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