Yoko Shimomura: The Composer of Mario RPGs

CharacterYoko ShimomuraSuper Mario RPG

No, the music of Super Mario RPG is not by Nobuo Uematsu. Born on 19 October 1967 in Hyōgo Prefecture and hired by Capcom as early as 1988 — where she worked on Street Fighter II — Yoko Shimomura wrote the score of Super Mario RPG in 1996. This profile clears up a stubborn myth about who really composed the soundtrack and traces her signature across the whole Mario & Luigi saga.

Behind the most moving melodies of the Mario role-playing games hides one and the same person: Yoko Shimomura (the name is the same in French and in English), a Japanese composer who has become one of the most recognised voices in video game music.

From Super Mario RPG in 1996 to almost the entire saga of Mario & Luigi, here is a look back at her career, and at a stubborn myth it is high time to correct.

Contents

• From Capcom to Square: the early days of a pioneer
• Super Mario RPG (1996): the turning point of her career
• The myth: no, the music is not by Nobuo Uematsu
• The Mario & Luigi saga: her lasting signature
• The 2023 remake: the composer returns
• Beyond Mario: a worldwide career
• Quick recap
• FAQ

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From Capcom to Square: the early days of a pioneer

Born on 19 October 1967 in Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, Yoko Shimomura studied the piano from early childhood before graduating from the Osaka College of Music.

In 1988 she joined Capcom as a video game composer, at a time when the profession was still overwhelmingly male.

At Capcom she wrote the soundtracks of more than fifteen titles, among them the legendary Street Fighter II (1991), whose battle themes marked a whole generation of arcade players.

In 1993 she joined Square (today Square Enix), the reigning studio of the Japanese RPG, where one of her first big projects was Live A Live.

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Super Mario RPG (1996): the turning point of her career

It was at Square, but on Nintendo's behalf, that Shimomura composed the original soundtrack of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, released on the Super Nintendo in 1996 (9 March in Japan, May in North America).

A striking detail for European players: the original game never came out in Europe in 1996. It only arrived there in 2008, through the Wii Virtual Console.

For this project Shimomura did not start from a blank page: she rearranged several themes by Koji Kondo, the long-time composer of the Super Mario games, to blend them into her own style.

She herself regards this score as one of the turning points of her career: this is where she asserted a rich, almost cinematic melodic writing.

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The myth: no, the music is not by Nobuo Uematsu

One belief keeps coming back: that the Super Mario RPG soundtrack is the work of Nobuo Uematsu, the legendary composer of the Final Fantasy games. That is false.

The score really is the work of Yoko Shimomura, the game's sole lead composer.

Where does the confusion come from? The game was developed by Square, the Final Fantasy studio, which is enough to blur the lines in many people's minds.

Above all, the soundtrack does contain three tracks taken from Final Fantasy IV, whose original music is by Uematsu. But these are arranged borrowings, not a piece Uematsu wrote for Mario: the heart of the work remains Shimomura's.

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The Mario & Luigi saga: her lasting signature

From 2003 onwards, Shimomura became the regular composer of a new series of handheld RPGs, Mario & Luigi, with playful music full of humour.

• Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003), the founding entry on Game Boy Advance.
• Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (2005), on Nintendo DS.
• Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (2009), often cited as the peak of the series.
• Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros. (2013) and Paper Jam Bros. (2015), on Nintendo 3DS.

One caveat, though: she did not compose the latest entry, Mario & Luigi: Brothership (2024), which went to Hideki Sakamoto when the series was revived.

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The 2023 remake: the composer returns

In 2023, Nintendo brought Super Mario RPG back in a polished remake on Nintendo Switch, more than twenty-five years after the original.

Good news for fans: Shimomura was back at the helm of the music, rearranging and modernising her own themes from 1996.

The game even lets you switch between the original soundtrack and the re-orchestrated version, a direct nod to the composer's legacy.

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Beyond Mario: a worldwide career

While the wider public often discovers her through Mario, Shimomura is known the world over for the Kingdom Hearts saga, all eleven games of which she composed.

She has also written major works such as Legend of Mana, which she calls her most personal score, and Final Fantasy XV, on which she worked for nearly a decade.

Regularly performed in symphony concerts around the world, she is today one of the most recognised women in a profession long dominated by men.

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Yoko Shimomura at a glance

Name	Yoko Shimomura (下村 陽子)
Born	19 October 1967, Hyōgo Prefecture (Japan)
Debut	Capcom, 1988 (including Street Fighter II)
Flagship Mario work	Super Mario RPG (1996) and its remake (2023)
Signature series	Mario & Luigi, from 2003 to 2018
Other sagas	Kingdom Hearts (11 games), Legend of Mana, Final Fantasy XV
Myth corrected	The Super Mario RPG soundtrack is not by Nobuo Uematsu

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FAQ

• Who composed the music of Super Mario RPG (1996)?
  Japanese composer Yoko Shimomura, then employed by Square. She wove in themes by Koji Kondo, but the main writing is hers.
• Did Nobuo Uematsu compose Super Mario RPG?
  No. It is a stubborn myth. The game does contain three tracks taken from Final Fantasy IV, whose music is by Uematsu, but the original soundtrack is by Yoko Shimomura.
• Did Yoko Shimomura compose every Mario & Luigi game?
  Almost all of them, starting with Superstar Saga in 2003. The only exception is Mario & Luigi: Brothership (2024), scored by Hideki Sakamoto.
• Did she come back for the Super Mario RPG remake in 2023?
  Yes. She rearranged and modernised her own 1996 compositions for the Nintendo Switch version, which lets you switch between the two soundtracks.
• What other series is Yoko Shimomura known for?
  Above all for the Kingdom Hearts saga, whose eleven games she composed, but also Legend of Mana, Final Fantasy XV and Street Fighter II early in her career.

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