Koji Kondo v. Nobuo Uematsu

[Darkshot77]

When it comes to video games, The Musical Score caan be very enhancing or detrimental to the game. Some games present unforgettable, classic tunes that bring back memories of our gaming days. Others peresent music so epic that it for ever immortalizes the scene. When it comes to the composers, two stand out among the rest as the best of the best: Koji Kondo and Nobuo Uematsu.

First I will highlight the career of Koji Kondo.

Kondo the is the composer of the beloved 8 and 16 bit sound of the Mario games, Zelda, Star Fox, and the other Nintendo games. He has always and still is today composing for Nintendo. But he may be remembered for composing the classic background music to some beloved games. When the Super Mario theme plays, or perhaps the theme to Hyrule Castle, or mabey the sounds of The Planet of Titania, I know I am taken back to my younger gaming days. Kondo's classic sounds are still popular with the youth today as the "Super Mario Bros. Theme" has been on Billboard Magazine's Hot Ringtones chart for over one hundred sixty weeks. Koji Kondo's compositions are amazing and classic and bring back the memories of the good old days of shooting ducks, jumping goombas and saving princeses.

Now for Nobuo Uematsu

He may simply just be knows as the Final Fantasy guy. Every Final Fantasy has has their music composed by this man and coincidentally every Final Fantasy has had great music. His Battle themes like "Dancng Mad" and "One Winged Angel" are second to none and make the fight that much more intense. Its was Aerith's theme player through her death and burial that helped make the scene more dramtic. Nobuo these days hasa broken away from Square and now composes freelance. He also formed the group the Black Mages which play his tunes with a heaver rock feel. Nobuo's music is iconic, and set the tone for all the Final Fantasy games and more. And to be perfectly honest, if I am going to have to kill some psychotic villan trying to destroy the world, I want his music playing in the background.

So theres the facts, you are welcome to study more I'm just wondering, who do you like better as a composer. Is is Koji Kondo's classics, or the more modern sounds of Nobuo Uematsu. The choice is yours.

 

[JackAttack]

Tough choice, but in the end I have to say Nobuo Uematsu. It may seem like he only composes for Final Fantasy, but thats not even close to true. He composed music for Front Mission, Blue Dragon, Chrono Trigger, and even the main theme for Super Smash Bros. Brawl!

The reason why it seems like he only writes music for Final Fantasy is because it is one of the hugest RPG franchises, and dwarfs all of his other accomplishments. Not only that, but each Final Fantasy game has dozens upon dozens of tracks, and has a mega huge fan base. Fans of Uematsu will always remember him for Final Fantasy, but his other work has not gone unnoticed. Many veteran RPG fan's consider Chrono Trigger as the best example of his musical genius. Even today, his work on games such Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey remains superb. Even FF Advent Children had spectacular music, proving that his expertise are not just limited to games.

The main reason why I chose him over Kondo is because Uematsu's music feels more epic to me. Mario had catchy tunes, but none of them made my chest swell like many FF songs did. Both are amazing, but my vote goes towards Uematsu.