It’s easy to see the similarities between The Legend of Zelda games and many FromSoftware games. My own memories of Old Ring And Breath of the Wilderness together in the best way, every experience in perfect harmony in my mind. It was a pleasant surprise, however, when I learned how much Zelda music played a role in the life of frequent FromSoftware composer Yuka Kitamura, who for Old Ring (including the recent DLC), Dark Souls 1, 2And 3, BloodborneAnd Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.
In a recent email interview conducted via translation as part of Polygon FM, our theme week dedicated to video games and music, Kitamura told us about her compositional influences and her lifelong love of Zelda.
Polygon: Was there a game soundtrack or song that inspired you to start making game music? Can you paint the scene of what that felt like for you, and why the music was so effective?
Yuka Kitamura: I spent my childhood and grew up with video games in the 1990s and 2000s, and there are many masterpieces that influenced me. The desire to play the main theme of my all-time favorite video game title, The Legend of Zelda, on the piano motivated me to learn to play the piano during my childhood. Especially Majora’s Mask was a title I played for a long time and I loved the worldview that was closely linked to the instrument.
I was also very influenced by the music of the Harvest Moon series, the Golden Sun (series) and (the) Pokémon series.
I felt that game music, sometimes very expressive music with only a small number of notes and bars, immediately captured my heart. That’s why I dreamed of becoming a composer of such music.
Can you break down one of your own songs and its influences? Was it inspired by game soundtracks, other music, or something else?
The main theme of Dark Souls 3 was inspired by the bulgarian choral chord progression.
I really liked it because I felt it expressed a different kind of beauty, a bit dark, as opposed to the usual beauty.
Is there anything else we should know about your approach to composing video game music?
Many people have an impression of my music from my work at FromSoftware. I also like music with a colorful worldview that I was exposed to in my youth. I would like to actively write such music in the future. I hope you look forward to it.