is a Japanese

video game music Video game music (or VGM) is the soundtrack that accompanies video games. Early video game music was once limited to sounds of early sound chips, such as programmable sound generators (PSG) or FM synthesis chips. These limitations have led to ...

composer who worked for

Sunsoft , stylized as SUNSOFT, is a Japanese video game developer and publisher. Sunsoft is the video games division of Japanese electronics manufacturer Sun Corporation. Its U.S. subsidiary operated under the name Sun Corporation of America, though, a ...

. He is currently a professor of music at several universities and occasionally composes new music for special events. Kodaka first learned to play piano during his early childhood but quit formal training at age 7, finding that he preferred to play popular music. He later resumed his classical studies in high school and would go on to major in composition at the

Aichi Prefectural University of the Arts formerly known as "Aichi Prefectural University of Fine Arts and Music" is a public university in the city of Nagakute in Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The university was established in 1966 and is located in a hilly area on the eastern outskirts o ...

. Following his graduation, he briefly worked on producing music for radio and television. Among his classmates, Kodaka was known to spend much of his spare time in arcades, and this ultimately attracted Sunsoft to hire him as a video game composer. He is best known for writing the soundtracks for ''

Journey to Silius ''Journey to Silius'', known in Japan as , is a side-scrolling run and gun video game developed and published by Sunsoft for the Nintendo Entertainment System in 1990. ''Journey to Silius'' was originally based on the 1984 film '' The Termin ...

'', ''Batman'' (

NES The Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) is an 8-bit third-generation home video game console produced by Nintendo. It was first released in Japan in 1983 as the commonly known as the The NES, a redesigned version, was released in American ...

and

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

versions), ''

Blaster Master ''Blaster Master'' is a video game series that was originally developed and published by Sunsoft. It began with the 1988 video game ''Blaster Master'' for the Nintendo Entertainment System, and the series has been rebooted twice. The first reboo ...

, Gremlins 2: The New Batch'', the '' Albert Odyssey series'', ''

Super Fantasy Zone is a Shoot 'em up#Scrolling shooters, scrolling shooter, part of the ''Fantasy Zone'' series. It was released for the Mega Drive, Sega Mega Drive in Japan and Europe. Players control the character Opa-Opa on his quest to defeat Dark Menon, and t ...

'', and a few other titles. He was almost always assisted on his NES projects by sound programmers Nobuyuki Hara, Shinichi Seya, and sometimes Naohisa Morota. Usually, Kodaka would compose songs on traditional sheet music, and the sound programmers would translate the compositions for the NES, sometimes receiving feedback from Kodaka on how the songs should sound. Kodaka retired from game music composition in 2002 and became a professor at

Nagoya College of Music is a private university at Nakamura-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. The school was founded as a junior college in 1965 and became a four-year college in 1976. The school is also known locally as Meion (名音). It is sister school of Doho Uni ...

, where he teaches composition, arrangement, and production. At some later time, he also joined the faculty at

Daido University is a coeducational private university in Minami-ku, Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. History The university began as the Daido Technical-Educational Foundation in 1939. In 1969, the school became the Daido Institute of Technology. The univers ...

, where he teaches

music theory Music theory is the study of the practices and possibilities of music. ''The Oxford Companion to Music'' describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory". The first is the "rudiments", that are needed to understand music notation (ke ...

and computer-based music.

Works

*'' Atlantis no Nazo'' (1986) *'' Dead Zone'' (1986) *''

The Wing of Madoola is a 1986 action-platform video game developed and published by Sunsoft for the Family Computer. It stars Lucia, a magic-wielding warrior chosen by the Rameru clan. Darutos, a descendant of the Rameru line, found the Wing of Madoola statue and ...

'' (1986) *'' Nazoler Land'' (1987) *''

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

'' (1987) *''

Spy Hunter Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

'' (1987) *'' Ripple Island'' (1988) *'' Freedom Force'' (1988) *''

'' (1988) *'' Nankin no Adventure'' (1988) *''

Platoon A platoon is a military unit typically composed of two or more squads, sections, or patrols. Platoon organization varies depending on the country and the branch, but a platoon can be composed of 50 people, although specific platoons may range ...

'' (1988) *'' Fester's Quest'' (1989) *''

Batman Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...

'' (1989) *'' Batman: The Video Game'' (1990) *''

'' (1990) *'' Nantettatte!! Baseball'' (1990) *'' Gremlins 2: The New Batch'' (1990) *'' Ufouria: The Saga'' (1991) *'' Super Spy Hunter'' (1991) *'' Batman: Return of the Joker'' (1991) *''

'' (1992) *'' Albert Odyssey'' (1993) *''

Sugoi Hebereke is a 1994 fighting game developed and published by Sunsoft in Japan for the Super Famicom on March 11, 1994. It is a spin-off of the ''Hebereke'' series, as well as Sunsoft's first attempt in the genre before they became better known for the ...

'' (1994) *'' Albert Odyssey II'' (1994) *'' Albert Odyssey: Legend of Eldean'' (1996) *'' Out Live: Be Eliminate Yesterday'' (1997)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kodaka, Naoki Chiptune musicians Japanese composers Japanese male composers Living people Video game composers Year of birth missing (living people) Aichi Prefectural University of the Arts alumni