Kingdom Hearts and Street Fighter 2 composer Yoko Shimomura will receive a Lifetime Achievement trophy during the D.I.C.E Awards this year. It will occur on February 15 at the Aria Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
“I myself am very surprised,” said Shimomura on Twitter (through a translation provided by the platform). “I’m very honored.” She also mentioned this is “possible thanks to [our] support.”
Who is Kingdom Hearts composer Yoko Shimomura?
Yoko Shimomura is a game composer known for her decades of work in the industry. She’s behind the scores of Street Fighter 2, the Kingdom Hearts series, Super Mario RPG (with a re-orchestrated soundtrack for the remake), Final Fantasy XV, and the Parasite Eve franchise. Her vivid and illustrious music has now been recognized by her peers in the industry.
“Dearly Beloved,” the main menu theme from Kingdom Hearts, is arguably her most notable song. What impresses many is that each game has its own take on the original piano-led track. For example, there’s a swing version of the track in the rhythm game Melody of Memory.
“I was playing the beginning of the game, set in the Destiny Islands, and I was struck by a lot of imagery about the sea,” said Yoko Shimomura to Square Enix. “Dearly Beloved just came to my mind one day, while I was thinking about that – picturing the sea and the waves.”
Streamed through IGN, the D.I.C.E. Awards will be hosted by Kinda Funny’s Greg Miller and IGN’s Stella Chung. The finalists for Game of the Year include Alan Wake 2, Baldur’s Gate 3, Cocoon, Marvel’s Spider-Man 2, and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
