Yuzo Koshiro

Who is Yuzo Koshiro?

Yuzo Koshiro is a Japanese video game music composer, electronic music producer, and audio programmer. He is regarded as one of the most influential innovators in chiptune music and video game sound design. He has produced music in a number of genres, including various electronic genres, experimental, classical, hip hop, jazz, and synth-rock.

According to Nintendo Power, Koshiro was "arguably the greatest game-music composer of the 16-bit age" and created "some of the most memorable game music of the late '80s and early '90s." According to 1UP, he was the "king" of FM synthesis chiptune music. He has produced some of the most influential role-playing video game scores, for titles such as Nihon Falcom's Dragon Slayer and Ys series, as well as ActRaiser and Beyond Oasis. According to GameAxis Unwired, his "progressive, catchy, techno-style compositions" for games such as The Revenge of Shinobi, Misty Blue, and the Streets of Rage series were "far more advanced than what players were used to" and set a "new high watermark for what music in games could sound like." The Streets of Rage soundtracks are considered ahead of their time, featuring a "blend of swaggering house synths," "dirty" electro-funk, and early trance elements.