Yoko Shimomura is the latest recipient of the prestigious BAFTA Fellowship award, given to those who have made exceptional contributions to the medium.
Shimomura has worked as a game music composer for over 35 years, beginning at Capcom on the likes of Street Fighter 2 and Final Fight, before moving to Square Enix where she composed scores for some of the company’s most iconic RPGs: Super Mario RPG, Legend of Mana, and of course the Kingdom Hearts series.
She left Square Enix in 2002, but has continued working freelance, composing scores for the Mario & Luigi series and Final Fantasy 15, as well as the Kingdom Hearts games for which she has become particularly beloved.
Ahead of her receiving the honours at this year’s BAFTA Games Awards, I spoke with Shimomura about her career, the evolution of game music, and why she was drawn to RPGs in particular.
I read that after music college your family and tutors were worried about you moving into the games industry. You’ve obviously had huge success since then, do you believe you made the right choice? Are your family accepting of your success?