Summary
The video game industry is filled withcountless talented musicians that have created some of the best soundtracks ever made, andYoko Shimomurais one of them. Since the late 1980s, this legendary Japanese composer has been revolutionizing the industry with her beautiful compositions. It’s no surprise that she recently received a BAFTA award for her prestigious career.
Unbeknownst to most gamers, Shimomura has been responsible for some of the most iconic and influential music tracks in all gaming, which leaves one big question: What has been her best video game soundtrack so far? Of course, music is always a team effort, and she has made many soundtracks alongside other talented composers. However, this list will only take into account video games in which Yoko Shimomura is credited as the sole composer.
Parasite Eve, an adaptation/sequel of Hideaki Sena’s novel of the same, is an RPG by Squaresoft from 1998. This title has always stood out from the company’s usual repertoire, because its atmosphere and third-person gameplay make it look and feel similar to a horror game. Square chose none other than Yoko Shimomura herself to create the background music for this creepy adventure.
Parasite Eveis one of Shimomura’s most distinct works. It doesn’t feel as whimsical or cheerful as her usual soundtracks, and instead has a bigger focus on creating a dark and suspenseful atmosphere, with the occasional fast-paced track for the action segments. Some of the best songs in this collection include “Out of Phase” and “Wheel Of Fortune.” Sadly,Shimomura didn’t return to compose the music forParasite Eve 2.
Yoko Shimomura was the sole composer of all the entries in theMario & LuigiRPG series (with the only exception being 2024’sBrothership) and she did an excellent job with all of their soundtracks. But most fans agree that the music inMario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Storyis some of her best work so far.
This is another wacky, colorful RPG starring the Mario brothers, so it makes sense that most of its background music fits that vibe perfectly. “They’re Pretty Tough,” “Should We Be Careful?” and “Fawful” are some of the catchiest ones on the soundtrack. But this game’s biggest standout is “In The Final,” an epic final boss theme. Shimomura channeled her experience working in RPGs for over a decade, and it worked very well.
Yoko Shimomura is best known for her contributions to the legendaryKingdom Heartsfranchise, where she composed entire soundtracks by herself.Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days,an action RPG that tells the tragic story of Roxas, credits her as the sole composer, and she did a spectacular job with it.
Half of this soundtrack is made up of songs from otherKingdom Heartsgames, but she successfully rearranged them with the DS’s sound font. But, of course, this melancholic story is also filled to the brim with new original songs that elevate all of its emotional moments, like “At Dusk,” and “Musique pour la tristesse de Xion.” The final boss theme, “Vector to the Heavens,” is one of the best tracks Shimomura has ever created. She was able to remix most of these songs with the help of an orchestra forKingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix, and they all sound even more beautiful.
Street Fighter 2revolutionized the fighting game genre forever. Curiously, many fans are not aware that the game’s composer was Yoko Shimomura, who worked at Capcom until she left for Squaresoft a few years later. This means that this legendary composer is responsible for some of the most recognizable music ever made for a fighting video game.
Street Fighter 2is known for two things: its roster of iconic playable fighters from different parts of the world, and its fast-paced combat system. Shimomura perfectly conveyed these two characteristics with a catchy soundtrack that features many individual themes representing the respective cultures of their characters. Ryu, Ken, Chun-Li, Guile, and many more owe their iconic themes to Yoko Shimomura.
Yoko Shimomura was most likely chosen to compose the music for theMario & Luigiseries because she was also responsible for the soundtrack ofSuper Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars, the very first RPG in theMariofranchise. After all, this was a joint venture between Squaresoft and Nintendo, so she was a perfect fit. Nevertheless, it was a monumental task, because she had to rearrange some classicMarioandFinal Fantasytunes by other composers (Koji Kondo and Nobuo Uematsu, respectively).
The soundtrack ofSuper Mario RPGis known for its vast collection of original songs. This game has a very specific sound that was like nothing else in the industry at the time. Some of its most memorable tracks include.Fortunately, Shimomura returned to compose the music for the 2024 remake ofSuper Mario RPG, which includes an option to choose between the new arrangements and the original music from the 1996 release.
Despite working for Squaresoft and Square Enix for so long, it took Yoko Shimomura twenty-eight years to make the music for aFinal Fantasygame,as she was the main composer of 2016’sFinal Fantasy 15. This made a lot of sense, seeing as this project was originally directed by one of her most frequent collaborators, Tetsuya Nomura, and it shared a lot of similarities withKingdom Hearts.
This open-world action RPG was in development for approximately ten years, so it obviously ended up becoming one of her most ambitious projects. With the help of a full-blown orchestra, Shimomura created a beautiful high-quality soundtrack that made Noctis’ journey all the more memorable, exciting, and tragic. The game featured a variety of excellent songs that fit each specific situation, like “Apocalypsis Noctis,” “Valse Di Fantastica,” “Somnus,” and many more. It’s a shame she didn’t make more music forFinal Fantasytitles, becauseFF15’s OST is one of the most incredible works of her career.
In the early 2000s, Squaresoft and Disney joined forces to makeKingdom Hearts, a bizarre but innovative action RPG that featured levels based off of classic animated films. Yoko Shimomura was chosen as the composer, which must have been a tall task, seeing as she had to capture the essence of bothFinal Fantasyand Disney.
Needless to say, she did a fantastic job with this soundtrack. The game’s title theme, “Dearly Beloved,” is so beautiful and iconic that that alone is enough to place her in the “Video Game Composer Hall of Fame.” Yet, it was only the beginning, sinceKingdom Heartsis full of incredible original music. The background music of the worlds is always catchy, while the combat music makes each encounter more thrilling. While the original PS2 iterations of these songs were already great, she remastered them with an orchestra forKingdom Hearts 1.5 HD Remix, where they sounded even better.
Two years after the release ofKingdom Hearts,Square and Disney launchedKingdom Hearts 2, and Yoko Shimomura was chosen once again as the game’s composer. Everything about this game was bigger and better than its predecessor: the combat, the bosses, the story. Thus, its soundtrack needed to be on the same level. Shimomura not only did not disappoint, but she also ended up making one of the best soundtracks of her career.
The music ofKingdom Hearts 2is extremely diverse. It features beautiful and tragic character themes, like “Roxas,” as well as catchy and lighthearted background music for all of its Disney worlds, like “A Day in Agrabah.” But, of course, the main highlights of this game are its many battle themes. They seamlessly combine the intensity of each situation with the high emotional stakes to help elevate the unforgettable boss fights. As always, Yoko Shimomura made orchestral rearrangements of all of these songs whenKingdom Hearts 2.5 HD Remixwas released in 2014.
