Kazumi Totaka

Kazumi Totaka (戸高 一生, Totaka Kazumi, born August 23, 1967)[1] 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.

"Totaka" redirects here. For the acharya named Totaka, see Totakacharya.
In this Japanese name, the surname is Totaka.
Kazumi Totaka
戸高一生
Born (1967-08-23) August 23, 1967
Tokyo, Japan
GenresVideo game music, jazz
Occupation(s)Composer, sound director, voice actor
InstrumentsPiano, guitar, bass, vibraphone
Years active1990–present

Works
TitleYearRole(s)Notes
X1992Composer
Mario PaintWith Hirokazu Tanaka and Ryoji Yoshitomi
Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins[2]
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening1993With Minako Hamano and Kozue Ishikawa
Tetris & Dr. Mario1994With Hirokazu Tanaka and Yumiko Kameya
Virtual Boy Wario Land1995
Wave Race 641996
Yoshi's Story1997
Mario Artist: Polygon Studio1999
Mario Artist: Paint StudioWith Chris Jojo, Martin Goodall, and Suddi Raval
Mario Artist: Talent Studio2000With Kenta Nagata and Toru Minegishi
Machop at Work2001With Takuto Kitsuta and Yasushi Ida
Luigi's MansionWith Shinobu Tanaka
Kingler's DayWith Takuto Kitsuta and Yasushi Ida
Animal CrossingComposer, sound directorWith Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi, and Shinobu Tanaka
Pikmin 22004Sound director
Yoshi Touch & Go2005ComposerWith Asuka Ohta and Toru Minegishi
Animal Crossing: Wild WorldComposer, sound directorWith Asuka Ohta
Yoshi's Island DS2006Sound supervisor
Default Wii ChannelsComposer
Wii SportsComposer, sound director
Kenkou Ouen Recipe 1000: DS Kondate ZenshuuComposer
Wii Music2008Director
Animal Crossing: City FolkSound director
X-Scape2010Composer
Animal Crossing: New Leaf2012Sound director
Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon2013Sound supervisorWith Koji Kondo and Yoji Inagaki
Yoshi's New Island2014Sound director
Wii Sports ClubComposer
Yoshi's Woolly World2015With Misaki Asada and Tomoya Tomita
Animal Crossing: Happy Home DesignerComposer, sound director
Mini Mario & Friends: Amiibo Challenge2016Music supervisor
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate2018ArrangerWith various others
Mario Tennis AcesSound supervisor
Yoshi's Crafted World2019
Luigi's Mansion 3
Animal Crossing: New Horizons2020Sound director

Characters portrayed

Totaka has portrayed several characters for Nintendo games, including Yoshi (first appearing in Yoshi's Story), Shy Guy (1998-2002), Professor E. Gadd, Captain Olimar,[3] Birdo, and K.K. Slider.

K.K. Slider

The character K.K. Slider in Animal Crossing is named Totakeke (とたけけ) 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.[4]

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.[5]

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.[6] It was first discovered on the title screen of Mario Paint and was later discovered as having originated in the Game Boy game X,[7] which predated Mario Paint by two months.

Appearances

Totaka's song has been confirmed in the following games:

Title
Animal Crossing[7][a]
Animal Crossing e-Reader cards (#P13 and #P15)
Animal Crossing: City Folk[6]
Animal Crossing: Happy Home Designer
Animal Crossing: New Horizons[8][9]
Animal Crossing: New Leaf[4]
Animal Crossing: Wild World[4]
Kaeru no Tame ni Kane wa Naru
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening and the DX version[10]
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (2019 remake)[10][11]
Luigi's Mansion[12]
Luigi's Mansion (3DS remake)
Mario Artist: Talent Studio
Mario Kart 8[6][13] and the Deluxe version
Mario Paint[6][7]
Pikmin 2[b][14]
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins[6]
Virtual Boy Wario Land[12]
X[7][12]
X-Scape[12]
Yoshi Touch & Go
Yoshi's New Island[15]
Yoshi's Story

Notes
a. ^ The song is usually featured as "K.K. Song" in the Animal Crossing franchise.[16]
b. ^ The song is only present in the GameCube release of Pikmin 2; it was removed in the Wii version.

References
  1. 「ゼルダの伝説 夢をみる島」開発スタッフ名鑑. Nintendo Official Guide Book – The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (in Japanese). Shogakukan Inc. July 1993. p. 120. ISBN 4-09-102448-3.
  2. Nintendo R&D1 (1992). Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. Nintendo. Scene: Credits.
  3. "1-2 開発スタッフインタビュー" (in Japanese). Nintendo. Retrieved July 31, 2013.
  4. Jackson, Kai (May 8, 2013). "Profile: Kazumi Totaka - The Man Behind Animal Crossing's K.K. Slider". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
  5. 1Button (2010-03-12), p-nintendo.com — Totaka, Mario & Zelda Big Band Live, 2003, retrieved 2018-03-25
  6. Kubba, Sinan (January 13, 2015). "Nintendo's famous easter egg song discovered in Mario Kart 8". Engadget. Verizon Media. Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  7. "'Kazumi Totaka's Song'". NinDB. Archived from the original on February 26, 2015.
  8. Wyche, Jerrad (2020-09-27). "Animal Crossing: New Horizons - 10 Easter Eggs You Might Have Missed The First Time Through". TheGamer. Archived from the original on 2020-10-12. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  9. Reuben, Emily (2020-05-01). "Easter eggs you missed in Animal Crossing: New Horizons". Looper.com. Archived from the original on 2020-05-16. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  10. Is Totaka's Song Still in Zelda: Link's Awakening? + Other Musical Easter Eggs (Game Boy vs Switch) (YouTube video). GameXplain. September 13, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
  11. Doolan, Liam (2019-09-14). "Video: Totaka's Song Returns In Link's Awakening On The Nintendo Switch". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2019-09-20. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  12. Plunkett, Luke (2011-08-11). "The Secret of the Secret Nintendo Song". Kotaku. Archived from the original on 2019-02-16. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  13. Sofka, Samantha (2015-01-12). "Gaming Daily: Kim Jong Un Game Pulled From Kickstarter, Secret Nintendo Song Discovered in MARIO KART 8". Archived from the original on 2015-01-13. Retrieved 2015-01-12.
  14. Phillips, Tom (2019-01-07). "15 years on, infamous Nintendo Easter egg discovered in Pikmin 2". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2019-01-07. Retrieved 2020-10-24.
  15. "Video: Totaka's song in Yoshi's New Island". Nintendo Everything. 25 March 2014. Archived from the original on 2014-03-26. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  16. Lane, Gavin (22 March 2020). "Feature: The Minds Behind Animal Crossing: New Horizons". Nintendo Life. Nlife Media. Retrieved 5 April 2020. The appearance of infamous Easter Egg Totaka's Song in Animal Crossing is perhaps the most obvious of the lot. It's called K.K. Song and Slider will usually play it on request.
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