PlatinumGames’ Hiroshi Yamaguchi on arranging Donkey Kong Country music for Smash Bros. Ultimate
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate brought in a bunch of guest composers to arrange tracks for the game. Among these was Hiroshi Yamaguchi, who works at PlatinumGames. Yamaguchi ended up arranging “The Map Page/Bonus Level” from Donkey Kong Country.
Yamaguchi reflected on contributing to Smash Bros. in a post on PlatinumGames’ website this week. He shared the following:
It was quite an honor to work on the Super Smash Bros. Ultimate soundtrack! They offered me a choice of tracks to arrange, and I went with one from Donkey Kong Country. I remember playing and beating this game together with my sister when I was a junior high school student. But it wasn’t only a nostalgia pick; it also presented a chance to try my hand at a genre of music that I’m not likely to make here at Platinum.
Still, I think some players who’re familiar with my work on the Bayonetta series will feel a certain Yamaguchi-ness when they hear my arrangement. So even though it’s not a song from the Bayonetta series, I hope Bayonetta fans will keep an ear out for it.
On a more personal note, Super Smash Bros. Ultimate also marked the first chance I’ve had in a while to work on a game together with Masami Ueda, a former coworker and dear friend. I know there are some fans of his work out there! I think you’ll know his arrangements when you hear them, too.
Arranged by Masami Ueda:
“Theme of Solid Snake” [from Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake]
“Dance of Gold” [from Castlevania: Symphony of the Night]
