Soyo Oka

Soyo Oka (岡 素世, born April 9, 1964) is a Japanese composer of video games. Oka began composing at the age of 15 and majored in composition at the Osaka College of Music. She was hired by Nintendo in 1987 and worked there until 1995.

Oka initially wrote mostly for Famicom racing games. In 1990 she and Koji Kondo (whose work she had studied in college) composed the soundtrack to the SNES launch title Pilotwings. Thereafter she worked for higher-profile games, such as SimCity (1991). Oka has composed for four Mario games: Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally, Super Mario Kart, Super Mario All-Stars (where she also arranged Kondo's music), and the NES release of Wario's Woods.

In 1995 she left Nintendo to continue her profession as a freelancer. As of 2017 she is a member of the sound production company At-Tude.

She cites as her musical influences Prokofiev, Rachmaninoff, Chopin, Debussy, Stravinsky, John Williams, Lyle Mays, YMO, Queen, and Chick Corea. Of the pieces she has written, her favorites are Super Mario Karts Rainbow Road and Princess themes, SimCitys Metropolis theme, and Pilotwings' select theme.

Famicom Grand Prix II: 3D Hot Rally

 * Monster Dance (Theme 3) -- Composition & Arrangement

Super Mario Kart

 * Title Screen -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Choose Your Driver -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Race Fanfare -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Mario Circuit -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Donut Plains -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Ghost Valley -- Arrangement
 * Bowser Castle -- Arrangement
 * Choco Island -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Koopa Beach -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Vanilla Lake -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Rainbow Road -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Final Lap Warning -- Arrangement
 * Invincible -- Arrangement
 * Ranked In -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Ranked Out -- Composition & Arrangement
 * No Record -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Mario's Theme -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Luigi's Theme -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Peach's Theme -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Yoshi's Theme -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Bowser's Theme -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Donkey Kong Jr.'s Theme -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Koopa Troopa's Theme -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Toad's Theme -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Tournament Win -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Tournament Lose -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Battle Game -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Game Over -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Ending -- Composition & Arrangement

Super Mario All-Stars

 * Title Theme -- Composition & Arrangement
 * Game Selection -- Arrangement
 * SMB1 Title Theme -- Arrangement
 * TLL Title Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB1 Ground Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB1 Course Clear Fanfare -- Arrangement
 * SMB1 / SMB3 Underground Theme -- Arrangement
 * Hurry Up -- Arrangement
 * Invincible Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB1 Bonus Theme -- Composition & Arrangement
 * SMB1 Underwater Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB1 Castle Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB1 Bowser Theme -- Composition & Arrangement
 * SMB1 World Clear -- Arrangement
 * SMB1 Final Bowser Theme -- Composition & Arrangement
 * SMB1 Ending -- Arrangement
 * SMB1 Miss -- Arrangement
 * SMB1 Game Over -- Arrangement
 * SMB2 Title Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB2 Player Select -- Arrangement
 * SMB2 Ground Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB2 Underground Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB2 Warp -- Composition & Arrangement
 * SMB2 Boss -- Arrangement
 * SMB2 Success -- Arrangement
 * SMB2 Bonus Start -- Arrangement
 * SMB2 Bonus Game -- Composition & Arrangement
 * SMB2 Failure -- Arrangement
 * SMB2 Stage Clear -- Arrangement
 * SMB2 Last Boss -- Arrangement
 * SMB2 Ending -- Arrangement
 * SMB2 Game Over -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Title Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 World 1 Map (Grass Land) -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Ground Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Miss -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 World 2 Map (Desert Hill) -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Athletic Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Course Clear Fanfare -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 World 3 Map (Ocean Side) -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Underwater Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Music Box -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Slot Theme / Nervous Breakdown Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Bonus Win -- Composition & Arrangement
 * SMB3 World 4 Map (Big Island) -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 World 5 Map (The Sky) -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Enemy Battle -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Toad House -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 World 6 Map (Iced Land) -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Fortress Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Fortress Boss -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Fireworks Fanfare -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Princess Message -- Composition & Arrangement
 * SMB3 Warp Whistle Sound -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Warp Zone (World 5 Sky Map) -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 World 7 Map (Pipe Maze) -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 King's Chamber -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Airship Theme -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 World 8 Map (Castle of Bowser) -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 The Evil King Bowser -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 World Clear Fanfare -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Ending -- Arrangement
 * SMB3 Game Over -- Arrangement