Episode 87: Norio Hanzawa

The work of composer Norio Hanzawa is the focus of Episode 87.  Originally a Konami employ, Norio moved on to work for the company Treasure.  With an extremely progressive and unique approach, Hanzawa took video game music to a whole other level with games like Gunstar Heroes and Alien Soldier.  Check out this incredible music from a very overlooked composer.  NOTE (2018): It was recently discovered within the VGM community (six years after this post) that Norio is his real name and that his alias might have been Ichio instead of Kazuo (this episode was originally titled "Kazuo Hanzawa").  Because of the uncertainty of his alias, this post/track listing has been modified to remove instances of the name Kazuo, yet the podcast recording remains unaltered (with frequent reference to "Kazuo").  Full track listing below.

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Game - Composer - Track - Company - Console - Year (North American release unless otherwise indicated)

Quarth - Norio Hanzawa - The Theme From Quarth (BGM 1) (Surface 0~4) - Konami - Famicom - 1990

The Simpsons - Norio Hanzawa - Stage 2: Krustyland (Panic!) - Konami - arcade - 1991

Bucky O'Hare - Norio Hanzawa (Star Hanzawa) - Stage 8 - Konami - arcade - 1992

Gunstar Heroes - Norio Hanzawa - Choose a Path - Treasure - Genesis - 1993

Alien Soldier - Norio Hanzawa - Oblivious Past - Treasure - Mega Drive - 1995

Castlevania: The Adventure - Norio Hanzawa, Shigeru Fukutake, Hidehiro Funauchi - Evil Devil (Final Boss Part 2) - Konami - Game Boy - 1989

Rollergames - Norio Hanzawa, Katsuhiko Suzuki, Atsushi Fujio, Shigemasa Matsuo - Final Showdown (Last Boss) - Konami/Ultra Games - NES - 1990

Dynamite Headdy - Norio Hanzawa (NON), Katsuhiko Suzuki, Yasuko, Koji Yamada, Aki Hata - Schumacher Fly - Treasure - Genesis - 1994

Yu Yu Hakusho: Makyou Touitsusen - Norio Hanzawa (NON) - Devilish Forest BGM - Treasure - Mega Drive - 1994

Alien Soldier - Norio Hanzawa - Runner/AD2025 - Treasure - Mega Drive - 1995

Alien Soldier - Norio Hanzawa - Slap-Up - Treasure - Mega Drive - 1995

Gunstar Heroes - Norio Hanzawa - Last Party on the Moon - Treasure - Genesis - 1993

Alien Soldier - Norio Hanzawa - Flashback - Treasure - Mega Drive - 1995

Bucky O'Hare - Norio Hanzawa (Star Hanzawa) - High Score Name Entry - Konami - arcade - 1992