From Mario to Zelda, to Final Fantasy and Undertale, there’s no doubt that music plays a huge role in the video games that we all know and love. But what about the music from lesser known video games? What about the jamming tunes and fire tracks that may have gone under the radar of most gamers? Join us, Fair Gamers, as we dig through the crates and uncover some amazing games and music you might have missed… This is Hidden Tracks!
Hidden Tracks Vol. 6: F-Zero (Super Nintendo/SNES)
Game: F-Zero
Release Year: 1990 (JP), 1991 (US), 1992 (EU)
System: Super Nintendo/SNES
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo EAD
Composer(s): Yumiko Kanki, Naoto Ishida
Selected Tracks: Big Blue, Port Town, Sand Ocean
Fire up your Super Nintendo and get ready for some sweet, sweet Mode 7 graphics - it’s F-Zero! The fan-favorite futuristic racing game from Nintendo served as a launch title for the SNES, and brought us memorable tracks, characters, and - of course - Captain Falcon. But underneath the Mode 7 graphics and high-speed races is an energetic soundtrack that ties all of F-Zero together.
F-Zero’s soundtrack was composed by the two-person team of Naoto Ishida and Yumiko Kanki, two sound designers who worked with Nintendo through the Super Nintendo-era. Although both Ishida and Kanki worked as sound designers for Nintendo on projects like Tetris & Dr. Mario and the Satellaview respectively, both composers have little music credits on their resumes - Kanki would later work on the music for Star Fox 2 (which wouldn’t see an American release until the SNES Classic), while Ishida would later serve as a sound composer for F-Zero: Maximum Velocity for the GameBoy Advance. Since then, Ishida would leave Nintendo to work at Exivar, while it is unknown where or what Kanki does today.
Although F-Zero may be the most well known - arguably only known - credit from Ishida and Kanki, their contribution to video games will be cherished forever. Heart pumping tunes like Mute City and Big Blue still make appearances in other Nintendo games today, including 2018’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Ishida and Kanki left an undeniable mark on video games and video game music with F-Zero, and as soon as you hear their music, you know it’s time to get ready for racing action!
F-Zero’s soundtrack was composed by the two-person team of Naoto Ishida and Yumiko Kanki, two sound designers who worked with Nintendo through the Super Nintendo-era. Although both Ishida and Kanki worked as sound designers for Nintendo on projects like Tetris & Dr. Mario and the Satellaview respectively, both composers have little music credits on their resumes - Kanki would later work on the music for Star Fox 2 (which wouldn’t see an American release until the SNES Classic), while Ishida would later serve as a sound composer for F-Zero: Maximum Velocity for the GameBoy Advance. Since then, Ishida would leave Nintendo to work at Exivar, while it is unknown where or what Kanki does today.
Although F-Zero may be the most well known - arguably only known - credit from Ishida and Kanki, their contribution to video games will be cherished forever. Heart pumping tunes like Mute City and Big Blue still make appearances in other Nintendo games today, including 2018’s Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Ishida and Kanki left an undeniable mark on video games and video game music with F-Zero, and as soon as you hear their music, you know it’s time to get ready for racing action!
For games like F-Zero and other classic racing games, check out FairGameRetro.com!