka K. Totakeke is said to be an animal version caricature of Totaka.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
"Totaka's Song" is a short, 19-note tune hidden in almost every game Totaka has written music for as an Easter egg. It was first discovered on the title screen of Mario Paint and was later discovered as having originated in the Game Boy game X, which predated Mario Paint by two months.Appearances
Totaka's song has been confirmed in the following games:| Title |
| Animal Crossing |
| Animal Crossing e-Reader cards |
| ' |
| ' |
| ' |
| ' |
| ' |
| Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru |
| ' and the |
| Luigi's Mansion |
| Luigi's Mansion |
| Mario Artist: Talent Studio |
| Mario Kart 8 and the Deluxe version |
| Mario Paint |
| Pikmin 2 |
| Virtual Boy Wario Land |
| X |
| X-Scape |
| Yoshi Touch & Go |
| Yoshi's New Island |
| Yoshi's Story |