Keiki Kobayashi

Keiki Kobayashi
小林 啓樹
Born (1974-06-26) June 26, 1974
Higashikurume, Tokyo, Japan
OccupationsComposer, arranger
Years active1999–present
Websitekeikikobayashi.com

Keiki Kobayashi (Japanese: 小林 啓樹, Hepburn: Kobayashi Keiki; born June 26, 1974) is a Japanese composer and arranger. He joined Namco in 1999 and worked there for 15 years before leaving the company to become a freelancer.[1] He is most notable for his work on the Ace Combat franchise.

Biography

Kobayashi was born on June 26, 1974, in Higashikurume, Tokyo. He developed a passion for music even before kindergarten and often sang with his older siblings – particularly his sister – while she played the electric organ.[2] After graduating from high school, Kobayashi attended Toho College of Music, where he studied composition and sang in a choir.[1][2] He graduated in 1997 and joined Namco two years later.[1]

Work at Bandai Namco

Kobayashi worked on numerous games during his time at Bandai Namco Holdings. Within the Ace Combat series, his most significant contributions were the original soundtracks for Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies, Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War, Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation, Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War, and Ace Combat: Assault Horizon.

Kobayashi also worked on the soundtracks for various games in the Tekken, The Idolmaster, Ridge Racer, and Soulcalibur series.[3] His final projects as a Bandai Namco employee included Mach Storm, Ace Combat Infinity, and Aces at Operation: "Digital Hollywood".

Freelance work

In 2014, Kobayashi officially announced that he would be leaving Bandai Namco. He founded cakeprojects, a production company under whose name he would release his future works.[1] Since then, he has worked on games such as Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U, among others.

In December 2015, it was announced that Kobayashi had been hired as the sound director for Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown.[4][5] In 2017, Ryo Watanabe took over the role of sound director for the game, though Kobayashi remained the lead composer.[6] In 2020, he composed a track for the Final Fantasy VII Remake.

Notable works

Year Title Notes
2001 Ace Combat 04: Shattered Skies Music with Tetsukazu Nakanishi, Hiroshi Okubo, and Katsuro Tajima
2002 Tekken 4 PS2 version; music with various others
2003 Venus & Braves PS2 version; music with Masako Oogami, Tomoko Tatsuta, and Junichi Nakatsuru
2004 Ace Combat 5: The Unsung War Music with various others
Ridge Racers "World Touring"
2005 Tekken 5 PS2 version; music with various others
Soulcalibur III Music with Junichi Nakatsuru and Ryuichi Takada
Ridge Racer 6 "World Explorer Introduction"
2006 Ace Combat Zero: The Belkan War Music with Tetsukazu Nakanishi, Hiroshi Okubo, and Junichi Nakatsuru
Ridge Racer 7 "Introduction"
2007 Ace Combat 6: Fires of Liberation Music with Tetsukazu Nakanishi, Hiroshi Okubo, and Junichi Nakatsuru
2008 SoulCalibur IV Music with Junichi Nakatsuru, Hiroyuki Fujita, and Masaharu Iwata
2009 Tekken 6 Console version; music with various others
Ace Combat Xi: Skies of Incursion Music
2011 Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Music with various others
2012 Tank! Tank! Tank! Wii U version; music with various others
2013 Tekken Revolution "Fight in the Netherlands"
Disney Magical World Music
The Idolmaster Cinderella Girls "You're stars shine on me"
Mach Storm Music
2014 Ace Combat Infinity Sound director
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U Music with various others
2015 Monster Hunter Generations Arrangement ("Awakening")
2016 Star Fox Zero Music with various others
Street Fighter V
2018 Monster Boy and the Cursed Kingdom
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate Arrangement with various others
2019 Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown Music with various others
2020 Final Fantasy VII Remake "The Valkyrie"
2023 Final Fantasy VII: Ever Crisis Music with various others
Final Fantasy VII: The First Soldier Episodes; music with various others
2024 Final Fantasy VII Rebirth Music with various others
2026 Ace Combat 8: Wings of Theve

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "cakeprojects - Composer & Audio Director, 小林啓樹 (Profile)". keikikobayashi.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  2. 1 2 "Keiki Kobayashi Interview: Ace Combat Mastermind Goes Freelance". Video Game Music Online. 2014-11-11. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  3. ↑ "cakeprojects - Composer & Audio Director, 小林啓樹 (Works)". keikikobayashi.com (in Japanese). Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  4. ↑ "PS4「エースコンバット7」シリーズのナンバリングが復活、発売日は未定。従来スタッフも多数が開発に参加". hokanko-alt.com (in Japanese). 2015-12-08. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  5. ↑ "『エースコンバット7』開発陣インタビュー完全版！ 「3つの軸を追求します」". Famitsu (in Japanese). 2015-12-17. Retrieved 2026-06-23.
  6. ↑ PlayStation (2017-11-02). Ace Combat 7: Skies Unknown – Paris Games Week VR Trailer | PS4, PS VR. Retrieved 2026-06-23 – via YouTube.
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