Hajime Wakai

• Name — Hajime Wakai • Native Name — 若井 淑 • Born — 5 July 1973 • Birthplace — Kyoto, Japan • Occupation — * Composer • Years Active — 1996–present

Wakai was born on July 5, 1973, in Kyoto. After graduating from the Osaka College of Music in the spring of 1996, he joined Nintendo EAD. He initially worked alongside Koji Kondo on Star Fox 64, where he composed all the planetary and battle themes; he then went on to work on other N64 titles, such as the Pokémon Stadium series. On the GameCube, Wakai became the sole composer for the first Pikmin game, in which he also provided the voices for the titular creatures. He then went on to compose most of the battle themes for The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, which were notable for their interactivity with Toon Link’s on-screen actions as he fought enemies. After working on titles such as Nintendogs and Star Fox: Command, Wakai served as sound director for several Wii titles until he was appointed lead composer for The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, where he also coordinated the entire sound team; this title stood out as the first in the Zelda series to make extensive use of a live orchestra. After working on several other titles, Wakai became the sound director for The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and also contributed to the soundtrack; this title stood out for moving away from the traditional musical style of the Zelda series and instead placing an emphasis on ambient music and sound effects to do justice to the game’s “open-air” concept. After working on this title, Wakai was appointed sound engineer for the entire Zelda series and later resumed the role of sound director for The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.

• Year — Title — Notes • 1997 — Star Fox 64 — Music with Koji Kondo • Yoshi's Story — Sound effects with Yasushi Ida • 1998 — F-Zero X — Music with Taro Bando • 1999 — Pokémon Stadium — Music with Kenta Nagata and Toru Minegishi • 2000 — Pokémon Stadium 2 — Music • 2001 — Pikmin • 2002 — The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker — Music with Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi and Koji Kondo • 2004 — Pikmin 2 — Music with Kazumi Totaka • 2005 — Nintendogs — Music • 2006 — New Super Mario Bros. — Music with Asuka Ota und Koji Kondo • Star Fox Command — Music • 2007 — Big Brain Academy: Wii Degree — Sound direction • 2008 — Super Smash Bros. Brawl — Arrangement „Area 6 (Star Fox 64)“ and „Area 6 Ver. 2 (Star Fox 64)“ • Mario Kart Wii — Sound support • Wii Music — Sound direction; Music with Kenta Nagata, Toru Minegishi and Mahito Yokota • 2011 — The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword — Sound direction; Music with several others • 2012 — Nintendo Land — Sound direction • 2013 — Pikmin 3 — Music with Asuka Hayazaki and Atsuko Asahi • The Legend of Zelda: The Windwaker HD — Music of the original; Arrangement with Kenta Nagata, Asuka Hayazaki and Atsuko Asahi • 2014 — Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U — Arrangement „Tour (Animal Crossing: New Leaf)“ • 2016 — Star Fox Zero — Sound supervision with Koji Kondo • Star Fox Guard • 2017 — The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild — Sound direction; Music with Manaka Kataoka and Yasuaki Iwata • Hey! Pikmin — Sound supervision with Mitsuhiro Hikino and Ryoji Yoshitomi • 2018 — Starlink: Battle for Atlas — Sound supervision with Koji Kondo • 2019 — The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening — Sound supervision with Takahiro Watanabe • 2020 — Hyrule Warriors: Age of Calamity — Supervision • 2021 — The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword HD — Sound supervision • 2023 — The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom — Sound direction; Music with several others • 2024 — The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom — Music direction • 2025 — Hyrule Warriors: Age of Imprisonment — Supervision • 2026 — Star Fox