"Totaka's Song"

From MysteryWiki

"Totaka's Song" is a 19-note melody present almost ubiquitously in video game titles which sound designer Kazumi Totaka was worked on.

History

Kazumi Totaka (戸高 一生) was born on 23 August 1967 in Hino, Tokyo, Japan. In 1990, Kazumi graduated from the Kunataxhi College of Music. That same year, Totaka joined Nintendo's R&D1 development studio (originally known simply as R&D). Shortly after that, he began work on the Game Boy title F1 Race, under the tutelage of Ryoji Yoshitomi.

Having impressed his senior coworkers on the project, Totaka was then asked to compose the music for the upcoming action title X, which would also release on the Game Boy. He accepted the offer, and continued work under the supervision of Hirokazu Tanaka. X was the first game in which Totaka hid his infamous song. If one plays the game, going to a fake scientist screen in Mission Four, and subsequently waits 40 seconds, the aforementioned tune begins to play.

Shortly after his work on X, Totaka joined his seniors on the relatively simpler game Mario Paint (1992). Again, Totaka inserted his eponymous song. If the player clicks the "O" in Mario Paint on the title screen, it will turn into a bomb, scrambling the entire title screen. Following this, the song will play as Mario scuttles across the screen.

External Links

References

  • Eguchi, Katsuya, and Hisashi Nogami. Animal Crossing. Kyoto: Nintendo, 2002. Computer software.
  • Kiyotake, Hiroji, and Takehiko Hosokawa. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. Kyoto: Nintendo, 1992. Computer software.
  • Konno, Hideki. Luigi's Mansion. Kyoto: Nintendo, 2001. Computer software.
  • Matsuoka, Hirofumi. Mario Paint. Kyoto: Nintendo, 1992. Computer software.